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Pelosi Vows To Protect Medicare Benefits

WASHINGTON (KCBS) – Bay Area Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is drawing a line in the sand in the debate over the future of Medicare.

As budget talks are progressing on Capitol Hill, Pelosi said she will not support any deal that includes a reduction in Medicare benefits.

"There is a bi-partisan discussion going on that is civil and constructive," she told Bob Schieffer on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "We've come to some areas where we can possibly reach agreement. But nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to."

KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:

Despite the progress, the former Speaker of the House said there remains a divide over Medicare.

"In our health care bill, we save a half a trillion dollars, which we plowed back into improved benefits for seniors in terms of prescription drugs," said Pelosi. "But even more important than that, we made it stable for about ten years."

A Republican Medicare plan would not change benefits for those 55 or older. But future beneficiaries would get a government subsidy to buy private insurance.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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