[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



REPUBLICANS THROW IN THE TOWEL ON SAVING SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND 
                            PAYING DOWN DEBT

  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a sad day 
for our Nation, a sad day because the Republicans threw in the towel. 
They gave up and they capitulated.
  Rather than make the tough choices to save Social Security, to save 
Medicare, and to pay down a $5 trillion debt, Republicans simply gave 
up and did what they thought was the easy thing to do, provide for an 
irresponsible tax cut that forecloses the financial future for many, 
many, many Americans who must rely on Social Security, who must rely on 
Medicare, and to the next generation that is hoping to have low 
interest rates, hoping to have a good economy so they can buy a house 
and form families and raise their children.
  But, no, rather than pay down the debt, the Republicans would rather 
risk high interest rates for the whole Nation and for small businesses. 
We tried this once in 1980. It has taken us 20 years, I repeat, it has 
taken us 20 years to dig out of that debt that the Republicans gave us 
in 1980.
  Now, for the first time in history, we have an opportunity to save 
Social Security, to save Medicare and to pay down the debt. But the 
Republicans have given up and thrown in the towel. How little courage 
they have.

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