| 00:00:00 | TO CONCEDE THAT NOT ONE PARTY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DEBT? |
| 00:00:03 | WE ALL ARE. |
| 00:00:05 | WE WERE HEADED TOWARD THIS FISCAL CLIFF LONG BEFORE THE CURRENT PRESIDENT TOOK THE WHEEL. |
| 00:00:10 | LET'S FACE THAT. |
| 00:00:12 | I THINK WE HAVE ON THIS SIDE. |
| 00:00:15 | BUT LEADERSHIP REQUIRES FESSING UP TO IT AND ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING TO CHANGE IT. |
| 00:00:21 | THIS PLAN DOESN'T END THE MEDICARE GUARANTEE. |
| 00:00:25 | ARITHMETIC DOES. |
| 00:00:27 | UNLESS WE CHANGE SOMETHING, UNLESS WE PRINT -- PUT IT ON SOLVENT FOOTING, THE GUARANTEE IS GONE. |
| 00:00:34 | MEDICARE WILL BE BANKRUPT UNDER THE CURRENT TRAJECTORY. |
| 00:00:38 | SO WHAT THIS PLAN DOES IS RECOGNIZE THAT AND SAY, IF YOU'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PLAN, IF YOU'RE CURRENTLY DRAWING BENEFITS, THE PLAN SHOULDN'T CHANGE FOR YOU, BUT THOSE WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN 55 WILL NEED A PLAN THAT IS SOLVENT. |
| 00:00:51 | THAT DOES WORK OVER TIME. |
| 00:00:53 | SO WE'RE NOT ENDING THAT GUARANTEE, THE CURRENT SYSTEM ENDS THAT GUARANTEE. |
| 00:00:58 | WE'RE TRYING TO FIX IT HERE. |
| 00:01:00 | SO I COMMEND THE GENTLEMAN FOR PUTTING SO MUCH TIME INTO THIS, I COMMEND HOUSE REPUBLICANS FOR ACTUALLY COMING UP AND FESSING TO THE TRUTH THAT NOT ONE PARTY GOT US INTO THIS BUT WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION AND THIS IS THE ONLY BUDGET BEING PRESENTED ALONG WITH ONE OTHER LATER, THE R. |
| 00:01:16 | S.C. BUDGET, THAT ACTUALLY TREATS THIS PROBLEM SERIOUSLY. |
| 00:01:19 | THAT TREATS IT WITH THE SERIOUSNESS IT DESERVES, THAT ACTUALLY HAS A PLAN TO GET OUT OF IT. |
| 00:01:24 | SO I COMMEND THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS FOR PUTTING IT FORWARD AND I PLAN TO SUPPORT IT AND I YIELD BACK. |
| 00:01:30 | THE CHAIR: THE GENTLEMAN YIELDS BACK. |
| 00:01:31 | THE GENTLEMAN FROM MARYLAND. |
| 00:01:33 | MR. VAN HOLLEN: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIRMAN. |
| 00:01:35 | I WOULD POINT OUT AGAIN, JUST IN RESPONSE TO |
Mr. FLAKE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
When you're hearing this discussion, you think: When are we actually going to tackle this problem? When are all of us going to concede that not one party is responsible for this debt but that we all are? We were headed toward this fiscal cliff long before the current President took the wheel. Let's face that. I think we have on this side. Yet leadership requires fessing up to it and actually doing something to change it.
This plan doesn't end the Medicare guarantee--arithmetic does. Unless we change something, unless we put it on solvent footing, the guarantee is gone. Medicare will be bankrupt under the current trajectory. So what this plan does is recognize that and say, if you're currently in the plan, if you're currently drawing benefits, the plan shouldn't change for you; but those who are younger than 55 will need a plan that is solvent, that does work over time. So we're not ending that guarantee. The current system ends that guarantee. We're trying to fix it here.
I commend the gentleman for putting so much time into this. I commend the House Republicans for actually coming up and fessing up to the truth that not one party got us into this but that we're in this situation. This is the only budget being presented, along with one other later, the RSC budget, that actually treats this problem seriously, that treats it with the seriousness it deserves, and that actually has a plan to get out of it. So I commend the House Republicans for putting it forward, and I plan to support it.