[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 6, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5754-S5755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that at 2:15 p.m. today the Senate proceed to executive session 
for consideration of Calendar No. 128, Cecilia Altonaga be United 
States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. I further 
ask consent that there be 15 minutes equally divided between the 
chairman and ranking member or their designee; provided further that 
following that debate time the Senate proceed to a vote on confirmation 
of the nomination with no intervening action or debate. I finally ask 
unanimous consent that following that vote, the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume 
legislative session.
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, and I will not object, we 
are happy to cooperate. I think this will be the 122nd judge we will 
have approved during this administration. We also hope today by voice 
vote to be able to maybe approve the 123rd judge.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GREGG. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. 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for the quorum call be rescinded.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. DASCHLE. Mr. President, during our spring recess, I had the 
opportunity to travel throughout my home State and visit with South 
Dakotans.
  These are proud days for South Dakota. Citizens are eager to welcome 
home hundreds of their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, who 
served so magnificently in Iraq.
  South Dakota boasts one of the highest proportions of service men and 
women in the country. We are proud of the job South Dakotans are doing 
to bring freedom to Iraq and security and stability to the Persian 
Gulf.
  But these are anxious days for South Dakota, as well. Jobs are hard 
to come by. The State's budget is under pressure.
  Meanwhile, the planting season has begun and farmers and the 
communities depending upon the land are hoping for some relief to the 
5-year drought that continues to cause devastation.
  But amid all the concerns on the minds of South Dakota families, the 
most common and deeply felt, is the financial strain of skyrocketing 
health care costs and the fear that they may one day lose their health 
coverage altogether.
  Day after day, people know that they are one layoff, one bad crop, 
one accident, or one illness away from being totally unprotected.
  I met with veterans who are picking up a greater share of their 
health care costs, because cuts to their health benefits are causing 
longer waits and worse care.
  I met with self-employed people, small business owners and farmers, 
who buy their own insurance and as a result face premium costs as high 
as $20,000.
  I met with the families of National Guard members who just a few 
weeks ago were afraid that their loved ones might get hurt in the line 
of duty in Iraq. Today, they are worried that their husbands or wives 
will lose their health coverage when they return home.
  This is not a new problem. Health care costs were soaring during our 
last recession 10 years ago. But new financing structures and a good 
economy helped bring costs under control. People were working, business 
was booming, and employers were adding new and better benefits as they 
competed for the best workers.

  Today, the economy continues to struggle, jobs are scarce, and 
profits even scarcer. Businesses are trimming back benefits for their 
employees and pensioners. And each month brings a fresh round of 
layoffs, and with them, thousands more Americans without dependable 
health insurance.
  We have about 75,000 South Dakotans who are uninsured today. Of the 
uninsured South Dakotans, 60 percent have been uninsured for 2 years. 
Twenty-seven percent have been uninsured for 10 years or more.
  Some work for businesses that don't offer benefits. Some are self-
employed family farmers who can't afford health insurance premiums even 
though they work in one of the most physically demanding and dangerous 
jobs there is.
  Health care is the most private of issues. But individuals' lack of 
coverage has broad and several public consequences.
  Because the uninsured are less likely to get preventative coverage, 
they are more likely to fall victim to more serious and more costly 
illnesses down the road. Communities lose good neighbors and productive 
workers. Sometime, the cost of care drives families into bankruptcy. 
And the cost of their coverage then gets passed on to the rest of us.
  This crisis is driving millions of Americans into poverty and poor 
health. And ever-higher numbers of uninsured people are driving the 
health care costs of every American higher and higher. This is a 
vicious cycle, destined to put good health care out of reach of 
everyone but the wealthy, and we need to stop it.
  I recently heard from Eugene and Karen Berg, who farm 500 acres of 
corn and soybeans in Emery, SD.
  Even though the Bergs pay more than $7,000 per year for health 
insurance, that only buys them catastrophic coverage--nothing for 
ordinary health expenses. They have a $10,000 deductible and they are 
responsible for one-fifth of all costs above that. Their insurance 
doesn't cover prescription drugs, and so the Bergs pay another $5,000 
per year to cover the cost of medicine. They don't have dental 
insurance, and they cannot afford to visit the dentist.
  Eugene's doctor just told Eugene that an operation could fix his 
hearing. But because he cannot afford the cost and his insurance won't 
help him, he's resigned to living with only half his hearing.
  The Bergs decided to look for better, less expensive health coverage. 
They found a plan that looked promising, but when they applied, Eugene 
was rejected because he has diabetes and high blood pressure.
  The insurance company said it would accept his wife, but it wouldn't 
provide any coverage for her thyroid problem. Insurance companies, they 
learned, don't make money by covering the sick.
  Eugene is trying to appeal the insurance company's decision, but he 
is not hopeful. One way or the other, Eugene is thinking about dropping 
his current coverage because he can no longer afford the premiums.
  I recently heard from another family, Roger and Carrie Fischer, who 
are musicians living in Custer, SD.
  Their insurance company recently raised their premiums from $6,000 to 
$9,000 per year. They let their insurance lapse because they couldn't 
afford it.
  They, too, tried to find a different plan, but because Carrie had her 
leg amputated, no company would even give them a quote.
  Carrie's amputation requires a prosthesis to be fitted to her leg so 
she can walk, but she was told that a new one would cost $30,000. So 
she is making do with her old one as long as she can.
  Roger recently wrote me a letter. He said:

       If we were able, we'd surely like to be insured, but it's a 
     choice between having light and heat and being insured. . . . 
     Let's change things now. I cannot afford to wait any longer.

  Millions of Americans face the same challenges. They work hard, they 
take care of themselves, and they contribute to their communities. They 
try to put money aside for bad times. But they can't control when 
illness strikes. Nor can they control the finances of the insurers, who 
too often pass on the cost of their own financial mistakes to their 
customers.
  Last year, health insurance premiums increased by an average of 13 
percent, three times faster than wages. The year before, premiums 
increased by 11 percent.
  Businesses trying to keep afloat during tough economic times are 
forcing their employees to shoulder more of the costs. But at this 
pace, the costs will double every 7 years.
  As the price of insurance increases, and as people lose their jobs in 
the current economy, more and more families are thrown onto the rolls 
of the insured. Over the past two years, 75 million Americans, nearly 
one in three,

[[Page S5755]]

spent at least some time without insurance. Forty-one million lacked 
coverage for the entire year. Among them are 8.5 million children who 
are indeed being left behind.
  We can do better.
  This is a national problem and it demands national leadership to fix 
it. Medical research is producing miracles. And yet, Washington's 
neglect has allowed a crisis to emerge.
  Doctors and nurses are dedicating their lives to the care of their 
patients. And yet Washington cannot seem to dedicate any of its 
attention or its resources to helping Americans who are suffering.
  This is a critical moment in our Nation's history. As our attention 
turns back toward the troubles of our economy and the Americans who are 
struggling to work and raise families, I intend to do everything I can 
to keep the Senate's attention focused on the crisis in health care.
  Our citizens are asking for our leadership, and we have an obligation 
to answer their call.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, before the Democratic leader leaves the 
floor--if I could just engage in a colloquy with him--the leader is so 
on point. We need to do something about health care. In my office today 
was a 13-year-old girl from Reno, NV. Her best friend's mother has 
lupus. This little girl didn't know what to do. As you know, we are way 
behind the ball on trying to determine what causes lupus and how to 
cure it. It is a very serious disease, and mostly a disease of women. 
This little girl on her own painted little lady bugs and sold them for 
$2 each and made $2,000 for research into lupus. She got a national 
award.
  With all that has been going on--Iraq and Afghanistan are terribly 
important issues--and as we focus on this tax cut, which is a very 
important issue, I hope this Congress can devote some time to the 44 or 
45 million Americans who have no health insurance and the millions of 
others who are underinsured. The State of Nevada, I am not proud to 
say, leads the Nation in uninsured. It has created tremendous problems 
for the State of Nevada because those people who are uninsured drive up 
health care costs for everybody. Indigent care and hospital and doctor 
bills have increased. And, of course, insurance costs more for those 
people who are fortunate to have it.
  I hope the country has heard the message delivered by the Democratic 
leader--that we need to do something about health care.
  This little girl is so desperate in helping her best friend's mother 
that she painted lady bugs. Her heart is bigger than her body, I am 
sure. But we need to make sure the National Institutes of Health has 
all the money they need to do all they can.
  In addition, people should have basic health insurance. All the 
research in the world is important, but it is not the answer for people 
to have the ability to go to the doctor when they need it.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank the assistant Democratic leader 
for his excellent comments. He is absolutely right. Of all the 
priorities our country faces--as we look to the well-being of our 
youth, and as we look to the extraordinary challenges we face to remain 
competitive--our country cannot remain competitive if our youth do not 
have good health and access to health care in rural areas as well as in 
the inner cities. We can't stay competitive with businesses that have 
to expand costs by double or triple every 2 or 3 years. We have a 
financial crisis in health care today. It is a crisis that is being 
felt by thousands and thousands of people who were not affected the 
last time we addressed this issue. They had health insurance. But we 
can no longer afford to ignore it. We can no longer afford to postpone 
it. We can no longer afford to minimize the extraordinary impact this 
problem is having on society and our economy today.
  I appreciate very much the Senator's comments. I know he feels as 
deeply as I do and as our caucus does about the importance of putting 
this high on the priority list as we consider the legislative agenda 
for the remainder of this Congress.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. In my capacity as a Senator from the State of 
Texas, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be 
dispensed with.
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

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