[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 12 (Thursday, January 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM AND THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

  Mr. BINGAMAN. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I wish to use a few 
moments of morning business to talk about and describe two amendments I 
have proposed to the pending legislation. I hope these are amendments 
that can be unanimously agreed to by all Senators. They seem to me to 
make eminent sense and, clearly, are in the best interest of our 
country and the people we represent.
  The first amendment I wish to speak about is amendment No. 138. This 
amendment, which Senator Kennedy is cosponsoring with me, would extend 
a critical Federal-State program that assists low-income Medicare 
beneficiaries to pay the health premiums under the Medicare Program. It 
uses the Medicaid Program to do that. It is a program that was enacted 
in 1997. It was slated to be reauthorized at the end of 2002, but, of 
course, Congress did not enact either Medicaid or Medicare legislation 
in the 107th Congress. The program was extended by the continuing 
resolutions that we have enacted in the last few months. It was 
extended until March 12 of this year.
  The amendment I have offered will extend that program through 
September 30 of this year to give us additional time to do a more 
complete extension.
  This program is known as the QI-1 Program. It is the Qualifying 
Individual Program. It is a program within Medicaid. It is a block 
grant payment to States to pay the Medicare Part B premium of $58.70 
per month, and it is a program that will allow States to pay that 
premium for individuals who have incomes of somewhere between $887 a 
month and $997 a month, or couples with an income of $1,194 a month up 
to $1,344 a month. This covers Medicare beneficiaries whose income is 
between 120 and 135 percent of the Federal poverty level.
  This amounts to a benefit of nearly $700 annually that many older and 
disabled Americans depend upon to pay for a portion of their health 
care costs and items such as prescription drugs and supplemental 
coverage. There are well over 120,000 people nationwide who currently 
rely on the QI-1 Program. These 120,000 people will be hard pressed to 
afford Medicare coverage without this assistance.
  In short, to prevent the erosion of existing low-income protections, 
Congress needs to extend this 5-year Federal allocation for the QI-1 
Program through the remainder of this fiscal year.
  According to the data of the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are over 
9 million Medicare beneficiaries with incomes between 100 percent of 
poverty and 175 percent of poverty. Although we do not know the exact 
number eligible for this particular program of Medicare beneficiaries 
who are between 120 and 135 percent of poverty, we can estimate there 
are at least 1 million who are eligible for the program. As I have 
indicated, there are 120,000 people currently enrolled.

  In my home State, for example, we have almost 1,000 New Mexicans 
enrolled in the QI-1 Program. Disenrolling these low-income Medicare 
beneficiaries would cost each and every one of them about $700 
annually. This could have a significant impact not only on their 
finances but on their health.
  In a letter from the Medicare Rights Center, they give an example of 
a 69-year-old widow with severe arthritis, with hypertension, with high 
cholesterol, in the Nation's Capital. This woman, I refer to as Mrs. B, 
does not qualify for Medicaid, yet she cannot afford premiums for a 
Medicare HMO or Medigap plan. This QI-1 Program, which we are seeking 
in this amendment to extend, does cover her Part B premium of over $700 
per year. If she loses that assistance, she does not know how she can 
make ends meet. She already struggles to buy food, make the Medicare 
copayment, and purchase prescription drugs.
  This is a bipartisan issue. President Bush had included QI-1 
reauthorization in his fiscal year 2003 budget. Moreover, in his 
confirmation testimony to be the Commissioner of the FDA, Mark 
McClellan testified that the administration continues to support 
reauthorization of this program. In addition, QI-1 reauthorization was 
also included as part of S. 3018, the Beneficiary Access to Care and 
Medicare Equity Act of 2002, which was introduced by my colleagues, 
Senator Baucus and Senator Grassley, late last year.
  During each and every Senate race this past fall, candidates from 
both sides of the aisle promised our Nation's seniors and disabled 
Medicare beneficiaries improved health coverage with the addition of 
prescription drug coverage. While waiting for that to come about, low-
income Medicare beneficiaries should not be blindsided by the loss of 
critically needed premium protection that the QI-1 Program provides.
  I urge passage of this amendment, when we get to it, for another 6\1/
2\ months. I implore my colleagues to address the issue and to 
permanently extend the program once that issue becomes appropriate to 
consider.
  Mr. President, another amendment I have filed, amendment No. 126, is 
an amendment to provide permanent authority to operate the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the major tool 
the United States has to deal with the impact of a significant 
disruption in oil supplies. Releasing oil from the SPR, as it is 
referred to, in coordination with stock drawdowns with other consuming 
nations pursuant to the international energy agreement, can add more 
supply to a tight market, can reduce the possibility of price spikes, 
and reduce the possibility of economic havoc as the United States 
experienced during the Arab oil embargo.
  We are currently experiencing a disruption in oil supplies from 
Venezuela. We face the possibility of an additional disruption if we 
wind up going to war with Iraq and during the aftermath of any conflict 
in Iraq. In this context, it should be of concern to all Senators that 
the current authority to draw down oil from the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve and to participate in the international energy agreement will 
expire on September 30 of this year.
  My amendment incorporates the exact language we agreed to last fall 
between House and Senate conferees on H.R. 4, the comprehensive energy 
bill. The amendment permanently authorizes the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve. It also requires filling the Reserve to 700 million or its 
current capacity.
  While I prefer to move this legislation through the Energy Committee, 
I cannot guarantee we would complete our work and get this legislation 
to the President before September 30. Therefore, I believe the prudent 
thing for the Senate to do is to add this language to the omnibus 
appropriations bill and deal with this matter now.
  Again, I see this as a bipartisan issue, one that the administration 
supports, one that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle support. I 
hope very much this amendment, as well, can be added to the bill 
without objection by any Senator.
  I yield the floor and 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. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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