Bill Delahunt: “could I just for a moment speak on behalf of those who have white hair and are looking towards receiving Medicare. The…”

“could I just for a moment speak on behalf of those who have white hair and are looking towards receiving Medicare. The United States Senate is sending over a budget to this body, and there will be a so-called conference committee that will reconcile the differences; and in that Senate budget is, for the first time in my experience, and I have been here 9 years, a significant cut not in Medicaid, but in Medicare. If my colleagues remember, there was a former Speaker of this body by the name of Newt Gingrich. He would come to this floor frequently at this hour of the night, have conversations that were noted by the American people, and he talked on one occasion about beginning to reduce Medicare and allowing it to wither on the vine. Well, every American who shares the color of my hair ought to be aware of what has happened in the other branch, in the Senate, in terms of Medicare, because I do not want to say it is the beginning of the initiative or the concept of allowing Medicare to wither on the vine, but every American should be aware that there is a cut to that particular program that has saved the lives and extended the lives of millions of elderly Americans.”