[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 93 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1360-E1361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      BALANCED BUDGET ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 1997

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support 
for this historic budget agreement. We have a remarkable opportunity to 
balance the budget while protecting our values, and I believe we should 
do everything we can to craft a budget plan that will be good for all 
Americans.
  Balancing the budget and putting our fiscal house in order is the 
single most important thing we can do for our children, and for our 
future. We have made important strides toward balancing the budget and 
shrinking the

[[Page E1361]]

deficit while maintaining a healthy, growing economy. But there is 
still a long way to go.
  While I am voting in support of the measure, the bill is far from 
perfect. In the past 2 days important improvements have been made to 
the legislation. The leadership should be commended for continuing 
negotiations. However, further changes are needed in key areas 
including children's health care, reproductive choice and medical 
savings accounts.
  I am very concerned about the inclusion of the Hyde amendment 
restrictions in the children's health initiative. I believe the 
inclusion of this anti-choice rider is an inappropriate infringement on 
reproductive rights.
  I am pleased that the bill includes the $16 billion in funding for 
the children's health care initiative, as outlined by the budget 
resolution. Making health care affordable and accessible to our 
country's 10 million uninsured children must remain a core budget 
priority. Even though I believe we should provide States with much-
needed flexibility in implementing the initiative, we must ensure that 
States use the new funds to expand health services for children in 
need.
  Many States have already acted in very aggressive and innovative ways 
to expand health coverage to uninsured kids. Unfortunately, the formula 
included in this bill is structured so it penalizes States like Oregon 
that have already taken action to provide health care to more children. 
The distribution of funds is unfair and it is bad policy. We should be 
rewarding Oregon, and other States that have already invested in 
creative policies for expanding coverage. Instead, the bill rewards 
inaction and punishes innovation.
  Finally, I must express some deep reservations over the inclusion of 
a large medical savings account demonstration project for Medicare 
beneficiaries. I am very concerned about the effects MSA's could have 
on Medicare beneficiaries. In my view, a 500,000-person demonstration 
project is much too large to test the impact of MSAs on Medicare. 
Because of the uncertainties associated with MSA's, any demonstration 
project must proceed with caution.
  Today is another step in this important budget process. I support 
this step, and urge my colleagues and the administration to continue 
our hard work for budget legislation that will best serve the American 
people.

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