[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]


                              {time}  1315
                      WHERE IS THE MEDICARE PLAN?

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, as the saying goes, the devil is in the 
details. Today was the day that the Republican leadership was supposed 
to reveal the details of their secret plan to cut $270 billion in 
Medicare to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy. But they lost their 
nerve. And, I do not blame them.
  You see, the Republican leadership wants to keep this plan under 
wraps for as long as possible, because they do not want America's 
seniors to see a plan that would double their copayments and force them 
to give up their doctors.
  The House leadership has also announced that they will only allow 1 
day of hearings on Medicare. One day. This amounts to a gag order on 
America's seniors.
  Instead of a plan, we got platitudes today. Instead of revealing the 
details of the GOP plan to cut $270 billion from Medicare, Speaker 
Gingrich instead revealed his goal to, quote, ``tell the truth.'' Well, 
Mr. Speaker, the truth is that 37 million Americans rely on Medicare 
for their health care. The truth is that they deserve to be heard. The 
truth is that they deserve to know how your plan will impact their 
lives.


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