[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16460-S16461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PROTECTING MEDICARE

  Mr. COVERDELL. I thank my colleague from Wyoming. I, of course, take 
some issue with the Senator from North Dakota. He quoted the 
statistics--to digress a moment--that indicated that Social Security 
was solvent until 2029, or something like that. The same people that he 
is quoting have told him, also, that Medicare is bankrupt in 6 years. 
They seem to forget that. Those trustees are really credible when they 
talk about Social Security, but they are not credible when they talk 
about Medicare.
  Those same people that he is quoting are the ones that are telling 
the other side of the aisle that we better get serious about doing 
something about Medicare. The proposal that we voted on the other night 
should make everybody who is a beneficiary, or potential beneficiary, 
very comfortable, because that proposal guarantees a quarter-century of 
solvency. It takes it out just like Social Security. The proposal that 
we got from the other side of the aisle gives us a Band-Aid that would 
give us 24 additional months. I do not think there is a senior citizen 
in this country that is comforted by somebody making--I think he 
referred to it as ``adjustments,'' that give you 24 months of survival.
  I think one of the strongest things that we have done is to 
effectively modify this program so that it is intact, it is secure, and 
there are more choices, and it is solvent for a quarter-century.
  He also stated--reluctantly, I would say, after badgering the idea 
that we brought forward--that taxes ought to be lowered on the working 
families of America. He reluctantly, at the end, indicated that, well, 
maybe that is all right.
  Let me tell you, it is more than all right. The other day on the 
floor, I mentioned that when Ozzie and Harriet were the quintessential 
family in America, Ozzie sent 2 cents of every dollar he earned to 
Washington. Today, that average family sends 24 cents out of every 
dollar to Washington, so that we can set the priorities for those 
families.
  We have marginalized middle America. The Senator from North Dakota 
referred to the 1 percent that are wealthy. I might say that you could 
take this 1 percent and the 15 percent that are poor and on Government 
programs, and they are not terribly affected by this policy. They are 
either so wealthy that it does not matter to them, or they are in the 
Government program. But it is the vast middle class that bears the 
burden of what has been happening in Washington for the last 25 years. 
More and more has been extracted from that family and, as a result, 
they are less and less able to care for the housing and the education 
and health of that family. We have all acknowledged that the family is 
the core unit for maintaining the health of the country. But the 
Government has been pounding and pounding on that family for a quarter-
century.
  Today, half of their wages are consumed by one Government or 
another--a quarter in Washington, and the other quarter is divided 
between State and local government. An average family today earns 
$40,000 a year. I guess that is supposed to be rich, if you listen to 
the other side of the aisle.
  Mr. President, $40,000--and by the end of the day they have somewhere 
between $20,000 and $25,000 to take care of all the needs of that 
average family.
  If what was passed here this past Friday finally becomes law, we 
should talk about what that means, Mr. President, to this average 
family. It means that their interest payments on their mortgage is 
going to drop, and if that average mortgage is $50,000, they will save 
$1,081 a year in interest payments on their mortgage. They are going to 
save $180 a year on the interest payments on their car. They are going 
to save $220 a year in interest payments on auxiliary loans, whether it 
is for a student loan or refurbishing of their home. That comes up to 
almost $1,500 or $1,600 a year net on their kitchen table.
  On top of that, that average family has two children. They are going 
to get a $500 credit for each child; $1,000, Mr. President, on the 
kitchen table.
  So we have put $2,000 to $3,000 back in the account of every average 
family in America. That is an increase of anywhere from 10 to 20 
percent of their disposable income. Tell me when middle America would 
have received either in salary increases or any other benefit of that 
significance, 10 to 20 percent more disposable income.
  The people that have been paying these bills, that have been paying 
the bills for Medicare and for Medicaid and for Federal retirement and 
the interest on our debt deserve relief, they deserve it, because we 
depend on them to educate, to house, clothe and keep healthy the future 
of America. That is what these proposals do--they return resources to 
the average working family in America.
  Now, Mr. President, just an hour ago there was a joint session of the 
policy committees on the House side and we heard from major economists 
on Wall Street about these budget proposals. It was amazing. To the 
person they said, ``Stick to it. America has got to have balanced 
budgets.''
  If we achieve these balanced budgets, everybody will prosper, 
interest rates will drop. They already give us credit, this new 
Congress, from lowering it from 8 percent to 6 percent. They say if we 
actually pass this, and only 3 out of 10 Americans think we have the 
guts to do it, it will drop another percentage point. Interest rates 
will drop, inflation will drop, and the economy will expand. This 
family will put $2,000 more into its own welfare and the people in that 
family that are looking for a new job will be standing in shorter lines 
and there will be fewer pink slips.
  The fact that America would seize control of its destiny and manage 
its financial affairs, as any family in business has to do, will be a 
boon to America. Every one of these people said to us, ``Don't blink, 
don't retreat. Get this done and the real beneficiaries are middle 
America.''
  They passed out this chart, Mr. President. It is hard to see, but it 
shows the relationship to the growth in spending to inflation. When we 
are irresponsible as caretakers of our financial affairs in the 
Congress, and we spend too much--more than we have--we cause inflation 
to go up, we cause interest rates to go up, and then there is less 
available for expansion, and we cause people to lose their jobs.
  Given what we are looking at, it is mindboggling to me that the other 
side of the aisle is not right at the table trying to find a way to 
support change in the way Washington has been operating.
  Mr. President, we have been told that unless the United States does 
something very quickly, that within 10 years all U.S. revenues, all of 
our wealth, will be consumed by five things: Social Security, Medicare, 
Medicaid, Federal retirement, and the interest on our debt. And nothing 
is left.
  That was presented to a group the other day in my home State and a 
woman stood up and said, ``How in the world would we defend 
ourselves?'' Good question. We could not. World rogues would love it if 
we stumbled 

[[Page S 16461]]

into the next century, crippled financially and unable to maintain the 
status of the superpower that we are. Five expenditures, and it is all 
gone.
  Last April the trustees of Medicare came forward and said, ``Look, it 
is bankrupt. Congress and Mr. President, do something about it.''
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from 
Minnesota.

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