[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8252-H8253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICARE

  (Mrs. KENNELLY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, the Speaker has said he was misquoted on 
Medicare. Therefore, let us for a moment consider the majority's 
actions on Medicare, rather than their rhetoric.
  The majority passed the largest reduction in Medicare's history--$270 
billion. The majority also proposed allowing some doctors to bill 
beneficiaries extra charges. Furthermore, the majority's plan would 
have capped Medicare's expenditures below the level of expected medical 
inflation. And under their bill, the Medicare premium would have 
doubled over the next 7 years from its current level. These facts are 
not in dispute.
  In the end, actions speak louder than words. And the majority's 
actions on

[[Page H8253]]

Medicare, as much as their rhetoric, certainly give America's seniors 
reason for concern.
  Mr. Speaker, we need reform that protects Medicare's solvency. But we 
cannot afford legislation that destroys Medicare in the name of saving 
it.

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