[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 161 (Wednesday, October 18, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REPUBLICAN MEDICARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Miller] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is an historic day. It 
is exciting, the plan that we are going to present on Medicare 
tomorrow. I am proud of the plan that we are going to present to the 
American people tomorrow and we will vote and pass it tomorrow. And all 
we are hearing from the other side is fear and scare tactics. That is 
sad.
  For the seniors of this country, it is one of the most important 
issues we are facing, and all we are hearing is scare tactics and fear 
and, oh, my gosh, the sky is falling, the Chicken Little story. This is 
not the case. We have a good plan with which we all agree on so many 
things.
  There are a lot of things we agree with on this plan. We agree, for 
example, that Medicare is so important that we have to do something to 
save it. We agree that it is going bankrupt. It is the Clinton trustees 
that say it is going bankrupt. We agree that next year for the first 
time in the history of the plan, less money is coming in than is going 
out. And in 7 years, the total fund is bankrupt, the part A fund. So 
there is no disputing that fact. We agree there.
  We should agree that we do not want a Band-Aid approach, that we 
really want to fix the problem because the problem gets really bad in 
the year 2010 when the baby boomers come along. In year 2010, which is 
65 years after World War II, is when the whole thing explodes. And all 
we are going to do is a Band-Aid approach and putting it off to another 
day, a major problem when the rest of us start retiring.
  I think we should agree that we need to fix the plan and start 
working on the baby boomer problem. And we should agree on choice. What 
is wrong with choice? As a Federal employee, all Federal employees have 
a choice of plans. And all they are doing over there is to ridicule the 
idea that seniors should have a right to choose. I have a right to 
choose. Every Member has a right to choose. Every member of the 
Department of Commerce has a right to choose. Everybody in the 
Department of Agriculture has a right to choose. Why should not seniors 
have a right to choose?
  Not only do they have a right to choose, they get to stay in the plan 
they are in right now. They do not have to leave that plan. They keep 
that plan. But why not let them have a choice? If they want to choose 
the medical savings account, that is their right to choose. Nothing 
wrong with that. Why ridicule the idea that some seniors may want a 
medical savings account?
  Why not allow local hospitals and local doctors to go together to 
form their own plan? Why not allow them, give a choice. Health care is 
a local issue. Why not allow the groups to work together?
  Why not allow HMOs and managed care programs to be offered to 
seniors. I do not have them in my area very much. What is wrong with 
giving them the right to choose? Why fight the right to choose idea? It 
makes no sense.
  Our plan has tough waste, fraud and abuse. Who can disagree with 
fighting waste, fraud and abuse? They cannot get mad at us that we are 
not increasing copayments and we are not increasing deductibles. What 
is wrong with that? You have to agree with us on that.
  All they want to do is start these scare tactics. They say, we are 
cutting Medicare by $270 billion. Let us get the facts straight.

  The next 7 years we are going to spend $354 billion more than we 
spent the last 7 years, $354 billion more than the next 7 years than 
the last 7 years. Let us divide that up by the number of people on 
Medicare. We are spending $4,800 per person on Medicare today. We are 
spending $6,700 per person on Medicare in 7 years. Now, to me it does 
not take remedial math, it does not take a Ph.D. in statistics to 
understand that going from $4,800 to $6,700 is an increase. It is not a 
cut. We are increasing spending by $354 billion over 7 years.
  Where does this idea of getting beat up on the cut come from? That is 
fear tactics; that is trying to scare the seniors. And that is wrong.
  And then we start talking about tax cuts. What is wrong with the tax 
cut? It is a totally separate issue. What happens if we have no tax 
cuts? We get rid of all the tax cuts? What happens to Medicare? It is 
bankrupt in 7 years. It has no impact on it.
  Medicare part A is a trust fund. The only money going in is a payroll 
tax and the only money going out is to pay for part A. So it has 
nothing to do with income taxes. So if we have no tax cut at all, it 
still goes bankrupt. So that is a phony issue.
  Let us debate the tax cut on its own merits. And it really is a tax 
cut for working families in this country.
  Now we talk about the hearings. We have had 38 hearings and we have 
listened to the American people.
  I think in 5 years we are going to reflect back and say, we made a 
great decision tomorrow to reform Medicare.

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