On the recordMarch 21, 2012
I yield myself 30 seconds. I would just say to my friend from New Jersey who says ``consider the source''--and the source is the American people--73 percent have expressed concern that the Medicare cuts recommended by IPAB would not only go into effect without congressional approval, but would also hurt their ability to get the Medicare services they need. Let me just say I hear from my friends on the other side how important IPAB is to the integrity of Medicare. It is not effective until 2022. And let me just say with regard to the Medicare cuts that are in your health care bill, most of them don't take place until 2014. And I would just say that our health care bill included provisions that covered preexisting conditions, included many of the provisions the gentleman mentioned, and we did it without a tax increase, and we did it as the only health care bill that was scored by the Congressional Budget Office as decreasing premiums for American citizens. With that, I yield 2 minutes to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black).
