Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 3.djvu/477

 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—APR. 15, 1999 113 STAT. 1995 of a majority of members on the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. (14) The Breaux-Thomas recommendiitions provide for new prescription drug coverage for the neediest beneficiaries within a plan that substantially improves the solvency of the Medicare Program without transferring new lOUs to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that must be redeemed later by raising taxes, cutting benefits, or borrowing more from the public, (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.— It is the sense of the Senate that the provisions contained in this budget resolution assume the following: (1) This resolution does not adopt the President's proposals to reduce Medicare Program spending by $19,400,000,000 over 10 years, nor does this resolution adopt the President's proposal to spend $10,000,000,000 of Medicare Program funds on unrelated programs. (2) Congress will not transfer to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund new lOUs that must be redeemed later by raising taxes on American workers, cutting benefits, or borrowing more from the public. (3) Congress should work in a bipartisan fashion to extend the solvency of the Medicare Program and to ensure that benefits under that program will be availalDle to beneficiaries in the future. (4) The American public will be v^ell and fairly served in this undertaking if the Medicare Projjram reform proposals are considered within a framework that is bsised on the following five key principles offered in testimony to the Senate Committee on Finance by the Comptrolleir General of the United States: (A) Affordability. (B) Equity. (C) Adequacy. (D) Feasibility. (E) Public acceptance. (5) The recommendations by Senator Breaux and Congressman Thomas provide for new prescrip1:ion drug coverage for the neediest beneficiaries within a plan that substantially improves the solvency of the Medicare Program without transferring to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund new lOUs that must be redeemed later by raising taxes, cutting benefits, or borrowing more from the public. (6) Congress should move expeditiously to consider the bipartisan recommendations of the Chsdrmen of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. (7) Congress should continue to work with the President as he develops and presents his plan to fix the problems of the Medicare Program. SEC. 323. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON EDUCATION. ^ It is the sense of the Senate that— (1) the levels in this concurrent resolution assume that— (A) increased Federal funding for elementary and secondary education should be directed to States and local school districts; (B) the Individusds with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) should be fully funded at the originally

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