[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 15, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2190-E2191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PARTIAL SHUTDOWN OF GOVERNMENT

                                 ______


                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 1995

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member highly commends to his 
colleagues this editorial which appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on 
Nov. 15, 1995.

              [From the Omaha World-Herald, Nov. 15, 1995]

   Partial Shutdown of Government Result of Democratic Scare Tactics

       Government workers and the public were plunged into 
     unnecessary inconvenience by a partial government shutdown 
     Tuesday. The reason: President Clinton put politics ahead of 
     the public.
       Clinton vetoed a stopgap spending bill that would have 
     temporarily kept the museums open, the passport office 
     functioning and the national parks in full operation. The 
     ``continuing resolution'' that would let the government go on 
     spending was needed because the White House and Congress 
     haven't passed a final budget for the fiscal year that began 
     Oct. 1.
       The president had been saying for days that he couldn't 
     sign the stopgap spending bill because it contained an 
     increase in the monthly premium paid by retirees for 
     Medicare. Then, as Republican Sen. Pete Domenici offered a 
     compromise on the Medicare premium issue, Clinton added that 
     he also objected to decreases in some other spending 
     programs, including his pet, Ameri-Corps. Of the Medicare 
     change, he said that the price of signing the bill was too 
     high ``if America must close down access to . . . affordable 
     health care for our seniors.''
       Of course the legislation would do nothing of the kind. 
     Clinton's words were a reflection of a cynical and deceptive 
     campaign that Democrats are waging. They try to scare 
     retirees by saying that the Republicans are out to eliminate 
     Social Security and Medicare. This cruel Democratic 
     distortion deserves strong condemnation. In addition, as 
     Republican Sen. Bob Dole pointed out, Clinton has been 
     ``playing the Medi-scare game all weekend. That wasn't their 
     real problem. It was cutting spending.''
       Republicans are proposing a reasonable change. They want to 
     cancel a 1990 Democratic-sponsored measure that, left alone, 
     would have the unintended effect of reducing the monthly 
     premium for Medicare. Without action, the monthly payment 
     would drop from $46.10 to $42.50 as of Jan. 1. The GOP wants 
     to raise the payment to $53.50, thereby keeping the current 
     recipient-funded portion of the program costs at 31.5 
     percent. Domenici came a long way around by offering to 
     freeze premiums at $46.10.
       The increase to $53.50 would prevent a larger burden from 
     shifting to the taxpayers and prepare the way for the long-
     term adjustments that the public is going to have to make to 
     keep Medicare solvent.
       Taxpayers should applaud this responsible suggestion. 
     General-fund expenditures must be cut wherever possible if 
     the budget is ever going to be balanced. Certainly this is no 
     time to be reducing the amount of money that retirees are 
     asked to contribute to the insurance program from which they 
     benefit.
       Furthermore, the logical time to make the change is now. To 
     leave it until Clinton and the GOP hammered out all their 
     differences could mean that the rate would drop in January. 
     That would make it even harder to raise it later.
     
[[Page E2191]]

       The increased payment by retirees would not be substantial. 
     An average Social Security recipient would be $10.60 ahead 
     each month after collecting the Social Security cost-of-
     living increase and having the higher Medicare premium 
     withheld.
       But Clinton said it was preferable to furlough hundreds of 
     thousands of federal employees Tuesday, suspending a wide 
     variety of services for the public. He made it sound as 
     though he did that to preserve hospital care for the elderly, 
     or to avoid driving them into bankruptcy. He said he cast the 
     veto because he refused to ``destroy'' Medicare.
       Such talk is highly misleading. It frightens people 
     unnecessarily. It tarnishes public debate by creating anger 
     and suspicion that are unwarranted by the facts. President 
     Clinton is known to have advisers who want him to project a 
     more centrist, more reasonable image in the hope of winning 
     moderate support in the next election. If he is ever to 
     succeed at that, he must first learn to keep his Medicare 
     demagoguery under control.

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