Providing for Consideration of H. Con. Res 34, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FIscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. I thank my colleague for yielding.

Madam Speaker, in the last week I have twice offered an amendment to protect health care for seniors, veterans, and active duty military and military families. And to my great disappointment, the Republican majority has twice blocked this effort, first in committee, where Republicans voted unanimously on a party line vote to end Medicare, and again yesterday, when the Republican leadership refused to allow this amendment to be heard, debated, and voted on in this Chamber.

I have twice asked my Republican colleagues to honor the Constitution. They must allow the democratically elected representatives of the American people to have an honest up or down vote on whether or not we support privatizing Medicare, a trend that could lead to similar privatized plans for the health coverage provided to our troops and veterans. For if they honestly believe that seniors will receive quality care at a more affordable price to the taxpayer, what's to stop them from going after TRICARE and the VA?

My amendment will protect health care provided to seniors and the disabled from being privatized or being subject to arbitrary spending caps. It would extend the same protection to health coverage for active duty military and their families, as well as veterans. This amendment would protect Medicare, TRICARE, and VA health care from being eliminated and replaced with voucher or premium support programs.

The Road to Ruin budget ends Medicare. This is a program that 46 million seniors and disabled individuals rely on for their health care. Rather than guaranteed benefits, seniors and the disabled will be left with a voucher, or so-called premium support, that by design cannot and will not keep up with rising health care costs. The private market views seniors as a risky and expensive investment. So too the disabled. So too military servicemembers and veterans who have unique health needs earned through their sacrifice in service to America.

The question before us today is not whether to reduce the deficit, but how. We have balanced the budget before without ending Medicare. We can do it again without the painful consequences that the Republican plan would initiate, where our seniors would pay 68 cents of every dollar of insurance required as compared to Congress paying 28 cents on every dollar.

Forty-six million people rely on Medicare today. Even more will depend on it in the future. Those many millions deserve a vote. That vote has been denied to them by the Republican leadership of the House.

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