May 16, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE H 4967

heard a lot of talk about how bold this

budget is. Congratulating the Republican leadership for being bold by presenting this budget is like congratulating Lizzie Borden for being on the cutting edge.

BEING RELEVANT VERSUS BEING

CONSIDERED RELEVANT

f(Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky asked and

was given permission to address the

House for 1 minute and to revise and

extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that

some politicians are only concerned

about being considered relevant rather

than being relevant.

According to Webster’s dictionary,

relevant is having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at

hand.

Relevant is improving the standard

of living for our children. That means

ridding ourselves of deficits.

Relevant is having significant and

demonstrable bearing on the deficits

that are mortgaging our childrens’ futures. That means balancing the budget.

Relevant is having significant and

demonstrable bearing on the impending

bankruptcy of Medicare. That means

fixing the problem now.

Relevant is having significant and

demonstrable bearing on the spiralling

cost of entitlement. That means controlling the growth in the programs,

such as Medicaid.

Relevant is having significant and

demonstrable bearing on the bloated

Federal bureaucracy intruding in the

average citizens life. That means eliminate entire agencies and departments.

Relevant is doing what is right by

our seniors and our children.

MEMBERS NEED TO STAND UP

AND OPPOSE THE REPUBLICAN

fBUDGET PLAN

(Mr. WARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WARD. Mr. Speaker, Medicare is

being cut in the Republican budget proposal, make no mistake about it. They

are reducing the projected spending

level, which means higher co-pays, reduced benefits, and reduced services.

Why? Why are they doing this? To pay

for a tax break for the wealthy. It is a

cut in Medicare to pay for a tax break

for the wealthy. If there were no tax

break in this bill, there would be no

need for the reduction in projected

spending in Medicare in this budget.

Mr. Speaker, we need to stand up and

oppose this plan.

(Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was

COME HOME, DEMOCRATS

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker,

the Democratic Party that once inspired our Nation by proclaiming ‘‘We

have nothing to fear but fear itself’’

today has nothing to offer but fear.

The same party that once rallied

Americans from the depths of the Depression today ignores the decline

wrought by exploding Federal deficits.

The same party whose leaders once

warned of the dangers of welfare dole

today defends a welfare state that

traps the poor in dependency and despair. And the same party that marshalled the free world in the fight

against Nazis today silently ignores an

economic Dunkirk in Medicare.

There is an alternative for Democrats to this defense of the status quo.

And it is well within the Democratic

Party tradition. Our balanced balanced

budget upholds the tradition of Jefferson by ending the practice of saddling

future generations with debt. It affirms

the tradition of Roosevelt by providing

for a strong, effective government that

prepares for the future. And it celebrates the tradition of Kennedy by

spurring growth through tax relief.

Come home Democratics: Restore the

American dream and the proud tradition of America’s oldest party by supporting our balanced budget.

THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET IS A

fBAD IDEA

(Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker,

this week we can see what the Republican majority is all about: tax breaks

for the wealthy, tax loopholes for special interests, increases in military

spending. How to pay for those tax

loopholes, how to pay for those special

interest tax breaks, how to pay for

military spending increases? By cutting student loans for middle class

families, by cutting veterans’ benefits,

by cutting Medicare.

Nearly 37 million senior citizens will

pay more out of pocket costs, will suffer a reduction in benefits, and will

lose their right to choose their doctor.

Cuts in Medicare, veterans, students,

to pay for tax breaks for the rich. Mr.

Speaker, I am a deficit hawk. I voted

for the balanced budget amendment,

but the Republican budget is a bad

idea.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE

READY FOR REAL ACTION ON

fTHE DEBT

(Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, during the district work period and subsequently, many of us have had town

meetings and conversations with the

good people we were elected to serve.

One message that has come through

loud and clear is that the American

people want Congress to work together

to solve the great problems facing this

great Nation. They know that the Medicare trust fund is going bankrupt.

They understand that the burgeoning

debt will destroy our children’s economic future.

As Churchill reminded us, the American people did not cross the oceans,

ford the streams, traverse the mountains, and deal with the droughts and

pestilence because they are made of

sugar candy. The American people are

tough. They are ready for real solutions, but they will not accept simply

lining up every day and yapping like a

bunch of toy poodles while the debt

balloons and Medicare goes bankrupt.

The American people want real action.

The American people are ready.

THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET WILL

CUT MEDICARE AND NEEDED

fSERVICES TO STUDENTS AND

THE ELDERLY WHILE GIVING

TAX BREAKS TO THE RICH

(Mr. KLINK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, we have

looked at the charts and we have

looked at the graphs. They keep talking about the fact that ‘‘We are increasing Medicare, we are not decreasing Medicare.’’ It is like a friend of

mine who made $100 a week back in

1960 saying he got a raise because he

makes $150 now. You have to adjust for

inflation, you have to adjust for more

people going into the system. This is

not an increase. In fact, it is a very

large decrease.

In my area in southwestern Pennsylvania, if this Republican proposal to

cut Medicare this much goes through,

our hospitals tell us that half of the

hospitals in southwestern Pennsylvania will close. Many of those hospitals

get 60 percent of their money from

Medicare reimbursements, because 1 in

5 residents in southwestern Pennsylvania are on Medicare.

Mr. Speaker, this is a budget that

would in fact also cut student loans by

$19 billion, that is an average of $5,000

a year, by charging interest to students while they are in college. We do

not want to give them an education so

they can get a better job, and when

they get older, we want to take their

Medicare away; also, so we can give

$20,000 tax breaks every year to the

richest 1 million Americans. Unfair,

Mr. Speaker.

CONGRESS MUST AVOID RECKLESS BUDGET CUTS IN AGRIfCULTURE

(Mr. NETHERCUTT asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)