[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7036]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MEDICARE/GAS PRICES RELIEF

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, in 1965 this body voted to create Medicare and 
Medicaid to ensure that all seniors and disabled Americans would always 
have access to health coverage, and those today expect the same kind of 
coverage for themselves and their children.
  But over the years, my Republican colleagues have tried to weaken the 
programs and privatize safety nets like Social Security. Sadly, history 
is repeating itself. Instead of focusing on priorities, like creating 
jobs and lowering gas prices, Republicans have put forward an agenda 
that ends Medicare as we know it.
  So far this year, Republicans have voted--and we can't say they 
haven't. They have voted to eliminate guaranteed Medicare coverage for 
seniors, convert Medicare to a voucher program, reopen the prescription 
drug doughnut hole, and extend tax breaks for big oil companies that 
ship jobs overseas. Even worse, new data shows the Republican budget 
will kick 44 million low-income Americans off Medicaid.
  We must stop this insanity. Let's work together to preserve Medicare 
and lower the deficit.

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