Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 1954. the Debt Limit Extension. For weeks. Congressional Democrats and Republicans and the Obama Administration have been engaged for weeks in bipartisan deficit reduction talks. Todays vote on the debt limit extension brought to the floor despite House Republicans promotion to vote against the bill is a dangerous stunt of political theatrics that could jeopardize those serious bipartisan negotiations. Our country cannot afford to take the debt limit negotiations lightly. It is reckless for Republicans to send confusing signals to international markets that could jeopardize our own fragile economic recovery. This bill is a gimmick. by Republican leadership and something as serious as our countrys debt limit should not be part of political games. I stand with my fellow Congressional Democrats and remain committed to responsible deficit reduction. We must protect our citizens. Medicare guarantees a healthy and secure retirement for Americans who have paid into it for their entire working lives. Protecting Medicare represents the basic values of fairness and respect for our seniors that all Americans cherish. I am committed to addressing the budget deficit by putting Americas working families first. We should not be cutting programs that protect the everyday lives of Americans. An attack on Medicare and Medicaid are examples of wrong priorities and are wrong choices for seniors and middle class families. Facts About Medicare and Medicaid: Medicare covers a population with diverse needs and circumstances. While many beneficiaries enjoy good health. a quarter or more have serious health problems and live with multiple chronic conditions. including cognitive and functional impairments. Most people with Medicare live on modest incomes. Today. 43% of all Medicare beneficiaries are between 65 and 74 years old and 12% are 85 or older. Those who are 85 or older are the fastestgrowing age group among elderly Medicare beneficiaries. With the aging and growth of the population. the number of Medicare beneficiaries more than doubled between 1966 and 2000 and is projected to grow from 45 million today to 79 million in 2030. Medicaid is the nations largest health coverage program measured by enrollees (53 million). Through its 40 year history. the program has transformed from a welfarebased health coverage program to a health insurance and longterm care program serving both low income individuals and families and providing longterm care services for individuals with disabilities and the lowincome elderly. Because Medicaid has such a diverse set of obligations and is run jointly by federal and state governments there is much misunderstanding about facts related to the program. Managed care is an example of an innovation that became a standard optionabout 60 percent of beneficiaries are in managed care. A current innovation that several states are experimenting with is moving longterm care services towards a home and community based setting. Additionally. Medicaids structure has allowed it to expand and readily adapt to emerging issues in the American health system like the HIV/AIDS crisis. Sixty percent of nursing home residents are not on Medicaid at the time of their admittance into a facility. With the average annual cost of nursing home care being $60.000. the longer an individual remains in a facility. the more likely they are to deplete their financial resources and qualify for Medicaid coverage. Even after individuals deplete their assets. they are still required to apply their income. including Social Security and pension checks. towards their care costs. except for an average monthly $30 personal needs allowance. Compared to private health programs. Medicaid has lower administrative costs per claims paid when compared to private sector plans. Medicaid per capita growth has been consistently about half the rate of growth in private insurance premiums. Both of these factors show that despite program growth. Medicaid is an efficient program. Mr. Speaker. not only will allowing America to default on its debt wreak havoc and chaos on financial markets around the world. but it will also be damaging to the most vulnerable members of our society. In essence it takes a hatchet to the programs Americans truly care about. In my district in Houston. Texas. there are 190.035 people living under the poverty line as well as 82.272 seniors and over 58.500 seniors. If House Republicans self destructive economic policies are allowed to play out it will threaten the viability of the programs that our Nations seniors. children. and poor depend on for health and well being. Despite countless warnings from economists. business leaders. and Wall Street executives about the economic consequences. House Republicans are still holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our debt and are putting the economy at risk by suggesting America might not pay its bills. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said defaulting on our debt would "at minimum" lead to "an increase in interest rates. which would actually worsen our deficit and would hurt all borrowers in the economy." Additionally. a coalition of 62 of the nations largest business groups urged Congress to raise the debt limit: "With economic growth slowly picking up we cannot afford to jeopardize that growth with the massive spike in borrowing costs that would result if we defaulted on our obligations." But in case that isnt convincing enough. Third Way. a well respected moderate think thak. released a report outlining the consequences of not paying Americas bills: 642.500 jobs lost GDP would decrease by 1% Every mortgage would increase by $19.175 Stocks would fall. the S&P dropping 6.3% And every 401(k) holder would lose $8.816 The House Republican majority needs to stop threatening the American people and get to work to increase the debt ceiling so that our country can pay its bills. The real issue that we should be focusing on is that we must raise revenues while also reducing spending. They must complement each other. Congressional Republicans must accept the challenge that everything must be on the table. including ending the tax cuts to the top 2% of the wealthiest people in our country. We need a serious debt ceiling increase bill so that we can have deliberative discussion on how to cut spending without cutting Medicare and Medicaid. We do not need to hold the American economy hostage. and we need to begin these discussions in order to show the world that we are fiscally responsible. If not. the failure to extend our Nations debt limit would have harmful effects on job creation and the programs necessary to ensure the health and safety of out constituents. I support a clean bill that is not layered down with Republican Christmas tree ornaments that are made for special interests. This will raise our debt. We must pay our bills otherwise this will be detrimental to our Nation and that I will not support.