[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MEDICARE TRUSTEES REPORT

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare trustees, including three Clinton 
Cabinet officials, have released their annual report. It is 3 months 
late and the diagnosis is not good. The part A trust fund is going to 
be bankrupt in 2001, a full year earlier than was reported last year. 
Those are the facts. Interestingly enough, this report came just days 
after the Senate minority leader and a top Clinton Cabinet official 
accused Republicans of playing politics with Medicare.
  It is serious, folks. We have a problem. Mr. Speaker, during my work 
on the Kerry commission I saw firsthand the consequences of failing to 
reform Medicare. I was also pleased to work in a bipartisan fashion 
with colleagues on both sides of the aisle trying to find a long-term 
solution for this problem. Responsible people did.
  Last year Congress sent that responsible solution of real Medicare 
reform to the President, and the President vetoed it. I say that it is 
time for the President to stop the mediscare, stop the medigoguery, 
encourage the people in his party on that side of the aisle to stop 
doing it and get to responsible solutions. We have one. We need to 
identify it and we need it now.

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