[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MEDICARE REFORM AND THE DEBT

  (Mrs. BLACK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mrs. BLACK. Last week I held three town hall meetings back in my 
community, throughout my district; and the number one topic was the 
staggering national debt. People in my district are angry at Washington 
that they have allowed the debt to balloon so far out of control. Many 
understand that big changes have to be made to reduce spending and to 
address our debt. And while the problem includes billions that have 
been spent to grow agencies and bloat programs over the years, the big 
problem is the auto-pilot programs.
  Medicare spending is growing at an unsustainable rate of 7.2 percent 
every year; and unless we start now, Medicare goes bankrupt in 9 years, 
according to the CBO, and in 7 to 19 years, according to the Medicare 
Trustees Report. Left unchecked, the explosive growth of these 
programs, especially Medicare, threatens not only the ability of 
government to keep its promises to the beneficiaries but also the 
solvency of the Federal Government and the health of the U.S. economy.
  Our Republican plan addresses this unsustainable growth while 
ensuring that our current seniors, those 55 and older, are still taken 
care of. Our Republican plan attacks the growth. And when we hear the 
political fodder, I ask, Where is your plan to address Medicare and 
reduce our debt? The time for leadership on this issue is now, not in 5 
to 10 years when Medicare is almost bankrupt. Let us seize this moment 
and do what is necessary to preserve this vital program and save 
America from our looming debt crisis.

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