SILENCE IS THE ENEMY

by Hon. Charles Rangel

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2003 -- I have been criticized for equating the lack of public outcry over the revolutionary changes in the Medicare program being considered in Congress with the silence that accompanied some of history's worst atrocities, including slavery. 

My remarks in opposition to the Medicare bill were taken out of context and obviously misunderstood.  My point was that disastrous consequences result when decent people remain silent about critical issues.  On the other hand, when decent people mobilize as they did during the civil rights movement, great injustices can be reversed.

No one is equating the crisis over Medicare (or the political players involved) with historic crimes against mankind.  However, it is not out of order to sound the alarm that the entire social safety net of social programs is being shredded and that our seniors are first on the list to suffer.

The Republican Medicare bill is a Trojan horse.  It uses the lure of a flawed prescription drug benefit to sneak through provisions designed to end Medicare as we know it.  The Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee has boasted as much.

The Bush administration is also seeking to undermine the progressive tax system.  The Bush policies reduce taxes for the most affluent Americans while raiding the Social Security and Medicare trust funds and increasing the deficit.

The result is a federal government that lacks the revenue needed to fund vital programs. These responsibilities are being pushed to overburdened states and cities, which must then  raise taxes on working people, while leaving the elderly and poor out in the cold.  The Republicans even plan to privatize Social Security and transform Medicaid into block grants to the states.

These are more than policy differences; they are a systematic assault on the capacity of the U.S. government to meet citizens' needs.  The American people should be warned, loudly, and not lulled by silence.  Though I may not be as eloquent as some, when the stakes are this high, you can bet your life that I won't be silent.