Walter B. Jones: “Steve, when I have been home, I have seen people on a daily basis speaking to groups and senior citizens in the 19…”

“Steve, when I have been home, I have seen people on a daily basis speaking to groups and senior citizens in the 19 counties that I have the privilege to serve. I can tell you that what we are doing in the new Congress is helping to rebuild the trust that the citizens and the voters have lost because the past Congresses were not listening to them. I can honestly tell you I get so upset when I am on the floor, as a member of the theme team, to hear the other side, particularly the liberals, trying to scare the senior citizens. And as I said, and everyone has been saying since we started talking about the Medicare trust fund, that we have no other alternative. We want to protect and save and guarantee for the future needs of our senior citizens. I do not know how in the world they can continue to say that when you go from, 1995, from roughly $4,700 to the year 2002 to $6,300 that that is a cut. But I can honestly tell you that back home the senior citizens that I have had a chance to talk to really understand what we are trying to do and they support us. So I can say that in the 6 months that we have been here I have been home every weekend but one. Every time I went home I was having the opportunity to meet and to speak with people. And I can tell you, frankly, that as long as we stay focused, we keep trying to balance the budget by the year 2002, then I think every day that we are here in the Congress as a new majority we are helping to rebuild the trust that has been lost.”