On the recordMay 31, 2011
I thank you for raising that point. This is a very, very important question that we have to decide in this Congress: What are our priorities? What investments are we going to make both to rebuild our economy and get people back to work, but also to keep our commitment of promising aid to our seniors. This proposal that was made by the Republicans in this very Chamber to end Medicare to people 55 and under, end Medicare, and at the same time to reestablish the doughnut hole today so it would make prescription drugs more expensive for seniors, make nursing home care unavailable to many seniors, slash funding for Medicare, and really shift control to the private insurance companies to make health care decisions for our seniors--a terrible idea. And at the same time, as you pointed out, preserving tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to the Big Oil companies that have record profits, that don't need a check from the taxpayers that adds to our debt, and at the same time not making investments in the kinds of things we need to rebuild manufacturing and to make it in America. It's the wrong priorities. We've got to protect our seniors, keep the promise we made to them, make the right investments here, and get rid of tax subsidies for Big Oil, get rid of the waste and fraud. Make cuts the right way, but make the right investments at the same time.
