Representative Bill Thomas News Today

Too many Medicare patients are unaware that the quality of theirhealth care is in jeopardy.

Bakersfield, Calif., became more diverse and culturally expansive while the former House speaker was increasingly caught up in Washington’s barbed politics.

Dive into Kevin McCarthy's financial journey. See how politics shaped his wealth and understand his net worth.

Members of Congress are growing concerned that the Medicare billsnow being considered in conference will constitute a huge newun-funded liability - equivalent to a two-thirds increase in the$3.8 trillion in public debt. Neither the President nor responsiblelawmakers should accept a Medicare bill that adds to the un-fundedliabilities of Medicare and does not contain serious reform. Reformoptions detailed within.

The first budget Clinton submitted after the agreement containeddiscretionary outlays scored by the Congressional Budget Office at$12 billion over the agreed level.

Medicare patients today face reduced access to care, which will inevitably be rationed through the Affordable Care Act’s relentless payment cuts. Medicare premium support, long a bipartisan proposal, is the best alternative to this unhappy scenario.

The Prescription Drug Security Card could provide meaningful helpfor low-income seniors who do not have access to drug coverage.These seniors should be the priority for Washington policymakers,who can--and should--provide this help while creating a frameworkfor expanding drug coverage in tandem with overall Medicare reform.

Medicare can be fixed and it certainly will not take thousands of pages of regulations.

Whatever the outcome of the current House-Senate conference onMedicare legislation, taxpayers can depend on one thing: The costprojections of the Medicare drug entitlement keep rising.

A "territorial" tax system that taxes only income earned insidenational borders would allow U.S.-based companies to compete on alevel playing field with foreign competitors, particularly ifaccompanied by a significant reduction in the corporate tax rate.If Congress lacks the political will to engage in fundamentalreform, it should at least go as far toward a territorial taxsystem as possible.