Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise today in offering an amendment with
Senator Stabenow to guarantee we keep a sacred promise to our Nation's
seniors to protect the Medicare Program for years to come.

The budget we have in front of us doesn't balance our values or
priorities as a country. Unfortunately, it misses the mark entirely for
our seniors. To put it into perspective, the Senate Republican budget
cuts the Medicare Program by almost three times as much as the House
Republican budget.

My amendment ensures we protect our seniors from any effort to cut
Medicare beneficiaries' guaranteed benefits, privatize Medicare into a
premium support plan or increase out-of-pocket spending on drugs or
prevention services.

In 2013, over half the Medicare beneficiaries had incomes below
$23,000 a year. We can't attempt to balance the Nation's budget on the
backs of our seniors. There is a reason why the National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare is urging a ``yes'' vote on this
amendment and a ``no'' vote on the Republican budget.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Bennet-Stabenow
amendment, and I yield whatever time remains to the senior Senator from
Michigan.

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