[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for the quorum call be rescinded.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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