[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REPUBLICANS STILL RELYING ON MEDICARE CUTS TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority is 
still relying on Medicare cuts to pay for its tax breaks and its 
special deals for its friends. They have wisely come down from their 
demands of last year in cutting Medicare $270 billion and last year 
they offered a $245 billion tax break.
  Their plan now for the next 6 years still contains Medicare cuts. 
These cuts would allow health care plans to charge seniors 
substantially more and reduce the seniors' choice of health care plans 
by pushing more seniors into managed care. Costs for seniors in the 
traditional Medicare would increase.
  We need to reform Medicare but the Republicans take too much bite out 
of the apple. We need to reform the program by investing more into the 
waste, fraud and abuse investigations. Nearly $40 million has been 
recouped by the Medicare trust fund because of actions of this 
administration.
  We need to fully fund waste, fraud and abuse investigations and 
reform the trust fund along the lines recommended by the trustees. We 
do not need to cut Medicare just to pay for tax breaks.

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