[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MEDICARE TRUSTEES' REPORT

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, a little over 2 years ago, on April 3, 
1995, the Medicare trustees, who are appointed by President Clinton and 
other folks, but it is a bipartisan committee, they came out with their 
report, and the trustees' report 2 years ago said Medicare was going to 
be bankrupt, the Congress was under an obligation to move to protect 
and preserve and strengthen Medicare.
  At that time, the Congress passed two plans to protect, preserve, and 
strengthen Medicare on a bipartisan basis and increase funding per 
beneficiary from about $5,200 to $7,100. There was no cut.
  Unfortunately, politics being politics, this was demagogued and 
eventually vetoed by the President of the United States. The senior 
citizens of America deserve more. Today those same trustees will come 
out with yet another report, and it will say one more time that 
Medicare is going to go bankrupt in the year 2002.
  In 1995, when the report first came out, Medicare was losing $22 
million a day. Today it is losing about $36 million a day. Our seniors, 
my grandmother, my mom, my dad, your grandmother, your mom and dad, 
they deserve more. It is time for us to work on a bipartisan basis to 
save Medicare, not just for the next election, but for the next 
generation.

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