Political Quotes

“I rise today because I cannot in good conscience remain silent. As we all know, for many years, the Medicare board of trustees has warned of the impending bankruptcy of the Medicare trust funds. Many in Congress and in the administration dismiss these annual warnings, preferring to spend blindly, counting on a wish and a prayer for our children and grandchildren. They say they do not believe that Medicare will really go bankrupt. They continue to say this, despite all evidence to the contrary. They have accused those of us who want to save Medicare of destroying one of the most popular programs in American history. But this time, Mr. President, history and the hard data, prove them wrong. The front page of yesterday's New York Times proclaimed: 'Shortfall Posted by Medicare Fund Two Years Early'. What that means is that--for the first time in its history--Medicare spent more money than it took in through payroll taxes. Mr. President, those of us who have been telling the truth about Medicare knew the situation was serious. But, this article tells us that it is even worse than we knew. Experts had predicted in good faith that the Medicare trust fund would grow, but despite their best efforts, they were off by nearly $5 billion. And we know for certain that once the trust fund begins to lose money, it is on a rapid path to depletion.”