[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 8 (Wednesday, February 6, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AMERICA'S UNINSURED

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Madam President, I come to the floor once again 
to talk about the uninsured in America. I think it is important that, 
as we sink our teeth into this year's budget, we remember the men, 
women, and children who live, work, and go to school every day without 
health insurance, knowing that any illness could threaten their 
livelihood and even their lives.
  I have spent a great deal of time in recent months learning about the 
uninsured--who they are, why they have no health coverage, the effects 
on individuals and their families, and what can be done to resolve this 
crisis.
  This year, the president's budget contains $89 billion to help the 
uninsured. This is no small number, to be sure, and it demonstrates the 
president's commitment to providing health coverage for all Americans; 
however, this proposal is only projected to provide coverage for up to 
six million of the forty million uninsured--leaving thirty-four million 
men, women, and children without health insurance. Therefore, I see the 
president's proposal as a starting point from which to make insurance 
both more accessible and more affordable for all working families.
  Yesterday I pressed Office of Management and Budget Director Daniels 
to explain how the uninsured would fare under the president's new 
budget proposal. I also met with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services Administrator Tom Scully to urge him to assist in improving 
upon President Bush's proposal to provide health coverage to more low-
income Americans.
  In my visits to community health centers across Oregon, it has become 
clear to me that the uninsured--working mothers, fathers, children, 
single adults, students--are not interested in budget battles that may 
prevent action on this important matter. What Americans need is access 
to high quality, affordable health insurance. There are a lot of good 
ideas out there to help the uninsured, but no single proposal is going 
to help or please everybody. We need to take the best these plans have 
to offer and come up with a comprehensive solution as soon as possible.
  There has never been a better, or more important, time to act with 
respect to the uninsured. I understand the demands on our treasury are 
great as we fight the war on terrorism both at home and abroad; 
however, the demands on our health care system are also increasing. 
With a recession and rapidly rising health care costs, more and more 
Americans will find themselves without health insurance. This is no 
time to ignore them. I look forward to working with my colleagues and 
the Administration to find a way to make room for as many of them as we 
can in this year's budget, as we work toward a day when every American 
has access to high quality health care coverage.

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