MEDICARE HELL WEEK, DAY TWO

Flanked by original sponsors ofMedicare, President Clinton commemorated the program's 30th birthday and vowed to a crowd of mostly elderly Americans, "I'm not going to let the government mess with your Medicare." Right on schedule,GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrichaccused the President of "a despicable strategy" to scare seniors: "He knows his numbers are false. He knows his anlaysis is false." Republican leaders challenged Clinton to present a plan to save Medicare within a week, though they gave themselves more time: "Republicans will have in 50 days a specific plan to save Medicare from bankruptcy," promised House Ways and Means chairman Bill Archer. Other sources tell TIME Daily that the GOP will present its plan after Labor Day, in an attempt to limit opposition and debate and pass a bill to its liking.