April 27, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5741

So we must again visit the balanced

budget question. We must move forward with a real balanced budget to respond to the demand of the people that

we institute a culture, at least a governmental culture of responsibility

that will set an example for this society. We must move forward on the reforms which are before us. We cannot

stop now. We must continue to address

the agenda of the American people.

This is the great opportunity of this

Congress, that we change the way

Washington does business. And by

changing the way Washington does

business, we signal to America that

there is a new demand for accountability and responsibility in this society:

We no longer spend money we do not

have; we no longer fail to live under

the laws which we pass; we no longer

try to direct the activities of other

governmental entities. No, our conduct

will be responsible instead of irresponsible—pay our debts, live under the

laws we pass. Yes, we will stop telling

governments much better prepared to

make decisions than we are how those

decisions ought to be made. All of

those things are included in the monumental changes sweeping through the

Congress. But the sweeping through is

not complete. Sweeping through is a

process, and it is a process which we

must continue, which we must extend,

which we must, as a matter of fact,

complete. We must have the discipline

and the determination to carry

through on these programs.

We are in the midst of a debate on

the question of product liability. The

question is whether companies will be

held responsible for things they really

had nothing to do with, whether rental

car companies that had nothing but

ownership of a car which was stolen or

otherwise wrongfully taken will be

held accountable for millions of dollars

of damage done with the car.

We have a tremendous energy that is

pent up, a momentum in the culture of

irresponsibility, and it is not easy for

us to stop the spending, to stop the

conduct which has promoted and validated irresponsibility for the last several decades. It is something on which

we have made a great start and from

which we should not turn. It is a task

which we must continue.

So as we review, looking back, the

significant achievements of the first

100 days, let us never forsake the potentials of the next 100 days. I think we

have reached a threshold, a tipping

point. We have reached an opportunity

to continue to institute as a regular

means of operation this culture of responsibility in Government. Let us

make sure that in these next 100 days

we do not turn back; that we continue

to move forward on the agenda of the

American people.

Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.

(The remarks of Mr. THURMOND pertaining to the introduction of S. 727

and S. 728 are located in today’s

RECORD under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.’’)

(The remarks of Mr. LOTT and Mr.

BAUCUS pertaining to the introduction

of S. 729 are located in today’s RECORD

under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills

and Joint Resolutions.’’)

Mr. PRYOR addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.

THOMAS). Under the previous order, the

Senator from Arkansas is recognized to

speak for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank

the Chair for recognizing me.

Mr. PRYOR. When President Clinton

AN IRRESPONSIBLE LETTER

frecently issued a warning against intemperate speech, Mr. President, a lot

of people took those remarks as an attack on radio talk show hosts. But I

would like to point out that the talk

show hosts by no means have a corner

on that market, and that we should all

focus our attention on the rhetoric

that is used by certain public interest

groups and ourselves alike when we try

to raise money through the coffers of

public interest groups for our political

campaigns.

I would particularly, Mr. President,

like to call your attention to a recent

letter issued by the National Rifle Association under the signature of its executive vice president, Wayne

LaPierre.

This 5-page poison-pen letter is a revolting example of hateful, incendiary,

irresponsible speech. It seeks to whip

the readers into a frenzy against the

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms.

Mr. President, this letter is obscene.

While the ostensible purpose of this

letter is to raise money for the National Rifle Association, it may well

have the unintended and unfortunate

side effect of stoking the fires of militant groups across this country of

whom our citizens now have cause to

fear.

In his letter, Mr. LaPierre says that

the Federal ban on semiautomatic

weapons ‘‘gives jack-booted Government thugs more power to take our

constitutional rights away, break in

our doors, seize our guns, destroy our

property, and even injure or kill us.’’

Mr. LaPierre further continues in his

letter:

In Clinton’s administration, if you have a

badge, you have the Government’s go-ahead

to harass, intimidate, even murder law-abiding citizens.

Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge . . . Waco

and the Branch Davidians . . . Not too long

ago, it was unthinkable for Federal agents

wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black

storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.

Not today, not with Clinton.

In another part of the letter, Mr.

LaPierre warns that what he sees as

the attack on the second amendment

to the Constitution ‘‘is only the first in

a long campaign to destroy the freedoms at the core of American life.’’

The letter continues:

You can see it when jack-booted Government thugs, wearing black, armed to the

teeth, break down a door, open fire with an

automatic weapon, and kill or maim lawabiding citizens.

Mr. LaPierre calls for a ‘‘major show

of force’’ by America’s 80 million gun

owners. Mr. LaPierre concludes:

This, the battle we’re fighting today, is a

battle to retake the most precious, the most

sacred ground on Earth. This is a battle for

freedom.

Well, Mr. President, these are very

stirring words indeed, and I am sure it

has been quite a success for the national fundraising activities of the National Rifle Association. It has been a

great fundraising tool.

I noticed yesterday that Mr.

LaPierre told a reporter, and I quote,

‘‘the last thing the NRA wants is a

fight with the ATF.’’ Mr. President, I

would be hard pressed to conclude that,

based upon the incendiary, obscene nature of this letter that Mr. LaPierre

sent across our country.

Let me make it very clear that I am

not today blaming the National Rifle

Association for the explosion in Oklahoma City, but I am suggesting that I

think that any reasonable person

would conclude that the words Wayne

LaPierre has been using, the images he

has been conjuring up has played directly into the fears that exist in the

types of groups that apparently are responsible for the bombing and other

terrorist attacks.

In that regard, the paid lobbyists and

the chief fundraiser for the National

Rifle Association have been tossing

kerosene onto the fire. The leaders of

the National Rifle Association must realize that these words have consequences and rights are accompanied

by responsibilities. A loose tongue, Mr.

President, can be just as dangerous as

an unholstered gun when either is employed by an irresponsible person.

The National Rifle Association takes

great pride in touting its programs to

train responsible gun owners. I hope

that its leadership today will now realize the need to teach and practice itself

the responsible use of free speech.

Before the folks at the National Rifle

Association start accusing this Senator

of trying to take away their first

amendment rights, as well as their second amendment rights, let me make it

very plain that I have no intention of

taking action to forcibly muzzle any of

them through any action by the Congress of the United States. I am not

questioning the right of the NRA to

say what it wishes in its fundraising

letters. But I do believe, Mr. President,

that Wayne LaPierre should be absolutely ashamed of what he has written

in this letter to his members of the National Rifle Association.

Just because in our society one

might have the right to do something

or to say something does not mean

that he should say it. Just because one

has the protection of the first amendment in our Constitution is no reason
S5742 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 27, 1995

to abuse that protection or to abuse

the first amendment.

Politicians and lobbyists, unfortunately, have relied much too heavily

on the language of hyperbole to claim

its share of the marketplace of ideas.

This letter, written by the executive

vice president of the National Rifle Association, is certainly not the only instance of hyperbole and the National

Rifle Association is certainly far from

its only practitioner.

Mr. President, I today am not attacking the members of the National

Rifle Association, but I cannot believe—knowing many good members of

that organization—I cannot believe

that the National Rifle Association

members support their organization,

their leadership demonizing a Federal

law enforcement official or an agency.

Mr. President, how much time do I

have, I might ask?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 1 minute 20 seconds.

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I can remember about 35 years ago when I was

first elected to a position of State representative of Ouachita County. During

my first term in office, I first heard of

the National Rifle Association. I would

like to tell you about it, if I might.

Over one weekend during that first

term of my first session, a young child,

5 or 6 years of age, in a grocery store

parking lot saw a gun rack in a truck

in the next vehicle, got out of his parents’ car while they were in the store,

got into the truck, took the rifle from

the gun rack and killed himself accidentally. The town became very upset,

and they asked me to see if there was

anything we could do about it.

I introduced the next week, at the behest of the Arkansas Game and Fish

Commission, with the support of law

enforcement officials throughout the

State, a very simple proposal that said

something like this: That no automobile—truck or car—in the incorporated city limits of any community

in our State of Arkansas shall be able

to carry a loaded shotgun or a rifle.

Pretty simple. It passed 99–0 in the

house of representatives.

It went to the State senate and, Mr.

President, that is when I first heard of

the National Rifle Association. All of a

sudden, throughout America, there was

a bulletin that Representative PRYOR

is trying to take your guns away in the

State of Arkansas, and if this happens,

it is going to happen all across the

country and we need to stop it now.

Needless to say, Mr. President, my

bill did not become law. It died in the

State senate of Arkansas. I remember

still getting hundreds of telegrams and

letters from all over our country protesting this legislation.

But there is one I especially recall,

one specific letter I received during

that battle. It was from a former college roommate I had from the University of Arkansas, and it went something like this: Dear DAVID, I never

knew all that time that I was your

friend and roommate at the university

that you were a Communist.

Well, Mr. President, that is what we

have today—the selling of fear. It is

continuing and it must stop. I am

hopeful, Mr. President, that the membership of the National Rifle Association will question some of the positions

of its leadership in attempting to sell

fear at this most incendiary time in

our Nation’s history.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the letter from Mr. LaPierre

be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the letter

was ordered to be printed in the

RECORD, as follows:

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

DEAR FELLOW AMERICANS: I’ve worn out a

lot of shoe leather walking the halls of Congress. I’ve met key leaders, I’ve talked with

old allies, I’ve met with the new Congressmen and many staff members.

What I’m hearing and seeing concerns me.

Many of our new Congressmen are ignoring

America’s 80 million gun owners. Some have

forgotten what we did to elect them. Others

say our demands to restore our Constitutional freedoms are ‘‘politically out of line.’’

Don’t get me wrong, not all of them are

like this. Senator Phil Gramm, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Congressman Bill

McCollum, Bill Brewster and Harold Volkmer are all coming to our aid. But too many

others are not.

And without a major show of force by

America’s 80 million gun owners, America

will resume its long march down the road to

gun bans, destruction of the Constitution

and loss of every sacred freedom.

I want you to know I’m not looking for a

fight.

But when you consider the facts of our current situation, you too, will see we have no

other choice.

Fact No. 1: The Congress’ leading anti-gunners, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy and Congressmen Charles Schumer and

Major Owens all survived their last elections.

They’ve pledged to fight us to the bitter

end for Brady II and its ammo taxes, licensing and registration schemes, gun rationing,

bureaucrats with the power to determine if

you ‘‘need’’ a gun and yes, the repeal of the

Second Amendment.

It doesn’t matter to them that the Brady

Law is a failure.

It doesn’t matter to them that the Brady

Law has become one more tool that government agents are using to deny the Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens.

It doesn’t matter to them that the semiauto ban gives jack-booted government

thugs more power to take away our Constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize

our guns, destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.

Schumer, Feinstein, Kennedy, Owens and

the rest of the anti-gunners want more and

more gun control.

It can be something small and subtle like

a regulation expanding the disqualification

criteria for the Brady Law. They’re fighting

for anything that makes it harder for you to

own a gun.

The gun banners simply don’t like you.

They don’t trust you. They don’t want you

to own a gun. And they’ll stop at nothing

until they’ve forced you to turn over your

guns to the government.

Fact No. 2: If the anti-gunners fail to

achieve their goals in Congress, they have a

fall-back position in Bill Clinton, the most

anti-gun President in American history.

In two short years, Bill Clinton launched

two successful attacks on the Constitution.

He signed two gun control bills into law. He

has sworn to veto any repeal of the semiauto ban and any restoration of our Constitutional rights.

His Interior and Agriculture Departments

have set their sights on closing hunting

lands.

And his Environmental Protection Agency

is attempting to take jurisdiction over existing uses of lead. This, of course, includes gun

ranges and spent shot.

What’s more, gun owners aren’t the only

ones Clinton’s EPA has set its sights on.

They’re after fishermen, too. They want to

BAN the use of small lead fishing sinkers

and, of gravest concern, they want to stop

the home casting of these sinkers.

If fishing sinkers are on the Clinton bureaucrat’s list, you know what’s next: lead

shot, lead bullets, bullet casting and reloading.

Clinton’s State Department is also adding

to the attacks on gun owners and our Constitutional freedoms. In December, he signed

the Summit of the Americas agreements

which pledges that the U.S. Government will

push for additional gun control.

Over in the Justice Department, Clinton’s

Attorney General Janet Reno has signaled

her intent to ‘‘squash’’ the states’ rights

movement and deny states their Constitutional power.

And worst of all,

Fact No. 3: President Clinton’s army of

anti-gun government agents continues to intimidate and harass law-abiding citizens.

In Clinton’s administration, if you have a

badge, you have the government’s go-ahead

to harass, intimidate, even murder law-abiding citizens.

Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge . . . Waco

and the Branch Davidians . . . Not too long

ago, it was unthinkable for Federal agents

wearing nazi bucket helmets and black

storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.

Not today, not with Clinton.

Our calls to investigate these outrageous

assaults on our Constitutional freedoms are

routinely silenced by the anti-gun media.

But that’s no surprise.

Fact No. 4: They’ve launched a new wave of

brainwashing propaganda aimed at further

destroying our Constitutional freedoms.

CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and The New York Times have

launched another round of phony polls and

slanted stories to help the anti-gunners

achieve their goals.

Their latest phony poll shows 70% of America support the ‘‘semi-auto’’ assault weapon

ban.

That’s simply not true. When it’s explained

that ‘‘semi-autos’’ are used in less than a

fraction of one percent of crimes; that the

ban only affects the law-abiding; and, that

the ban is only one more way to deny Constitutional rights to the law-abiding, support

for the ban drops to 30%.

But the media still uses this 70% statistic

to trumpet the call for gun control.

What scares me the most about this 70%

number is that the media has brainwashed

70% of Americans into believing that the

government—and not each individual—is responsible for their personal protection.

Even worse, this 70% number means that

there are enough people who can be brainwashed by the media to vote for a repeal of

the Second Amendment if it were put to a

vote.

The media, Clinton, the anti-gunners in

Congress . . . this combination is a powder

keg that could blow at any moment and it’s

set squarely underneath the Constitution.

And what this means is:
April 27, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5743

Fact No. 5: Congress must be forced to restore the Constitution, repeal the gun bans,

investigate abuse by government agents and

focus the public debate on criminal control,

not gun control. . .

. . . Or what we’re seeing now will only be

a momentary patch of sunshine on the road

to doom for the Second Amendment and our

Constitution.

There is hope, though. Despite the current

situation, I’m encouraged by you and your

fellow NRA members.

Everywhere I go, to every gun show, every

NRA–ILA grassroots operation, every

Friends of NRA Dinner, even in cabs and airports around the country, I run into NRA

members who understand the stakes and

stand ready to fight.

The question I hear from almost every one

of these NRA members is the same: ‘‘What

can I do next?’’

If you’re one of those members, I want to

thank you for your courage, your conviction

and your spirit. You keep me going. You

keep me on the road. You give me strength

to lead the battle.

And if you want to join me in taking the

next step, I need you to do these two things

today.

First, I need you to sign the enclosed Petitions to the United states Congress.

These petitions are addressed to the leaders of the U.S. Congress, Senator Robert

Dole and Speaker Newt Gingrich, and your

U.S. Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan,

Alfonse M. D’Amato and Congresswoman Sue

Kelly.

Please be sure to sign all five petitions,

then fold them and place them in the enclosed, postage-paid envelope addressed to

me at NRA Headquarters.

These petitions spell out, in black and

white, our agenda of repeal, reform, investigate and limit government power.

In the first amendment of the Bill of

Rights, we are guaranteed the right to ‘‘petition our Government for a redress of grievances.’’

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do:

redress our grievances in the biggest and

most powerful display of political clout and

commitment to the Constitution.

I want to personally deliver your five petitions, and the petitions of all 3.5 million of

your fellow NRA members—17.5 million petitions in all—to Congress.

And I want to show the leadership in Congress, and your Senators and Congressmen

from New York, that the number one priority in their Contract With America must be

defending and restoring our Constitutional

freedoms.

17.5 million Petitions to Congress is the

largest ‘‘redress of grievances’’ since the

Constitution and the Bill of Rights were

written.

So I KNOW Congress will get the message.

And I know they’ll act on our agenda of Repeal, Reform and Investigate if only you and

I speak out.

Your Petitions to Congress also sends another message—a message not spelled out on

the Petitions themselves.

Each Congressman, on the average, will receive 8,000 Petitions from NRA members demanding action. 8,000 messages from angry

voters sounds an alarm in every Congressman’s head.

You see, most Congressional elections were

won or lost by 5,000 votes or less. So, they’ll

realize that failing to defend the Second

Amendment and failing to retake the Constitutional freedoms lost to the anti-gunners, could result in big losses at the next

election!

That’s why it’s critical you take a few

minutes to sign your Petitions to Congress

and return them to me as soon as possible.

These petitions are our D-Day.

Armed with these petitions and our First

Amendment rights, we are going to storm

Congress, knock out anti-gunner strongholds

and recapture every bit of ground we lost

since Bill Clinton took office.

And if we’re successful, these petitions will

be the turning point in the history of the

Constitution. . . . A day when our sacred

right to keep and bear arms will be secure

for the next generation of law-abiding Americans.

Second, when you return your signed Petitions to Congress, I need you to make a special contribution to the NRA of $15, $20, $25,

$35, $50 or the most generous amount you can

afford.

Most Americans don’t realize that our freedoms are slowly slipping away.

They don’t understand that politicians and

bureaucrats are chipping away at the American way of life.

They’re destroying business, destroying

our economy, destroying property rights, destroying our moral foundation, destroying

our schools, destroying our culture . . .

. . . Destroying our Constitution.

And the attack, either through legislation

or regulation, on the Second Amendment is

only the first in a long campaign to destroy

the freedoms at the core of American life.

You can see it in the gun bans, certainly.

But you can also see it in closed ranges,

closed hunting lands, confiscated collectors’

firearms, banned magazines and ammunition

taxes.

You can see it when jack-booted government thugs, wearing black, armed to the

teeth, break down a door, open fire with an

automatic weapon, and kill or maim lawabiding citizens.

America’s gun owners will only be the first

to lose their freedoms.

If we lose the right to keep and bear arms,

then the right to free speech, free practice of

religion, and every other freedom in the Bill

of Rights are sure to follow.

I am one American who is not going to sit

on the sidelines and watch this happen.

And if you want to help me stop this destruction of the Constitution, then I hope

you can make that special contribution of

$15, $20, $35, $25 or $50 to the NRA today.

With your special contribution, I’ll have

the financial ammo I need to keep Congress

focused on the mission we’ve assigned them.

First, with your help, I will expand our petition campaign to involve as many of America’s 80 million gun owners as possible.

If we can double the number of Petitions

flooding Congress, we’ll double the speed

Congress deals with our demands to Repeal,

Reform and Investigate. And with double the

show of clout, we’ll wipe out anti-gunner opposition.

Second, with your special contribution, I

can increase the NRA’s public exposure on

talk shows, at rallies and shows, in radio and

T.V. advertising and through broadcasts like

the NRA’s Town Meeting that first sounded

our alarm in 16 million households, last summer.

Part of our problem is that far too few

Americans understand what’s at stake in

these battles.

My ultimate goal is to educate the American people that this issue is not just about

guns, not just about hunting, not just about

personal protection; this issue is about freedom—Your Freedom.

I want to use the power of T.V. and radio

to show the American people that, if the

NRA fails to restore our Second Amendment

freedoms, the attacks will begin on freedom

of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from

unreasonable search and seizure. . . .

. . . And that unless we take action today,

the long slide down the slippery slope will

only continue until there’s no freedom left in

America at all.

I know you see it. The elbow room you

have to hunt, shoot and live life the way you

see fit is slowly disappearing.

And the truth is, NRA members have been

hardened by legislative battles. And only

NRA members have the courage, the conviction to draw the line in the sand.

That’s why I’m hoping you can take a few

moments to sign and date the enclosed Petitions and return them to me with your special contribution of $15, $20, $25, $35, $50 or

more in the enclosed postage-paid envelope

today. Or, you can charge by phone by calling 800–547–4NRA today.

You know, besides going shooting, I love to

go to football games. And every time I go, I

always hear my fellow fans talk about the

impact of ‘‘the 12th man.’’

The 11 players calling the plays and doing

the hitting get a lot of their motivation from

the 12th man in the stands. I’m talking

about the crowd who cheers wildly when our

team is on the offense, and drowns out the

signals of the opposing team when they’re on

the defense.

I need you to be that 12th man.

I need you to sign your Petitions to Congress and return them to me today. That

simple act will give our allies the political

courage to do what’s right, to push ahead

with our agenda of Repeal, Reform and Investigate.

Likewise, your signed Petitions to Congress will confuse and demoralize the antigun team and their agenda of bans, taxes, intimidation, harassment and destruction of

the Constitution.

I know I’ve said what I’m about to say before. But this is a message that resonates

with NRA members across the land. It’s

something I hope you, too, will say whenever

you have the occasion to defend our Constitutional freedoms.

This, the battle we’re fighting today, is a

battle to retake the most precious, most sacred ground on earth. This is a battle for

freedom.

Please tell me you’re ready to take the

next step by returning your signed Petitions

to Congress and special gift to me in the enclosed postage-paid envelope today.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from

you soon.

Yours in Freedom,

WAYNE LAPIERRE,

Executive Vice President.

P.S.—As a special thank you for making a

special contribution of $25 or more, I’d like

to send you a copy of my national best-selling book, Guns, Crime, and Freedom. Guns,

Crime, and Freedom is 263 pages of truth

about guns, gun control, gun owners, the

anti-gun media and what’s happening to our

freedoms.

I hope you’ll read it and use it in your own

personal campaign in New York to defend

the Constitution. Use Guns, Crime, and Freedom to help you keep the pressure on Congress, write letters to the editor and teach

other Americans about the battle we’re

fighting today. Thanks again for your support and friendship.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, before I

commence my remarks I want to congratulate Senator PRYOR on the very

bold and very strong statement that he

has made this morning. I think he is

right on the mark. I say to Senator

PRYOR that, like he, we have a lot of

good, decent, hard-working, law abiding NRA members in the State of

Iowa—there are hundreds—like I am. I

know that they are as repulsed by Mr.

LaPierre’s letter as the Senator from
S5744 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 27, 1995

Arkansas. It is a shame when you have

an organization with a lot of fine people in it that do abide by the law, that

do want to instill in people a respect

for guns and to teach them how to use

them legitimately, responsibly, and to

have an organization, then, taken over

by the likes of Wayne LaPierre, and to

really take what could otherwise be a

decent organization which could instill

in young people a healthy respect for

firearms and hunting, and to move that

organization, as he has done with this

kind of letter, into almost an organization that would be disrespectful of our

Constitution and disrespectful of the

United States of America, I know he

does not speak for the members of the

NRA that live in Iowa.

Mr. PRYOR. If I might say, I appreciate the Senator’s remarks.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under

the previous order, the Senator from

Iowa [Mr. HARKIN] is recognized to

speak for up to 10 minutes.

(The remarks of Mr. HARKIN pertaining to the introduction of legislation

are located in today’s RECORD under

‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and

Joint Resolutions.’’)

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask

unanimous consent that I be permitted

to speak as in morning business for a

period of not more than 10 minutes

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

MEDICARE TICKING TIME BOMB

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, yesterday

fI began discussions on the pending insolvency of Medicare, predicted to

occur in the year 2002, just 7 years from

today.

I called Medicare a ticking time

bomb. I expressed my concern that this

body has not addressed that ticking

time bomb. We must act now to preserve Medicare, to protect it, to save

it, to disarm that ticking time bomb.

I will continue those discussions this

morning.

Congress and all Americans must realize that it is the Federal Government, through the Medicare program,

that is the purchaser of health care for

this country’s seniors and people with

disabilities. The same Government

that brought you $100 hammers is also

shopping for scalpels and stethoscopes.

The Federal Government spends more

money on health care than individuals,

and more than employers. But, it’s not

our money. If it were, we would likely

be more prudent consumers. We would

likely react more quickly and more responsibly to skyrocketing costs.

So whose money do we spend? For

the answer, we should revisit the creation of the program and remind ourselves of its intended role in our health

care system when it was created in

1965. Also it is time to understand the

shortfalls of the program.

Because the program was created to

increase seniors’ access to acute care,

Congress mandated participation for

hospital services, called Medicare part

A. After seniors pay for a relatively

low deductible—$716 in 1995, Medicare

fully covers expenses for 60 hospital

days. If a senior’s hospitalization exceeds the 60 days in 1 year, he or she is

responsible for a co-insurance fee—$179

per day for the 61st through 90th days,

and $358 per day beyond that.

Medicare part A comprises 63 percent

of all Medicare spending. It is funded

by the Medicare portion of the Social

Security payroll tax—a tax of 2.9 percent of all income—split evenly between employer and employee. Taxes

collected from today’s workers go directly to pay for services delivered to

today’s beneficiaries. It is important to

understand that contributions to Medicare do not actually sit in the hospital

insurance [HI] trust fund and wait for

you. Rather, they are paid out immediately to meet the needs of today’s

seniors and people with disabilities.

Beginning in 1997, the part A expenditures will exceed total income annually.

Medicare’s part B goes to pay doctor

bills and is voluntary. It is funded 30

percent from beneficiary premiums and

70 percent by automatic withdrawals

from Treasury general revenues.

Today, a senior opting for Medicare

part B pays $46.10 each month and is responsible for a $100 annual deductible

and 20 percent co-insurance for most

services. General revenues provide a 70

to 75 percent premium subsidy and

cover 80 percent of most services.

Theoretically, the funding arrangement for part A—the hospital insurance—would work fine if the demographics of the population were constant, if medical technology were constant, and if the growth of overall expenditures were constant. But, as we

all know, this is not the case.

First—and most importantly—the elderly population is growing much faster than the overall population. In 1990,

2.1 million Americans qualified for

Medicare. But in the year 2020, 3.9 million new enrollees will qualify—almost

twice as many new enrollees will be

qualifying that year. And who pays the

bill? The working generation, which is

not growing nearly as fast. When Medicare was created, two workers would

cover the costs of the Medicare beneficiary. By the time I qualify for the

program, it will take four workers to

cover the same cost.

Consider the consequences of delaying Medicare reform. I have three sons:

Bryan is 7 years old, Jonathan is 9, and

Harrison is 11. In the year 2020, they

will be 32, 34, and 36 years old. I will be

68 and eligible for Medicare benefits.

My sons and their generation will pay

for the services for my generation. It

will take the taxes of all my three sons

plus another individual just to pay for

my own Medicare benefits. It is intolerable to punish our children, the next

generation, with this inequity.

Second, medical breakthroughs are

allowing people to live healthier and

longer lives. Take my own field of

heart disease as an example. Thirty

years ago, there were few heart intensive care units in the country. Coronary artery bypass surgery had never

been performed. Cardiovascular drugs

were in their infancy. Heart transplants were but a dream for the future.

Today, because of advances in medical

science and technology, people who

used to die of their heart disease are

living 10, 20, or 30 years longer, and

those new technologies are expensive.

Back to my earlier question, ‘‘Whose

money is this?’’ Medicare is paid for by

three vehicles: a 2.9 percent payroll

tax, split by employers and employees;

general revenue tax dollars; and beneficiary premiums, copayments, and

deductibles.

I think it is safe to say that taxpaying workers are more watchful of

the money coming out of their pockets

than is the Federal Government. I

know the employers are. We have recently seen their impact on the health

care system as they have struggled

with increasing costs. I have witnessed

through my own parents that seniors

are prudent purchasers of health care

services. Since Medicare was not designed as a comprehensive insurance

program, seniors already shop for additional health care coverage. Most seniors today live within a fixed budget.

They are careful to judge the value of

their health care dollar.

By failing to mend this program, we

are failing all of these groups who will

suffer from our inattention in the

years to come. Yet, there is an ongoing

premise that the Federal Government

should not attempt to manage its

spending of the Medicare dollar. Every

other purchaser has to manage his or

her money. Why should the Federal

Government be exempt?

And, how does this country pay for

our failure to manage the Medicare

Program? First, employers pay in the

form of higher health care costs. For

the last 10 years, Congress has chosen

to repeatedly cut payments to physicians and hospitals for services delivered. This reduces program costs incrementally, but does little to reduce the

overall rate of growth of expenditures.

Lower Medicare payments, especially

when coupled with even lower Medicaid

payments, simply lead providers to

shift costs and to charge self-pay and

privately insured patients more. This

increases everyone’s insurance premiums. In east Tennessee, a recent survey of physician fees found that the

private sector is paying physicians, on

average, 220 percent above Medicare

rates. Depending on the specific procedure, these private plans are paying

anywhere from 43 to 461 percent above

Medicare rates. Without Medicare reform, private health insurance will

continue to climb even further out of

reach and all Americans will suffer reduced access and thus reduced overall

quality.

Second, the working generation pays

for our mismanagement of Medicare

through increased taxes. Over the last