[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S213-S216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. Abraham, and Ms. Snowe):
S. 2018. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
revise the update factor used in making payments to PPS hospitals under
the Medicare program; to the Committee on Finance.
the American Hospital Preservation Act
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, along with
my distinguished colleague from Michigan, Mr. Abraham, the American
Hospital Preservation Act.
This legislation builds upon legislation we introduced last year to
preserve the ability of American hospitals to continue to provide the
highest level of health care to be found anywhere in the world. The
bill will fully restore scheduled cuts in annual inflation adjustments
for in-patient services given to hospitals under the Medicare program.
Mr. President, last year Congress passed legislation restoring almost
$17 billion over five years in scheduled cuts and reductions in
increases in provider reimbursement payments for various Medicare
services. While some of these cuts were mandated by the 1997 Balanced
Budget Act, or ``BBA,'' which laid the historic foundation for the
balanced federal budget we enjoy today, many more of the cuts and the
dramatic impact of some of the cuts came as a direct result of policies
and practices of the Health Care Financing Administration. All told,
Medicare providers faced an estimated $200 billion in reduced payments
over the next five years, far in excess of the 1997 estimate of $116
billion in savings. On top of this, in 1999 the Clinton Administration
proposed an additional $9 billion in cuts from the Medicare program, on
top of the BBA savings.
All of this began to spell disaster for American hospitals, the
backbone of our nation's health care delivery system and those health
care providers most heavily dependent on, and sensitive to, the
Medicare system. Last year, I and many of my colleagues in Congress
began to hear from hospital administrators, trustees, and health
professionals that they were struggling to maintain their quality and
variety of health services in the face of mounting budgetary pressures.
With the HCFA-imposed cuts they were seeing, many well-reputed and
efficiently run hospitals even began for the first time to run deficits
and to project closure in the next few years.
For many of these hospitals, particularly those in the rural areas of
our nation, to close would mean not only the loss of life-saving
medical services to the residents of the area, but also the loss of one
of the core components of the local community. Jobs would be lost,
businesses would wither, and the sense of community and stability that
a local hospital brings would suffer.
The Balanced Budget Refinement Act Congress passed last year made the
situation a little brighter for a number of these struggling hospitals.
It eases the transition from cost-based reimbursement to prospective
payment for hospital outpatient services, it restores some of the cuts
to disproportionate share (``DiSh'') payments, and it provides targeted
relief for teaching hospitals and cancer and rehabilitation hospitals.
I was particularly pleased that the bill contained a portion of the
legislation I introduced last year, an expanded version of which I am
introducing today. While my bill proposed restoring in-patient
inflation adjustments for all hospitals, the final legislative package
included such relief only for fiscal year 2000 and only for
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designated ``sole community provider'' hospitals. While this was a step
in the right direction, more must be done not only to ensure survival
among our nation's hospitals, but also to ensure that they continue to
be able to provide the highest level and quality of care that they can
to their patients.
Hospitals continue to struggle to meet the continued rise in
personnel costs, prescription drugs, and blood supplies, just to name a
few areas. And this is coming at a time when hospitals are being doubly
squeezed by the pressures of flat or reduced government health care
reimbursement rates and the rapid growth of cost-conscious managed care
private insurance.
The bill we are introducing today will make sure that hospitals are
able to adjust to these changes by ensuring that their Medicare
payments for their in-patient services actually keep up with the rate
of hospital inflation. It will restore the full 1.1 percent in
scheduled reductions from the annual inflation updates for in-patient
services called for by the BBA. Moreover, rather than just applying to
a small group of hospitals, this legislation would benefit every
hospital in America, providing an estimated $6.9 billion in additional
Medicare payments over the next five years.
Mr. President, I realize that this bill will require some budgetary
offset, and that the overall goal of maintaining a solvent and strong
Medicare system for our nation's seniors is and will remain the
overriding goal. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle to ensure that this bill meets that objective and
fits within our overall budget constraints.
But I believe that, as we enter a new millennium and a new era of
medical breakthroughs the likes of which we can only now dream about,
we simply must continue to invest in the core infrastructure of our
nation's health delivery system--our hospitals. Doing so will ensure
the future health and longevity of all Americans. This bill will take a
significant step in that direction, and I urge my colleagues to
cosponsor and support it.
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By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cochran, Mr.
Jeffords, Mr. Helms, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Edwards, Mr.
Voinovich, Mr. McCain, and Mrs. Feinstein):
S. 2021. A bill to prohibit high school and college sports gambling
in all States including States where such gambling was permitted prior
to 1991; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
high school and college gambling prohibition act
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today I introduce a bill along with
Senators Leahy, Cochran, Jeffords, Helms, Durbin, Lugar, Edwards,
Voinovich, McCain, and Feinstein, which seeks to protect the integrity
of high school and college sports and reduce the unseemly influences
that gambling has on our student athletes.
I think you can tell by the coalition of people putting in this bill
we are introducing today that this is a bipartisan issue that crosses
virtually all ideological lines but is deeply concerned about the
integrity of intercollegiate athletics and amateur sports. What we are
seeking to do by this bill is to make it clear that it is illegal to
wager on intercollegiate athletics, to wager on the Olympics.
The High School and College Gambling Prohibition Act is in direct
response to recommendations made by the National Gambling Impact Study
Commission (NGISC), which last year concluded a 2-year study on the
impact of legalized gambling on our country.
The recommendation called for a ban on all legalized gambling on
amateur sports and is supported by the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA), which represents more than 1,000 colleges and
universities nationwide. This bipartisan bill will prohibit all
legalized gambling on high school and college sports, as well as the
Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Gambling on college games and student athletes is not only
inappropriate, it can be disastrous. There have been more point-shaving
scandals on our colleges and universities in the 1990's than in every
other decade before it combined.
There have been 10 such cases in the 1990s. Those are the ones who
were caught. How many went on that we don't know about? These scandals
are a result of an increasing amount of gambling that is taking place
on amateur sports. We now have annually around $1 billion a year bet
legally on amateur athletic games. That may sound like a lot, and it
is. It is a lot to influence those games, but for the overall gambling
industry it is a small percentage. It is less than a half of 1 percent.
So to the industry that is small. To amateur athletics it is big, and
it is leading to a burgeoning problem that we are having of point
shaving cases amongst college athletics.
The scandal also points to another problem, and this gambling
increase actually points to another problem.
A recent Gallup poll found that betting on college sports was twice
as prevalent among teenagers (18%) as adults (9%). The American Academy
of Pediatrics estimates that there are more than a million compulsive
teenage gamblers, whose first experience with gambling is on sports.
The National Gambling Impact Study Commission warned that sports
gambling ``can serve as gateway behavior for adolescent gamblers, and
can devastate individuals and careers.''
Critics have claimed this is a State issue, not a Federal one.
Certainly, I am listening to that debate and am a person who is a
strong supporter of States rights and believe strongly in devolution of
authority from the Federal Government to the State government. But this
argument just doesn't hold water.
Congress already determined that it is a federal issue with the
passage of Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in
1992. In addition, while Nevada is the only state where legal gambling
on collegiate and Olympic sporting events occurs, Nevada's gaming
regulations prohibit gambling on any of Nevada's own teams because of
the potential to jeopardize the integrity of those sporting events.
Let me give you the truth of the situation. You can go to Nevada and
you cannot bet on UNLV in the basketball game. But you can bet on the
University of Kansas basketball team and game. The reason the Nevada
Legislature, I understand, took issue with betting on Nevada teams is
by saying, well, it creates an unseemly situation and the potential for
abuse. If the potential is there in Nevada, it is there across the rest
of the country. That is what the NCAA is citing, and that is why this
is their top legislative issue. They are saying this is important
because it is starting to influence more and more sporting events and
that we are afraid that may happen in the future.
The NCAA used to be headquartered in Kansas. Until recently, it was
headquartered in my State.
We all consider ourselves to be advocates of state's rights, but in
our eyes that means a state's authority to determine how best to govern
within that state's own boundaries--not the authority to set laws that
allow a state to impose its policies on every other state while
exempting itself. Gambling on college sports, both legal and illegal,
threatens the integrity of the game--and that threat extends beyond any
one state's border.
This legislation will have minimal economic impact on the Nevada
casino industry. The NCAA has reported that sports betting makes up
less than 1% of the total revenue by casinos in Las Vegas. The National
Gambling Impact Study Commission Report recognized that sports wagering
does not ``contribute to local economies or produce many jobs or create
other economic sectors.''
This is not an economic issue. It is not even a gambling issue. This
is about the integrity of amateur athletics. It is about the integrity
of the Olympics and whether or not there are going to continue to be
more and more of these point-shaving cases involved because of the
amount of money involved in the gambling and the ability to impact some
of the athletes who are involved.
I want to make one other point too; that is, we are not talking about
office pools or ``March Madness'' and people having an office pool that
looks at the NCAA Final Four. Those activities we are not talking about
at all. They go on. But we are not addressing that issue in this bill.
What we are talking about is the legalized sports betting that takes
place in casinos in Nevada
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and how those large-scale bets impact on intercollegiate athletics
across this country.
Senator Leahy was on the floor earlier. And I, along with Senator
Durbin and Tim Roemer from the House of Representatives had a press
conference earlier today with the NCAA. At that press conference, we
had the gentleman who orchestrated the northwest football point-shaving
scheme problem that they had during the decade of the 1990s. He said if
it wasn't for the ability to place the $20,000 legal bet in Nevada, he
wouldn't have had the system in place to be able to organize and put
the money out there to organize this scheme. He had a powerful
statement of his personal contrition and how he feels about having been
a part of that. He blames only himself. But he said the system was
there--and the temptation clearly is. We are trying to move collegiate
athletics into a legal area.
This nation's college and university system is one of our greatest
assets. We offer the world the model for post-secondary education.
Gambling on the outcome of college sporting events tarnishes the
integrity of sports and diminishes respect and regard for our colleges
and universities. This bill removes the ambiguity that surrounds
gambling on college sports. It sends the clear and unmistakable message
that it is illegal. We should not gamble with the integrity of our
colleges, or the future of our college athletes. Our young athletes
deserve legal protection from the seedy influences of the gambling
industry, and fans deserve to know that athletic competitions are
honest and fair. This legislation ensures that it will be so. I welcome
your support.
I welcome anybody in this body and the House of Representatives to
support us in this effort. It is important. I fear if we don't pass
something like this, you are going to see more and more of these point-
shaving scandals come about, as you see more and more athletes having
the pressure they are facing with the potential for dollars occurring.
In the decade of the 1990s--I want to repeat this one fact because I
think it is so important--there were 10 illegal point-shaving cases the
NCAA caught and prosecuted. Those were the ones caught. During the
decade of the 1980s, there were two; in the 1970s, one; and in the
prior fifties and forties, one each. So we had won, one, two in the
1980s, and then 10 in the 1990s that we know about. How many more were
there? Or worse still, how many more will there be in this decade of
2000 to 2010? Let's stop that. Let's send that clear message, that
signal. Let's help our student athletes. Let's protect the integrity of
the sport.
I introduce this bill, and I welcome any cosponsors.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the senior senator
from Kansas today to introduce legislation to ban all betting on
college and high school sporting events, the High School and College
Sports Gambling Prohibition Act. The recent report of the National
Gambling Impact Study Commission recommended this ban and the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) strongly supports it to protect
the integrity of college sports across the nation. I look forward to
working with the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass our
bipartisan legislation this year.
Our bipartisan bill would close a loophole in the Professional and
Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. That law prohibits most sports
betting on amateur events but continued to grandfather some sports
gambling activity that our bill would now prohibit in light of the
recent recommendations of the National Gambling Impact Study
Commission.
I believe our legislation is needed to ensure the integrity of
college sports across the country. Sports betting puts student athletes
in vulnerable positions and threatens their integrity and the integrity
of college and Olympic sports. It can devastate individuals and
careers. In the past decade, college sports has suffered too many
gambling scandals involving student athletes. For example, four
football players at Northwestern University pled guilty to perjury
charges related to gambling on their own games and, one player admitted
to intentionally fumbling near the goal line in a 1994 game against
Iowa. Just last year, a California State University at Fullerton
student was charged with point shaving after allegedly offering $1,000
to a player on the school's basketball team to shave points in a game
against the University of the Pacific. Other sports gambling scandals
have rocked the football programs at Boston College and the University
of Maryland, and the basketball programs at Arizona State University
and Bryant College, in the 1990s.
Legal college sports betting undermines college sports across the
country and encourages gamblers to tempt college students into gambling
problems and point-shaving schemes. A national ban on college and high
school sports betting will send a strong message to students that
sports gambling and point shaving schemes will not be tolerated in this
country, and it will help prevent these ravages.
In addition, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission found in
its June 1999 report that sports wagering has serious social costs.
Indeed, the Commission reported: ``Sports wagering threatens the
integrity of sports, it puts student athletes in a vulnerable position,
it can serve as gateway behavior for adolescent gamblers, and it can
devastate individuals and careers.'' A national ban on amateur and
college sports betting may help prevent these ravages of sports
wagering.
The Commission concluded that legal sports betting spurs illegal
gambling, finding ``legal sports wagering--especially the publication
in the media of Las Vegas and offshore-generated point spreads--fuels a
much larger amount of illegal sports wagering.'' Many newspapers
publish point spreads on college games because wagers can be legally
placed on college sporting events given the loophole in current law.
Point spreads do not contribute to the popularity of sport; they only
contribute to the popularity of sports gambling.
As a result of all of these findings, the Commission recommended that
``the betting on collegiate and amateur athletic events that is
currently legal be banned altogether.'' I wholeheartedly agree. Closing
this loophole is one of the Commission's clearest recommendations, and
it is also a step that can find a clear consensus in Congress.
In addition, our legislation outlaws betting on competitive games at
the Summer or Winter Olympics. The Olympic tradition honors sport at
its purest level. We, in turn, should honor that proud tradition by
cherishing the integrity of the Olympics and prohibiting gambling
schemes on the Summer or Winter Games. There have been enough stories
about corruption in connection with bidding on venues for Olympic
Games. We do not need a scandal having to do with gamblers seeking to
influence the outcome of Olympic events. If we act soon, we have the
opportunity to put this into place before the next Olympic games.
During my time in the Senate, I have always tried to protect the
rights of Vermont state and local legislators to craft their laws free
from interference from Washington. As a defender of states' rights, I
carefully considered the imposition of a total Federal ban on high
school and college sports. After careful thought I have come to the
conclusion that this ban is appropriate. Congress has already
established a national policy against high school and college sports
betting with passage of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection
Act of 1992. Our bill closes a loophole in that law.
I want to make it clear that gambling on professional sports is also
a serious matter, worthy of national attention. Congress recognized
this fact explicitly when it passed the Professional and Amateur Sports
Protection Act of 1992 to arrest the growth of state sponsored sports
gambling. By focusing our legislation today on amateur sports gambling,
we take a first step toward resolving a fundamental problem. In
hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am confident that the
companion subject of gambling on professional sports will be addressed.
Mr. President, our bipartisan bill is supported by a broad coalition
of organizations dedicated to excellence in education and athletics.
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support the High School and
College Sports Gambling Prohibition Act and I urge its swift passage
into law.
I ask unanimous consent that a letter endorsing our legislation from
more
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than 25 of these organizations be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
February 1, 2000.
Hon. Sam Brownback,
Hon. Patrick Leahy,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Brownback and Leahy: The undersigned wish to
express their full endorsement for the legislation you have
introduced to eliminate all exceptions for legalized betting
on high-school, college and Olympic sports. We urge the U.S.
Senate to pass this bill that will send a clear, no-nonsense
message that it is wrong to gamble on college students.
The proposed legislation is especially important to our
community because it will:
Eliminate the use of Nevada sports books for gain in point
shaving scandals.
Eliminate the legitimacy of publishing point spreads and
advertising for sports tout services.
``Re-sensitize'' young people and the general public to the
illegal nature of gambling on collegiate sports.
Reduce the numbers of people who are introduced to sports
gambling.
Eliminate conflicting messages as we combat illegal sports
wagering that say it is okay to wager on college some places
but not in others.
We stand ready to provide support as this bill progresses
through the legislative process.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association; The
American Council on Education; National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities; American
Association of State Colleges and Universities;
Conference Commissioners Association; National
Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics;
National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics
Administrators; American Football Coaches Association;
National Association of Basketball Coaches; American
Federation of Teachers; U.S. Olympic Committee;
National Federal of State High School Associations;
American Association of Universities; Divisions I, II
and III Student Athlete Advisory Councils; The National
Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club Naismith Awards; The American
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions
Officers; College Golf Foundation; College Gymnastics
Association; USA Volleyball; National Field Hockey
Coaches Association; USA Track and Field; Team
Handball; National Soccer Coaches Association of
America; American Volleyball Coaches Association;
American Association of Community Colleges; Golf
Coaches Association of America.
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