[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 163 (Friday, October 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HEALTH OF OUR CITIZENS AT RISK

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 1995

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today, we are not making health care policy. 
We have taken a number, randomly selected by the Budget Committee, and 
devised a mechanical computation to reach an arbitrary $270 billion 
goal. In the process, we have placed the health of our citizens 
severely at risk.
  The United States is renowned for its health care. Our hospitals are 
considered the finest in the world. This is because we, in America, 
place a unique value on each, individual life. It doesn't matter who 
you are, how old you are, or what you have chosen to do with your 
life--everyone deserves quality health care.
  Under the Republican plan, this value will be challenged. Hospitals 
will no longer have the resources to provide quality care, and ill 
people of all ages will lack the security of knowing that everything 
possible is being done for them.
  Moreover, the elderly will not be able to live out their final years 
in comfort. The vast majority of senior citizens in this country are 
not wealthy, and new costs imposed on necessary medical services will 
be prohibitively expensive. The question we must answer is whether a 
civilized society has a role to play in improving the lives and health 
of its older members. In the past, we have answered this question in 
the affirmative; today, the Republicans have a different response.
  The Medicare system has been subject to careful reform virtually 
every year since its inception. These changes have been deliberate and 
grounded in thoughtful policy. Reforms have been made with the health 
of American citizens in mind.
  I am saddened to see that the bill before us is not based on the same 
honorable values. Instead, it represents a mathematical solution to a 
cold, mechanical $270 billion challenge. Calculations were made devoid 
of reason, research, and compassion. Qualify health policy played no 
role. Our elderly and all American people deserve more.

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