[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             A FALSE CHOICE

  (Mr. DEUTSCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, we are here today because my Republican 
colleagues want to destroy Medicare, and their premise is that Medicare 
will be bankrupt in 7 years.
  What I have here is a chart that points out a fact, which is that in 
the 30 years of Medicare's existence, the actuarial life of Medicare 
was less than 7 years. This is not unprecedented. It is a flatout lie 
that my Republican colleagues have been stating about the unprecedented 
nature of the 7-year actuarial life.
  The $270 billion in cuts, as my Republican colleagues have been 
talking about, is also a flatout lie. The trustee report calls for a 
far less number in terms of what would make actuarial sense for the 
Medicare system.
  The choice that my Republican colleagues have been talking about is a 
false choice. Everyone in this Chamber, everyone in America knows what 
the agenda is. The agenda is to force people into substandard HMO's 
because the reimbursement level in a traditional Medicare will be so 
low.
  Just because people are old in this country does not mean they are 
stupid. The American people will not believe what the Republicans are 
doing.

                          ____________________