Frank Pallone: “Tomorrow the Medicare trustees are going to issue their annual report to Congress and to the American people, and we…”

“Tomorrow the Medicare trustees are going to issue their annual report to Congress and to the American people, and we already know that the Republican leadership is going to take advantage of this to try to suggest that the trustees' report justifies their severe and extreme changes in the Medicare Program for senior citizens. I would suggest that the Democrats in the House of Representatives last year, with an amendment that was brought forward by the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Gibbons] and this year in the budget that was proposed by the President that we voted on, suggested minor changes or cuts, if you will, in the Medicare Program that would keep the Medicare Program solvent well into the next century. The extreme cuts and changes in Medicare that the Republicans are proposing are not needed. The Medicare trustees' report should not be an excuse to justify, if you will, the changes that the Republican leadership is proposed in Medicare. Rather, we should be getting together to make those minor cuts, if you will, to save the program and keep it solvent on a bipartisan basis.”