Frank Pallone: “today, the Republicans are over 2 weeks late in producing a budget. I believe the reason for the Republican delay is…”

“today, the Republicans are over 2 weeks late in producing a budget. I believe the reason for the Republican delay is that they do not know how they are going to keep all of their promises. Part of their answer to balancing the budget is to cut Medicare by over $300 billion. This means that seniors will have to pay on average an additional $900 in out-of-pocket expenses. Now, Speaker Gingrich is claiming that any Medicare cuts will be used to keep Medicare solvent. Of course he forgets to mention that Democrats have already worked to keep Medicare from going bankrupt in the past. In addition, it was Democrats, last year, who put forth an effort to reform health care and save Medicare. I believe in balancing the budget and have always voted in support of a balanced budget, but I feel that any Medicare reform needs to arise in the context of health care reform. It is rising health care costs that are contributing to the deficit, not senior citizens.”