Last week, nearly all Senate Republicans signed a letter to President Obama asking him to present a plan to Congress to reform Medicare. Conservatives should understand why we did this, and why all of us need to keep the pressure on the White House to respond.
The Medicare Trustees have made the situation clear. Medicare’s trust fund will be insolvent in 2024. Medicare’s unfunded liabilities are more than $24 trillion and growing, which means there’s a $24 trillion gap between Medicare’s future benefit costs and the future taxes and premiums it already expects to collect.
The president has submitted no plan to save Medicare as we know it, and his lack of leadership is bad enough. But by not submitting a plan, the president is also violating the law.
Federal law requires the Medicare Trustees to issue a funding warning in their annual report whenever they project that Medicare’s dedicated revenues will fall significantly short of its outlays within seven years. They have issued such a warning, known as a “Medicare Trigger,” every year since 2006.
The president, in turn, is required by law to take action whenever the trustees issue a Medicare Trigger two years in a row. The White House must submit to Congress proposed legislation to address the projected funding crisis. President Bush followed the law by submitting a plan in 2008, though Congress never voted on it.
President Obama has taken a different approach: He has ignored the law altogether. The Medicare Trustees continue to warn us every year, and yet for the past three years we have received no proposal from the Obama administration.
His voice and those of his fellow elected Democrats are missing from this debate. We have heard from bipartisan groups like Domenici-Rivlin and the president’s own debt commission. We have heard from Rep. Paul Ryan and the vast majority of Republicans who have voted for his plan.
But Republicans can’t reform Medicare alone, and we won’t negotiate against ourselves. We need the president to lead. And we need the president to follow the law.
— Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas attorney general, Texas Supreme Court justice, and Bexar County district judge.
Thank you for reporting President Obama's violation of the Medicare Trigger law, Senator Cornyn.
It never fails to amaze that lawmakers advertise their indignation with the administration's failures (whether Republican or Democrat), but stop short of doing anything that would jeopardize their office.
How about doing something more substantial than writing a column about it, Senator? How about resigning in disgust?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWith all due respect Senator,
We elect people such as yourself to perform precisely the duties you illustrate here. Checks and balances we refer to it as.
It is quite obvious to any Americans who care to pay attention that this administration is the antithesis of all America is and stands for. Senators and representatives have a duty to our republic to minimize the damage Mr. Obama willfully inflicts - not use it for maximum political maneuvering as is currently occurring.
Believe me, you have the support of those Americans - who care - behind you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnd as for the rest, sheep go where they are lead.
This is the exact idiocy from Washington that has us in this mess. There is no trust fund Senator, the program is broke. When you look at my total medical budget from what's confisicated and given to others and what i pay for medical insurance for me and my family, its obscene to you have you continue to sell this snake oil. Get the government out of the the medical business. The wealth can be better spent by individuals and private charity.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSenator,
How many more Laws will you let this childman ignore before you Impeach him and save America?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI am curious, maybe even confused.
Since the President seems to ignore these type of legal obligations, what is the process that is to be followed? I take it that the first step is this letter. And that will be ignored for several months..... Then what?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSurprise, the honor system doesn't work on a man who has no honor. You should have come up with a mechanism of enforcement rather than merely hoping the President would always be of a mind to follow the law.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo, let me get this straight.
We have a law passed by Congress telling the President to do a job that Congress is equally capable of doing and is clearly a power within the legislative sphere, even if not exclusively, namely, proposing legislation to address a particular problem.
I see a huge separation of powers issue here. The legislative branch cannot pass laws telling the President that he has to propose laws addressing particular subjects. What if the President does not believe that Congress should necessarily pass a law addressing a particular subject at this time, but should instead should focus on other matters first? For example, the President may believe that it is much more urgent to propose legislation that will do something in a much more direct manner to create jobs or accomplish other goals. When the President proposes legislation, he is sending a political message. Congress cannot mandate that the President send a political message that he does not agree with and does not want to send.
The President must always have the discretion to propose or not propose legislation addressing particular subjects according to his own discretion and Congress may not pass a law purporting to eliminate that discretion. I applaud the President in NOT proposing any such legislation, especially when his opponents (or are they enemies?) bring up an unconstitutional law as a reason that he is obligated to do so.
As for Senator Cornyn, maybe he should keep his focus on his own oath to uphold the Constitution rather than spending his time berating the President for not complying with an obviously unconstitutional law.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt’s increasingly hard for me to see how the country gets to 2024 intact, to worry about this. Medicare is only one aspect of the looming disaster.
Robert A. Hall
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAuthor: The Coming Collapse of the American Republic
(All royalties go to a charity to help wounded veterans)
Yet another impeachable offense. Am I the only one who wonders what Congress is waiting for?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIs anyone, including Sen Cornyn, surprised at this point that Obama has nothing to offer on the Medicare funding crisis?
It's simple: addressing problems with Medicare funding risks political suicide. The Democrats have evaded this issue since they took control of Congress in 2006; they did not address this issue in the 2009 budget and offered no 2010 budget at all. They have made a conscious decision to let Medicare die if by so doing they can demagogue conservatives and, above all, get Big O reelected in 2012.
The statesman is concerned about policy, the politician about reelection. We know what Obama is. Is anyone really shocked?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat Senator Cornyn failed to tell you here is that the Medicare Trigger has been removed by HR 5 in 2009 External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseand that the ACA passed in 2009 actually fixes the Part D doughnut hole that his colleagues enacted to further enrich their Big Pharma campaign donors back in 2006.
Trustees say 2019 Medicare COULD run out of money primarily because of Private Enterprise costs. You know those pesky anti-Christian profits Healthcare providers love so much. So instead of going after the real culprits here, you know the anti-Christian Americans who say money is more important than their fellow man, it's better to dismantle a publicly loved program and hand it off to other private enterprises because they have a proven track record of standing up for Americans. Much like Senator Cornyn. He loves standing up for wealthy white Americans and to hell with everyone else. I'm a constituent so trust me I know who Johnny works for and it sure ain't the good people of Texas well maybe the wealthy ones who help pay for the campaign.
HR 5 included this ridiculous provision: “Medicare Cost Containment- Section 803 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 shall not apply during the One Hundred Eleventh Congress.” This was so Democrats in Congress could ignore problems with Medicare funding. This only gets rid of Congress' obligation to debate legislation submitted by the President. It doesn't get rid of the requirement for the President to submit legislation that would slow Medicare's cost growth. You could argue that the President doesn't introduce legislation. If that is the argument, then the constitutionality of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act should be questioned.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseToo many people (including many in our govt) seem to believe that the choice we have on Medicare is between keeping the benefits we now have or getting less due to benefit cuts done to keep the program solvent. The reality is the choice we have is between getting less or getting nothing at all. When the whole ponzi scheme collapses as it inevitably must unless we make the necessary cuts there will be no one to blame but ourselves.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusethey need to leave medicare alone and go after medicaid. the elderly have paid into the system all their lives, pay monthly premiums, pay an annual deductible, and pay 20% of all medical costs. medicaid, you know, that program that covers lazy people who never paid into the system and make their livings on their backs making more babies for more money, pays every dime with no deductible and no premiums. they're the ones who take an ambulance to the emergency room for a cold because they get seen 1st coming in an ambulance. cost - about $1000. the elderly go to the doctor in their own cars or on a bus. cost - about $100. overhaul medicaid and afdc/food stamps, and leave the elderly alone.
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