[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 172 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MEDICARE SHOULD NOT WITHER ON THE VINE

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, Speaker Gingrich may use warm and fuzzy 
words like ``preserve'' and ``strengthen'' when he is talking about 
Medicare in front of the cameras.
  But when he is talking to the special interests, he sings a different 
tune.
  Last week, he said that while the new majority did not get rid of 
Medicare in ``round one *  *  * we believe it's going to wither on the 
vine.'' I repeat, wither on the vine.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, I am from Marin and Sonoma Counties, CA--the home 
of the world's greatest grapes and wines--and I can tell you that the 
only things we let wither on the vine are grapes plagued by disease or 
ruined by drought.
  Never, however, would the people of Sonoma and Marin Counties let 
Medicare--the root of economic and health security for seniors and 
their families--wither on the vine.
  We know that Medicare must be cared for and preserved for generations 
to come.
  Mr. Speaker, if there is anything rotten and sick around here that 
deserves to wither on the vine it is the Gingrich Medicare scheme, and 
not Medicare--one of the most popular and successful programs ever 
created.

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