mr. chairman , i rise in strong support of the brown amendment . 
over the objections of many of us , the budget resolution arbitrarily cut $ 10 billion out of medicaid . 
according to cbo , medicaid provides health care for 28 million poor children , 16 million working parents , 6 million elderly people , and 9 million disabled people . 
mr. chairman , these cuts are not illusory . 
they are not tiny amounts of money . 
they are billions of dollars that go to our hospitals , our doctors , our nursing homes , and our home health providers . 
they are the indispensable link in ensuring that these 55 million people medicaid serves get the health care they need . 
the cuts will mean one of three things . 
states will make up the difference . 
unlikely , since they are making do with less already . 
or providers will take less for the services they provide , and they are already losing money , so scratch that idea . 
or the third scenario , poor people will get less health care , and that is , unfortunately , what will happen . 
i oppose these cuts . 
i did not support the creation of the medicaid commission . 
the challenges we face in medicaid are not caused by medicaid . 
they are caused by a failing health care system . 
using a commission to arbitrarily cut medicaid funds by $ 10 billion will not solve anything . 
it will just pass the buck to those around us , those in society who have the least and who are the neediest . 
this is an immoral action which does not reflect the values of our country . 
i urge my colleagues to support the brown amendment . 
