[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15174-H15175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A TABLE OF TWO PRESIDENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Lewis] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell a story this 
evening. I will keep it short though it could last for hours. It is 
called a Tale of Two Presidents, a President in 1992 and 1993 and now a 
different President in 1993.
  Two years ago the President and his top health care specialist, 
Hillary Rodham Clinton, told the American people again and again, we 
are talking about beginning to reduce the rate of increase in Medicare 
from about 11 percent annually to about 6 or 7 percent increase 
annually.
  Mr. and Mrs. Clinton told Americans again and again, do not let 
people tell you these are cuts in Medicare. All we are doing is slowing 
the rate of increase. That is not a cut.
  Remember those words very carefully because my colleagues are about 
to hear them again. Bill Clinton wanted to use those Medicare savings 
he was talking about in 1993 to help pay for his Government-run health 
care scheme.
  Now let us move forward to early 1995. Medicare board of trustees 
reports Medicare part A will be bankrupt in 2002. The trustees, four of 
whom are Clinton appointees, also say Medicare part B was growing at an 
unsustainable rate.
  So this Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act, which included a 
plan to 

[[Page H15175]]
save Medicare for another decade. The plan slowed the rate of growth to 
more than 7 percent annually. Remember, the President said 2 years ago, 
that is not a cut. But guess what Bill Clinton has to say about 
essentially the same idea today?
  He said, Republicans want to destroy, devastate and dismantle 
Medicare. He is talking about terrible cuts now. What happened to the 
President that was talking about slowing the rate of growth just 2 
years ago? The Republican plan increases spending per senior from $4800 
to $7100 in the year 2002. There are no cuts though the rate of 
spending increases are slowed slightly.
  The Clinton plan would increase spending per senior to $7200 in the 
year 2002. That is a 2 percent differences, or little more than $100 a 
year 7 years from now. Remember, the President's Medicare proposal is 
not of a balanced budget, because even though he submitted four of 
them, none of them balance. More on that a little bit later.
  Yet, Bill Clinton's accusations against the Republicans, that we are 
trying to destroy Medicare, the Nation's top elected official is 
telling these fictitious stories to the American people. Our President, 
our leader, the one on whom we depend to lead us through times of 
crisis and through times of need, is not coming forth and telling the 
American people what he was saying just 2 years ago, that we are not 
going to devastate Medicare. We are not cutting Medicare. We are 
slowing the rate of growth. He and Mrs. Clinton said 2 years ago, do 
not let them tell you that we are cutting.

                              {time}  1915

  Well, do not let them tell you today that we are cutting Medicare.
  Let us talk about Medicare part A premiums. Seniors now pay $47 a 
month for part A premiums, and Bill Clinton and liberal Democrats have 
blasted Republicans and said they are doubling Medicare premiums. First 
of all, as every senior knows, Medicare part A premiums rise about 
almost every year. Even Bill Clinton and liberal Democrats know this. 
The Republican plan would see premiums rise from $47 to $87 a month in 
the year 2002. That is an increase, though it is not a doubling of the 
premium.
  But here is the punch line: The President's plan would cost only $4 
less per month than what we are proposing.
  Bill Clinton says Republicans want to destroy Medicare, but the 
premiums in this plan are $83 instead of $87. That is 13 cents a day 
difference.
  It gets worse. Most of this year we have heard Bill Clinton and other 
liberals accuse Republicans of trying to force seniors into managed 
care plans--even though every senior could remain in the current plan 
just as it is. They have also blasted our innovative proposals like 
medical savings accounts. Now, Bill Clinton has ``borrowed'' every good 
idea Republicans wanted to use to help save Medicare in his plan.
  A few weeks ago, the Washington Post, no friend of conservatives, had 
this to say: ``The Democrats, led by the President, have shamelessly 
used this issue, demagogued on it because they think that's where the 
votes are.''
  Mr. President, remember 1992, 1993. There are no cuts.

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