[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 120 (Monday, September 10, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S6046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the budget 
proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan, which has been approved twice by the 
House of Representatives.
  The Ryan budget, which is purported to be a measure of fiscal 
responsibility, is in fact an attempt to rewrite the social contract in 
this country while at the same time adding to the national debt.
  Let me explain. There are four major components of the Ryan budget.
  The first is another round of tax cuts for the wealthy. According to 
the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the Ryan tax plan would add an 
additional $4.5 trillion to the Nation's debt. That is on top of the 
staggering cost of the Bush tax cuts.
  Second, the Ryan budget would virtually eliminate spending on 
domestic programs, imposing debilitating funding cuts for education, 
air quality, roads, bridges, railways, national parks, first responder 
programs and a host of other vital national interests.
  Third, this budget ends Medicare as we know it and converts Medicaid 
into a block-grant program with capped funds. The Ryan budget endangers 
our two most vital sources of health care services for seniors, the 
poor and those with disabilities.
  Finally, the budget repeals the health reform law, reducing the 
solvency of Medicare and eliminating critical consumer protections.
  The tax proposal in the Ryan budget is especially troubling. 
According to the Tax Policy Center, the Ryan budget would mean a tax 
windfall of $265,000 a year for millionaires.
  At the same time, the middle class and working poor would see few if 
any benefits.
  The Ryan tax plan is very similar to that of Mitt Romney. Both plans 
would substantially reduce tax rates on the wealthy, and both are 
supposedly paid for by closing unspecified tax loopholes.
  The Tax Policy Center has already analyzed Mitt Romney's plan. In 
order to substantially lower tax rates and remain revenue neutral, the 
Romney plan would have to eliminate so many tax credits and deductions 
that it would actually raise taxes on the middle class.
  To make matters worse, the Ryan budget does not stand up to scrutiny. 
This is a question of basic arithmetic.
  How do you reduce the national debt while at the same time handing 
massive tax cuts to the wealthy? Congressman Ryan already took one 
option off the table--reducing the Defense Department budget. In fact, 
his budget proposes to spend even more money on defense, money the 
Pentagon does not even want.
  That leaves deeper cuts to domestic programs and entitlement spending 
as the only remaining options. And it is important to note that 
Congressman Ryan refuses to specify what those cuts would be--because 
they would be so painful to so many Americans.
  Medicare in particular would be savaged by the Ryan budget.
  Beginning in 2023, his budget ends the traditional guaranteed 
benefits structure of Medicare, instead offering vouchers to purchase 
either a private health insurance plan or traditional Medicare.
  According to the Congressional Budget Office, that means new Medicare 
beneficiaries would pay $1,200 more out of pocket by 2030 and $5,900 
more by 2050. Experts say the Ryan budget would also likely lead to 
reduced access to health care and diminished quality of care for 
beneficiaries.
  Essentially, seniors would be forced to purchase more expensive care 
with less.
  Consider that in 2010, half of all Medicare beneficiaries had incomes 
of less than $21,000 and you can see why this proposal is so dangerous.
  The Center for American Progress estimates that if the Ryan budget 
were to pass, someone who is 54 years old today would face increased 
costs of $59,450 during retirement. Someone who is 29 years old today 
would spend $331,000 more over the course of their retirement.
  I would also note that the Ryan budget includes $700 billion in 
Medicare savings the exact same amount that was included in the health 
reform law he seeks to repeal.
  The difference is that rather than applying those savings to lower 
costs and increased benefits for seniors, the Ryan budget diverts those 
savings to even more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.
  Speaking of Congressman Ryan's desire to repeal health reform--his 
efforts to unwind that law, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court, 
would add tens of millions of Americans to the ranks of the uninsured, 
it would eliminate critical consumer protections, and it would hasten 
the insolvency of Medicare by 8 years.
  House Republicans want to put insurance companies back in the 
driver's seat, able to charge higher rates based on gender and deny 
coverage to people with preexisting conditions. They would remove 
protections that guarantee children the right to health insurance.
  American families would again be at risk for bankruptcy because of 
costly illnesses like cancer. More than 12 million Californians would 
once again face lifetime limits on their health coverage.
  The budget would reopen the prescription drug ``doughnut hole,'' 
forcing 5.2 million seniors to once again dip into their pockets to 
cover the full cost of prescription drugs.
  In California, 3.4 million seniors would be forced to pay more for 
preventive services, such as cancer screenings and mammograms, meaning 
fewer seniors would have access to these services.
  Let me be clear: the health reform law extended the life of Medicare 
by 8 years. In addition to forcing seniors to pay more for services, 
the Ryan budget would place the Medicare Trust Fund on a track for 
insolvency by 2016.
  Medicaid is another big loss in the Ryan budget. He would change 
Medicaid from a State-Federal match program to a block grant program, 
including dangerous funding caps. Millions more of the most at-risk 
Americans would become uninsured or underinsured because of this 
budget.
  Medicaid spending would be slashed by $810 billion over 10 years, a 
22 percent cut.
  This would jeopardize health care for nearly 7.3 million Medi-Cal 
beneficiaries in California, many of whom would see reduced 
eligibility, coverage of fewer services and increased out-of-pocket 
expenses.
  Low-income pregnant women who depend on Medicaid could be dropped 
from the program, a threat to health of both mother and baby.
  Let me be candid: The Ryan budget is just another salvo in the war 
against the middle class and working poor.
  It would mean more tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of 
investments in our future, it would lead to greater numbers of 
uninsured and it would demolish some of the most vital safety net 
programs in the Nation.
  Let's set aside the politics and get to work on real solutions for 
the country.

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