[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11466-H11467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICARE

  (Mr. THOMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to convey the frustrations 
that so many senior citizens expressed to me while I was in my district 
the past weekend. I can picture one of the seniors who approached me 
and begged, ``please do not let them take my only source of medical 
insurance away, I can't afford to pay a dime more.'' This little lady 
was talking about the increase in her Medicare premiums that is being 
proposed by the Republican Congress.
  Madam Speaker, this lady's request resonated throughout the Second 
Congressional District in Mississippi. These seniors cannot afford to 
pay more so that those wealthy Americans can receive a tax break. Can 
you imagine a poor senior citizen, receiving only $400 a month in 
Social Security income, who currently spends $46.10 a month for health 
care premiums now having to pay $97.70? That's over a 100-percent 
increase in premiums. That's outrageous. That's cruel. Is this the 
Government that was created by the people and for the people? The 
question now is, which people? Ask a low-income senior citizen and they 
will tell you: the rich people.
  How can we, as responsible Members of Congress, advocate raising a 
poor senior citizen's premium to pay for a tax cut for those Americans 
who can live without it. This is not democracy but hypocrisy.
  The Republican plan to cut $270 billion out of Medicare is a cruel 
and devastating attack on our mothers and grandmothers. Do you really 
think that your rich friends need a tax cut this much? I do not think 
so. Republicans please think about what you are doing and spare the 
pain that you are causing our seniors with your tax hike on their 
Medicare. The over 388,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Mississippi beg 
you not to jeopardize their health insurance. Let us not make these 
seniors choose between food and medical care.

[[Page H11467]]


                    STOP THOSE WHO WOULD SAVE CASTRO

  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, they cannot have it both ways on 
Castro. Here, Business Week quotes a fellow named Andreas who is a 
businessman who is lobbying for Castro. It says the embargo has been a 
total failure; it ought to be ended.
  Then you have got Time Magazine saying the purpose of Castro's visit 
to New York was very specific: He is desperate to end the embargo. With 
no more subsidies from the Soviet Union, the economy has ground to a 
halt. Normalized trade with a huge market 90 miles north would make all 
the difference for Castro. If the embargo is not working, why is Castro 
so desperate to get rid of it?
  We have got two groups lobbying for Castro. We have the capitalists 
who want to take advantage of the slave economy and exploit Cuban 
workers, and we have the ideologues, like a couple of our colleagues, 
who drooled all over Castro to give him gifts when he went to New York. 
They are in concert now. They are in coalition.
  But we will press forward with Helms-Burton. The American people 
cannot stand Castro. They know what he is doing to the Cuban people. We 
are going to succeed, in stopping him. We are going to succeed in 
passing Helms-Burton and preventing this coalition of capitalists and 
ideologues from saving him.

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