Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 6.djvu/642

 110 STAT. 4464 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS^JUNE 13, 1996 (4) such a plan should be formulated and implemented so that this generation can save future generations from the crushing burdens of the Federal debt. SEC. 406. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMITMENT TO A BALANCED BUDGET BY FISCAL YEAR 2002. It is the sense of Congress that the President and Congress should continue to adhere to the statutory commitment made by both parties on November 20, 1995, to enact legislation to achieve a balanced budget not later than fiscal year 2002 as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office. SEC. 407. SENSE OF CONGRESS TIL.T TAX REDUCTIONS SHOULD BENE- FIT WORKING FAMILIES. It is the sense of Congress that this concurrent resolution on the budget assumes any reductions in taxes should be structured to benefit working families by providing family tax relief and incentives to stimulate savings, investment, job creation, and economic growth. SEC. 408. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON A BIPARTISAN COMMISSION ON THE SOLVENCY OF MEDICARE. (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds that— (1) the Trustees of Medicare have concluded that "the Medicare program is clearly unsustainable in its present form"; (2) the Trustees of Medicare concluded in 1995 that "the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which pays inpatient hospital expenses, will be able to pay benefits for only about 7 years and is severely out of financial balance in the long range"; (3) preliminary data made available to Congress indicate that the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will go bankrupt in the year 2001, rather than the year 2002, as predicted last year; (4) the Public Trustees of Medicare have concluded that "the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund shows a rate of growth of costs which is clearly unsustainable"; (5) the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform concluded that, absent long-term changes in Medicare, projected Medicare outlays will increase from about 4 percent of the payroll tax base today to over 15 percent of the payroll tax base by the year 2030; (6) the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform recommended, by a vote of 30 to 1, that spending and revenues available for Medicare must be brought into long-term balance; and (7) in the most recent Trustees' report, the Public Trustees of Medicare "strongly recommend that the crisis presented by the financial condition of the Medicare trust funds be urgently addressed on a comprehensive basis, including a review of the program's financing methods, benefit provisions, and delivery mechanisms", (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS. —I t is the sense of Congress that in order to meet the aggregates and levels in this budget resolution— (1) a special bipartisan commission should be established immediately to make recommendations concerning the most appropriate response to the short-term solvency and long-term sustainability issues facing the Medicare program which do

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