John Cornyn: “last month, the Medicare trustees warned that Medicare will go bankrupt in 13 years, which is 5 years earlier than they…”

“last month, the Medicare trustees warned that Medicare will go bankrupt in 13 years, which is 5 years earlier than they had previously calculated. You heard me right. One of the most important programs that the government actually runs--the Medicare Program--designed to provide health care to seniors, is going to run out of money in 13 years, 5 years earlier than projected just last year. The Medicare trustees noted that Medicare's unfunded liabilities-- that is the number it is responsible for--are more than $24 trillion, but that is also growing. Stated another way, this is a $24 trillion gap between Medicare's future benefit costs and the future taxes of premiums that are expected to be collected to pay for it. Today, I am, along with nearly all my Republican colleagues, sending a letter to the President of the United States, insisting he comply with the law. What law would that be? Well, the law that was passed in 2003 that, under these circumstances, requires the President to propose a plan to deal with this funding crisis for Medicare. President Obama has said he is willing to make some tough decisions. Yet he refuses to provide concrete, constructive, and meaningful proposals to deal with this impending insolvency of one of our most important government programs. The Medicare trustees have issued a Medicare funding warning in their annual report every year since 2006.…”