[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 143 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WASHINGTON POST AND WALL STREET JOURNAL PRAISE REPUBLICAN PLAN FOR 
                                MEDICARE

  (Mr. HOKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, we have had more than 2 dozen congressional 
hearings, thousands and thousands of pages of testimony, dozens of town 
meetings and open forums. Every Member on this side of the aisle has 
solicited the advice, the consent, the input of their constituents to 
find out what is the best way to go about this. This notion that 
somehow this has been done behind closed doors is so pathetic and 
misleading and is another one of their tactics.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to ask today, what exactly is it that the 
Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have in common? Well, they 
have both applauded congressional Republicans for having the courage of 
attacking the impending bankruptcy of Medicare.
  As I reported yesterday, the Post wrote the Republicans have, 
``forcefully taken the right position on the basic issue of controlling 
costs.''
  Then the Wall Street Journal said ``the emerging GOP plan--to save 
Medicare--so far looks like the best news for American health care in 
years.''
  There we have it. The most liberal paper in America and the most 
conservative paper in America both agree that the Republicans are on 
the right track and they both chide the Democrats for playing partisan 
political games with one of the most important issues in the land.
  It is not too late for my Democrat colleagues to put aside the 
partisan rhetoric and join us in saving Medicare.


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