Frank Lautenberg: “The one thing that I found most disturbing about the proposals that have come in the reconciliation is the fact that…”

“The one thing that I found most disturbing about the proposals that have come in the reconciliation is the fact that suddenly we are in to a whole new area having very little to do with the mission that we have set out for us, to get a balanced budget, to try at the same time to invest in education, to try at the same time to make sure impoverished senior citizens do not have to pay more as a result of the transfer of home health services to part B--all of those things. Suddenly, now we are seeing that something might be called bait and switch, where senior citizens are being told now, well, you may have to pay a higher premium for your part B, your deductible may be going up, that the most modest-income person would have to pay $5, perhaps to get an insulin shot or something like that. Five bucks, when you ain't got it, to put it crudely, is an awful lot of money. These people do not have it. They do not have contact with the outside world. They are frail, they are elderly. For God's sake, where is our conscience on these things?”