[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        SENIORS TASK FORCE: ENTITLEMENTS AND THE SUPERCOMMITTEE

  (Ms. MATSUI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my support for older 
Americans and pledge to protect the program they have paid into, have 
been promised and deserve.
  Throughout much of the year, we have heard how Congress needs to cut 
Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits under the guise of 
deficit reduction. I reject that premise.
  I do so for Dale, a Sacramento resident, who, at 70 years old, 
recently retired with his wife. The dream of retirement went well for a 
short while, then utility and home repair bills started piling up. And 
if this weren't enough, both Dale and his wife have suffered 
deteriorating health, which has increased their medical bills to levels 
they cannot afford. Cuts to Medicare or Social Security would, as Dale 
put it, ``take from the poorest of the poor.''
  That is unacceptable. Any proposal to meet our deficit must meet the 
test of protecting our seniors.

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