[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14583]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HHS IG REPORT

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, Inspector General's report released 
yesterday determined that the Medicare actuary provided accurate cost 
information about the Medicare bill to a select group of Members of 
Congress but not to all Members of Congress. This was because the 
Medicare administrator at the time threatened the actuary, Richard 
Foster, with the loss of his job if he disclosed the accurate 
information to all Members of Congress. These Members, the select 
group, chose to keep this information to themselves from other Members 
of Congress and, more importantly, from all the American taxpayers who 
are footing the bill for the $550 billion Medicare bill.

                              {time}  1015

  When we debated the Medicare bill on this floor, leaders in this 
Congress told us it would cost $400 billion, and we believed that this 
was true to the best of their knowledge. It is unfortunate that Members 
of this House were disrespectful to the taxpayers who are now going to 
pay an additional $150 billion, and with their colleagues, they 
withheld essential information about the true cost of the prescription 
drug bill. Even before a single senior citizen has received the 
benefit, taxpayers will be hit with another $150 billion bill.
  This unwelcome surprise could have been avoided if this 
administration, Members of Congress and the leadership had shared the 
information they had about this bill.

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