[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 93 (Friday, June 29, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7288-S7289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PASSAGE OF THE BIPARTISAN PATIENT PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, I want to take a brief moment to thank 
some very special people who were absolutely instrumental in bringing 
us to the point of the passage of the legislation which gives so much 
hope--and should give so much hope--to millions of American families 
who now are going to be treated by the doctors in whom they have 
confidence, by the health care staff from whom they are going to get 
true recommendations, and not have judgments and decisions overridden 
by their HMOs. We have not finished the job, but this is a giant step 
forward.
  I want to, as others have done--I feel strongly about it --first 
thank some special Members of this body. We just heard our leader, 
Senator Daschle. I can remember when Senator Daschle was asked after he 
assumed the leadership role as the majority leader in the Senate, what 
was going to be his first priority, and he mentioned the Patients' Bill 
of Rights. For 5 years--for 5 years--we have waited for this moment 
this evening. For 5 years we have waited, and in the short time he has 
assumed the leadership of the Senate, in a closely divided Senate, he 
has been able to develop the broad support evidenced in vote after 
vote, bipartisan in such important public policy areas.
  I thank my good friend, John Edwards, whose leadership at critical 
times during this debate and during very important moments was 
absolutely indispensable and essential. He was extremely effective in 
his quiet and soft spoken way, but with a steeliness and a strength 
that is reflected in his great passion on so many of the issues which 
are in his soul. He has made an enormous difference in making sure we 
reached this point tonight.
  I thank John McCain. Senator McCain, as he has said many times, 
traveled this country as a Presidential candidate and saw the 
importance of this legislation. He came back and wanted to know how he 
could play a role in making sure it came to fruition. He was willing, 
as he has on so many issues, to take on tough challenges and stay the 
course, but he has been an absolutely extraordinary leader on this 
issue, as on many others. It has been a great pleasure to work with him 
closely on this matter.
  As has been mentioned, John Edwards has provided extraordinary 
leadership on this issue. He was indispensable in so many different 
aspects of the development of the legislation, likely all of those that 
deal with accountability. We know the importance of the relationship 
between accountability and patient protections in this bill. He was 
always a steadying force, a strong force, a tireless voice for patients 
and has made an extraordinary mark on this legislation for which we are 
grateful. This has been a historic team, and I am grateful for them.
  I have great appreciation for Harry Reid. I listened the other 
evening when my good friend, Senator Byrd, mentioned that he had been a 
deputy leader. He said Senator Reid was really one of the best. Having 
been a deputy leader myself many years ago, it truly can be said he is 
the best I have seen in all the time I have been in the Senate. He is a 
tireless worker and always there to find common ground.
  He has this incredible ability to say no and make you feel good, 
which is very difficult but challenging at best for anyone to do, and 
he does it on a regular basis, repeatedly, and still Members of this 
body know he is a selfless devotee to this institution and to the 
issues in which he is involved. He has made such an extraordinary 
difference in this legislation as well.

  I want to thank some other Senators. I see chairing tonight my good 
friend, and becoming a better friend, Debbie Stabenow. All of us, as we 
have been working on this legislation, know this has been such a 
motivating force in her public life experience. She has been an 
extraordinary resource and supporter for this legislation. No one in 
this body cares more deeply about this issue than Senator Stabenow. She 
reminds us all of that wonderful child, Jessica, of whom she has 
spoken. She continues to be a presence in this Senate on this issue.
  I thank a number of our colleagues who were involved, and I will not 
be able to mention them all, but I think of Senator Snowe and Senator 
DeWine who worked across the aisle to fashion a very important 
amendment that helped clarify some important provisions that we had not 
felt needed further clarification, but they pointed out the reasons for 
it and were constructive in working through it.
  I thank my friend, Dr. Frist, who has been the chairman of our Public 
Health Subcommittee and with whom I have worked on many different 
issues. We differed on this issue, but we worked closely on many other 
issues. I have great respect for him.
  I thank Judd Gregg who has been a worthy adversary as well as an ally 
on different public policy issues this year. I enjoy working with him.
  Some Senators I had not expected to be as involved as they have been 
and yet were enormously helpful are Senator Nelson, Senator Landrieu, 
Senator Lincoln, and Senator Bayh. Senator Jeffords spent a lot of time 
on this issue previously and worked with us and knows the issue 
carefully.
  I have listened to him in small meetings, including at the White 
House with the President, explaining the importance of this legislation 
enormously effectively as he does. He has been a wonderful help 
generally. We didn't always agree on some of these issues, but 
nonetheless I value both his friendship and his views.

  Senator Breaux has been very much involved with health policy issues 
and was very involved in this.
  Tom Harkin has been a champion on the Patients' Bill of Rights from 
the

[[Page S7289]]

beginning. He has been there every time we needed a strong voice. He 
knows this issue. He speaks passionately about it. He understands the 
significance and the importance not only in the areas of disability 
protections and health standards and medical necessity, but he also 
understands the nuances and the standards which were used and how that 
impacts broad numbers of our populations. He was absolutely invaluable 
throughout this process.
  I thank particularly the staff members. These issues are complex. It 
is difficult to always be able to anticipate the interrelationship 
between these issues, the importance of what we are doing and how it 
affects other legislation we have passed, what the impact will be with 
States and local communities, the impact with the business community, 
consumers, and others. We have been enormously well served across the 
board by the staff who have worked tirelessly on this issue just as 
they did on the education issue. There are an incredible number of very 
capable men and women who have devoted an extraordinary amount of time 
and effort and who have made an extraordinary mark on this legislation.
  I thank all of them: For Senator McCain, Sonya Sotak, Jean Bumpus, 
Cassandra Wood and Mark Busee; for Senator Edwards, Jeff Lane, Miles 
Lackey, Kyle Kinner, Hunter Pruett, and Lisa Zeidner. I want to thank 
the staff of Senator Daschle and Senator Reid, all of the floor staff 
and the clerks, including Marty Paone, Lula Davis, Gary Myrick, and 
also in particular Elizabeth Hargrave and Deborah Adler. I thank them 
very much. Senator Daschle has mentioned Mark Childress and Mark 
Patterson. They are leaders of a very capable and able team that works 
very closely with Senator Daschle. They are not only fiercely loyal and 
committed to him but they are enormous sources of help and assistance 
to all Members in our caucus. We are all very grateful to all of them. 
For Senator Gregg, Stephanie Monroe, and Steve Irrigarry, and Kim Monk.
  Now to my own staff, to whom I am incredibly grateful. No one has 
worked longer or harder, has been more committed or with greater 
success in terms of legislative achievement than David Nexon, the head 
of my health care team. Dave has been an invaluable resource. I always 
remember a story from when I interviewed him for the job and asked him 
to write an essay about health care. I still remember his strong 
commitment in that essay to universal coverage, comprehensive coverage, 
quality at a price people can afford. He has never let up on that 
ideal. It is one of the reasons I admire him so much. I am incredibly 
grateful to him.
  I will mention others in no particular order. I thank Michael Myers 
who is our chief of staff for our whole committee and takes on the 
broad responsibilities in health, education, and all the matters of 
that committee. Michael and I go back a long time, initially working 
together on refugee issues. He was so resourceful and effective and 
helpful in our efforts in that cause. And now, he has been good enough 
to stay the course with me and has just been an extraordinary leader 
for our committee. I am grateful to him for his friendship and 
leadership on the committee.
  I thank Jeff Teitz who is a master of many complicated aspects of the 
bill. If you have a complex issue that needs to be mastered, call Jeff 
Teitz.

  Sarah Bianchi is full of energy and intelligence and has had a 
distinguished career in working with former Vice President Gore. She 
has been a great addition to our team.
  Jerry Wesevich, I thank him so much for his steady presence. I 
mentioned a little while ago that this is Jerry's last day working in 
the Senate. He will be working for the legal service programs down in 
Texas and New Mexico. This is a person, like so many others on the 
Hill, strongly committed to improving our society, and I regret losing 
him. I know though that he will be involved in making a better 
community.
  Janie Oates is the master of all trades and knows every TRIO program, 
every program that reaches out to the most needy people in our country 
and society, and has been enormously helpful to me in this endeavor as 
well.
  I also thank Stacey Sachs who was here day in and day out and always 
seemed to have the answer. I remember the debate over the questions on 
the standard of medical necessity and the points being made about the 
standard we used in the Federal employers health plan. Stacey knew, 
yes, that was true but in the appeal provision a different standard was 
used. She knew the details of it, which was a key point. She is an 
extraordinary reservoir of good common sense and knowledge.
  Jim Manley has been a great help and a good friend and has helped so 
much in terms of being able to communicate these issues and this whole 
policy area effectively. Jim has been tireless. Elizabeth Field, Marty 
Walsh, so many others worked not just here on the floor but outside, as 
well, in terms of working with the various groups and helping to bring 
what is happening at the grass roots here to the Senate floor. Amelia 
Dungan and Jackie Gran. I thank David Bowen very much. He is a great 
master in understanding so much of the new research and what is 
happening in the outer edges of biomedical research. We had debate on 
some of those issues, and we will have more later. These are complex 
ethical issues and questions. Dave is a master of all of them. Beth 
Cameron and Paul Kim also deserve thanks. Paul joined our staff and has 
been enormously valuable and helpful, as he was in the House of 
Representatives.
  Thanks also goes out to our many dedicated interns, Dan Munoz, Madhu 
Chugh, Tarak Shah, Nina Dutta, Nicole Salazar-Austin, Abby Moncrieff, 
Eddie Santos, Kent Mitchell, Haris Hardaway, Nirav Shah, Charita Sinha, 
Les Chun and Wyley Proctor. Their energy and dedication certainly 
helped us along the way.
  I appreciate our Presiding Officer and our Senate staff for their 
patience this evening while we make sure that the history of tonight 
will include so many who did so much to make tonight a very important 
step toward helping our fellow American citizens get better quality 
health care.

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