[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           PROTECTING SENIORS' ACCESS TO MEDICARE ACT OF 2015

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                               speech of

                             HON. ROD BLUM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2015

  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the wellbeing of 
seniors in my district. The House passed H.R. 1190, which would repeal 
provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more 
commonly known as ObamaCare, to create an unelected Independent Patient 
Advisory Board (IPAB) to determine Medicare benefits.
  Currently, ObamaCare grants the IPAB the authority to unilaterally 
cut Medicare spending, risking the solvency and stability of the 
program, without an Act of Congress. Simply put, the unelected and 
unaccountable Washington bureaucrats, not patients and doctors, control 
the level of benefits at the most important health care system for 
seniors.
  Like millions of seniors, my late mother depended on Medicare for 
quality health care to meet her needs during her golden years. Because 
this issue is so personal to me, I am proud to join Representative Roe 
(R-TN) and 233 other bipartisan cosponsors in the House to vote in 
favor of this critical legislation.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to protect 
Medicare for today's seniors, while providing a fiscally sound program 
to assist future generations. Our seniors deserve the best health care, 
and the right to make their own choices and not rely on unaccountable 
executive appointments to make decisions for them.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support the bipartisan 
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 and the repeal of 
the IPAB.

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