S6300 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 9, 1995

fact, go broke in the year 2002. I think

we know the reasons for it, and I will

not get into that.

Quoting from the report, it says,

Medicare is ‘‘severely out of financial

balance and the trustees believe that

Congress must take timely action to

establish long-term financial stability

for the program. The trustees believe

that prompt, effective and decisive action is necessary.’’

Madam President, these are the

trustees that were appointed by President Clinton, and what has happened

since that time? Absolutely nothing.

We have not heard one word out of the

Clinton administration. We hear a lot

of people criticizing Republicans because we want to do something to save

a system, and they come up and say,

‘‘The Republicans are suggesting that

they are going to cut Medicare in order

to pass a tax reduction.’’ Nothing could

be further from the truth, and that certainly is not true. But for the President to do nothing in facing this crisis

is something that cannot be tolerated.

The proposal that has been discussed

by the Budget Committee chairman,

Senator DOMENICI from New Mexico,

has suggested that we put caps on the

system, somewhere around 7 to 7.5 percent growth caps. In other words, the

Republican budget is suggesting not

that we have cuts in Medicare, but that

we have increases in Medicare, but

those increases will be capped somewhere between 7 and 7.5 percent, at an

amount that has been actuarially determined that we will now have Medicare and it will not go bankrupt in the

year 2002.

Right now, Madam President, we

have some 36 million people on Medicare. It is projected by the time 2002

comes, we will have something like 50

million Americans, 20 percent of all

Americans, including myself, will be

eligible for Medicare at that time.

So I only say, it is time to stop the

demagoging. We have a very serious

problem on our hands. I believe the Republicans have a solution to that problem, but we should be getting some

leadership from the White House at

this time. This is not something with

which we should be playing politics.

I yield back to the Senator from

Pennsylvania.

Mr. SANTORUM. Madam President, I

A CRISIS IN MEDICARE

fthank the Senator from Oklahoma for

his comments. I wholeheartedly agree

with him. I think this is a question of

leadership, what kind of leadership we

are going to see not only out of the

White House but out of the U.S. Senate.

I think the rhetoric to date has not

served this institution well. There is,

indeed, a crisis in Medicare. I know

there are a lot of folks on the other

side of the aisle who are saying we

knew about this crisis, you folks denied there was a health care crisis. We

are not talking about a health care crisis, we are talking about a Medicare

crisis. We are talking about a trust

fund problem that says there is not

enough money in the trust fund to be

able to fund Medicare past a 7-year

window. That is immediate, that is

real, and that is something that we

have to deal with, and I believe we will

only deal with if we do so in a bipartisan way.

If this becomes a partisan issue

where one seeks to take political gain

at the expense of doing something that

is responsible action, we will not succeed and the trust fund will continue

to go further and further to the brink

of insolvency, and we will be left with

not a lot of options but very dramatic

choices that are going to affect a lot of

taxpayers and a lot of seniors and the

availability of Medicare benefits into

the future.

The other comment I keep hearing is,

‘‘Well, this crisis has been around a

long time and we have known. This is

not the first trustees report that has

been published that says Medicare is in

trouble and will go bankrupt in a few

years.’’

That is true. In fact, over the last 10,

15 years, the average solvency of the

Medicare trust fund has been about 12

years. Now it is at 7, which is I think

a low. That is the shortest timeframe

that we have seen recently where Medicare is in trouble and scheduled to go

bankrupt. So it is important, but we

are usually running around 12, 14 years

as the average.

So why the big hullabaloo now? The

reason for that is, once we get through

the next 12 years or so, to the year 2010,

we can do that pretty well by doing a

fix. Senator DOMENICI’s budget calls for

roughly $250 billion in reductions in

the growth rate of Medicare over the

next 7 years. That will fix Medicare,

again, to make it solvent for about 12

years from now, which will be about

average of where the fund has been.

The problem with that is not the 12

years, it is what happens in the 13th,

14th, 15th year and beyond, because

after 12 years from now or 13 years

from now that is when the baby

boomers begin to retire and that is

when Medicare really takes off.

Spending in Medicare just goes up astronomically once the baby boomers

and that big chunk of the population

starts getting into this program. So

when we look at Medicare funding now,

we have to look at it with a whole new

ball game in mind. We have to preserve

the long-term funding and solvency of

this program through a period where

we are going to see a rapid escalation,

not in the cost of Medicare and inflation, but in the number of people in the

program.

So when we look at Medicare now,

and I hope we will have this informed

discussion, that we will look at it over

the long term recognizing that Medicare costs, just by demographic reasons, are going to escalate beyond what

we have ever seen before in the history

of the Medicare program.

So I am hoping we can have this kind

of constructive dialog and we will not

use brinkmanship for political gain,

that we will have a good, bipartisan solution to the problem that faces this

country.

TRIBUTE TO THE NORTH DAKOTA

I yield the floor.

STATE UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S

fBASKETBALL TEAM

Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, I

want to take some time today to belatedly honor the North Dakota State

University women’s basketball team.

Outside of North Dakota, most people

probably don’t know that this team

won the NCAA division II national

championship. Not only did they win it

this year, but the Bison women have

won this honor for 3 straight years. I

think they deserve some national recognition.

The NDSU women had the additional

honor of being the first ever division II

women’s team to make it through a

season undefeated. This remarkable

team ended its season 32–0, and they

did it by focusing on one game at a

time.

I think we can all learn some important lessons about life by watching

these champions—about perseverance,

about working together and helping

each other, about being a good sport.

I want to congratulate each of these

women for the year of hard work that

culminated in their ultimate victory:

seniors Linda Davis and Lynette Mund

who provided experience and leadership, juniors LaShalle Boehm, Jessica

DeRemer, Jenni Rademacher, and Lori

Roufs; sophomore Kasey Morlock, who

was the most valuable player of the

tournament, and her fellow sophomores

Rhoda Birch and Andrea Kelly; and

freshmen Tanya Fischer, Erica Lyseng,

Amy Ornell, and Rachael Otto.

These women are even more special

because they will not be making millions of dollars playing in the NBA

when they graduate. They are playing

basketball because they love the game,

and in the process they are serving as

good role models for many young girls

who need active, successful young

women to look up to.

A lot of the credit for the success of

the NDSU program rests with Head

Coach Amy Ruley. She has led the

Bison to four championships in the last

five seasons. In fact, she is doing such

a good job that the University of Illinois and Long Beach State—two division I schools—both wanted her for

their programs, but I was glad to hear

recently that she has decided to stay

with us in North Dakota.

We also can not overlook the assistant coaches, Kelli Layman and Kathy

Wall; student assistant Darci Steere;

volunteer assistant Robin Kelly; student trainer Nikki Germann; and student manager Mary Schueller. Their

work behind the scenes plays an important role in the team’s success.
May 9, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6301

We in North Dakota have a lot to

look forward to from the NDSU women’s program in the future. All but the

two seniors will be returning, and this

team knows what it feels like to win.

For now, though, we can just savor the

feeling of having national champions

in our midst.

WAS CONGRESS IRRESPONSIBLE?

THE VOTERS HAVE SAID YES

fMr. HELMS. Madam President, the

skyrocketing Federal debt—which long

ago soared into the stratosphere—is in

a category somewhat like the weather—everybody talks about it but almost nobody had undertaken the responsibility of trying to do anything

about it until immediately following

the elections last November.

When the 104th Congress convened in

January, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a balanced budget

amendment. In the Senate only one of

the Senate’s 54 Republicans opposed

the balanced budget amendment; only

13 Democrats supported it. Thus, the

balanced budget amendment failed by

just one vote. There will be another

vote later this year or next year.

As of the close of business yesterday,

Monday, May 8, the Federal debt

stood—down to the penny—at exactly

$4,856,502,980,514.90 or $18,435.37 for

every man, woman, and child on a per

capita basis.

YOUNG AMERICA

fMr. COHEN. Madam President, I rise

today to pay tribute to the captain and

crew of Young America, which as many

of my colleagues know, is the yacht

that came very close to winning the

Defenders’ series of the America’s Cup

competition on April 26.

Young America, owned by the Mainebased PACT ’95 syndicate and originating out of my hometown of Bangor,

was very strong in the competition but

was beaten in the finals by America’s

Cup veterans and past victor, Dennis

Conner and his boat, Stars & Stripes.

While Young America’s captain, Kevin

Mahaney, did not have Dennis Conner’s

experience, he sailed boldly and impressively and displayed the kind of

leadership and perseverance for which

Mainers are renowned. Kevin had captured the silver medal in sailing at the

1992 Olympics, but it was his first

America’s Cup competition. He and his

crew sailed with excellence throughout

the competition.

Last summer, before Kevin even had

a boat to compete in, he started to assemble a crew with John Marshall,

head of the PACT ’95 syndicate. Marshall was an experienced sailor and

former crew mate of Dennis Conner in

past America’s Cup bids. Even so,

many people on the sailing circuit did

not assign much credibility to their efforts and saw little threat from their

entry. However, Mahaney and Marshall

and the crew they assembled soon

made yachting enthusiasts begin to

take notice of the boat from Bangor.

This is not to say that Young America

encountered smooth waters during its

assent to the top ranks of yachting.

Mahaney had to rely heavily on the tenacious crew that he assembled to

overcome obstacles and make it as far

as they did.

Young America’s bid for the cup was

threatened last January when a tornado ripped through the compound

where it was stored, causing extensive

damage to the boat. In March, bad luck

struck again when Young America suffered significant structural damage

while being towed through heavy

waves. This damage was particularly

ill-timed, and the crew had to rush to

make repairs in the final days before

the Defender semifinals. John Marshall

saw the silver lining in these clouds

and commented that the times of hardship were when the crew really came

together as a team.

Ironically, the crew that worked so

hard to bring Young America to the

forefront of the yachting world had the

bittersweet experience of now seeing

their boat compete against New Zealand in the America’s Cup finals without them aboard. Shortly after his victory, Dennis Conner, full of admiration

for Mahaney’s triumphs, asked John

Marshall if he and his crew could sail

Young America in the final competition.

Diplomatic to the last, Marshall honored his request. He said that both the

crews from Stars & Stripes and Young

America will emerge as victors if the

Americans beat New Zealand.

The quiet but determined efforts of

Kevin Mahaney and his crew justifiably

make Mainers proud. While they are

not manning the boat that is competing against the New Zealand vessel this

week, everyone’s mind will be on the

come-from-behind boat known as

Young America.

RECOGNIZING BILLINGS, MT,

POSTAL SERVICE

fMr. BAUCUS. Madam President,

today I would like to recognize the outstanding achievement of the Postal

Service in Billings, MT. As is the case

most of the time, we know how to do it

right in Montana.

Billings’ delivery of overnight firstclass mail is first in the Nation, No. 1.

The lucky residents of Billings received their mail 94 percent on time,

the country’s highest performance

level this year. The score also ties for

the highest mark achieved by any city

since the measurement began. In an

era when public and private mail volume continues to increase, I am proud

of the ability of the Billings Postal

Service to rise above the rest and top

the Nation.

I would like to congratulate and

thank everyone involved in the mail

process in Billings for serving Montana

and our Nation with such capability.

PROTECTING MEDICARE

Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee I spoke about the importance of

the Medicare Program to Montanans. I

would like to take this opportunity to

share those comments with the entire

Senate.

There being no objection, the comments were ordered to be printed in the

RECORD, as follows:

Mr. Chairman, here in Washington, people

often lose the forest for the trees. I’m afraid

we may be doing just that on Medicare. So I

hope we can begin by remembering what life

was like for older Americans before Medicare.

The fact is, before we created Medicare,

our senior citizens lived in fear.

Everyone over sixty knew that private insurance was shaky and expensive at best,

and would cost them more every year.

And a serious illness—or even a common

ailment that required treatment but did not

threaten life—was not only a health problem, but something that could reduce a

whole family to poverty.

Today, Medicare has removed that fear

from our lives. Those of us with short memories have forgotten it ever existed. But let

me tell you about some people who don’t.

Two weeks ago I spent some time at the

Seniors Center in Great Falls, Montana. The

people at the center know exactly what Medicare and Social Security mean to their

lives.

It means a little financial security. Some

faith that illnesses will be treated and that

families won’t be wiped out by the cost. A

hundred and twenty-five thousand Montanans are eligible for Medicare, and each

one of them knows exactly what Medicare

means.

Listen to Margaret and Frank Jackson of

Billings, who wrote me last week:

‘‘Social Security and Medicare are not

only necessary, they are absolutely essential

to our survival in Montana. Higher costs

such as higher property tax, increase in

school levies, fuel in a cold climate, and

medicine take a toll. There is just too much

month at the end of our money. Needless to

say, additional cuts would put a burden on

us.’’

Or Joyce Hert, also from Billings:

‘‘I am 58 years old and for the past 18 years

have had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, emphysema, Renaud’s Disease,

degenerative arthritis and a disease of the

connective tissue. . . . My medication costs

approximately $677 a month* * *. Please

don’t turn your back on those of us who need

Social Security and Medicare.’’

The leadership now proposes something

like $250 billion in Medicare cuts. It is staggering. It is a reduction of nearly a quarter

in Medicare services by the year 2002. And to

add insult to injury, the House would do it in

part to pay for tax cuts for Americans who

are already very wealthy. Some in the Senate want to do the same.

What would it mean if this happens?

Montana Medicare beneficiaries would pay

up to $800 more a year out of their own savings. These are people who live on fixed incomes, and eight hundred bucks is an awfully big bite.

We would see thousands of operations and

hospital stays put off.

Thousands of people would decide to go

without home health care.

And, as the federal government cut reimbursement, more rural hospitals would be

pushed to the edge, forced to choose between

serving their patients and remaining solvent.

Some Montana hospitals get 60% of their