[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1220
                    REPUBLICANS' ROAD TO RUIN BUDGET

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, the ``Road to Ruin'' Republican budget will 
end Medicare. It will end a program that 46 million seniors and 
disabled individuals depend on for their health care. In fact, the end 
of Medicare will mean seniors are forced to pay more for prescription 
drugs, they will lose free wellness visits, and they will be forced to 
pay more out of pocket. In fact, the Republican plan will cause seniors 
to dip into their pockets twice as deeply as they do today by the year 
2020 and three times more by 2030.
  And what do we get with the end of Medicare? Where are these funds 
directed? To continue tax breaks for Big Oil, to continue loopholes for 
corporations that ship jobs overseas, and to provide tax breaks for the 
wealthiest amongst us--those who need them least.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans oppose the efforts to end Medicare. I ask my 
colleagues to work with us to strengthen the program, not destroy it.

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