Congressional Record, Volume 147 Issue 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)

[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4135-S4136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THE BUDGET RESOLUTION AND UNINSURED AMERICANS

Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Madam President, I have come to this Chamber in
the past to express my frustration when things have not seemed to be
proceeding and we seemed to have been stuck in gridlock. Today is a
very real exception to that feeling. I rejoice that we have a budget
agreement, and that we are working on education reform that puts
serious resources behind serious reform in our educational system.
I am here as well to thank the leaders of the conference committee on
the Budget, specifically Senator Domenici and Senator Lott on our side,
and others in the House and Senate who have, I am told, preserved the
one thing I wanted most in this budget, which was a $28 billion
authorization for 3 years to expand health care to the uninsured.
I came to this issue not this year, but from the first year I entered
public life as an Oregon State senator and won membership on our health
care committee. I was not around when we created the Oregon Health
Plan, but I did play a role in obtaining funding for it. The Oregon's
Medicaid program, known as the Oregon Health Plan, has dramatically
reduced the number of the working uninsured in the State of Oregon.
We have a tradition in our State of trying to take care of those who
cannot take care of themselves. I express gratitude to my colleagues on
the Democrat and Republican side for this budget agreement that will
help our State and others do just that.
I believe we need tax reduction and tax reform. I think we are going
to do something very significant in our generation with what we will
likely adopt very soon in this body and the other, and that President
Bush will sign. It will put real dollars into the pockets of working
Americans.
But I must say how grateful I am that this budget item has been
preserved--$28 billion for the uninsured--because while we cut taxes
for Americans, it is also appropriate that we care for those who cannot
care for themselves.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent an editorial from the
Washington Post of this morning entitled ``Timeout for the Uninsured''
be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

[From the Washington Post, May 2, 2001]

Timeout for the Uninsured

House conferees have been fighting with their Senate
counterparts to reduce the spending levels in the
congressional budget resolution. No doubt some cuts can be
made in the Senate totals without the country's suffering
harm. But at least one relatively minor Senate proposal
deserves to remain.
Oregon Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden won inclusion in
the budget of an additional $28 billion over three years to
reduce the number of Americans without health insurance. The
money would mainly be spent on lower-income people. Exactly
how would be up to the authorizing committees, but an add-on
of some kind to Medicaid and/or the children's health
insurance program that Congress enacted several years ago
seems most likely. The modest expansion would hardly solve
the un-insurance problem, but it would push in the right
direction.
About a seventh of the population remains uninsured. Most
are poor or near poor. They lack insurance mainly because
they can't afford it. The administration has proposed a tax
credit to help those whose employers don't offer insurance.
But the credit would cover only part of the cost of an
average policy, and most uninsured families still would find
such a policy beyond their means. Some people think the
industry might respond by offering only partial policies, but
it's not clear that would be a good result, either.

[[Page S4136]]

The administration proposal has some interesting features
and would do limited good, but limited is the operative word.
The spending programs for the lower-income uninsured have
shown themselves to be efficient ways of increasing coverage.
Whatever the fate of the tax credit, they should be expanded.
Much attention has lately been paid to the health care
problems of the already insured. The elderly lack a drug
benefit; people enrolled in managed care complain that care
is sometimes sacrificed to cost. But at least these people
have insurance. More than 40 million don't. The budget
argument this year has been mainly about how large a tax cut
to give the better-off. What about a timeout to pay a little
heed to those who can't afford to get sick?

Mr. SMITH of Oregon. The Washington Post editorial states:

They are referring to this $28 billion that we can use to reduce the
ranks of the uninsured. Currently that is about 17 percent of our
fellow citizens, over 43 million Americans.
Senator Wyden and I, when we came up with this idea, hoped we could
cut this number in half. It is now up to the Finance Committee to
achieve that. They have the money now authorized to accomplish that.
Good programs do exist for providing health care to the uninsured.
Medicaid, as we all know, is working. It needs more resources. There is
also the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which has also
reduced the number of uninsured children in this country.
One of the things I was most grateful to have been a part of when I
first came to the Senate was a compromise between Senator Hatch and
Senator Kennedy for the CHIP program, which became the pivot point for
the balanced budget agreement. Oregon's Children's Health Insurance
Assistance Program has enrolled 13,000 children in our State. But there
are more than 61,000 eligible children without coverage because of the
limited amount of money budgeted for this purpose. Senator Wyden and I
hope the Finance Committee will expand this program to include their
parents.
What we are doing is providing access to health care for low-income
Americans. This is the No. 1 bipartisan agenda item we have. We have
started on that plan and will build on its past successes.
I believe expanding coverage can be done in a way that will promote
State flexibility, avoid new bureaucracies, and protect the employer-
based coverage system, while providing a meaningful, affordable benefit
to millions of Americans.
Our first component that we will propose to the Finance Committee
will be to give businesses incentives to make quality health insurance
more affordable for their low-income workers. Our plan will give
businesses a tax credit if they chip in more to offer quality health
care to their low-income employees. Many low-wage employees are working
hard but are having trouble paying the full amount for health
insurance.
Second, our plan will extend Medicaid coverage to more low-income
Americans. Many low-income adults who cannot afford or are not offered
health insurance will be eligible for Medicaid coverage. As I
indicated, we want to expand the CHIP program.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bunning). The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 1
more minute.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SMITH of Oregon. We believe that expanding health insurance to
millions of hard working low-income Americans will relieve the
uncertainty and fear many people face, knowing that they are one
illness away from losing their life savings or their home. It is the
right thing to do. It is the right time to do it.
As the editorial in the Washington Post says:

What about a timeout to pay a little heed to those who
can't afford to get sick?

I thank my colleagues on the budget conference committee for
preserving this critical line item for the uninsured. I urge all my
colleagues to vote for it when it comes out of this conference and then
later when it is crafted into final form by the Finance Committee.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Roberts). The distinguished Senator from
Massachusetts is recognized.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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