Bob Kerrey: “I support the legislation offered earlier by the Senator from South Dakota, the Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act…”

“I support the legislation offered earlier by the Senator from South Dakota, the Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999. I supported strongly the balanced budget amendment of 1997, the deficit reduction acts of 1993 and 1990, and am proud of the supporting role I played over the last 7 or 8 years in taking the United States of America to the point where the Federal Government was borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars--$300 billion when I came in 1989--to a point where we now have a surplus. It is quite an exciting change in the dynamics of this country. This morning's New York Times had a story by Louis Uchitelle about 1.1 million Americans having been lifted off the rolls of poverty as a consequence of demands of wages that occur because interest rates are low, corporate profits are good, and the American economy is as strong as it has been in my lifetime. It is quite impressive what a strong economy will do with low interest rates and what increased rates in productivity will do. The report also pointed out the significant problems we still have with income growth, especially with African Americans. But I am proud of the role I played in eliminating the deficit and creating a surplus that has contributed enormously to the growth of the U.S. economy.”