[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5930-S5931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MEDICARE INSOLVENCY

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this afternoon, we had an interesting 
hearing in the subcommittee for appropriations which is chaired by the 
distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Specter]. The witness was 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary Shalala. We were 
examining the budget request being submitted by the administration for 
appropriations to operate that Department of the Government for the 
next fiscal year that begins October 1.
  Secretary Shalala happens to be in another capacity a trustee of this 
group who have the responsibility of monitoring the trust fund that 
supports the benefits paid out under the Medicare Program. Since that 
group of trustees had just made their report public yesterday at the 
news conference which we all read and heard about, that subject came 
up.
  It occurred to me, since there was before the general public a 
suggestion by the President that he had made recommendations that were 
almost identical with the Republican suggestion about how to protect 
the benefits of this Medicare Program and how to deal with this 
impending insolvency of that fund, it occurs to me that we are going to 
see more of the same kind of political shenanigans from now until the 
end of this year, with nothing being done unless somebody is ready to 
say, ``OK, we will go along with your proposal.''

  The President can say that to the Congress, or we can say that to the 
President. I am prepared at this point to suggest, in a serious way, 
and said this to Secretary Shalala at the hearing, the Congress accept 
the President's suggestions. We can pass the suggested changes for 
short-term relief of pressure on that fund, but at the same time 
appoint a commission which is also called for by the President and the 
trustees in their report to propose long-term changes, changes to 
affect the long-term insolvency problems of the trust fund, and that 
the Congress, through its leaders and the President himself, agree to 
implement the recommendations of that commission for long-term changes.
  It seems to me that is one way to resolve this as a part of this 
argument

[[Page S5931]]

over whether Republicans are trying to cut taxes, to impose changes on 
Medicare beneficiaries as a part of a budget balancing act. We already, 
in the Congress, submitted to the President proposals to rescue the 
Medicare Program. That was a part of the Balanced Budget Act which the 
President vetoed. He has already rejected what Congress has suggested. 
After weeks and weeks of negotiations with leaders of the Congress and 
the President at the White House, all we got out of it were some photo 
ops, some political posturing, partisan sniping. We have had enough of 
that. The American people are fed up with that kind of politics. That 
is not the way to run the Government. I am tired of it.
  I have recommended and seriously urge this Congress to accept the 
recommendation of the President--not the one, of course, that says that 
home health care ought to be paid for out of the general Treasury; I am 
talking about changes that will reduce the costs of the program in a 
way that saves the program from insolvency--they recommended last year 
that we had to act before the year 2002, that we were going to see an 
insolvency, there would be a bankrupted fund, in effect.
  Now, the report this year is worse than that. The year before it was 
going insolvent. Under the last report, it is going to lose $33 
billion, and the following year $100 billion. Contrary to what the 
junior Senator from West Virginia said, that this is a Republican-
manufactured crisis, that is an outrageous comment. That is totally 
outrageous. These trustees are Democrats by and large. Secretary Rubin 
said it, Secretary Shalala said it is going to be insolvent, Secretary 
Reich said it would be insolvent, the head of the Social Security 
Administration was standing there and agreed with them. That is not a 
group of Republicans. The Republicans are not manufacturing a crisis. 
The crisis is real. The crisis is now.
  It is irresponsible for us to continue to sit here and listen to this 
kind of arguing made by Senators on the other side that this is some 
kind of effort by Republicans to frighten older people. I am 
frightened. I am not an eligible beneficiary yet. We have to act.
  I want to commend the Senator from Pennsylvania for his leadership in 
an effort to get the Secretary to agree to recommendations to the 
administration, that they take a stand, put their recommendations in 
the form of legislation, send it to the Hill, and see if we can pass 
it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Abraham). The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague from 
Mississippi for his kind comments and would amplify what he said. After 
his leadership in bringing this issue before the subcommittee and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, it was the subject of extended 
additional discussion. Secretary Shalala did say that she would be 
prepared to recommend to the President that he sign a separate bill.
  There are really few black and white issues on the floor of the U.S. 
Senate or in the Congress of the United States. I believe that the 
gridlock is visible right down the middle between Republicans and 
Democrats. I think there are, as a rarity, some clear-cut issues, as I 
mentioned a few moments ago on the Clinton health care plan or on the 
balanced budget amendment, where there is a clear philosophical and 
factual difference. The posturing which has been undertaken on Medicare 
I think has been a plague on both Houses and is so recognized by the 
American people.
  Senator Cochran and I put it on the table in a direct conclusive way 
today and Secretary Shalala agreed with the Cochran-Specter 
proposal, and that is not giving up on the attempt to reach an overall 
reconciliation bill, to have a balanced budget, which will be presented 
by the Congress; but, at the same time, that there be a second bill, 
and if the first overall bill is rejected--which will be a global 
settlement on the deficit, an agreement between the President and 
Congress--Secretary Shalala said she would recommend that a separate 
bill be approved. That bill would be to accept the figure of the 
President, where he has recommended--and on this floor it is always 
articulated in terms of ``cuts,'' which is inaccurate. It is $116 
billion of reduction on the rate of increase.

  Nobody is suggesting cuts. Every time somebody talks about a cut, it 
is factually incorrect. Last year, there was not a proposal for cuts in 
Medicare. There was a proposal to have the rate of increase of 7.1 
percent instead of a higher figure on increase. This year, the proposal 
is 6.1 percent of increase, which is a decrease in the rate of 
increase. That is to say that the increase is not as much as it would 
have been.
  President Clinton has proposed a reduction of $116 billion in the 
rate of increase. And the proposal which Senator Cochran suggested, and 
I seconded, and Secretary Shalala agreed to, would be to have that as a 
separate bill, which would be an accommodation to the Medicare trust 
fund, which would keep it solvent for a period estimated on a variety 
of between 5 and 10 years.
  Right after Senator Cochran's questioning and comments to Secretary 
Shalala, I said that it was the most forceful statement I have heard on 
the Appropriations Committee in the 16 years that I was present. I was 
about ready to say the most forceful statement by Senator Cochran, but 
I amended that to be the most forceful statement from anyone that I 
have seen in my 16 years. Then I walked over to him and said, had it 
been on national television, he would have been an instantaneous 
national, if not worldwide, hero. But that happens to be an area where, 
perhaps in an off moment, we have had agreement between a Democrat and 
two Republicans.
  I said to Senator Cochran that if he would introduce the legislation, 
I would cosponsor it. Now I say, if he will not, I will, and I hope 
that he will cosponsor it.
  Mr. HELMS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  (The remarks of Mr. Helms and Mr. Feingold pertaining to the 
introduction of S.J. Res. 56 are located in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. COVERDELL addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.

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