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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Clinton Strengthens Attack On Gop’s Budget Action Gingrich, Dole Return Radio Fire And Try To Explain Comments That Imply They Want Medicare To Fail

Charles Green Knight-Ridder

President Clinton accused Republican congressional leaders Saturday of trying to hoodwink the public into thinking they’re trying to save Medicare when their real agenda is to destroy it.

In his weekly radio address, Clinton sharpened his attacks on Republican bills to balance the budget and said there was no room for compromise unless Congress reversed course on health care, education, the environment and taxes.

“Back off your cuts in these vital areas,” Clinton said. “Until you do, there is nothing for us to talk about.”

GOP leaders quickly responded, charging that Clinton was more interested in preserving the failed status quo than in working with Republicans to rein in the federal government and spur economic growth.

“He would be wise to think twice about vetoing the balanced budget and jeopardizing long overdue revolutionary change,” said House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia in a Republican radio response that also featured Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas.

The accusations came the morning after the Senate worked past midnight to pass a Republican bill to balance the budget by the year 2002 - partly by slowing the growth of health care programs for the elderly and poor and curbing a tax break for low-income workers. A similar bill cleared the House Thursday.

After the House and Senate work out differences between the two bills - a process that could take several weeks - the legislation will be sent to the White House, where it almost certainly will be vetoed.

Still unclear is whether Clinton and Republican leaders would then try to negotiate a compromise plan that could be signed into law.

The rhetoric Saturday highlighted the difficulty the two sides may have in agreeing on a consensus budget.

Partisan tensions have heightened in recent days as Democrats have accused Republicans of unfairly ramming the budget bills through the House and Senate, while Republicans have charged that Democrats are using scare tactics to try to whip up public opposition.

In his radio address, Clinton said both Gingrich and Dole were no friends of Medicare.

“The Republicans say they support Medicare. They say they just want to reform it. But just this week we learned that the Senate majority leader is bragging that he opposed Medicare from the beginning. And the speaker of the House admitted that his goal is to have Medicare, quote, ‘wither on the vine.’

“When they say those things, it’s clear that the Republicans come not to praise Medicare, but to bury it,” Clinton said.

Clinton was referring to remarks by Dole and Gingrich in recent days. Addressing the American Conservative Union on Tuesday, Dole said he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare in 1965 “because we knew it wouldn’t work.”

Gingrich was quoted as telling a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association conference Tuesday that Medicare is going to “wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it.”

Both Dole and Gingrich have responded that they’re intent on saving Medicare.

Dole has said his vote in 1965 reflected doubts about the government’s ability to manage the health insurance system, while Gingrich aides have said he was referring to his expectation that many seniors will opt out of the traditional Medicare for managed care plans promoted by Republicans.

In their radio response to Clinton, Dole and Gingrich accused Clinton and his Democratic allies of trying to divert attention from the president’s failure to provide leadership on the budget.

The Republican budget would slow the growth of Medicare by trimming payments to hospitals and doctors and requiring elderly beneficiaries to pay higher monthly premiums.