[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15613-S15614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SAVING MEDICARE

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of a Democratic 
leadership amendment that will be offered to save Medicare. I support 
it because it will save lives and save American seniors from 
bankruptcy.
  The Republican budget reconciliation before us would cut Medicare by 
$270 billion. And it does so for one reason: to pay for tax breaks for 
the wealthy.
  In contrast, the Democratic amendment would eliminate all but $89 
billion of this Medicare cut. This would guarantee enough savings to 
keep Medicare solvent, but we would eliminate the provisions which the 
Republicans have proposed as a new tax cut on senior citizens.
  We want to eliminate the Republican plan to double Medicare premiums. 
We want to eliminate the Republican plan to double the out-of-pocket 
deductibles for seniors. We want to eliminate the Republican plan to 
force seniors who want to keep their own doctor to pay for higher 
charges for Medicare care. We believe that the American senior citizens 
should get to pick their own 

[[Page S15614]]

doctor and be able to have health care that they can afford and not 
have these increased premiums and deductibles. And we can do it by 
focusing on solvency and efficiency.
  Mr. President, this amendment is not about partisan politics; it is 
about the men and women that I call the GI Joe generation. These are 
the men and women like my uncles and my father, ordinary men, who 
during World War II were called to do extraordinary things. They fought 
over there so we could be free here.
  Those are the women in my community we call affectionately Rosie the 
Riveter, women who worked at Martin Marietta, in shipyards helping to 
keep the homefront going while our men were overseas.
  Those are our senior citizens of today, the men and women of the 
World War II generation. They helped save Western civilization. So now 
it is up to us to save their Medicare. It is the very least we can do, 
that on the brink of a new century we give our honor and our respect to 
those who saved us during this last century.
  Mr. President, in 1965, a great Democratic President knew that one 
illness could devastate a family, and they organized to be able to pass 
Medicare. That stands today. We have to keep the ``care'' in Medicare.
  The Republican plan will mean less access to health care, fewer 
doctor visits, less necessary tests and less of a focus on prevention. 
This is not what we should be doing. Yes, we all want to balance the 
budget, but I believe we can save Medicare and focus on solvency.
  Let us go after that waste, let us go after that fraud, let us be 
more efficient, but let us also remember the GI generation. They fought 
to save us, and the very least we can do now is to fight to save their 
health care.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair has been instructed to alternate 
between sides. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of time on this 
side of the aisle in morning business to Senator Coats.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.

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