[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 56 (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, what we have just seen happen is not 
surprising, but it is disappointing. Health Care Week has come to an 
end in the Senate on Wednesday evening. We have decided we don't have 
the time, interest, or inclination to take up other issues. It is a 
take-it-or-leave-it situation. If we do not accept the Enzi bill, S. 
1955, now pending, nothing will be done on health care in the Senate.
  It is no wonder to me the American people are cynical about this 
process. There are so many things we need to do. We are 5 days away 
from the deadline on Medicare prescription Part D. My best estimate is 
50 percent of the people we had hoped would enroll have not done it. 
They are going to be penalized on May 15 up to 7 percent a year on 
their premium costs for the rest of their life. We have asked for an 
extension of time so they can make a choice. We have asked for an 
extension of time so seniors who have chosen the wrong plan can choose 
another plan without penalty. Those are not unreasonable. We ask for 
extensions for people who file income tax without questions asked. To 
give an extension to an elderly person struggling with 45 different 
choices for the right prescription drug program is not unreasonable. It 
would be compassionate. It is the decision of the Senate Republican 
leadership that we don't have the time or inclination to take up that 
issue.
  I just asked the majority leader: What about stem cell research? Last 
July, he pledged support for stem cell research. The writing is on the 
wall: Another year will go by, and this Senate will not go on record on 
stem cell research.
  While millions of Americans and their families are suffering from 
diseases that could be directly impacted by this research, the Senate 
doesn't have the time or the inclination to take up this issue. Is it 
any wonder that people are angry with the Congress as it is presently 
being conducted? Is it any wonder people are calling for significant 
change, not only in the direction of this country but in the policies 
we follow on Capitol Hill? We are going to break our necks to bring up 
a tax bill before we leave this week to give tax benefits and tax cuts 
to the wealthiest people in America. We have to get that done, but we 
don't have time to bring up stem cell research which could give hope 
and promise for cures and relief to millions of American families?
  Where are our priorities? The priorities of this Republican-led 
Congress are priorities that do not reflect where America is today. The 
motions we have just heard do not reflect that. To suggest that we 
don't have time, for example, to even consider the reimportation of 
drugs so that people struggling with fixed incomes can afford the drugs 
they need to stay independent, be strong, stay alive--we don't have 
time for that. No, we have to get on to a tax cut--a tax cut. Let me 
tell you what the tax cut is.
  The tax cut which the Republicans want to force through here before 
we leave this week--we have to break all records to make sure we get 
this done--is a tax cut that will mean for people making less than 
$75,000 a year about on average $100 in tax relief. The good old $100 
check is coming back at you, America, if you make less than $75,000 a 
year; that is your tax cut; be prepared, party on. But if you happen to 
be making $1 million a year, well, that is another story. This 
Republican tax cut, which they just have to have, means about $42,000 
less in taxes paid by someone making $1 million a year.
  No time for drugs imported from Canada for people on fixed incomes 
who can't afford what they need to stay alive, no time for stem cell 
research for the millions of families counting on us to push forward on 
medical research to find cures and relief, no time to deal with 
Medicare prescription Part D when 7 or 8 million Americans, senior 
citizens, are about to face penalties in 5 days, no time for that, but 
plenty of time for tax cuts. It tells the story. No wonder the people 
across this country and even 30 of the Republicans are saying it is 
time for a change on Capitol Hill. It is time for new leadership, new 
direction, and new values. If this is the best we can do, to come up 
with a tax cut for the wealthiest people in America and ignore the real 
needs of small business and the elderly, to ignore the real needs of 
those who are fighting for medical research to give them hope to live 
another day, it is a sad outcome.

  I started this day by praising Senator Enzi and I will end it by 
doing the same. I respect him. I admire him. He brought an issue to the 
floor that is a tough one--health care in America. And this debate is 
long overdue. We have been waiting a long time to address an issue that 
troubles families and businesses across this Nation. I thank Senator 
Enzi for his leadership in bringing this to the floor. But I have to 
tell you, what has happened today procedurally on the floor gives no 
credit to that effort by Senator Enzi. Shutting down amendments, not 
even giving us a moment to raise these important issues, even with 
limited time and limited debate, is unfair. And what a contrast. What a 
contrast to the immigration bill where the Senator from Tennessee, the 
Republican majority leader, has argued that we need every possible 
amendment to be considered before it comes to a conclusion. Wide open; 
let everybody bring what they want, whether they are for the bill or 
against it. But when it comes to health care, when it comes to what 
counts, this man, who has made medicine his profession and his life 
before he came to the Senate, does not give us an opportunity to go 
into the issues that are so important to people across America. It is a 
sad outcome for America, it is a sad outcome for the Senate. This 
Senate appears to be not only risk averse but work averse, and that is 
a shame. It is time for a change.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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