Political Quotes

“in a few weeks this House will have a profound choice. We can cut $270 billion from the Medicare Program, or we can scrap big tax cuts and move forward with a reasoned program of Medicare reform. Many of my constituents have made that choice. I have spoken to hundreds of them, both elderly and young people, about Medicare. They have looked at this budget and decided that it is unfair to pay for big tax cuts at the expense of health care for the elderly. Mr. Speaker, I toured hospitals that are typical of the 13 rural hospitals in my district. One administrator told me that 56 percent of his facility's revenues are derived from Medicare and that Medicaid accounts for another 13 percent. This hospital is 50 miles from another acute care facility and, like many rural hospitals, it operates at the margins. The hospital administrator told me that if cuts of the magnitude being proposed now in the Republican plan are adopted, they could well force this facility to close. Where will the elderly go then? If we move forward recklessly or cut too deeply just to pay for a tax cut, we will do irreparable damage. Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to move responsibly and to reject $270 billion in cuts in Medicare.”