Washington - U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez took to the Senate floor today to vote to protect Medicare and speak in strong opposition the Republican plan to end the program. The House-passed Republican budget proposal would have increased the cost of health care for seniors while extending billions in tax breaks to millionaires and Big Oil companies. The bill was defeated 40-57.

Below is an excerpt, video, and full text of Menendez's remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Mr. President, balancing the budget should not be about providing subsidies to Big Oil while ending Medicare as we know it. It should not be about leaving seniors with higher health care costs to further line the pockets of oil company executives. That is not what the American people believe our collective values should be. Just ask the people in New York who sent that message loud and clear last night. People are willing to do their part, if everyone is sharing in the sacrifice, but the Republican budget fails the test. It fails to recognize that we are all in this together and should benefit together, sacrifice together - each of us working together for the betterment of all of us."

Video is available on the Senator's YouTube channel, and below is the full text of his remarks as prepared for delivery:

The Budget Debate

Remarks by Senator Robert Menendez

Senate Floor - May 25, 2011

Budgets Are Not About Numbers Alone

Mr. President, I rise deeply concerned that my colleagues on the other side - in their ideological haze - seem to have lost sight of the real people whose lives will be affected by the choices we make.

It seems to me that the Republican budget proposal fails to realize that budgets are not just about numbers...

...Budgets are about people -- their hopes, their dreams, their expectations for a better life for themselves and their children...

We all have a budget, every family has one, maybe not a formal budget, but we all have one...

On the revenue side we have what we earn from gainful employment, investments, interest on savings...

...and on the flip side we have our expenses: our mortgage payment, groceries, utilities -- and we have our contributions perhaps to our church or synagogue, donations to a favorite charity, a favorite cause...

...these are expressions of our personal values, just as the nation's budget is an expression of our collective values...

We may not always think of the budget in those terms, but we should. It's about our values.

Republicans Are Out of Touch with America

Well, we found out last night -- in upstate New York -- that the Republican vision of ending Medicare as we know it does not reflect American values, and voters are not buying it.

Once again, our Republican colleagues have shown that they are out of touch with the American people and are on the wrong side of history when it comes to what Americans think is fair - what they think is right.

Americans don't think it's right to give subsidies to big oil companies, tax breaks to millionaires, and take Medicare away from seniors.

They are saying that it's time to abandon the tired refrain of privatization and ending Medicare as we know it...

It's time to abandon their ideological agenda that leaves seniors to fend for themselves.

It's not who we are as a people, and it's not what Americans want.

Medicare -- Fort Lee Seniors

This week I met with a group of seniors in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

We discussed what the Republican budget cuts would do to the Medicare system they have depended on for decades.

At the Fort Lee senior center, a typical 65 year old, under the Republican budget proposal, would pay an additional $7,060 by 2022.

Right now, over 140,000 seniors in New Jersey are impacted by the donut hole.

Under the Republican Plan those seniors will pay an additional $80 million for prescription drugs next year, and by 2020 New Jersey seniors currently in the donut hole will pay an additional $1.6 billion.

Nationwide, nearly 4 million seniors would pay $2.2 billion more for prescription drugs in 2012 alone under the Republican plan.

And, by turning Medicaid into a block grant program, the Republican plan could cost America more than two million private-sector jobs over the next five years and threaten our economic recovery.

But that's not all. Nationwide, the Republican plan could cut more than $500 billion in Medicaid funding for seniors and the disabled, including life-saving nursing home care.

Leaving us with the uncomfortable and unanswerable question I pose to my Republican friends: What will those people do - where will they go? What happens to them under the Republican budget plan?

These are people, not budget numbers. What happens to them?

Who Pays to Lower the Deficit and Who Does Not?

Who pays to lower the deficit and who does not under this Republican budget proposal?

The answer is clear. Middle class families pay. Seniors pay, but nothing is asked of the wealthiest Americans, and Big Oil still gets billions in subsidies.

Big Oil Subsidies

If we were serious about reducing the deficit in a balanced way, we would start with the obvious... subsidies for Big Oil.

The top 5 oil companies earned nearly $1 trillion over the last decade.

Passing my bill to repeal oil subsidies would save taxpayers $21 billion over 10 years.

We can safely assume oil profits will be much greater in the decade to come with higher oil prices, but let's assume the top 5 oil companies only get another $1 trillion in profits over the next decade.

...And let's not forget that these profits are in federal waters and on federal lands, so they are making these profits with America's own resources.

The cost of exploration, development, and production of oil for the Big 5 oil companies is about $11 per barrel...

...Oil has been trading at about $100 a barrel...

...that means Big Oil companies are enjoying a profit of over $90 per barrel of oil they extract.

Why in the world would they ever need subsidies in such conditions?

Conclusion -- A "Balanced" Approach

Mr. President, "balancing" the budget should not be about providing subsidies to Big Oil while ending Medicare as we know it. It should not be about leaving seniors with higher health care costs to further line the pockets of oil company executives.

That is not what the American people believe our collective values should be. Just ask the people in New York who sent that message loud and clear last night.

People are willing to do their part, if everyone is sharing in the sacrifice, but the Republican budget fails the test.

It fails to recognize that we are all in this together and should benefit together, sacrifice together - each of us working together for the betterment of all of us.

With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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