Cliff Stearns: “just prior to the Memorial Day recess, in introduced legislation to establish a bipartisan Commission on the Future of…”

“just prior to the Memorial Day recess, in introduced legislation to establish a bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. The goal of the Commission would be to find commonsense solutions to reforming and strengthening our Medicare system. It would be patterned after the Pepper Commission that was developed to preserve Social Security. My colleagues, you should have received a ``Dear Colleague'' letter outlining this bill. The Commission would submit to Congress a report that would contain its findings and recommendations regarding patterns of spending under the Medicare Program, long-term solvency of the Hospital Trust Fund, need to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and administration of the current program. I believe we can all work together in a bipartisan manner. We can then preserve, protect, and strengthen the Medicare system to ensure that our seniors will have access to this program well into the 21st century.”