[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 88 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H5584-H5586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 483, MEDICARE SELECT EXPANSION

  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Dingell], the distinguished ranking member of the 
Committee on Commerce.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the facts from this debate are clear. The 
Democrats want to see that the discussions in the conference will 
address the proposed cuts in Medicare benefits. That is all we want.
  The hard fact is that senior citizens of this country are going to 
take a $300 billion hit on their Medicare costs and [[Page H5585]] that 
$300 billion hit is going to be used to finance a tax cut for the well-
to-do.
  Now, I can understand how my Republican colleagues get outraged about 
this. One of my colleagues from California quoted the President telling 
that Medicare is in trouble. Everybody has known Medicare was in 
trouble. The President tried to do something about it last year, and 
his comments of last year, quoted on this floor by the previous Member 
who addressed this body, simply said Medicare is in trouble unless you 
pass his universal health care coverage program. Every single 
Republican opposed that. Everybody knows health care in this country is 
in trouble. Everybody knows health care costs in this country are 
escalating at an excessive rate. Everybody knows that availability of 
insurance and the affordability of insurance is declining.
  We can talk about innovation and innovativeness and everything else, 
and a feeding frenzy of innovation that is supposed to take place. In 
the health care subcommittee, run by the gentleman from California, 
there has been no excessive innovation or anything of that kind going 
on in his committee and certainly nothing vaguely resembling a feeding 
frenzy of innovation, certainly no sign of innovation in his committee, 
nothing except cuts for the senior citizens, give a tax break to the 
rich and talk about how the Democrats are responsible for the problem.
  The real problem began last year in this Congress and the year before 
when the Republicans refused to a man to consider any reform in health 
care overall which would not only have addressed the problem of 
Medicare and its viability but also every other health care program in 
this country which would have made health care available to every 
American and which would have seen to it that the costs of health care 
for business, for industry, for government, and for the ordinary 
citizen would have gone back.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, we have been told that this is a debate about MediGap, 
and indeed it is. It is a debate about whether or not these conferees 
will consider the realities of what has occurred on this House floor 
with reference to the cuts and the increases in out-of-pocket costs to 
Medicare recipients across this country. There is a giant MediGap, 
because another 30 minutes later all we have is a blank page from the 
Republican Party with reference to what they are going to do to seniors 
across this country.
  They refuse to come to this floor and tell the people of America what 
the journalists have found, what the American Association of Retired 
Persons has found, that when a senior anywhere in this country reaches 
for their wallet to pay for the same level of health care, they are 
going to reach in and find it does not stretch as far as it used to, 
because their premiums, their deductible has been doubled, their 
premiums have been raised, new out-of-pocket costs face them, and 
instead of MediGap, the kind of insurance we are going to need is 
medigorge, because a giant gorge is being created that will not be 
filled unless this instruction is approved.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shays). Without objection, the previous 
question is ordered on the motion to instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct 
offered by the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett].
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 197, 
nays 224, not voting 13, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 355]

                               YEAS--197

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Baesler
     Baldacci
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Beilenson
     Bentsen
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bishop
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant (TX)
     Cardin
     Chapman
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coleman
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Danner
     de la Garza
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fields (LA)
     Filner
     Flake
     Foglietta
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Frost
     Furse
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Geren
     Gibbons
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamilton
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hayes
     Hefner
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Holden
     Hoyer
     Jackson-Lee
     Jacobs
     Jefferson
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnston
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Klink
     LaFalce
     Lantos
     Laughlin
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lincoln
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney
     Manton
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McDermott
     McHale
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Mfume
     Miller (CA)
     Mineta
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Montgomery
     Moran
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Payne (NJ)
     Payne (VA)
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Pickett
     Pomeroy
     Poshard
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reed
     Reynolds
     Richardson
     Rivers
     Roemer
     Rose
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Studds
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Tejeda
     Thompson
     Thornton
     Thurman
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Tucker
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Volkmer
     Ward
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Williams
     Wilson
     Wise
     Woolsey
     Wyden
     Wynn
     Yates

                               NAYS--224

     Allard
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brownback
     Bryant (TN)
     Bunn
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Camp
     Canady
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Chrysler
     Clinger
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins (GA)
     Combest
     Cooley
     Cox
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cremeans
     Cunningham
     Davis
     Deal
     DeLay
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fawell
     Fields (TX)
     Flanagan
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Fox
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frisa
     Funderburk
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Goss
     Graham
     Greenwood
     Gunderson
     Gutknecht
     Hancock
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Heineman
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hoke
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lightfoot
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Longley
     Lucas
     Manzullo
     Martini
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Molinari
     Moorhead
     Morella
     Myers
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Norwood
     Oxley
     Packard
     Parker
     Paxon
     Petri
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce
     Quillen
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Riggs
     Roberts
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roth
     Roukema
     Royce
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer
     Schiff
     Seastrand
     Sensenbrenner
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shuster
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stockman
     Stump
     Talent
     Tate
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Torkildsen
     Upton
     Vucanovich
     Waldholtz
     Walker
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Zeliff
     Zimmer

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Becerra
     Calvert
     Clay
     Cubin
     Fazio
     Gallegly
     Hansen
     Istook
     Kleczka
     Livingston
     Meyers
     Nussle
     Peterson (FL)

                              {time}  1135

  The Clerk announced the following pair: On this vote:

       Mr. Becerra for, with Mrs. Cubin against.


[[Page H5586]]

  Mr. COBURN and Mr. KIM changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Ms. WATERS and Mr. SCHUMER changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So the motion to instruct was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shays). Without objection, the Chair 
appoints the following conferees: Messrs. Bliley, Bilirakis, Hastert, 
Archer, and Thomas, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, and Messrs. Dingell, 
Waxman, Gibbons, and Stark.
  There was no objection.

                          ____________________