Don't End Medicare

Floor Speech

(Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, my constituents are wondering when the House majority will hear their cries: Don't end Medicare. In fact, a recent CNN poll showed opposition to the Road to Ruin budget that ends Medicare, with the highest amongst those being senior citizens at 74 percent opposed to the plan.

In addition, the voters in the 26th Congressional District of New York recently made their voices heard when they elected Representative Kathy Hochul to be the newest Member of Congress. Their top concern was that the Republican budget threatens to end Medicare. They know that under the plan, anyone under the age of 55 will be forced to save an extra $182,000 just to pay for their future health care costs in retirements. That number rises to a startling $400,000 for those in their thirties. These statistics are even more astounding when you consider the billions of dollars in tax breaks Republicans have given away to our country's wealthiest individuals as well as Big Oil companies.

Enough is enough. If Republicans are serious about protecting our Nation's seniors, they would work with us to strengthen Medicare, not end it.

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