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Pelosi Remarks at Event Celebrating 52nd Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid

July 27, 2017

Contact: Ashley Etienne/Caroline Behringer, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined the Seniors Task Force and the Democratic Women's Working Group to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. Below are the Leader's remarks:

Leader Pelosi. Good morning everyone. Thank you. Thank you very much for your kind words. I accept that compliment on behalf of our entire caucus who has worked very hard to come together around a strong message in support of America's working families. I especially want to acknowledge [Congresswoman] Cheri Bustos and [Congressman] David Cicilline and [Congressman] Hakeem Jeffries, our chairs of the [Democratic Policy and Communications Committee] where we have been having the meetings where Members could listen and tell us what they are thinking. Now we are taking it on the road. It is going to be road-tested in peoples' districts. Part of that better future piece of it involves just what we are talking about here, something so important.

When [President] Lyndon Johnson signed this bill, he spoke of Medicare and Medicaid as having transformational potential: ‘no longer will older Americans be denied the healing power of modern medicine'; ‘no longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over the years'; ‘no longer will young families see their own incomes and hopes eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep and moral obligations to their parents.'

This was a remarkable thing and when he signed it, he took it to Independence, Missouri and signed it with President [Harry] Truman because President Truman had been advocating for this. And, actually, when President [Franklin] Roosevelt proposed Social Security, they had hoped to have health care but it took that long, until the 1960s, to get it and, here we are, with the birthday.

In the 1990s, the Republicans said Medicare should ‘wither on the vine' and the actions that they would take would be to, little by little, undermine Medicare. Medicare is a guarantee. That is its beauty. That is what it means to people. It is a guarantee. So the Speaker says we are going to make it a voucher, it is no longer a guarantee, it is no longer Medicare and that must be stopped, in addition to capping and cutting Medicaid. Congresswoman [Lois] Frankel said it, it pays for almost two-thirds of the cost in nursing homes.

And let me say about Congresswoman [Lois] Frankel, she represents a district that is blessed with many people who understand the value of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and she has come here as a champion, a relentless, persistent, not one minute goes by, without making the case, or viewing any action we may take through that prism and how it affects our seniors. So thank you, our Chair of the Women's Task Force, and [Congresswoman] Jan Schakowsky and [Congresswoman] Doris Matsui, oh my gosh, they too have been relentless in terms of creating opportunities, making venues for us to come together to see what is at stake, to protect and defend Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

So I just want to tell you a personal story. When I was very young, John F. Kennedy was running for President of the United States and he came to Baltimore and he was going to have one of these call-in television shows. This was a brand-new concept and for some reason one of the people who was supposed to answer the phones did not come or whatever it was, and they said to me, here I was, "would you be one of the phone answerers to take them?" We are on TV. "Senator, this is the question." Every question that any one of us had was about health insurance for seniors. Every single question.

Fast forward, now I'm older, I'm chair of the California [Democratic Party] – [Governor] Jerry Brown is running for President of the United States in 1976. 1960 to 1976, not that far apart, although much has happened in between. We have the call-in show again, it was all automated by then, they did not need us, just the Governor [Jerry Brown] taking the calls and all of the questions were about expanding Medicare, covering health care, prescription drugs. And so we said, I do not know, in sixteen years are seniors the only ones who watch television when these shows come on? Or is this the major concern of health and economic security to America's families?

We are still fighting the fight, as we celebrate the birthday, we understand the blessing it is and thank all of you for your outside mobilizing as we maneuver internally. And one of the things we must do is to stop what is happening in the Senate, it is an assault on Medicaid as well as undermining the solvency of Medicare. So as we say happy birthday to Medicare, let us remember how long it took to get it all and now we have all these years of experience and the blessings that it is to your families. Making America healthier, making America stronger, happy birthday Medicare, happy birthday to my colleagues.

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Issues:Health Care