Max Baucus: “this amendment should be opposed very simply because the savings, the $34 billion the Senator from Texas prescribes…”

“this amendment should be opposed very simply because the savings, the $34 billion the Senator from Texas prescribes, could not be used as offsets to help accommodate other programs. Let's take SCHIP, for example. Because the way the Senator's amendment is written, as reconciliation instructions, the $34 billion could not be offset. That would be straight deficit reduction. We are going to need, frankly, some wiggle room in Medicare programs to find revenue to pay for CHIP and for other Medicare adjustments. It makes no sense to straight cut $34 billion out of Medicare alone, in itself a deep cut, without some way of shoring up some of the needs we are going to have, especially SCHIP. I strongly oppose this amendment.”