[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 160 (Wednesday, December 12, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H6714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LET'S WORK TOGETHER

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Speaking in the instance of deliberations, 
redundancy is sometimes good. So I join my colleagues in again placing 
the defining word ``nonstarter'' on any idea to raise the eligibility 
age for Medicare for hardworking seniors, but hardworking Americans.
  Let me clarify that Medicare is earned; it is not a handout. The word 
that we use as ``entitlement'' sometimes now has become on the order of 
what ObamaCare used to be. An entitlement is entitled because of 
earning it, and that goes to Social Security--which is solvent until 
2037--and even Medicaid for seniors who are in nursing homes who have 
worked.
  So if we move that aside to look long term at how we begin to look at 
entitlements, we're open-minded. But the bottom line is let's pass the 
middle class tax cuts that are for 100 percent of Americans. Let's join 
Senator Tom Coburn: I'm for raising revenue because we have to; or 
Senator Corker: There's a growing body of folks who are willing to look 
at the rate on the top 2 percent; or Kay Granger: Extending middle 
class tax cuts is just the right thing to do.
  Mr. Speaker, let's get busy in a bipartisan way.

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