[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REPUBLICANS ARE STRENGTHENING, PROTECTING, AND PRESERVING MEDICARE

  (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California [Mr. McKeon], 
my colleague from Santa Clarita, was telling me that over the weekend 
he talked to a constituent who said to him,

       It was interesting. Last Friday I turned on CNN and I saw 
     the Democrats out on the lawn in the rain holding these 
     hearings, claiming that Republicans were not holding hearings 
     on Medicare. And then I flipped to C-SPAN, and there was the 
     hearings in the Committee on Ways and Means on the issue of 
     health care reform and Medicare.

  Mr. Speaker, I am struck to hear the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Dingell] talk about the litany of hearings on other issues. The 
Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Commerce held 26 
hearings. Last Friday's was the 27th hearing on the issue of Medicare.
  Mr. Speaker, I tore out a letter in yesterday's L.A. Times in which 
this fellow, Frank Anderson from Irvine, said that,

       On January 3, 1992, at age 65, my Medicare part B premiums 
     were $31.80 per month. To and including January 3, 1995, I 
     have had 3 increases, about $5 each, to raise my premium to 
     $46.10 per month. If nothing is done, and continuing at this 
     rate for the next 7 years, I would expect 7 more $5 increases 
     to raise the premium to about $81.10 per month.

  Mr. Speaker, he goes on to point to the fact that our total would be 
about $90; President Clinton's, $83. We are strengthening, protecting, 
and preserving Medicare.

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