[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 136 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11052-S11053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           LET'S GET IT RIGHT

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments on two 
other subjects. First, the Vice President of the United States 
continues to tell the American people that he has been a master at 
reorganizing our Government and making it efficient, and that a very 
large number of employees have been cut from the payroll of the U.S. 
Government due to this effort.
  I want to print in the Record a chart from the Office of Management 
and Budget--their own--the total executive branch civilian full-time 
equivalent employees during this period of time that they claim they 
reduced the workforce.
  All I want to say is one thing: It did not take much to do this 
because 96 percent, a larger number than I thought, 96 percent of the 
employee reduction--that is the civilian full-time equivalent 
reduction--are military civilians who were taken off the payroll as we 
reduced the Defense Department of the United States; 96 percent. Four 
percent is the reduction in the nonmilitary civilian payroll of the 
United States.
  Let's get it right, Mr. Vice President. Let's tell it right. There 
were no real reductions other than civilians who were laid off because 
we reduced the Defense Department. I want to be correct. I said there 
were none; 4 percent of reductions were from the rest of the civilian 
Government of the United States.
  On the last item, let's get this one right. Mr. Vice President, you 
referred twice in debates to a program to give health insurance to 
kids. There is a program called CHIP which the U.S. Government gave 
money to each State so they could try to insure or bring into Medicaid 
or at least in some way cover more children.
  The Vice President said to the Republican nominee: Texas has not done 
very well with that. Your program for covering children obviously 
indicates--I am paraphrasing--that you did not care about children's 
health.
  What should have been said is that 40 States of the Union were unable 
to use their CHIP money. Would that not have been a fairer thing to say 
rather than say Texas? The State that has the largest amount of money 
under that program for children's health and cannot spend it, has not 
spent it to this date is the State of California. As a matter of fact, 
they had $591 million that they could not spend on children's health 
coverage because the program will not work. You cannot fit it into 
States. You cannot get it approved by the legislature. You cannot find 
the match, or whatever the reason.
  Those 40 States, in addition to Texas, are California, Georgia, 
Washington, Minnesota--Minnesota had the highest percentage of that 
money left over because they could not spend it, 99 percent. New 
Mexico, my State, had 92. Arizona had 67 percent of their money.
  Let's be fair. When you talk about children's health coverage and 
this Federal program, do not say Texas was unable to spend theirs. 
Let's say 40 States have been unable, so there must be some deficiency 
in the program, not in the States. All of those States are led in 
dollar numbers by the State of California which could not spend $591 
million because the program is difficult to do and very difficult to 
effectuate the coverage of children.
  It is widely recognized that this S-CHIP program began slowly because 
State legislatures and HCFA had to approve plans. Right now, we are 
busy trying to extend the plan for 2 more years for all States. That is 
because 40 of them have been unable to spend all of the money 
available.
  I ask the Vice President: In all those States, including California 
because they have this huge balance they could not use, is the Governor 
there adverse to covering children and having more children involved in 
something like children's insurance or Medicaid or the like? I do not 
think so, nor do I think the Governor of Texas is because I believe 
when 40 States cannot do it, we ought to tell it like it is.
  The next time you are talking about this, Mr. Vice President, you 
ought to say not Texas alone but California and 39 other States have 
been unable to use this CHIP money, this children's insurance money, 
for one reason or another. Texas is among the 40. They do not stand 
alone.
  I ask unanimous consent that information that summarizes what I have 
said be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               State Children's Health Insurance Program


                  1. federal funding and requirements

       As part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, Congress created 
     the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).
       The program provides allotments to States to expand health 
     insurance coverage for children based on a formula that takes 
     into consideration the number of low income children in the 
     state with no health insurance coverage.
       States must match the federal funding, but at a rate that 
     is more favorable to the states than Medicaid.
       States may use S-CHIP funds to: expand Medicaid, provide 
     coverage outside of Medicaid as long as the program meets 
     certain requirements, or some combination of the two.
       The aggregate federal allotments for S-CHIP are as follows:

                          [Dollars in billions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Year                               Dollars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1998.........................................................        4.3
1999.........................................................        4.3
2000.........................................................        4.3
2001.........................................................        4.3
2002.........................................................        3.2
98-02........................................................       20.3
98-07........................................................       39.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

              2. large eligible but unenrolled population

       Estimates indicate that there are 2 to 4 million children 
     eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid and another 2 million 
     or more who are eligible but not enrolled in S-CHIP.
       Some families lack information; others wait to sign up for 
     the program when they need to get health care.
       As more working class families have become eligible, it is 
     likely that many of them get health insurance sporadically 
     through work, but most S-CHIP programs do not provide 
     subsidies for employer-based coverage.


                3. states with unexpended fy 1998 funds

       There are approximately 40 states that did not use their 
     full FY 1998 allotment by the end of FY 2000.
       32 states had no spending in FY 1998
       6 states had no spending at all in FY 1998 and FY 1999.

                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Unused FY
            Selected states                FY 98       1998     Percent
                                         Allotment    Funds*     unused
------------------------------------------------------------------------
California.............................       $855       $591         69
Texas..................................        581        449         77
Arizona................................        117         78         67
Georgia................................        125         77         61
Washington.............................         47         46         98

[[Page S11053]]

 
Minnesota..............................         28         28         99
Louisiana..............................        102         74         73
New Mexico.............................         63         58         92
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Source: Health Care Financing Administration (6-27-00).

                      4. extension of use of funds

       It is widely recognized that the S-CHIP program began 
     slowly because state legislatures and HCFA had to approve 
     state plans.
       Congress is expected to allow states with unused funds from 
     FY 1998 and FY 1999 to keep those funds for an additional 
     period of time as enrollment accelerates.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, with reference to how many civilian 
full-time equivalent employees have been reduced during the 8 years 
showing that 96 percent of it is military and 4 percent civilian comes 
from OMB, I ask unanimous consent that chart be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  TOTAL EXECUTIVE BRANCH CIVILIAN FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES: 1993-
                                  2000
                             [In thousands]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Total
             Fiscal year              Department   All other   executive
                                      of Defense   agencies     branch
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993................................         932        1207        2139
1994................................         868        1184        2053
1995................................         822        1148        1970
1996................................         779        1113        1892
1997................................         746        1089        1835
1998................................         707        1083        1790
1999................................         681        1097        1778
2000................................         661        1195        1857
Decrease from 1993-2000.............        -271         -12        -282
Portion of Total Decrease from 1993         271/   12/282+4%
 to 2000............................     282=96%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Office of Management and Budget, The Budget of the United States
  Government for Fiscal Year 2001, Historical Tables, Table 17.3, p.
  282.

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Fitzgerald). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, we concluded a short time ago with the 
argument by the Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Gregg, on his concerns 
about some aspects of the Older Americans Act. I thought we were going 
to resume a robust debate. That does not quite seem like it is going to 
happen, but I am going to have things to say. Right now I suggest the 
absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that it be charged 
equally, and then I will take the floor and begin my rebuttal.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator 
from North Dakota, Mr. Dorgan, be recognized for 15 minutes to speak as 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator has 15 minutes.

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