Political Quotes

“this afternoon I urge my colleagues to join with Senator Conrad and myself and others who are sponsoring S. 21, the Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001. I know this legislation came before the body last year and passed by 60 votes, including 14 votes by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I think this legislation is particularly critical at this time given the budget that the President has proposed to the Congress, and the fact that while he has indicated support for Social Security--although not reserving all of it but he has talked about Social Security--he did not mention reserving the Medicare trust fund. This is a critical issue for me and all the people I represent. To leave the Medicare trust fund unprotected as we talk about investments and spending and how we are going to address tax cuts for the future is very dangerous. We have about $500 billion that needs to remain within the trust fund and be protected for the future. We all know that we are going to see within the next 10 or 11 years additional strains on Medicare as those of us who are baby boomers come into the system, and beyond. We have critical needs in Medicare.”