NAN A. S. HAYWORTH: “there are some things going on here in Washington the American people really ought to know about. Members of President…”

“there are some things going on here in Washington the American people really ought to know about. Members of President Clinton's Cabinet have raised some very serious questions about the long-term health of Medicare. A report by the Medicare trustees concludes that Medicare will begin losing money next year and could become insolvent by the year 2001, and, by the way, this Medicare board includes Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Now, last Friday, the Speaker of the House wrote the President expressing his concerns over this matter and communicated a willingness to work together on a solution, but the news about Medicare has apparently fallen on deaf ears at the White House and on this side of the House because the Speaker's letter is being dismissed with the usual class-warfare rhetoric. In fact, Leon Panetta suggested the White House will do nothing to help fix Medicare. This is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker. Medicare is going broke and all the White House can offer up is class-warfare rhetoric. This shows a total avoidance of responsibility and a lack of respect to older Americans who expect leadership from Washington, and not excuses, not class-warfare.”