Sam
Johnson rips reckless Medicare bill
July
24, 2008
Today
U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) released the following
statement on H.Res. 1368 - Relating to the House procedures contained
in section 803 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,
and Modernization Act of 2003. The House will vote on the measure
later today.
To
promote fiscal responsibility and accountability to the Medicare
entitlement program, the 2003 Medicare modernization legislation
included a provision that would force the President to submit
legislation that would reform the Medicare program to contain
costs if spending tops a pre-determined limit, i.e. the “trigger”.
Last April the Medicare trustees revealed that for two years running
the Medicare program had to secure just under half of its money
needs from the general government revenue because the Medicare
trust fund money did not cover the bills.
Today
Democrats are bringing legislation to the floor that would remove
this “trigger” provision that would have forced a
much-needed floor debate on how to ensure Medicare’s long-term
financial viability. This bill shows that the Democrats are not
taking the Trustees’ warnings seriously and are willing
to delay any actions on this program.
“Every
report known to man shows that Medicare’s facing serious
financial troubles. The Democrats just have to ‘cowboy-up’
and admit it and work with Republicans to create real solutions
that won’t break the bank.
“The
Democrats want to remove the one safeguard that tries to keep
Medicare spending in check. The Baby Boomers will rely on Medicare
for decades to come so we better fix the hemorrhaging now while
there’s still time. I wish that the Democrats had the courage
to admit that Medicare’s heading for trouble and we have
to roll up our sleeves and make hard and tough choices to see
this through – for our children and our grandchildren.
“If
we really want to fix Medicare, we must slow the growth of the
ever-expanding program. The federal government spends more money
on Medicare than the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy,
Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs spend
combined.
“Clearly,
the Democrats aren’t up to this challenge and have decided
to leave this mess for others to deal with.”
#
# #
|
