[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 6, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H2335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, we stand today on the verge of a government 
shutdown. Without quick action, we will leave our seniors, our 
veterans, and vulnerable Americans everywhere out in the cold. But 
instead of working on a compromise, I state, Republicans have 
introduced a budget that will devastate seniors while protecting tax 
breaks for the richest.
  Under the Republican budget, seniors in my district would lose their 
guaranteed benefit under Medicare and face devastating cuts to Medicaid 
benefits for nursing home care, which now pays over 48 million elderly 
and disabled Americans.
  Seniors live on a fixed income. I state, seniors live on a fixed 
income. They cannot afford to pay more for health care or see cuts in 
their Social Security or have their Medicare privatized. We must not 
cut their benefits in order to protect and enlarge tax breaks for the 
rich and for companies that ship jobs overseas or for the oil industry.
  We must control our deficit. It is wrong to balance the budget on the 
backs of American seniors. This is not about power; it's about what's 
good for the American people.

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