[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICAID

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 25, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I got a letter from the director of the 
Office of Management and Budget yesterday that made me glad once again 
that the President vetoed the Republican budget reconciliation bill.
  OMB tells me that my State of Colorado would lose more than $1 
billion under the Republican proposal to block grant Medicaid, as the 
reconciliation would have done.
  Now, I think it's important to remember who the Republicans would 
have shortchanged under their Medicaid cuts--low-income families, 
elderly, and disabled. And they're still working on making this come 
true.
  As OMB put it, the Republican reconciliation bill would have made 
extreme cuts in Medicaid. Colorado is just one example:

                              Office of Management and Budget,

                                 Washington, DC, January 22, 1996.
     Hon. Patricia Schroeder,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Schroeder: Thank you for your letter to 
     the President expressing your particular concern about the 
     devastating effects H.R. 2491 would have for the Medicaid 
     program. The President asked me to respond on his behalf.
       As he promised all along, the President vetoed H.R. 2491, 
     the budget reconciliation bill adopted by the Republican 
     majority. This bill would have balanced the budget on the 
     backs of working families, while targeting a tax cut to those 
     who are already the most well-off. It would have made extreme 
     cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, and raised taxes on millions 
     of working Americans.
       The President has offered instead a detailed plan to 
     balance the budget the right way. It balances the budget in 7 
     years while investing in education, the environment, and 
     other priorities, protecting Medicare and Medicaid, and 
     cutting taxes for middle-income Americans.
       Your letter mentions a specific concern about reductions in 
     Colorado's federal Medicaid funds for disproportionate share 
     hospitals (DSH). I understand that Colorado would lose more 
     than $1 billion under the Republican proposal to block grant 
     Medicaid. We are committed to maintaining the Medicaid 
     program as a source of guaranteed coverage for disabled and 
     low-income Americans and will work with you and your 
     colleagues to ensure that our plan to reduce the growth in 
     DSH payments is fair to all states.
       Thank you again for writing.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Alice M. Rivlin,
     Director.

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