David Loebsack: “This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee. If adopted, the…”

“This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. I regularly meet with seniors across Iowa, and far too often I hear that many of them are struggling to make ends meet, just as I am sure that many of my colleagues hear from their seniors as well. They tell me how much they rely on Medicare in order to stay healthy and just to afford their daily necessities. Mr. Speaker, our seniors did not get us into this fiscal mess that we are in today, and I think we have to keep that in mind. It is unfair to punish them for Washington's irresponsible behavior. That is why we have got to protect Medicare for seniors who have worked a lifetime to pay into it. This also is an issue I will say that is personal to me. I grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet. I often talked about how I grew up in poverty. My mom was a single parent who struggled with mental illness, and literally, in the fourth grade, we landed at the doorstep of my maternal grandmother. My grandmother often relied on Social Security survivor benefits to care for me and my siblings. Without the promise of health care through Medicare, she would not have been able to afford to put food on the table. No senior--and I think all of us in this body can agree--no senior should have to choose between paying their bills or paying for their medication. Mr.…”