[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 84 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I appreciate the majority leader 
yielding. I join with him in the eternal hope that, perhaps while he is 
still here, there may be a successful conclusion of this legislation; 
or, if not, at least an agreement can be made that can be followed up 
in his absence. I have stated on other occasions that the majority 
leader has been very much involved in this legislation.
  Senator Kassebaum has been a real leader on this issue. It has been a 
bi-partisan process in the Senate. Many of the ideas that have been 
incorporated in the legislation dealing with preexisting conditions, 
and portability have been incorporated from the legislation that the 
majority leader has offered in the past. Although we have had 
differences on the MSA issue, he, nonetheless, has indicated, since the 
time that he announced he was going to leave the Senate, that he was 
very hopeful that this legislation could be achieved while he was still 
here.
  As recently as June 6 he indicated that its chances of success--and I 
think, he accurately portrayed it--are much greater with his presence 
here than without it. So I urge that the majority leader, because of 
the importance of this legislation, as well as the importance that he 
has placed on this legislation, and his involvement in it, that we 
would get the agreement, hopefully pass it while he was here; and I was 
even bold enough to suggest that he might want to remain here for the 
next few days until we were able to get this accomplished. More than 25 
million Americans will be helped each year by this legislation, so it 
should be a top priority.

  I want to ask the leader about his willingness to accept a reasonable 
compromise. I know that I speak in this instance for the President, who 
is most interested in getting a test of the idea of the MSA's, which is 
the principal issue at this point. The proposal from the House would 
provide the MSA's for approximately 80 percent of all the workers in 
the country. This obviously is unacceptable. I am hopeful that, with 
the majority leader's assistance, we could have a test of the idea so 
that we could explore whether it is helpful. I think reasonable people 
could find ways of finding a test without adopting a proposal which in 
effect moves toward coverage of 80 percent of the people and then 
eventually moves toward complete coverage without additional Senate 
intervention. This program is potentially too destructive to go that 
route. I hope he will use his own good offices to try to work with all 
parties to see if a legitimate proposal that could accurately be 
portrayed as a real test of the idea could be put into place.
  There have been four separate proposals that have been advanced by 
the President and by others. There have been some which have been 
advanced by our Republican friends.
  But this would be a great victory for the American people which I 
think the majority leader ought to share in if we are able to over the 
period of these next several hours agree on a real test of the idea, 
and I mean a reasonable kind of test and examination and evaluation 
prior to expanding the proposal.
  Am I correct that at least the leader is going to try to see if that 
concept could be at least included in these negotiations?
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Massachusetts. I 
understand we have now received a proposal from my colleague, Senator 
Kassebaum. We are in the process of reviewing that proposal. I am not 
certain that the Senator from Massachusetts has a copy of it. But it 
indicates that we might be able to reach some compromise. I would like 
nothing better if we could conclude that today, have conferees 
appointed, and come to a satisfactory conclusion because, as the 
Senator outlined, it affects millions of Americans. It should be done. 
And maybe--speaking for myself, I would like to have it done before I 
leave. But at least if that cannot happen, I would like to have the 
agreement before tomorrow at 2 o'clock, and maybe under the Senate 
rules we could deem it passed sometime after the House takes it up. I 
will have to check with the Parliamentarian on that. But if we have 
something to agree to, everybody in the Senate, as the Senator knows, 
the original bill passed unanimously--hopefully we could reach some 
agreement today, and at least have the agreement entered. Then the 
Senator from Massachusetts, the Senator from Kansas, and others could 
dispose of it later this week.
  I thank the Senator.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I have not seen the proposal, and I would welcome a 
chance to review it--and others who have been involved in that endeavor 
as well; not just myself but others. Senator Kassebaum--we take 
obviously her leadership role very seriously. I hope that this time 
that we could work out a real evaluation of the concept without 
exposing tens of millions of our fellow citizens to serious disruption 
in their health insurance if this does not work as well as its 
advocated claim. That is basically the issue. I know Senator Kassebaum 
was strongly committed toward an evaluation, a reasonable 
experimentation, a reasonable assessment, and reporting back. I say 
that would certainly offer an opportunity to move this forward. I hope 
that would be the proposal that would be out there rather than just the 
imposition of the program on a vast number of our citizens. But we will 
certainly look forward to it.
  I thank the Senator.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, if I could use my leader time. Is leader 
time reserved?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Leader time is reserved.
  The majority leader.

                          ____________________