[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H6303-H6309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REGARDING THE ACTUARIAL VALUE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS OFFERED TO
MEDICARE ELIGIBLE ENROLLEES BY A PLAN UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH
BENEFITS PROGRAM
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 2631) to provide that the actuarial value of
the prescription drug benefits offered to Medicare eligible enrollees
by a plan under the Federal employees health benefits program shall be
at least equal to the actuarial value of the prescription drug benefits
offered by such plan to its enrollees generally.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2631
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. NEGOTIATIONS BY THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 8902 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(p)(1) A contract may not be made or a plan approved
which does not offer to Medicare eligible enrollees
prescription drug benefits the actuarial value of which is at
least
[[Page H6304]]
equal to the actuarial value of the prescription drug
benefits which are offered to enrollees under the plan
generally.
``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management shall establish processes and
methods for determining the actuarial value of prescription
drug benefits.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to contract years beginning after
the date of enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis).
General Leave
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, last week the House passed H.R. 1, the Medicare
Prescription Drug and Modernization Act. Part of this bill recognizes
and seeks to address one of the core concerns regarding adding a
prescription drug benefit to Medicare; that is, with the implementation
of such a benefit, lead employers who currently offer prescription drug
coverage to their employees to stop doing so. Obviously, we do not want
to put a government entitlement plan into operation and drive the
private plans out of existence, or the costs over the long term to the
taxpayers will go off the charts.
The bill addressed these concerns by providing subsidies to private
employers and unions to encourage them to maintain prescription drug
benefits for their retirees. With the help of the gentleman from
California (Chairman Thomas), we were able to clarify that the Office
of Personnel Management would also be eligible for these subsidies,
something that I believe will lead to lower FEHBP premiums for all
enrollees. However, I think it is necessary for us to go one step
further.
Coming from northern Virginia, I represent over 50,000 Federal
employees and retirees. As chairman of the House Committee on
Government Reform, I am responsible for issues pertaining to Federal
workers and retirees, along with the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo
Ann Davis), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service. Thus,
not only am I acutely aware of the challenges the Federal Government
faces as an employer to recruit and retain quality employees, I am also
very aware that Federal retirees are sometimes treated differently than
current employees in ways that are not always equitable.
For example, current Federal employees are allowed to deduct their
health insurance premiums from pretax dollars, but Federal retirees are
not. I look at this issue from an employer's perspective. Remember: In
addition to the large number of retirees already in FEHBP, 50 percent
of the Federal workforce is eligible for retirement in the next several
years. With H.R. 2631, we are telling the people that we are going to
live up to our end of the bargain. We are saying that with regard to
prescription drug benefits, Federal retirees will continue to be placed
on par with current employees, that OPM will not reduce their benefits
as opposed to the benefit offered to current employees.
In crafting H.R. 2631, I thought it was important to continue to
allow OPM as much flexibility as possible in negotiating future
prescription drug benefits. And for the record, Senator Akaka, my
colleague in the other body, has offered similar legislation on the
other side of the Capitol. Thus, H.R. 2631 does not require OPM to
offer a specific dollar amount of coverage that has to be maintained;
they can raise or they can lower benefits as they see fit through
negotiations with individual plans, but they have to do it for all
FEHBP enrollees to treat them the same, regardless of their age. In
essence, we are simply telling OPM to continue to do what they have
always done.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I believe H.R. 2631 sends an important
message to both Federal retirees and current Federal employees. It will
be a helpful tool in our efforts to build and retain an effective
Federal workforce and give these employees a career path and retirement
they can depend on. Therefore, I urge all Members to support the
passage of H.R. 2631.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today, H.R. 2631, was crafted to
ensure that legislation expanding Medicare will not reduce prescription
drug benefits for Federal retirees enrolled in the Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program. While I support this legislation because it
shields Federal employees from the illusive drug benefit in the
Medicare proposal, the reality is it leaves millions of others
unprotected.
Federal annuitants are worried, and they should be. They are worried
because they see something in the government's subsidized Medicare
prescription drug benefit that they do not like, and with good reason.
This past Sunday The Washington Post reported that despite the Bush
administration's proclamations, and I am quoting, ``The reality is that
the two Medicare drug bills passed by the House and the other body do
not come close to providing the level of coverage given to the 8.5
million Federal workers, including lawmakers, White House staff, and
the President. Both measures would require senior citizens to buy an
auxiliary prescription plan, whereas all 188 plans offered to Federal
employees include drug coverage, and at far more generous reimbursement
rates.''
To remedy this, H.R. 2631 would maintain prescription drug parity
between Medicare-eligible retirees enrolled in the FEHB program, and
active duty Federal employees and retirees. It provides that the
prescription drug benefit offered to Medicare-eligible enrollees by a
plan under the FEHB program be at least equal to the prescription drug
benefits offered by such a plan to its enrollees generally.
This is obviously a good bill for Federal employees, but it also
sheds light on what a bad bill the Medicare prescription drug benefit
is for the rest of America.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation and similar
legislation for the rest of America's seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis),
chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of H.R. 2631, a bill that has a simple, yet powerful, purpose:
to protect the health benefits of our valued Federal retirees. I am
proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, along with my
distinguished colleagues from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
One of the hallmarks of Federal service has been the government's
commitment to providing health care for its retired employees, those
public servants who dedicated their professional careers to protecting
our shores, fighting disease, keeping our air and water clean, and
upholding the laws of the land. We not only owe them our thanks, we owe
it to them to keep our commitments.
As the chairwoman of the House Committee on Government Reform
Subcommittee on Civil Service, I want to thank the gentleman from
Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) for sponsoring this legislation and thank
the leadership for allowing us to bring this important bill to the
floor so quickly.
H.R. 2631 guarantees that Federal retirees will have a prescription
drug benefit that is equal in value to the one provided to active
Federal employees. This legislation fulfills the promise of the Federal
Government not to eliminate prescription drug coverage to its retirees
once a prescription drug benefit is also available through Medicare,
which the U.S. House of Representatives has wisely decided to add.
This bill also ensures that there is no difference between the total
amount of coverage offered to active employees and the coverage
available to retirees. This is an important equity, one that we want to
maintain.
I want to emphasize that this legislation does not diminish the
Office of
[[Page H6305]]
Personnel Management's authority to negotiate health care benefits for
Federal employees, but assures that drug benefits will still be
available for retirees.
Finally, this is a case of the Federal Government leading by example.
If the U.S. Government were to cut benefits for its retirees, why would
we expect the private sector to act any differently?
I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Davis) for bringing
this legislation to the floor, and I urge passage of H.R. 2631.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3
minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking
member of the Committee on Government Reform.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
Mr. Speaker, I support the legislation that is before us today for
one simple reason: Federal retirees deserve an adequate prescription
drug benefit just like all America's seniors do. Without the
protections of the bill before us, they face the possibility of losing
what they have got.
But let us be clear: This legislation is necessary because the
prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries that was forced
through the House by the Republican majority is inadequate and
unresponsive to the needs of America's seniors and disabled persons.
The President and House Republicans like to defend that bill by saying
America's seniors deserve the same coverage that Members of Congress
and the Federal workforce get, but nothing could make it clearer that
their Medicare bill fails miserably to meet that test. The drug benefit
our Republican colleagues are willing to give Medicare beneficiaries is
filled with features that will be laughed out of the room if they were
suggested for Federal employees.
The Medicare bill contains large gaps in coverage, like the so-called
donut hole, where beneficiaries have no coverage for their drug
expenses. Once they have $2,000 in drug costs, coverage stops.
Beneficiaries are stuck with the next $2,900 in costs, and maybe more.
Oh, they get to pay premiums for coverage during that time. They just
pay for nothing, because the program gives them no help, and whether
coverage ever starts up again is uncertain. It will be a catastrophic
situation for many of our seniors.
The hypocrisy of claiming that Medicare beneficiaries deserve what
the Federal employees health program has, and then give a prescription
drug benefit that the Republicans pushed through which is so inferior,
it is breathtaking. And, to add insult to injury, the Medicare benefit
is designed so that any help from an employer reduces Medicare
coverage. That leads to the likelihood that employers will drop drug
coverage for their retirees and make people worse off.
{time} 1315
That is a very real possibility that makes the bill that is before us
right now necessary. But what about those retirees in the same
situation that this bill does not help? Federal retirees deserve to
have adequate prescription drug coverage. They deserve to keep the
benefits they have, but so do the rest of America's seniors and
disabled people. We should live up to the rhetoric and make the
Medicare benefit a good one: simple, comprehensive, certain, and
affordable. It should truly be as good as what Federal employees have
and Members of Congress have. The drug benefit in the Republican
Medicare bill fails that test. That is the tragedy that that bill that
is now before us highlights today.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a co-sponsor of this
legislation and a leader in the fight for Federal employees' rights.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H.R.
2631 and am pleased to be an original co-sponsor. Before I make my
comments, I want to particularly thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Tom Davis) for his efforts.
Those who followed this debate know, through the colloquy that took
place on the floor last week, the gentleman from Virginia's (Mr. Tom
Davis) efforts with regard to this; and I think every Federal retiree
and Federal employee will be very very grateful for that. So I want the
gentleman from Virginia to know that I appreciate it, as they will
also.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is necessary to clarify the intent of H.R. 1,
the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, which the House passed on June 27.
H.R. 2631 would ensure prescription drug parity between retirees
enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, FEHBP, who
are eligible for Medicare, and other Federal employees in the FEHBP. It
is vital to pass this legislation to make sure that the bill now moving
through Congress to extend Medicare will not reduce prescription drug
benefits for Federal retirees enrolled in FEHBP. Federal employees in
their retirement must be assured that the commitment will be kept that
their drug benefit will remain unchanged and they will not be forced to
pay additional costs for prescription drugs. They deserve that
commitment from Congress.
I urge all Members to vote for this bipartisan legislation to protect
retired and active duty Federal employees.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Davis) for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2631, but I am just puzzled by
this. I guess I must be missing something. This bill concerns the
Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, which covers President Bush,
Vice President Cheney, and Members of Congress and others. Right now
the plans offer drug coverage for retired Members of Congress and other
Federal employees equal to the drug coverage these plans offer current
employees. This bill puts this policy in law, requiring drug coverage
for Federal employees must be equal to coverage for current employees.
This bill was introduced the day the House passed the Republican
Medicare prescription drug bill. It is clear that this bill is meant to
ensure that Members of Congress, this is where I am puzzled, Members of
Congress do not have to live under the Republican Medicare
privatization plan. That is why I am puzzled. If it is good enough for
Congress, it is good enough for seniors of this Nation. That is what
President Bush said in Michigan in January about H.R. 1, his Medicare
prescription drug plan.
In his statement of administrative policy on H.R. 1, the White House
praised the Republican drug plan saying it was just like the coverage
that Members of Congress get. That is where I am getting stuck, trying
to figure out why the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) has
brought this bill to the floor. If the Republican Medicare bill offers
drug coverage just like Members of Congress have and as President Bush
says, then why do we have to protect Members of Congress and Federal
employees from being forced into the Republican privatized Medicare
plan? I just do not get it.
The majority leader of the other body who runs that place and the
leader on this side, both said the Medicare Republican bills would
accomplish the goal of giving health care security to seniors. But if
the Republican drug plan provides real health care security, H.R. 1,
why do we have to exempt Members of Congress and other Federal
employees from the bill that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom
Davis) and other Republicans rammed through this Congress recently?
The gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the chairman of the
Committee on Ways and Means, said the Republican drug plan uses private
plans to compete to provide beneficiaries better care at lower costs.
It is confusing. Why do we need this plan when Congress is exempting
itself from what Congress did only 2 weeks ago? I hope that my friends
on the other side would explain that.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to help the gentleman solve the puzzle. The
fact of the matter is there are 1.25 million Medicare-eligible Federal
employees and annuitants. Only 388 retired Members of Congress are in
FEHBP. The majority of retired Members of Congress do not even take
FEHBP. They are in other plans or have opted out of this.
[[Page H6306]]
The fact is they are eligible for that by virtue of their service
here. This legislation was not crafted by Members looking after
themselves. It was crafted with the help of the National Association of
Retired Federal Employees. It was difficult to write out the 388
retired Members who happen to use this, which is a minority of the
retired Members. Most Members do not use FEHBP. I want to clarify for
the gentleman that in no way, shape or form was this for Members. In
fact, this was called to our attention by the National Association of
Retired Federal Employees. I do not know any other way to get at the
problem.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, my friend sits on the Committee on
Energy and Commerce where this bill was heard. I just heard over and
over people saying that we wanted to give, under the Republican drug
plan that passed 2 weeks ago by one vote, that we wanted to give the
same coverage to seniors as FEHBPs. Are you saying then that the
coverage for Federal retirees is significantly better than the coverage
that you are providing or that this House provided under H.R. 1, the
Republican Medicare prescription drug plan?
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, all it does is ensures that
Federal retirees will be treated the same as current Federal employees
in regard to the Federal Employee Health Benefit plan. Currently, they
are not in some areas. The feeling is that with this other plan, that
retirees could have a different benefit program and that creates some
difficulty. So we are trying to even this up and give that assurance.
Most Members of Congress do not opt for FEHBP. That is what the
record shows after this is done. So that is kind of a misnomer. It is a
small percentage that ends up in FEHBP when they retire. A few do, I
grant to the gentleman; but that is not the purpose.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Murphy).
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2631. Today, about
76 percent of seniors have some form of prescription drug coverage; and
less than 2 weeks ago the House passed historical legislation, H.R. 1,
to create a prescription drug benefit for our seniors.
Mr. Speaker, when we passed H.R. 1, we did not intend to create a new
Federal benefit that would replace the prescription drug benefits that
many of our seniors today already enjoy. H.R. 1 does contain a number
of incentives to employers to maintain their existing level of health
care coverage to their senior retirees. But I personally heard from
several constituents of mine, retired Federal workers, who are
concerned that the Federal Government in an attempt to save money will
reduce or eliminate their prescription drug coverage once a benefit is
available through Medicare. In passing H.R. 1, we called upon employers
to maintain that coverage it offers to retirees, and the Federal
Government has an obligation to lead by example and ensure that Federal
retirees continue to receive the same prescription drug benefit as
current employees. So H.R. 2631 does just that.
It is the right thing to do, and I urge my colleagues to support this
bill.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen).
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis) for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) said he was puzzled
by this bill, but I am not so puzzled. It seems to me quite clear that
the one thing that our Federal retirees were right to be concerned once
the Republican prescription drug bill had passed this House, they were
right to be concerned that they might some day have to live under those
prescription drug benefits which do not even come close to the benefits
that they have today.
So it does make sense that as soon as the Republican prescription
drug bill was passed that Federal retirees would get worried and
Members would come down here and say, boy, one thing we sure do not
want to have is to have our Federal retirees forced to participate in
the Republican prescription drug bill that we just passed.
Now, one of the reasons that this is happening so fast, and it is
happening fast, the Republican bill passed by one vote here in the
House. A bill has passed in the other body, but we do not even have a
conference. We do not know what the final product will be like. But we
know this: it will not be good for America's seniors. It will not be
good for those Medicare beneficiaries who are counting on getting some
relief from the high cost of prescription drugs.
The Republican bills are a disaster, a looming disaster for our
Medicare beneficiaries; but they also fall far short of what Federal
retirees are likely to expect. Because under the FEHBP program we have
today, there are no additional premiums for drug benefits. There is no
deductible. There is a small co-payment. There is no gap in coverage,
and that is different from the Republican bills passed here in the
House. This bill may make some sense for Federal retirees; but the
question remains, if it is good enough for Members of Congress and
Federal employees, it ought to be good enough for Medicare
beneficiaries. That is what the President said, but the Republican bill
does not keep that promise.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on each
side?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Camp). The gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Tom Davis) has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Davis) has 10\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me the time. I rise in support of this bill. And I am sure it
will pass with near-unanimous support, because under this bill no plan
on the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan could be approved that has
a prescription drug benefit for retirees that is lesser in actuarial
value than the existing prescription drug benefit.
This legislation represents the commitment of the Federal Government
not to reduce dues or eliminate prescription drug coverage to its
retirees once prescription drug coverage is also available through
Medicare. One of the core concerns with the Medicare prescription drug
benefit has always been that, in the attempt to provide for those
without coverage, we would take from those with coverage. The
Congressional Budget Office has estimated that one-third of retired
employees with employer-sponsored drug coverage could lose it as a
result of the Medicare prescription drug bill that passed 2 weeks ago.
Currently, there is no different prescription drug benefit for retirees
than is available for current employees. Our bill simply seeks to
maintain that dynamic.
We do not want the total amount of coverage offered to Federal
retirees reduced for the reason that they could simply opt for the
Medicare plan alone. This is an issue with the Federal Government
leading by example. If the Federal Government cuts its benefits for its
retirees, how can we expect private employers to do anything but follow
our lead? H.R. 2631 does not tie OPM's hands in the negotiating process
by requiring that they provide a plan of a certain dollar value. OPM
can still negotiate higher or lower levels of benefits, but they simply
cannot target retirees alone for reduced benefits.
The Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan has always led the way in
setting the example for employer-sponsored health care. It should have
been the standard for the Medicare prescription drug plan, but Federal
retirees should not lose benefits because it was not. That is the point
that many people have been making. But they should certainly not vote
against this bill as a result. There is nothing wrong with this bill.
This bill clarifies what the policy is and should be, and for that
reason we should all vote for this bill.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I kept hearing my Republican colleagues
talk about parity for Federal employees; and I support this billing as
well, because I do believe that Federal retirees should have good
prescription drug
[[Page H6307]]
benefits. But it is not an issue of parity. It is an issue of
hypocrisy, hypocrisy because the Republicans say that they want to
preserve a generous prescription drug benefit for Federal retirees, but
at the same time they were not willing to provide it for the other
seniors around the country.
The bottom line is that the Medicare prescription drug benefit that
the Republicans have proposed both in this House and the other House is
no real benefit. It is a meaningless benefit. It is not generous enough
that anybody would even sign up for it.
{time} 1330
And they wanted to make sure that the Federal retirees do not get
stuck being forced into that Medicare system that they have proposed,
which essentially gives an almost worthless prescription drug benefit
to most seniors. Well, there is a lot of hypocrisy saying you want to
preserve it for the Members of Congress, for the President, and for
Federal retirees, but not give it to seniors in general.
There was an article in today's New York Times that had a little
grid, and it talked about how Federal retirees' drug benefits stacked
up with those under the Medicare prescription drug plan the Republicans
have proposed for the rest of the seniors. And guess what? Average
premium for Federal employees, nothing. No additional premium for drug
benefits. But in the Senate bill, $35 a month, or $420 a year; in the
House, $35 a month. What about the deductible? For Federal retirees, no
deductible. But in the Senate bill, for the rest of the seniors, $275;
in the House bill, $250. What about gap in coverage? For Federal
retirees, no gap in coverage, but then there are major gaps in the
Senate bill, $4,500 to $5,800 a year; in the House bill, $2,000 to
$4,900 a year.
In fact, there is a statement that for the most popular plan among
Federal workers, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Congressional Research
Service estimates that drug benefits under the plan are worth 50
percent more than the proposed Republican bill.
Hypocrisy, not parity. Give the same benefits to the rest of the
seniors. That is the fair thing to do.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume to respond that The New York Times chart is absolutely
wrong when it says Federal employees have no deductible for their
prescription drug coverage. What they get is, they get a set amount of
dollars, and it is a cafeteria style. They can spend it on prescription
drugs, preventive care, HMOs or whatever. So there is certainly a cost
to that. But the way the system is set up, it is a total health care
program.
So when the gentleman gets up and quotes this New York Times article,
it is entirely misleading. Of course there is a cost to Federal
employees opting for that over something else.
The other underlying part of the bill that this body passed 2 weeks
ago is the fact that we did not want to drive private programs out of
existence. Should we drive the 60 percent of seniors that are currently
satisfied with their prescription drug program out of existence, then
the Federal Government ends up picking up the total tab, and the cost
rises significantly.
We are setting an example with this legislation that we are, in fact,
making sure that the FEHBP program is not driven out of existence; that
we maintain the parity it has always had with existing Federal
employees. And this program ought not be diminished. It is the same
thing that we have incentivized in the program passed 2 weeks ago by
the subsidies that are in that program as well.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking member of the
Committee on Appropriations.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding
me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe this bill is here, and I want to make
clear that while I certainly do not object to the effort to insulate
Federal employees from negative retirement actions, if there is a
rollcall on this bill, I would vote ``no.'' And the reason is because I
think this bill demonstrates a rampant double standard.
As I understand it, last week in the prescription drug bill debate
that we had on this floor, the majority party in essence told seniors,
``Have we got a deal for you. We are going to set it up so that you are
going to be able to get the same benefits as your Member of Congress.''
And now what are you saying this week? You are bringing a bill up that
says to your future retiring Member of Congress, ``Have we got a deal
for you. It is going to be a special deal. You are going to be able to
make sure that when you retire, you will have better prescription drug
benefits than that poor sucker on Medicare.''
That is what you are telling people, and I do not happen to think
that is a very straightforward way to deal with our constituents.
I understand what the committee wants to do to protect Federal
employees. I would be very happy to vote for this bill once the
majority party brings back to this floor a decent deal on prescription
drugs for every other American, but not under these circumstances, not
under these circumstances.
Right now, if you are a Federal employee, if you are a Member of
Congress, if you belong to the Blue Cross plan, you get 80 percent of
your cost paid for for prescription drugs basically. But what do you
say to seniors under that turkey of a prescription drug bill you passed
last week? What you say is, oh, we will help you pay up to $2,000, but,
boy, if you get stuck with drug costs that are somewhere between $2,000
and $5,000, for that $3,000 hit on your wallet, sorry, you are not
going to get any help from Uncle Sam.
And my colleagues think that is a square deal? I mean, with all due
respect to the effort behind this bill, it does not meet the laugh
test, as far as I am concerned. If the majority party in this House
wants to be considered a serious legislative force on this issue, they
will pull this bill from the floor and bring it back when they can also
bring back to the floor a bill with a decent, sustainable, consistent,
reliable, affordable benefit under Medicare for all seniors for
prescription drug costs. Until that happens, do not ask me to vote for
a special insider deal for Members of Congress. That is what this bill
does.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume, and let me just say in all candor that we have 1.25
million FEHBP employees covered by this, with 388 former Members of
Congress. The vast majority of former Members do not even sign up for
FEHBP, those who would be eligible for the plan passed by this body 2
weeks ago, and do not even use FEHBP, which is a more comprehensive
option for retired Federal employees, including Members of Congress. So
this really has nothing to do with Members of Congress.
The other question I pose is, why, when my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle controlled this body for 40 years, did they not bring
up any prescription drug benefit plan before this body for a vote? We
have passed plans now the last 3 years, only this time has the Senate
passed a plan as well, and we are giving meaningful relief to seniors
who want it. It is a voluntary plan. It is not a perfect plan by any
means, but it is within the budget limitations passed by this Congress.
Their plan was outside the budget limitations.
I think we have to get real. I think we have a good deal for
Americans in the plan that we passed 2 weeks ago. As we work with the
Senate, we will try to refine it and make it better. I think this
legislation today makes it better as well, recognizing that as we look
at our Federal workforce, trying to make sure we have the right
incentives to attract and retain the best and the brightest to fight
for homeland security, to fight the battles for this country, to
develop cures for cancer, that we are treating our employees well.
So I am very proud to support this legislation. I think it enhances
and goes with the underlying theme of the legislation passed 2 weeks
ago, and that is we do not want to drive current prescription drug
benefit plans out of existence, which, if we do not pass this, we will
be setting a terrible example here at the Federal level.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland).
Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I am here to expose the hypocrisy of my
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Republican colleagues. The previous speaker just said that this bill
has nothing to do with current Members of Congress. Well, we will just
wait and see.
Over on the Senate side, Senator Dayton successfully offered an
amendment to the Medicare prescription bill to ensure that no Member of
Congress would receive a better prescription drug benefit than that
which is included in the Medicare bill. And guess what? It passed, 93
to 3. And Roll Call reported the following hypocrisy. According to Roll
Call, indeed, many Republicans, 50 of whom helped add the Dayton
provision to the Senate version of the Medicare bill this week,
acknowledged that they were told by their leaders to vote for the
Dayton amendment with the understanding that it would not show up in
the final version of the legislation.
That is hypocrisy. What is good enough for America's senior citizens
is good enough for those of us who serve in this Chamber. I am
circulating a letter to the Speaker, and I am asking all Members of
this House to sign this letter in support of the Dayton amendment. If
this House, if this Congress does not support the Dayton amendment, we
are little more than hypocrites. If this language is stripped from the
conference report, it can only mean that Members of Congress believe
that they deserve better health coverage than the seniors they
represent.
America's seniors are watching us, and I hope my Republican
colleagues will sign my letter to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Hastert), and I hope all of my Democratic colleagues will sign my
letter in support of the Dayton amendment. We ought not to do for
ourselves what we are unwilling to do for America's senior citizens. It
is as simple as that. And to do less is to be hypocritical.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Waxman).
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time. I think the points that have been made by some of my Democratic
colleagues about the impact of the bill passed when we were last in
session to cover prescription drugs for seniors is a point well taken.
That bill is inadequate, and the reason we are passing this legislation
is that we want to protect retired Federal employees.
Well, we do want to protect them, but we have to protect them because
we passed a Medicare prescription drug bill that will give incentives
for employers, public and private, to drop insurance coverage for their
retirees for prescription drugs. What in effect we are saying is we do
not want Federal retirees to face the plight that other seniors are
going to face when they are retired and their employers decide to let
them go get their Medicare prescription drug benefit under the
Republican-passed bill. It will be a lot less expensive, but it will be
much less a benefit, in fact, a very inadequate benefit, for those
retirees.
That leads me, however, to say that we should oppose the bill that
the Republicans passed for the Medicare prescription drug benefit and
make sure that we pass a really decent prescription drug benefit for
all Medicare beneficiaries. That is not to say that we ought to leave
our Federal retired employees without the protections that we promised
them, which is that they would have the health care plans that they
paid into during their working years available to them as retirees.
So I commend my Democratic colleagues for their pointing out the
hypocrisy, and I support what they have to say, but urge, however, that
we adopt this bill because we do not want to be against Federal
retirees. But in doing that, we certainly need to acknowledge that the
reason we are passing this legislation is because the prescription drug
bill for Medicare that was passed by the House is so filled with holes
and so inadequate.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume to say two things. This vaunted Senate bill that passed a
couple of weeks ago, Senator Akaka has also offered legislation in the
Senate for their legislation as well. I think whatever happens under
whoever's bill that passes, we want to ensure that we do not get that
separation between the retired Federal employees and current employees
in their health benefit premiums, and that is what this bill is about.
We had a spirited debate 2 weeks ago on a health benefit plan, and I
do not think we need to continue to air this today. But I think this is
good legislation, it is good protection for our retired Federal
employees, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and
thank them for the bipartisan support this bill is getting today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume. I think we have heard a great deal of debate, and we
understand the merits of this legislation. It is unfortunate we did not
have a bill last week that would have covered all of the seniors
looking for relief under Medicare.
I certainly agree that we do not want Federal retirees to be at risk
for giving up what they have already got, and so I would agree with my
colleagues that we should support this legislation to make sure that
our Federal retirees maintain the benefits they have already received.
Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, we've heard the President, Republican Members
of Congress, Administration officials, and Republican Senators claim
time and time again that their Medicare prescription drug plan will
provide seniors with the same choices as Members of Congress get.
They've said that if FEHBP is good enough for Federal employees and
Members of Congress alike, it should be good enough for seniors.
That's a great message and I'm sure it sells well with seniors.
Unfortunately, their rhetoric fails to match the reality. The drug
benefit they are willing to provide to Medicare beneficiaries is far
less than the drug benefit provided to Federal employees.
We've been trying to expose this hypocrisy for months. Today, the
Republicans point out the truth themselves.
This bill, authored by Representative Tom Davis, requires that each
health plan in FEHBP agree to provide the same drug benefits to Federal
retirees as they do to active employees.
In other words, it protects Federal employees from ever having their
retiree drug benefits reduced to the level that the bill's author just
supported for the rest of our nation's retirees!
Representative Davis represents an awful lot of Federal employees and
he knows that the Medicare drug benefit is inadequate. Therefore, he's
here today--the very first legislative day we are back in session after
having passed the Republican Medicare drug bill--to get a fix for his
constituents and himself.
If the Republican drug bill was as good a benefit as Federal
employees and Member of Congress receive, Representative Tom Davis and
others would not be here today ensuring that Federal employees are
never forced to give up their FEHBP coverage and find themselves with
only the Medicare drug benefit his party has legislated.
But, the Medicare drug benefit isn't as good. That's why they're
here.
Unfortunately, they are ignoring the problems that will be faced by
the millions of seniors and people with disabilities who are not
Federal employees or Members of Congress.
The Congressional Budget Office has told us that if the Republican
Drug Bill becomes law, one-third of employers will drop their retiree
drug coverage. That will cause millions of Americans to lose the
coverage they have today only to be replaced with the inadequate
benefit put forth by the Republicans. Yet, nothing in this bill will
help them.
Put frankly, we can't buy a health plan in FEHBP with as poor drug
coverage as is included in the Republican Medicare prescription drug
bill that was passed last week.
Rather than protect us from having to suffer with inadequate coverage
with the rest of America's seniors, we should be considering a bill
that guarantees all America's seniors and people with disabilities with
a drug benefit as good as Members of Congress get.
Unfortunately, Republicans refuse to go along with that.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2631.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
[[Page H6309]]
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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