[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3801-S3802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICARE

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, last month, the Medicare trustees warned 
that Medicare will go bankrupt in 13 years, which is 5 years earlier 
than they had previously calculated. You heard me right. One of the 
most important programs that the government actually runs--the Medicare 
Program--designed to provide health care to seniors, is going to run 
out of money in 13 years, 5 years earlier than projected just last 
year.
  The Medicare trustees noted that Medicare's unfunded liabilities--
that is the number it is responsible for--are more than $24 trillion, 
but that is also growing. Stated another way, this is a $24 trillion 
gap between Medicare's future benefit costs and the future taxes of 
premiums that are expected to be collected to pay for it.
  Today, I am, along with nearly all my Republican colleagues, sending 
a letter to the President of the United States, insisting he comply 
with the law. What law would that be? Well, the law that was passed in 
2003 that, under these circumstances, requires the President to propose 
a plan to deal with this funding crisis for Medicare. President Obama 
has said he is willing to make some tough decisions. Yet he refuses to 
provide concrete, constructive, and meaningful proposals to deal with 
this impending insolvency of one of our most important government 
programs.
  The Medicare trustees have issued a Medicare funding warning in their 
annual report every year since 2006. They are required to do so under 
the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,

[[Page S3802]]

and Modernization Act of 2003. In response to this warning, as I said, 
the President is required by Federal law to submit to Congress proposed 
legislation that would address this funding crisis. President Bush, in 
2008, in response to the 2007 Medicare trustees' warning, did exactly 
what the law requires. He submitted legislation to address this funding 
crisis. Both the House and the Senate, in compliance with the law, 
introduced legislation, but, unfortunately, it never went anywhere--
kicking the can down the road once again.
  The Medicare trustees have, in fact, issued a funding warning every 
year since 2006, as I mentioned, including all 3 years President Obama 
has been in office. However, for 3 years now, President Obama and his 
administration have failed to comply with the mandatory requirement of 
the law. Congress has never received a proposal from President Obama's 
administration to address this funding crisis. This failure I wish I 
could tell you was the result of an oversight but apparently not.
  On Tuesday, in an e-mail to The Hill newspaper, on behalf of the 
administration, they said they believed this law was ``advisory and not 
binding.''
  The law itself states--passed by both Houses of Congress, signed into 
law--that the President ``shall'' submit legislation to Congress, not 
that he ``might,'' or ``if it is convenient,'' or ``if he finds time,'' 
or ``if it advances his political posture leading up to the next 
election.'' It says he ``shall'' submit legislation.
  Thank goodness we live in a country where no one is above the law. We 
are a nation of laws, where the law applies to the President of the 
United States and it applies to the most humble members of our society.
  Medicare is going bankrupt. Unfortunately, the voices of reform--
people are stepping forward to try to solve this problem and make 
meaningful suggestions so we can actually do what we are supposed to do 
in Congress, which is debate ideas and come up with solutions, where we 
can have a vote and we can send legislation to the President and he can 
sign it or not. That is the way the process is designed to work, but so 
far the voices missing from the reform debate are those of our friends 
on the other side of the aisle.
  There is no House Democratic plan to save Medicare. There is no 
Senate Democratic plan to save Medicare. There is no plan for President 
Obama to save Medicare. Unfortunately, their plan appears to be not to 
step up and do what the law requires, to offer a proposal to save 
Medicare but, rather, to try to take a cynical political advantage 
leading up to the next election by attacking the very people who are 
making constructive proposals.
  No one suggests that any single proposal is perfect. The Ryan plan is 
not perfect. The Domenici-Rivlin plan offers a different approach. The 
President's own fiscal commission's report is entitled ``Moment of 
Truth.'' They reported back in December 2010. It was a bipartisan 
commission appointed by the President himself. It makes constructive 
suggestions on how to solve our spending crisis and to address the 
unsustainability of our entitlement program. But it appears that rather 
than embrace any of these constructive ideas, rather than do his duty, 
as the law requires, the President seems content to scare seniors into 
opposing responsible reforms, while watching the program go bankrupt 
over the next few years.
  By refusing to propose needed reforms to this important program, 
President Obama is not only abdicating his responsibility to lead as a 
President of the United States, he is violating Federal law.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the letter I 
referred to earlier be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, June 15, 2011.
     President Barack H. Obama,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Obama: We write to urge you to submit a 
     legislative proposal to Congress in response to the Medicare 
     funding warning issued in the 2010 Medicare Trustees' Report. 
     Such a proposal would help prevent the bankruptcy of this 
     vital program for America's seniors and keep the federal 
     government from going further into debt. Furthermore, such a 
     proposal would put your Administration back in compliance 
     with federal law.
       Your Administration is currently in violation of section 
     802 of P.L. 108-173, the Medicare Prescription Drug, 
     Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The MMA 
     required the Medicare Trustees to include in their annual 
     report an estimate of whether general fund revenues will 
     finance more than 45 percent of total Medicare expenditures 
     in any of the following six years. If the Trustees estimate 
     in two consecutive years that the 45-percent limit will be 
     breached within a seven year timeframe, the Administration is 
     then required to submit a legislative proposal that would 
     address the funding crisis within 15 days of submitting its 
     annual budget proposal to Congress.
       The Medicare Trustees have complied with federal law and 
     have issued funding warnings every year since 2007. In 2008, 
     the Bush Administration, in compliance with Section 802 of 
     the MMA, submitted a legislative proposal to Congress, which 
     was never acted upon. Your Administration, however, has 
     failed to submit such a proposal for the last three years.
       This not only defies federal law but also abdicates your 
     Administration's responsibility to lead. As you know, 
     mandatory spending is currently projected to grow at an 
     average of 5.4 percent per year over the next 10 years, 
     growing from $2 trillion in 2012 to $3.3 trillion by 2021. 
     The largest claim on the budget over the next 75 years is 
     Medicare, estimated at $35 trillion.
       We ask you to comply with the law and submit to Congress 
     the Administration's legislative proposal addressing the 
     Medicare funding warning included in the 2010 Annual Report 
     of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance 
     and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds.
           Sincerely,
         John Cornyn; Mark Kirk; John Thune; Lindsey Graham; John 
           Barrasso; Roy Blunt; Lisa Murkowski; Mitch McConnell; 
           Daniel Coats; Lamar Alexander; Kelly Ayotte; Michael B. 
           Enzi; Richard Burr; James Inhofe; Pat Roberts; Jerry 
           Moran; Rob Portman; Marco Rubio; Ron Johnson; Rand 
           Paul; Saxby Chambliss.
         Mike Crapo; Bob Corker; Tom Coburn; Chuck Grassley; 
           Johnny Isakson; John Hoeven; Jeff Sessions; Michael E. 
           Enzi; Patrick J. Toomey; James E. Risch; Kay Bailey 
           Hutchison; Mike Johanns; Jim DeMint; John McCain; Orrin 
           Hatch; Jon Kyl; Dean Hellers; Richard C. Shelby; Thad 
           Cochran; Richard G. Lugar; Roger F. Wicker.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.

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