The Republican Medicare Plan. After months of claiming that $270 billion in Medicare cuts are necessary to save Medicare and balance the budget, the Republican Leadership is finally owning up to the truth behind their plan to dismantle Medicare.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole Says He Is Against Medicare Because It Doesn't Work. Speaking to the American Conservative Union on Tuesday, Dole said that he was against creating Medicare in 1965 "because we knew it wouldn't work."

"I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare because we knew it wouldn't work in 1965."

-- Sen. Bob Dole, October 25, 1995

Speaker Gingrich Wishes That Medicare Would Just Wither Away. Speaking to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association conference on Tuesday, Gingrich reaffirmed that politics, not policy or values, is guiding his effort to end Medicare:

"Now, we don't get rid of it in round one because we don't think that's politically smart...But we believe it is going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it."

-- Rep. Newt Gingrich, October 24, 1995

In 1994, The Republicans Claimed They Wouldn't Slash Medicare. In 1994, the President said that Republicans would have to slash Medicare to pay for their large tax cut and the Contract with America. They denied it.

In Early 1995, The Republicans Changed Their Tune And Claimed That Cuts Were Necessary To "Save" Medicare. In 1995, the GOP turned around and called for a huge Medicare cut -- three times the largest in history. They claimed that the only reason for this huge cut was to "save" Medicare.

"Everything we're doing in Medicare is driven by the actuaries' estimate of what it takes to build a savable system; it's not driven by a budget need." -- Newt Gingrich, May 5, 1995

Now, The American People Know The Truth: The Republican Leadership Would Just As Soon End Medicare. The Republican leadership wants to send our country back to the days when there was no health security for older Americans:

o Before Medicare, 50 percent of America's elderly had no health insurance. Today, 97 percent of America's senior citizens are insured through the program.

o Before Medicare, nearly 1/3 of all senior citizens lived in poverty. By 1993, the poverty rate among elderly had dropped to 12 percent.

President Clinton Believes We Need To Balance The Budget While Maintaining Our Values And Honoring Our Commitment To America's Elderly -- Helping Them Live With The Health And Economic Security They Deserve.

The President And Congressional Democrats Have Taken Steps To Increase The Solvency Of The Medicare Trust Fund.

o In 1993, the President's five-year deficit reduction package extended the life of the Trust Fund by an additional three years. Not one Republican voted for this extension.

o In 1994, the President's health care reform proposal would have extended the Medicare Trust Fund for an additional five years. The Republicans opposed health care reform.

o The President's 1995 Balanced Budget would extend the Trust Fund until 2006 without increasing premiums or reducing services. The Republican plan cuts Medicare three times greater than any cut in history just to finance a huge tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

The Republicans Have Been All Over the Map When It Comes To Medicare. First the Republicans voted against protecting Medicare (1993); then they opposed modest Medicare cuts (1994); then they claimed that they didn't need to cut Medicare to finance their huge tax cuts (1994); and now they stand up for a plan that cuts 3 times more out of Medicare than ever before -- decimating the health care system and increasing costs for older Americans (1995).

Now, we know where they really stand. The Republican Congressional leadership would rather just do away with the Medicare system. The Republican leadership values tax cuts over health security for older Americans.

The American People Have Grave Doubts About The Republican Plan Is No Good. New York Times/CBS Poll, October 25, 1995:

o By more than a 2 to 1 ratio, the American people disapprove of the Republican Medicare plan.

o 65 percent of older Americans trust the President on Medicare, while only 18 percent trust the Republicans.

Even Republicans Are Now Calling Their Own Budget "Unfair." One Republican Senator called the $245 billion tax cut "unfair" and posed the same question the President has asked for months:

"How can we justify cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, student aid, job training, low-income energy assistance, workplace safety, Head Start, child immunization and Earned Income Tax Credits while we simultaneously give corporate tax breaks ... and tax breaks to people in high brackets."

-- Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), LA Times, Oct. 25, 1995