[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 138 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11872-S11873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ISSUES BEFORE CONGRESS

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I want to take a couple minutes as we come 
to the close of this congressional session and soon will be entering 
into a new one. It seems to me we have some great challenges before us, 
of course, as is always the case. However, in this instance, we have 
perhaps some more defined issues than normal. There are lots of issues 
before us, of course.
  There are always challenging issues before the Congress. Sometimes 
they are less well defined, but this time hopefully we can come 
together on issues we have talked about, trying to find answers to 
questions that are important to this country.
  It seems to me there are several issues that are pretty well defined. 
I hope we can find, on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the 
Capitol, some solutions or at least move toward some solutions that are 
very important to us.
  In doing that, it seems to me--and I will comment on it a little 
later--we have to take a long look at the kinds of things we deal with 
here to try to make some kind of an analysis as to the issues that are 
appropriate for the Congress to deal with.
  There are lots of interesting things going on, of course, but we find 
ourselves in the position of dealing with lots of things that I think 
quite easily could be defined as a role for some other Government level 
or indeed for the private sector to deal with.
  We find ourselves dealing with a good many of those things that are 
interesting. I was thinking a while back about the activity we had with 
respect to--I don't remember what it was--$15 million to help kids play 
tennis. Well, playing tennis is a great thing, and helping kids to play 
tennis is a great thing, but is that a congressional activity, I 
wonder.
  I have some concerns from time to time, but there are issues we 
clearly have to face up to. One of them is health care and the cost of 
health care throughout the country. Particularly, I am aware of the 
issues of health care in my State of Wyoming, as is the Presiding 
Officer, which include the fact that the costs of health care are 
beginning to limit access to one of the best health care systems in the 
world.
  Well, we have the best health care in the world, but if people cannot 
utilize it and are not able to take advantage of it, then, of course, 
we have to do something. The cost of health insurance, which is related 
to the cost of health care, more and more is one of those issues we 
need to deal with nationwide. It is not an easy issue.

  One of the obvious problems is the uninsured. Approximately 40 
million are uninsured. Quite often the costs, when the uninsured 
receive health care, have to be shifted to those who have insurance, 
and that lifts the price. The same is true of hospitals and emergencies 
and Medicare and Medicaid, which actually pay less than the cost, quite 
often, so that cost again is shifted. It is particularly difficult for 
the families of the self-employed. In our case, many rural ranchers and 
farmers pay very high prices to carry insurance for their families. 
That is one we clearly need to work on. I don't suppose we will find 
the total solution all at once. We are moving forward in Medicare, but 
this goes beyond Medicare. This goes to health care in general. We are 
going to have to do some things there, I am sure.
  Energy, of course, continues to be an issue that we have sort of 
avoided over the last couple years. I guess we have the idea that all 
you have to do is turn the light on or get in the car and go to the 
station and everything is going to be all right. The fact is, demand is 
exceeding production in many of these areas, and we are going to have 
to do something about it. I am hopeful we can at least begin with an 
energy policy--and we have tried a number of times--that looks ahead 
for 15 years or 20 years and says here is what we will have to do, here 
is where we want to be. And to be there, we have to do other things.
  Unfortunately, in this body we haven't been able to pass a policy. I 
have never understood why. Some areas, such as New England, generally 
have been cold on it, and they don't even have production. Production 
has to come from somewhere else, but there is no interest in that. We 
need to talk about alternative sources. We need to talk about 
renewables, efficiency, and conservation of energy, as well as domestic 
production. We find ourselves with a 60-percent dependence on imported 
oil, much of which comes from the Middle East, which is unsettled. That 
is a tough thing. I hope we can get moving on that.
  Social Security is a hard one. The President has talked a great deal 
about it. I am sure there will be some things done here. But clearly 
there has to be something done for the future. It is true that over the 
next few years things won't change very much. When Social Security was 
begun, I believe there were 28 people working for every beneficiary. 
Now it is about three people working for every beneficiary. Obviously 
the system that we started with is not going to be able to continue to 
be the kind of system that we need. It is going to be hard. We will 
have to get together.
  On the highway bill, nothing is more important to us than having 
highways. We haven't really done that in terms of the 6 years looking 
out. It is important because the highway departments in the various 
States do almost all their work by contracting, and they have 
difficulty contracting if they don't know what their income is going to 
be over a period of time.
  Obviously, we have to continue our fight on terrorism until that job 
is done, whether it is here or in Iraq, wherever. We will do that, I am 
sure.
  However, now we are faced with a deficit, a legitimate deficit. When 
you have emergencies in your business or in your family, you spend more 
than you would normally spend. That is what has happened in the last 4 
years. It hasn't been normal. We had September 11. We had a turndown in 
the economy. We had terrorism. We had Iraq. Now it is more important. I 
am pleased in the last year in our omnibus bill, the increase in 
discretionary spending was only about 1 percent. That is good. We will 
have to continue to do that.

  I had a thick book outlining all the Federal programs we have, a 
tremendous number of Federal programs. I hope we can take an analysis 
of those from time to time and see if programs that were started 10 
years ago are still as viable as they were at that time. I wish we had 
programs that ended in a few years so that there would be time to 
evaluate and see what is getting done.
  I hope we can work on some of these things and that we can do a 
little sorting. I hope we don't become part of that group which thinks 
that Government action is the only answer to problems in the world. I 
hope we don't think the Congress has to get involved in every issue 
that is there. Many of them can be better done in the private

[[Page S11873]]

sector and by local governments. I know you get requests from everyone 
to do something, but we need to control our activities and control our 
spending and yet do the things that are there that need to be done.
  We have a great challenge and a great opportunity. Hopefully, we will 
be away for a year or so from the real intense politics in this body. 
The election is over. We might consider that for a year or so and 
really move ahead on those things that have merit rather than political 
impact.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  (Mr. THOMAS assumed the chair.)
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Chambliss). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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