[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 86 (Thursday, June 30, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       LET'S EXPAND FEDERAL HEALTH CARE TO INCLUDE ALL AMERICANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Stearns] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot of talk about 
giving the American people the same type of health care that we here in 
Congress have available to us.
  It seems that everybody is jumping on this band wagon. In fact, First 
Lady Hillary Clinton recently said:

       Members of Congress are a lot of smart people, I have a 
     great deal of respect for them in both parties. If they 
     really believe that every American ought to have what they 
     have, which is guaranteed health insurance, they can figure 
     out how we can do it and afford to do it and delivery quality 
     health care.

  NBC's Brokaw:

       So what you're doing, is charging Congress to deliver to 
     the country what it has for itself.

  Hillary:

       That's right, I think that's only fair.'' [To Your Health, 
     June 21].

  Well, I can't say that I disagree with this concept because you see, 
Mr. Speaker, the Consumer Choice Health Security Act, the plan which I 
originally introduced last fall, does just that.
  Our plan provides universal coverage. No new taxes and budget 
neutral. We are happy to see that the President and his wife have come 
around to our way of thinking.
  I say this because the adminstration's plan, as introduced, would 
require all Americans to enroll in the Clinton plan's regional 
alliances, the large mandatory Government-sponsored health care 
purchasing cooperatives, Federal workers and Members of Congress would 
be able to keep their health benefits plans until at least January 
1998. It is noteworthy that the health care reform that is good enough 
for all other Americans is not good enough for Federal workers, 
including Members of Congress, until it has been tested on the rest of 
America first.
  It is most unfortunate that I, along with my colleagues on the Energy 
and Commerce Committee, will not have an opportunity to present our 
ideas and debate this issue fully in the Committee.
  The chairman has discharged the committee from fulfilling its 
obligation of formulating health care reform. Thus, members of the 
committee, which traditionally has been charged with this 
responsibility, will be shut out of the process. Not only has the 
legislation bypassed the subcommittee, which is the normal procedure, 
it will also bypass full committee.
  This doesn't say much for working together in a bipartisan manner. 
Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that Republicans have tried to work 
together and come up with a plan which we can all agree upon. The 
Rowland-Bilirakis bill is just one such example. I also believe our 
colleagues in the other body are also striving to make sure we end up 
with something upon which we can all agree.
  I would have liked to have had the opportunity to present my bill, 
the Consumer Choice Health Security Act, in committee. My bill would 
provide health care by expanding the current Federal health program 
which would ensure that all Americans will have the same choice of 
plans available to them that we here in Congress currently enjoy.
  It would provide the American people with a whole host of plans from 
which to choose. The key here is, or course, that we allow the consumer 
to make these choices for themselves, and not have the Federal 
Government take over this role.
  The majority of the American people have indicated that they want to 
make their own choices about health care, especially the right to 
choose their own doctor.
  Under this plan the consumer, not the employer, would own the plan 
and choose the benefits.
  We have structured this legislation to provide health insurance 
coverage for all Americans in a revolutionary manner, through tax 
credits and medical savings accounts.
  A major feature of the bill is that a refundable tax credit would 
replace the current exclusion available to households for company-
sponsored health insurance. Employers would still be responsible for 
making payroll deductions equal to the premiums for the plan chosen by 
the employee and for sending that money to the plan. The employer would 
also have to adjust the employee's tax withholdings to reflect the 
estimated credit available to an employee.
  I would like to emphasize that the consumer choice bill has no 
mandates on employers to provide health insurance. Employers must only 
give their employees the option of retaining their current benefits or 
cashing out their benefits and choosing another plan of their choice.
  A 25-percent tax credit would also apply to medical-savings accounts. 
These medical-savings accounts, which can accrue interest tax free, 
could be used to pay for medical expenses not covered by health 
insurance.
  I believe that by combining these innovative approaches Americans 
will be empowered to make their own choices about health care.

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