[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BILL SIGNING OF MEDICARE AND 
                          MEDICAID LEGISLATION

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2010

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak on acknowledgement of 
the 45th Anniversary of the signing of the Medicare and Medicaid 
legislation.
  In 1965, the United States Congress made a commitment to our nation's 
most vulnerable citizens when it passed into law legislation that 
created Medicare and Medicaid as part of the Social Security Act. We as 
a nation decided that the elderly, poor children, the blind, and the 
disabled would never be denied proper medical care because of their 
inability to pay. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill and 
made it law on July 30, 1965, millions of elderly and poor people were 
spared needless worry and suffering. It was one of our nation's finest 
moments. We displayed the compassion and will that makes this country 
great. Access to adequate health care is a right not a privilege.
  Please join me today in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the 
bill signing for Medicare and Medicaid.

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