[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEMOCRATS SHOULD BE LEADERS, NOT OBSTRUCTIONISTS, DURING REFORM OF 
                                MEDICARE

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Madam Speaker, I do not expect the people on that side 
of the aisle necessarily to listen to us, but I would hope they would 
listen to one of their former colleagues and a Democrat who wrote the 
other day in the Washington Post. And, incidentally, he was my 
immediate predecessor, Tim Penny, who wrote a column entitled 
``Medicare Mistake.''
  In the column he says, ``By politicizing the issue, Democrats 
threaten the viability of the very program they created.'' He goes on 
to say, ``Democrats in Congress have not only opposed Republican reform 
initiatives, they have also refused to embrace the savings identified 
in President Clinton's plan. We cannot afford to ignore Medicare's 
shaky financial condition or put it off until after the next election. 
It is just too important. The Medicare trustees have given us a 7-year 
warning. These 7 years should not be squandered in indecision, stall 
tactics and politicking. We should view this time as an opportunity to 
devise and employ creative solutions. Democrats should be the leaders 
in this debate, not the obstructionists.''

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