[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5628-H5629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Gutknecht] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, why is it that Washington is unable to 
address and solve a political problem until it becomes a crisis? Why is 
it that Washington's answer to any problem is to take more in taxes and 
waste more in spending?
  Well, they are doing it again, but this time it's serious. This time 
it's about Medicare. The President and the bureaucrats in Washington 
say there is no problem. I do not agree. The President wants everyone 
to ignore the financial problems surrounding Medicare, but I will not 
be silent. We have a moral imperative to fight back. And America needs 
to fight back as well.
  What would you think of your Federal Government if it knew Medicare 
was in trouble, yet did nothing to save it? What would you think of the 
politicians in Washington if they had the figures in their hands and 
knew the truth, yet chose to do nothing? What would you think of your 
Member of Congress if he or she allowed Medicare to go bankrupt when 
they could have saved it? You would be pretty angry. Right? You would 
never forgive them. You would vote against them next November.
  Well, guess what? That is exactly what the President has done. He 
knows the numbers. He knows what his own Medicare trustees have found. 
The trustees have admitted that Medicare is hemorrhaging money at a 
frightening rate. They have admitted that the program will soon be 
bankrupt. That is right. Bankrupt. That is not a joke. That is not some 
political claim. That is a fact.
  President Clinton knows it. But he has tried to hide this fact 
because the elections are coming up. We have a President who will say 
and do anything to get reelected--and that includes playing politics 
with Medicare.
  Sure, Republicans could have played along. We could have remained 
silent and done what politicians have done for decades--tell our voters 
that everything is fine until the crisis hits. But we did not come here 
to engage in politics-as-usual, and I did not come here to sell out my 
constituents just for the sake of the next election. Medicare is a 
matter of principle, and I would rather be sent home for telling the 
truth than remain here by telling lies.
  Medicare has to be strengthened financially--there is no choice--and 
we have to stop the mismanagement once and for all. This may not be 
what some want to hear, but they have to hear it anyway. It may be 
common in Washington to hide the truth, but I cannot. And I will not. 
It is your money and your children's money. You have a right to know 
the truth.
  I have seen the numbers issued by the Medicare trustees, and if we do 
not act soon, it will soon be too late. If we do not strengthen 
Medicare financially, we will continue to spend millions more than we 
take in, and it will go bankrupt. But it is not just a question of 
spending more money--and we Republicans want to spend 7 percent more 
per year, every year, on Medicare. It is

[[Page H5629]]

a question of spending the money smarter.
  But strengthening Medicare financially is not enough. Washington has 
a way of making everything it touches more expensive, more complicated, 
and more difficult for Americans to understand. That too must change. 
The Medicare paperwork is overwhelming. We need to simplify the 
Medicare system so that seniors can read the bills and interact 
effectively with their doctors and hospitals. We have to end Washington 
mismanagement, and end it now.
  But even that is still not enough. Too many seniors have told me that 
their Medicare coverage is inadequate. It does not cover prescription 
drugs or eyeglasses. Seniors should be in charge, not the Washington 
bureaucracy. Seniors should have the right to choose the health care 
plan that suits them best, and no Washington bureaucrat should have the 
ability to deny them that choice. Remember, every dollar that is spent 
on the Washington bureaucracy is a dollar that cannot go to health care 
for seniors.
  And that also means an end to all the abuse, fraud, and waste in the 
Medicare system. Under the Republican plan, doctors and hospitals that 
abuse the Medicare system will not get a slap on the wrist. They will 
be punished--legally and financially. Washington may not have been 
serious about fighting abuse, fraud and waste, but Republicans are.
  It is our responsibility to strengthen Medicare financially so that 
it does not go bankrupt now or in the future. It is our responsibility 
to simplify Medicare so that every recipient will understand and be 
able to use the system easily. It is our responsibility to fight the 
waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare system. In short, it our 
responsibility to find a solution for Medicare for the next generation, 
not just the next election.
  I will fight for the right of every senior citizen in every district 
across America to get the facts. I will demand that the Medicare 
trustees and the White House make available to every American the exact 
financial details about Medicare. The President may not like it, but I 
believe the people who pay the bills have a right to know exactly what 
I know. You have a right to know the facts about Medicare. After all, 
it is your money.

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