[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15093-H15094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS TO AID IN DISMANTLEMENT OF MEDICARE AND TO CUT 
                          AND REPEAL MEDICAID

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] is recognized during 
morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I will not take the full time, but I wanted 
to come to the floor this morning to echo the message that some of my 
colleagues have been giving, and that is basically this: The Speaker of 
the House, Speaker Gingrich, has closed down the Government again for 
the second time, and in order to do two things: To dismantle Medicare 
and to cut and repeal Medicaid.
  My colleagues do not have to take my word for it. I want to refer my 
colleagues to two reports; one that was issued by the Consumer Union. 
This is a group of people that puts out a publication called the 
Consumer Report. America knows about the Consumer Report. It is a 
publication that one goes to when one wants to buy a car or one wants 
to buy a television set. It has enormous credibility. Listen to what 
they say.
  ``What Congress isn't telling you: Families of nursing home residents 
may face financial ruin under Federal Medicaid bill.''

  They estimate that 395,000 long-term care patients are likely to lose 
Medicaid payments for their nursing home care next year if this 
Republican repeal of Medicaid goes through. They go on to talk about 
some of the effects of this proposal by the Republicans.
  If someone is in a nursing home in the family, it costs about $38,000 
a year. That is more than most families in America make today. And they 
go on to point out, in this report, that adult children may be held 
financially liable for nursing home bills of their 

[[Page H15094]]
parents. Family assets, including homes, may be sold or seized to pay 
nursing home bills. No one is guaranteed Medicaid nursing home 
eligibility as they are now. Families may be forced to spend their life 
savings for long-term care of a loved one. And on and on and on.
  That was a report that was issued last November. A report issued in 
December, just recently, by the National Citizens' Coalition for 
Nursing Home Reform says this about the repeal of Medicaid. ``The 
report analyzed nursing home laws in 10 States and found none of the 
current State laws meet the minimum standards found necessary in 1987 
to protect nursing home residents.''
  ``This proposal moves us back in time to the nursing home dark ages 
when residents were tied and drugged, lying in their own waste, ignored 
by untrained, overworked staff.''
  So what is going on here, basically, ladies and gentlemen, is that 
Mr. Gingrich, the Speaker of the House, has closed down the Government 
for the second time in order for him to continue with his Republican 
colleagues to dismantle Medicare, a program that we have had, we have 
enjoyed now since 1964. It has protected literally tens of millions of 
people in this country from economic devastation, and he goes on to 
take after Medicaid, which protects children, a quarter of the children 
in America who get their health care from Medicaid.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I said I would not yield, and I would ask 
the Speaker to enforce my right to speak on the floor without being 
interrupted.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). The gentleman from Michigan 
controls the time.
  Mr. BONIOR. The Speaker goes on to take on the disabled, our elderly 
in this country, and children, a quarter of which, as I indicated, get 
their health care from Medicaid.
  These assaults on middle income people, on the elderly, on disabled, 
and on children in this country are what we are trying to protect. We 
will not be blackmailed by Speaker Gingrich by shutting down this 
Government to go after these people. They deserve the support and the 
help of every Member of this institution, and we will not be 
blackmailed by the dismantling of Medicare and by the repeal of 
Medicaid in order for our seniors, as these two reports issued in 
November and December, in order for our seniors to have this type of 
activity with respect to their long-term care perpetrated upon them.
  So we say to our friends on this side of the aisle, stop this 
nonsense, stop these games that we are playing. Let us get this 
Government back to work and let us get on with dealing with the real 
question at hand, and that is a balanced budget that protects Medicare, 
that protects Medicaid, that protects education, and that protects our 
environment. That is what we need to do.
  We have dealt with the issue of 7 years. We have dealt with the CBO 
issue, but the majority has done nothing, nothing to live up to the 
standards that were set in the last CR with respect to the issues of 
Medicaid, Medicare, education, and the environment. There has been no 
movement at all on the Republican side on those issues.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
for raising this point because when we look at the Medicaid Program, 
and we see an ad here that is signed by corporate leaders, who have 
laid off tens of thousands of Americans, and the children in many cases 
of low-paid workers, those children of those workers have lost their 
health insurance.
  Three million children are without health insurance. And what the 
Speaker is saying is we have to dismantle Medicaid rather than give 
those children health care coverage.

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