[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MEDICARE CUTS HURT

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, last week I got a check in the mail.
  At first I thought it was a check for having a flag flown over the 
Capitol.
  But it wasn't.
  Then I thought maybe it was a misdirected campaign contribution.
  But it wasn't.
  Then I looked again.
  It was a check from a senior citizen in my district who is so scared 
she will lose her Medicare benefits, she wanted to contribute $10 to 
the government to make the system whole again.
  She thought that if enough people contributed $10, everything would 
be all right and she could rest easy about the state of her health 
care.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish I could give her that reassurance.
  Not only did I send the check back to her, I had to tell her that the 
outlook was bleak for protecting her health care under current 
proposals now making their way through the reconciliation process.
  It's a sad day in America that we've come to this point; that our 
senior citizens are so scared of our actions that they are begging us 
not to take away their health care.
  I sent the check back but, unfortunately, it won't even begin to 
cover her Medicare cuts.
  My constituent is going to need that $10 check. Actually, she's going 
to need a whole lot more.

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