FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2000

SEN. BREAUX ON CLINTON'S LAST STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS Following President Clinton's eighth and final State of the Union Address, Sen. Breaux (D-La.) said tonight that he is encouraged that great strides can still be made this year to reform Medicare, improve education and cut taxes. "Improving Medicare for our seniors and helping low-income Americans buy health insurance remain two priorities as we enter the final year of this presidency," Sen. Breaux said. "I believe our good economic times flow from many of the good fiscal policies of this Administration, and I support using some of the resulting budget surplus to increase investments and cut taxes." Currently, Sen. Breaux has the only bipartisan Medicare reform legislation pending before the Senate, introduced with its only physician, Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to bring the nation's Medicare system in line with 21st century medicine, including prescription drug coverage. And while Medicare is projected to go broke years before Social Security, Sen. Breaux said he supports the President's efforts to secure this retirement system through more debt reduction, as well as garnering more congressional support for his own bipartisan\bicameral legislation that would allow Americans to invest two percent in individual private investment accounts. As the ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Sen. Breaux spoke out in support of another Administration proposal unveiled tonight to provide a tax credit to Americans with long-term care needs or for the family members who care for them. And, as an early promoter of the Administration's welfare reform efforts, Sen. Breaux praised the President for proposing a $21 billion expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which encourages more people to move from welfare to work by "making work pay." Also, to help low-income working Americans, the Senator stressed the importance of passing a health insurance tax credit, like the assistance for the uninsured that he unveiled yesterday. He said these kinds of tax credits may end up in final tax cutting legislation he expects the Congress will pass before the year's end. And on the education front, Sen. Breaux said his Senate Centrist Coalition plans to be active on mainstream legislation to raise academic achievement and opportunities that will complement the Administration's $120 million initiative for school modernization and renovation and another $247 million to promote safe schools and healthy students.