Political Quotes

“I wish to speak about the Medicare bill before us. One of the strongest obligations we have in this body is to uphold America's promise to care for those who have worked hard throughout their lives, who have raised their families, and who have helped make this Nation great: our seniors. President Johnson created Medicare as part of that promise to give seniors all across this country the peace of mind they would have the health care they need as they grow older. Today, we take up legislation that would make this critically important program stronger by ensuring doctors in Rhode Island and across this country are compensated, as they should be, for the care they provide. The approaching June 30 deadline for resolving this issue certainly makes this legislation particularly urgent. But we all know that there is a far more ominous deadline looming over us in health care, and that is when the Medicare trust fund will become insolvent in 2019. As Chairman Conrad of the Budget Committee so often says, there is a tsunami of costs bearing down on us. We are now facing a 75-year shortfall in Medicare of $33.9 trillion. It is my belief that we as Senators have a fundamental obligation to begin to take steps now that will lower these looming overwhelming costs. If we fail to act now, we will be left with only the cold, harmful, and, frankly, cruel fiscal options of raising taxes, reducing benefits and eligibility, or cutting further provider payments.”