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Washington D.C.- Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, issued the following statement as House Democrats prepared to abolish the cost-containment ‘trigger’ from Medicare laws as established by the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act:
“In 2003, my Republican Study Committee colleagues and I worked to add a little-known provision into the Medicare Modernization Act that required the Medicare trustees to issue a funding warning should Medicare expenditure projections grow to levels that took away from other important national priorities. For the third straight year, the trustees issued a warning that, because of its unsustainable growth, Medicare will soon consume a record-breaking percentage of its funding from general income tax revenues, putting other important national priorities at risk.
“House Democrats are so indifferent to the Medicare trustees’ funding warnings that they are using a procedural vote to turn off the trigger and block legislation that would reform medical liability laws and ensure that recipients like Warren Buffett and Ross Perot pay extra for their Medicare prescription drugs.
“Once again, in the face of a looming crisis, the majority in the House would put the next election above the next generation and kick the can down the road on necessary entitlement reform. Medicare is going broke, and Democrats had an opportunity—an opportunity required by law—to fix the problem, and once again they have failed in their obligation to the American people.”
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