May 15, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H 4957

taken a Let’s Make a Deal approach to

Medicare reform. They’ve given us door

No. 1, door No. 2, and door No. 3, but

they want to pass the buck on who

makes the painful choices.

Reardless, it’s clear that seniors will

be stuck with the booby prizes. Secret

documents from the House Budget

Committee show that the Republican

plan would force seniors to pay more in

deductibles, premiums, and

copayments.

According to House budget committee documents, options the GOP has

proposed would:

Increase the deductible that beneficiaries must pay for doctors’ services

before Medicare coverage begins. The

annual deductible, now $100, would be

raised to $150.

Nearly double the monthly $46 premium to $84 by the year 2002. That

would be an increase of $456 a year for

seniors—just in increased monthly premiums.

Charge co-payments of 20 percent for

home health care and laboratory tests.

Republicans call these extra costs for

seniors part of the fair shared sacrifice

needed to balance the budget. But

there’s nothing fair and nothing shared

about this sacrifice. All the sacrifice

will come from seniors, many on fixed

incomes who simply can’t afford these

extra costs. And the benefits go primarily to the wealthy in the form of

tax cuts.

It’s no wonder that Republican Representative GEORGE RADANOVICH of

California said the following: ‘‘If we

had come out with this budget as our

Contract, they wouldn’t have voted us

in.’’

Amazingly, while some Republicans

are honest enough to admit that balancing the budget will be painful,

Speaker GINGRICH claims that $283 billion in Medicare cuts will be painless.

The Speaker wants to have it both

ways: He claims that the Republican

plan saves money and balances the

budget, and in the same breath he also

claims that this plan increases Medicare spending. These claims beg a simple question: If the Republicans aren’t

cutting Medicare, then where are the

savings?

True, overall Medicare spending in

the year 2002 will be more than it is

today. But the spending level in the

Republican plan falls woefully short of

keeping pace with health care inflation

or with increased enrollment in the

program. The consequence of the Republican plan will be reduced benefits,

higher costs, or both. Republicans

know this is the case and it’s time to

come clean with the American people.

These drastic cuts in Medicare have

come as a surprise to many Americans.

Even to many Americans who voted in

the new Republican majority in 1994.

Remember the GOP ‘‘Contract With

America’’? Medicare cuts weren’t included in the Republican blueprint.

But now that the Republicans have

given away all the goodies of the Contract in the first 100 days, they need to

find someone to pay for them. And seniors on Medicare are a convenient target. That’s what this is all about.

Promises made, promises kept—

that’s been the Republican rallying

call of late. But it seems that Republicans have forgotten our solemn promises to America’s seniors.

previous order of the House, the genThe SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a

ftleman from Texas [Mr. GONZALEZ] is

recognized for 5 minutes.

[Mr. GONZALEZ addressed the

House. His remarks will appear hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.]

previous order of the House, the genThe SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a

ftleman from Guam [Mr. UNDERWOOD] is

recognized for 5 minutes.

[Mr. UNDERWOOD addressed the

House. His remarks will appear hereprevious order of the House, the gentleafter in the Extensions of Remarks.]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a

fwoman from Ohio [Ms. KAPTUR] is recognized for 5 minutes.

[Ms. KAPTUR addressed the House.

Her remarks will appear hereafter in

the Extensions of Remarks.]

previous order of the House, the genThe SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a

ftleman from New York [Mr. OWENS] is

recognized for 5 minutes.

[Mr. OWENS addressed the House.

His remarks will appear hereafter in

the Extensions of Remarks.]

By unanimous consent, leave of abLEAVE OF ABSENCE

fsence was granted to:

Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois (at the request of Mr. GEPHARDT), on May 15 and

16, on account of personal business.

By unanimous consent, permission to

SPECIAL ORDERS GRANTED

faddress the House, following the legislative program and any special orders

heretofore entered, was granted to:

(The following Members (at the request of Ms. DELAURO) to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material:)

Ms. DELAURO, for 5 minutes, today.

Mr. GONZALEZ, for 5 minutes, today.

Mr. UNDERWOOD, for 5 minutes, today.

Ms. KAPTUR, for 5 minutes, today.

Mr. O

By unanimous consent, permission to

EXTENSION OF REMARKS

WENS, for 5 minutes, today.

frevise and extend remarks was granted

to:

(The following Members (at the request of Ms. DELAURO) and to include

extraneous matter:)

Ms. PELOSI.

Ms. SLAUGHTER.

Mr. KANJORSKI in two instances.

Mr. POSHARD.

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island.

Mr. VOLKMER.

Mr. RUSH in two instances.

Mrs. MALONEY.

Mrs. MEEK of Florida.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota.

Mr. GEPHARDT.

Mr. GEJDENSON.

(The following Members (at the request of Mr. EHLERS) and to include extraneous matter:)

Mr. BLILEY.

Mr. RAMSTAD.

Mr. BEREUTER.

Mr. HOUGHTON.

Mrs. KELLY.

Mr. DAVIS.

Mrs. MORELLA.

Mr. CRANE.

Mr. FLANAGAN

f.

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. MCINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I move

that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o’clock and 40 minutes

p.m.), under its previous order, the

House adjourned until Tuesday, May

16, 1995, at 9 a.m.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS,

fETC.

Under clause 2 or rule XXIV, executive communications were taken from

the Speaker’s table and referred as follows:

876. A letter from the Secretary of Energy,

transmitting a draft of proposed legislation

to authorize the Department of Energy to

sell Eklutna and Snettisham projects administered by the Alaska Power Administration,

and for other purposes; jointly, to the Committees on Resources, Commerce, Ways and

Means, the Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, Government Reform and Oversight, and the Budget.

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON

fUnder clause 2 of rule XIII, reports of

committees were delivered to the Clerk

for printing and reference to the proper

calendar, as follows:

Mr. ARCHER: Committee on Ways and

Means. H.R. 1590. A bill to require the Trustees of the Medicare trust funds to report recommendations on resolving projected financial imbalance in Medicare trust funds

(Rept. 104–119, Pt. 1). Ordered to be printed.

Mr. KASICH: Committee on the Budget.

House Concurrent Resolution 67. Resolution

setting forth the congressional budget for

the U.S. Government for fiscal years, 1996,

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 (Rept. 104–

120). Referred to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union.

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Under clause 5 of rule X and clause 4

fof rule XXII, public bills and resolutions were introduced and severally referred as follows:

By Mr. GEPHARDT (by request):

H.R. 1635. A bill to combat domestic terrorism; to the Committee on the Judiciary, and