[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5748-H5750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 104TH CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ney). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is 
recognized for the balance of the time remaining before midnight as the 
designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to 
address my colleagues and speak to the House regarding some important 
issues. I think it is important at this time, as we approach the end of 
the week here in the second session of the 104th Congress, to really 
look at the fine record of achievement in a bipartisan House that we 
have to this date brought about.
  We only have to look at the fact that we have passed $250 billion in 
reductions of taxes for families here in the United States. We only 
have to look at the fact that we have reduced Federal spending in 
duplicative programs, not in worthwhile programs, obviously. We have 
passed the first balanced budget since 1969, very important to this 
economy and to this country.

[[Page H5749]]

  We only have to look to Alan Greenspan, who is the individual who 
told this Congress and this Nation that if we reduce our interest costs 
we will help each American be able to buy a car, pay for those interest 
payments. If we have a balanced budget we will be able to better handle 
the mortgage and the cost of education.
  We have gotten tough on crime, limited criminals' endless death row 
appeals in cases where there are baseless appeals, where there has been 
no wrongdoing at the time of trial. We have passed victim restitution, 
we have passed truth-in-sentencing grants, strengthened the 
antiterrorism statutes, strengthened sexual crimes against children 
statutes.
  We have also passed private health care reform. Our legislation will 
provide portability, accessibility, availability.
  Look to the student loan program, where we have increased student 
loan volume by 50 percent, from $24 billion in 1996 to $36 billion by 
1997. We have had real congressional reform. We have passed the 
Congressional Accountability Act, signed into law by the President, 
which provides that every law we now pass in the Congress, as we have 
in prior Congresses, there have been laws passed, but this is the first 
time in this Congress that when the laws are passed by also will apply 
to Congress. Whether it be the fair labor standards or civil rights 
law, they also apply to our employees as well.

  We have passed lobbying reform and gift ban, cut committee staff by 
one-third, and required a two-thirds vote for any tax increase in this 
House for this Congress.
  We have also passed an increase in the amount senior citizens can 
earn without losing Social Security benefits. That was brought by a 
Republican majority proposal. Currently, Mr. Speaker, seniors are 
frozen at $11,038, those under 70 are frozen at that amount without 
deductions being made from Social Security. But under the legislation 
we have passed here, that will rise to $30,000.
  Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of distortions tonight from the 
other side of the aisle trying to talk about what we are doing here in 
Congress. The facts are far different from the distortions we have 
heard. The fact is, when it comes to Medicare reform, our proposal was 
bipartisan and the best we could actually come up with, a very positive 
program, considering the fact that it was the President who said that 
if we do nothing with Medicare it will go out of business in 7 years. 
It will go bankrupt.
  You might say to yourself, how did it get to this point? Why would it 
go bankrupt? But we got to this point because, frankly, there has been 
fraud and abuse and waste up to $30 billion a year. Frankly, that can 
be stopped, but it will take legislation which has been introduced in 
this House. For the first time those who commit fraud under the 
Medicare or Medicaid system, health care fraud is a crime, and if you 
commit that kind of offense you will no longer be a provider and you 
can go to jail for 10 years.
  That is the kind of forward thinking legislation that has been 
introduced in this House, and frankly should be adopted and signed into 
law by the President. If we take out the fraud, abuse and waste that is 
in Medicare, we will be able to preserve Medicare and preserve for each 
senior the right to have their choice of doctor and choice of hospital. 
Very important.
  In addition, the proposed legislation is going to increase the 
current payment about $5,000 per senior, up to $7,100 by the year 2002. 
We also offer for the first time, choice besides fee-for-service, 
giving you a choice of doctors and hospitals, and also medical savings 
accounts and, as well, managed care. That is, what the seniors want in 
their particular case, to have eyeglasses and pharmaceuticals included 
at no extra charge.

  But the proposal went further. We think it is a very, very wise 
proposal. In addition to limiting fraud, waste, and abuse, the proposal 
from the House calls for making sure that the medical education 
component, which is now under Medicare, will be a separate line item in 
the budget, so we make sure that our interns and residents have that 
quality education without cutting away from our senior citizens' health 
care benefits what they need.
  We also call for reductions in the cost of paperwork. Right now we 
spend about 12 percent of Medicare dollars in paperwork. That should 
mostly go to health care for our seniors. Under our proposal, that is 
what will happen.
  We also make sure that this whole program is based on the fact that 
whatever savings we have in Medicare, whatever savings are achieved, 
whether it is $30 billion a year in fraud, waste, and abuse, it has to 
go back for health care and not for some other item in the U.S. Budget.
  We can see, Mr. Speaker, that working together we can have Medicare 
reform that is going to be helpful to our seniors, and make sure we 
have a system that is for this year's seniors and the next generation's 
seniors and something that is going to be good for this country.
  We, as well, have been working on tax reform, and tax reform that is 
fair to all Americans, not from the distortions that you have heard 
from the other side of the aisle about how it is only for the rich. The 
tax reform we are talking about is for the middle class, a $500-per-
child tax credit. We are talking about an adoption tax credit of 
$5,000. We are talking about tax credits for small businesses to start 
up, to provide jobs for our citizens.
  These are real proposals that will make a real difference. We are 
talking about a $2,000 new IRA for each individual, $4,000 for each 
married couple. These are proposals that were adopted by the Kennedy 
administration and made a difference. They could happen again here in 
this Congress.
  It is also important to note that our welfare reform proposals will 
make real difference. Of course, there are people in the safety net who 
must get welfare. That is undeniable. But there are people who are 
able-bodied, and under our proposal what will happen is able-bodied 
individuals, through job counseling, job training, and job placement 
will have the opportunity to obtain employment, to have the pride of 
work, to make a difference in their lives, and instead of the welfare 
as we have it now being a hammock, it will be springboard, Mr. Speaker, 
to a new class of individuals getting involved in the world of work, 
more people paying taxes, more people who are employed and stabilizing 
those taxes. That is the kind of true welfare reform that will make a 
difference.

  Under that proposal as well, it calls for us, Mr. Speaker, to have 
new enforcement procedures for child support. We have a situation in 
this country where probably the most unpaid bills we have are child 
support. We can make a difference by adopting plans like they have in 
the State of Maine.
  There they require, Mr. Speaker, that every person who is not paying 
their child support would lose their license if it was not paid. 
Ninety-five percent paid their amounts owned on child support, once 
they knew they could lose their driver's license. It is recommended 
under our welfare reform proposals that States adopt plans like Maine's 
or an alternative which will, again, get us the enforcement that we 
want.
  We can achieve this, and it is certainly meaningful, and it is 
something that can make a big difference.
  We also called for improvements in our child nutrition programs and 
our WIC programs, women, infants, and children programs, by increasing 
the amount of money that is going to be spent on the school lunch 
programs, and in fact making sure that the States administer them.
  Mr. Speaker, currently under our school lunch programs we spend 50 
percent of the funds just to administer them. Under the proposals that 
the Governors have talked to Congress about, they said they will only 
spend 5 percent on administration, but with the extra 10 percent we 
will still provide in this program, they would be able to feed more 
children more meals, but by Federal standards. If they did not adhere 
to those standards, then we as a Congress would take it back.
  So working in partnership with local governments, which are closest 
to the people, we can provide the kinds of services that people want 
without bankrupting the Nation, without making people pay until July 1 
every year through taxes and regulations all that money to Uncle Sam. 
We want to make sure there is more money in their pocket to spend as 
they want to, to spend as their families need.

[[Page H5750]]

  I think it is very important that we continue trying to find the 
bipartisan effort, instead of the rhetoric we have heard previously 
tonight about how this party, the Republican Party, does not care about 
seniors. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  The two major proposals that have come before this Congress in this 
session have been raising the income eligibility for seniors' earnings, 
and No. 2, the other proposal was to roll back in 1993 the unfair tax 
on Social Security. The Republican majority brought both those forward 
and they were both adopted in this House.
  Now it is incumbent upon us to continue fighting for seniors to make 
sure Medicare provides the health care benefits they need, but removing 
the waste from the system, and that is the key feature here. We will 
make sure that we eliminate the waste, the fraud and abuse that has 
gone on for so many years and must end.
  Part and parcel of our making sure that health care is improved for 
our seniors is that we provide FDA reform as well, to make sure that 
for all citizens we speed up the approval of lifesaving, life-extending 
drugs and medical devices in this country.

                              {time}  2345

  This can and will be done under legislation that has been introduced 
in the Committee on Commerce under the leadership of Jim Greenwood as 
the task force chairman, the Commerce Committee chairman Tom Bliley, 
the subcommittee chairman Mike Bilirakis, and the three sponsors of the 
bill, Congressman Klug, Congressman Barton and Congressman Burr of 
North Carolina who has the pharmaceutical bill.
  Together the bills dealing with pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and 
food will in fact move this country forward in such a way that the 
discoveries we have in the United States will be kept here. If we do 
not speed up the FDA reform process, then the discoveries for medical 
benefit and the jobs will go overseas. We cannot afford that as a 
Nation both from an employment point of view or from a health care 
point of view.
  So I am pleased to see that the leadership is moving forward with 
FDA. What we are going to do is work with the Commissioner of FDA and 
the White House to make sure this legislation is bipartisan, is passed, 
and we do make a difference in the lives of the people we are 
representing.
  Mr. Speaker, as I know from the hearing I had in my own district in 
Montgomery County, PA, in the county seat, we had victims who have 
diseases, patients who are waiting for a cure, a vaccine. They tell us 
that if we can speed up the approval of these drugs, they will live 
longer, others will have a chance to live longer and frankly their 
families are waiting for this kind of relief.
  We need to fast track this legislation. I am very appreciative that 
the individuals who brought forward the vehicle in the Committee on 
Commerce folded my legislation which was introduced last year into the 
majority bills and I am hopeful that together with other Congressmen 
and the Senate we will be able to get this passed in this session and 
make a real difference in people's lives.

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