[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PROMOTING HEALTH CARE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, according to Medicare trustees, that 
program requires an immediate 51 percent cut, a payroll tax increase of 
122 percent, or a blend of both to keep the program running during the 
next 75 years.
  Worse yet, the trustees assume that a separate 41 percent cut in 
payments for Medicare physician services will happen during the next 9 
years. The American Academy of Actuaries reports, without congressional 
action, Medicare and Social Security will consume up to 80 percent of 
the Federal budget by 2040.
  How, then, does a key member of Ways and Means Committee contend that 
Medicare is already ``solvent and sustainable''?
  Washington needs to pull its head out of the sand. Ignoring 
Medicare's financial problems will only make the solutions more painful 
for generations of taxpayers and retirees.
  And now, the Democrats want to expand SCHIP with questionable means 
to pay for it. Short of comprehensive reform, Congress should at least 
make it easier for our shrinking workforce to save for future health 
care needs, including the rising cost of Medicare premiums.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Promoting Health for Future 
Generations Act of 2007, H.R. 2639. Doing so will help the middle class 
to build a nest egg, while protecting access to affordable health care.

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