[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REPUBLICANS GO TOO FAR

  (Mr. BRYANT of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I think we are all for balancing 
the budget, in response to the last speaker, but I would suggest to 
Members that the American people do not think that we ought to grant a 
$245 billion tax cut to the wealthiest Americans while cutting Medicare 
for average people as the way of doing it. That is the Republican 
agenda.
  The fact of the matter is, Speaker Newt Gingrich and his new 
Republican majority have simply gone too far. The American people 
recognize it. Yet they apparently do not. Because last night while the 
election returns were coming in all around the country that clearly 
rejected this extreme agenda, the Republicans were in a meeting up here 
changing the current situation with regard to Medicare part B premiums 
which were scheduled to drop to a 25-percent rate. They decided to 
raise those premiums to 31.5 percent, which means that instead of a 
$42-a-month premium, seniors will pay $53 a month beginning on January 
1.
  Thank you very much, Republican new majority, led by Speaker Newt 
Gingrich. You are big talkers when it comes to talking about middle-
class America, but when it comes to elderly people, you want to balance 
the budget on their backs.

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