[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 165 (Tuesday, October 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H10698-H10699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MEDICARE AND MEDICAID PROPOSALS WILL DEVASTATE SENIORS, POOR WOMEN, AND 
                                CHILDREN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Brown] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives is 
the People's House. We were sent here to Congress with a mission: to 
serve the people. As Members of Congress, we should be listening to our 
constituents and voting against proposals that will devastate our 
seniors, poor women, and children.
  First, the Republicans went after Medicare, saying they were going to 
save it by cutting $270 billion out of it. And this time, the 
Republicans are going after Medicaid, the program that serves the 
poorest, the sickest--people most in need.
  They said they were saving Medicare. Now they say they are saving 
Medicaid by cutting $182 billion from the program. Well, I come from 
Florida where I served for 10 years in the Florida House. In Florida we 
have a saying for that kind of thing, ``That dog won't hunt.''
  Thousands of my constituents have told me that they are outraged at 
the Republicans' reverse Robin Hood tactics, stealing from the working 
people and the poor and giving tax breaks to the wealthy.
  Mr. Speaker, we can fool some of the people some of the time, but we 
cannot fool all the people all of the time.
  I am most concerned about how the Republican Medicaid plan will hurt 
Florida. Basically, it is a big slap in the face to the thousands of 
Floridians on a fixed income, just managing to get by.
  According to our Governor, the Medicaid plan will cost our State $8.4 
billion over the next 7 years. But forget about these huge dollar 
figures for a moment. Let's look at this in real terms: people!
  Under the Republican Medicaid plan formula, hundreds of thousands of 
Florida residents would be cut from the program. Let me ask you: What 
do the Republicans think the Floridians cut off from Medicaid are going 
to do for health care? Do they have a plan for that? I don't think so.
  The biggest problem with the Republican Medicaid plan is that the 
Republican formula for distributing funds to the States does not take 
into account Florida's population explosion. Florida's growth should 
not be overlooked. My State will be capped at a 6 percent growth rate 
from 1998 to 2002, while Florida can expect that the growth in Florida 
is expected to go from 12 to 14 percent.

                              {time}  1900

  That, my friends, is a cut. The Republicans are putting up smoke and 
mirrors when they say that these are not cuts.

[[Page H 10699]]

  Let us look at the facts. Holding Florida to the measure of other 
States' growth rate is completely unfair. The numbers just do not add 
up. I do not care how you slice it, a cut is a cut is a cut.
  The Florida delegation should be working together in a bipartisan 
fashion to protect Florida. If these Medicaid cuts pass, we may well be 
declaring Florida a permanent disaster area.
  Not only are the Republicans cutting away at funds for these 
programs, they are cutting away Federal Medicaid protection for our 
Nation's seniors. Over 60 percent of our nursing home residents get 
help from Medicaid. In 1994, over 100,000 Florida seniors lived in our 
State's 649 nursing homes. Right now, these nursing home residents have 
rights. They are protected by the Federal guidelines. The Republican 
Medicaid plans cut out quality care standards which are currently in 
place.
  Take out these provisions, and I can see the newspaper headlines now: 
``Abuse in Nursing Homes Increase.'' ``Doesn't Anyone Care About 
Nursing Home Residents?'' ``Where Have All the Nursing Home Watchdogs 
Gone?'' This is outrageous, and the Republicans should be ashamed of 
themselves.
  So, although I share the goals of balancing the budget, I cannot, in 
good faith, balance the budget on the backs of the poor, women, 
children, elderly, and the disabled.
  Last week in Florida, I spoke to the National Council of Senior 
Citizens; and, as I close, I want to close with one saying: Wake up, 
America. In particular, wake up Florida.

                          ____________________