[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 12, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MEDICARE TOO IMPORTANT TO BE TREATED LIKE AN UGLY STEPCHILD

  (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, tampering with Medicare not only impacts 
our seniors, it also affects our entire health care system. When we 
boast about having the greatest health care system in the world, it is 
due in no small measure to the research and financial infrastructure 
that Medicare provides.
  For this reason, Mr. Speaker, any reductions in Medicare should be 
carefully considered and put back into the system, not used to pay for 
tax cuts and star wars.
  Desperate, however, to provide tax breaks to their wealthy campaign 
contributors, Republican leaders have cooked up a plan to cut $168 
billion from Medicare, although only $90 billion is needed to extend 
the Medicare trust fund. The GOP insists on cutting an extra $78 
billion that will eventually end up in the pockets of junk-bond 
dealers, corporate CEO's and insurance companies.
  Mr. Speaker, Medicare is too important to be treated like an ugly 
stepchild by Uncle Newt.

                          ____________________