Patsy T. Mink: “I rise to oppose House Concurrent Resolution 178, the conference report on the budget resolution. The fiscal year 1997…”

“I rise to oppose House Concurrent Resolution 178, the conference report on the budget resolution. The fiscal year 1997 budget resolution appears to be an improvement over the budget proposed by the majority party last year in that it scales back proposed Medicare spending reductions from $288 billion over 7 years to $168 billion over 6 years, and scales back the proposed Medicaid spending reductions from $186 billion over 7 years to $72 billion over 6 years. House Concurrent Resolution 178 also reduces the size of a proposed package of tax cuts from $345 billion over 7 years to something between $122 and $176 billion over 6 years. However, these changes do not mask the fact that the budget embraces assumptions that will reduce dramatically the role of the Federal Government in guaranteeing medical coverage for the poor, maintaining affordable health coverage for seniors, and in expanding educational opportunities for all. With respect to Medicaid, House Concurrent Resolution 178 embraces structural changes to the program that will transform it from an individual entitlement into a block grant.”