Political Quotes

“with today's passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the Senate has taken a historic step toward ensuring the long-term solvency of the Medicare program. I am pleased that many of the provisions that I found to be so objectionable when this bill first came to the floor of the Senate one month ago, have since been removed. In stating my reasons for originally opposing the bill, I shared my deep concern over the proposal to raise the age at which individuals are eligible to receive Medicare from 65 to 67. The likelihood of these seniors finding affordable private insurance would have been slim--many would have been forced to forego coverage. It was a wise decision on the part of my colleagues serving as conferees on this bill that they did not decide to exacerbate the current problem of lack of health coverage for early retirees further with this measure. I am also pleased that a provision that would have required the poorest and sickest seniors to pay up to $700 a year in home health costs has also been dropped. Looking to the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries to shoulder this level of cost under the guise of addressing the long-term financial challenges of this program would have been indefensible.”