[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14742-S14745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Obama, Ms.

[[Page S14743]]

        Snowe, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Brown, Ms. Collins, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
        Lugar, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Smith, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Sununu, Mr. 
        Bingaman, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Casey, Ms. Mikulski, 
        Mr. Menendez, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
        Biden, and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 2405. A bill to provide additional appropriations for payments 
under section 2604(e) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 
1981; to the Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Keep 
Americans Warm Act, which provides an additional $1 billion in 
emergency home heating aid under the highly successful Low Income Home 
Energy Assistance Program, otherwise known as LIHEAP. Most importantly, 
this $1 billion in emergency home heating assistance would be in 
addition to the overall fiscal year 2008 appropriations for LIHEAP.
  I am delighted this bill enjoys widespread bipartisan support from 
across the political spectrum. As a matter of fact, this legislation is 
being cosponsored by 23 of my colleagues--16 Democrats, 6 Republicans, 
and 1 Independent.
  I would like to recognize all of the cosponsors this morning: both 
Senators from Minnesota, Mr. Coleman and Ms. Klobuchar; Senator Obama; 
both Senators from Maine, Ms. Snowe and Ms. Collins; both Senators from 
Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Kennedy; Senator Brown; Senator Lugar; 
the senior Senator from the great State of Vermont, Senator Leahy; 
Senator Smith; Senator Bingaman, the chairman of the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee; Senator Sununu; both Senators from New York, Mr. 
Schumer and Mrs. Clinton; Senator Casey; Senator Mikulski; Senator 
Menendez; Senator Stabenow; Senator Lieberman; Senator Cantwell; 
Senator Biden; and Senator Boxer.
  Mr. President, the reason this legislation is being cosponsored by so 
many of my colleagues is simple: Skyrocketing home heating prices in 
New England, the Northeast, and the Mideast, are already stretching 
household budgets beyond the breaking point.
  In the wealthiest country on the face of the Earth, not one family 
should go cold this winter. That is not what America is supposed to be 
about. Not one senior citizen should have to choose between heating 
their homes or paying for their prescription drugs.
  I am afraid if we do not act, and act aggressively, that is what is 
going to happen all across this country. While the official start of 
winter is still about 3 weeks away, home heating prices in Vermont and 
in other parts of the country are already going through the roof.
  According to the Central Vermont Community Action Council, many 
Vermont families have been paying an incredible $3.47 a gallon for 
heating oil and as much as $3.71 a gallon for kerosene this year. 
Nationwide, heating oil prices are already up 90 cents from last year, 
or more than double from where they were 4 years ago. Further, the 
price of kerosene has also increased by 50 cents a gallon from last 
year.
  These rapidly rising energy prices right now are bad enough; but the 
overall projections of what people will pay for energy over the course 
of this winter is frightening.
  The National Energy Assistance Directors Association has projected 
that the typical household using heating oil will pay $2,157 to heat 
their homes this winter--a 47-percent increase from what they paid last 
year. Those using propane will pay $1,765 this winter, or 30 percent 
more than what they paid 2 years ago.
  Before we got back into session this week, the debate over LIHEAP was 
between an 11.6-percent increase from last year, as included in the 
fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS conference report, and the President's 
budget proposal of a 21-percent cut--cut--from last year.
  While the level of funding for LIHEAP included in the Labor-HHS 
conference report is a good starting point, even if this level 
eventually becomes law, it would still be 31 percent below the $3.2 
billion provided in fiscal year 2006.
  Making matters worse, the President vetoed the Labor-HHS conference 
report, insisting on a $379 million cut to LIHEAP, among other things.
  We hear a lot of talk in Washington about family values. Well, to my 
mind, a family value is that we do not let our fellow Americans go cold 
when the cost of home heating oil is exploding.
  I thank all my colleagues. This legislation has brought forth 
widespread bipartisan support from Senators all across this country. 
Let us be aggressive and pass this legislation so that in this great 
country nobody goes cold this winter. Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Conrad, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. 
        Lincoln):
  S. 2406. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to 
permit States to obtain reimbursement under the Medicaid program for 
care or services required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and 
Active Labor Act that are provided in a nonpublicly owned or operated 
institution for mental diseases; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Medicaid 
Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2007. Original cosponsors this bill 
include two of my colleagues on the Finance Committee, Senators Conrad 
and Lincoln, as well as Senator Collins. Our legislation will improve 
access to mental health treatment and remove an unfunded mandate on our 
nonpublic mental health treatment centers by allowing freestanding 
psychiatric hospitals to receive appropriate reimbursement for 
emergency treatment.
  According to the CDC, visits to hospital emergency rooms rose 20 
percent in the past 10 years. This situation is exacerbated by a 
shortage of short-term inpatient psychiatric care facilities leaving 
psychiatric patients with a serious mental illness with nowhere to go. 
In fact, in 2003, there were 3.7 million visits to hospital emergency 
department for mental disorders. If treatment remains unavailable, 
patients could become homeless or be housed as criminal offenders.
  The Emergency Medical and Labor Treatment Act, EMTALA, requires all 
hospitals, including psychiatric hospitals, to stabilize patients who 
come in with an emergency medical condition. However, an outdated 
Medicaid provision called the Institution for Mental Diseases, IMD, 
exclusion does not allow Medicaid reimbursement to nonpublic 
psychiatric hospitals for stabilizing care delivered to Medicaid 
patients between the ages of 21-64. This policy isolates adults with 
mental illnesses from all other Medicaid-eligible populations and 
contradicts the principles of equal treatment and insurance parity for 
treatment of mental illnesses.
  When the IMD exclusion was created, individuals who were afflicted 
with mental health conditions often were institutionalized for an 
extended time. Today, hospitalization for common mental health concerns 
such as mild depression does not generally occur, thus removing the 
potential for abuse of the system. This exclusion burdens these 
facilities with an unfunded mandate and has caused severe financial 
burdens to psychiatric facilities--often amounting to millions of 
dollars a year. The IMD exclusion does not take into consideration the 
vast advancements that have transformed mental health services 
available today, and actually restricts access to critical mental 
health services for those who, by today's standards, are in the 
greatest need.
  Emergency department overcrowding is a growing and severe problem in 
the United States, and dedicated physicians and nurses who work in 
emergency rooms are reaching a breaking point where they may not have 
the resources or surge capacity to respond effectively. Patients often 
face a long wait in the emergency room, sometimes for days, because 
there is no bed or other appropriate setting available. Tens of 
thousands of dollars every day are being spent inefficiently on 
extended treatment in emergency rooms that is not the most appropriate 
or clinically effective care. Passage of this bill will help relieve 
overcrowding in emergency departments and allow hospitals to provide 
the appropriate care these patients deserve.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CASEY:
  S. 2407. A bill to provide for programs that reduce the need for 
abortion, help

[[Page S14744]]

women bear healthy children, and support new parents; to the Committee 
on Finance.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about members of the 
American family whom we all care about, and I think all of us do in 
this chamber and across America, but for whom we do not do nearly 
enough to support, and those members of the American family are 
pregnant women.
  I remember, as so many others do in the life of the family the times 
my wife Terese learned that she was pregnant, and even through I, of 
course, cannot ever experience it directly, I knew and I know now 
through her and my sisters' experience that that moment is indelible, 
and it is unforgettable in the life of a woman, in the life of a 
family, the moment she finds out that she is pregnant.
  For many women this is a moment, of course, of great joy. It is the 
moment where they learn they are pregnant and they appreciate the 
miracle of pregnancy. And perhaps it has been long awaited or in the 
case of a particular woman and her family, perhaps it is something of a 
surprise. But for many women, for many families, it is a welcome 
surprise.
  Many of these women do not need help beyond what their families can 
provide them and what others may receive in terms of adequate support 
from our existing framework of support within this country, so they do 
not feel they have any great burden at that moment.
  But there is another circumstance other pregnant women may face. And 
for those pregnant women, and for one, in particular, if we can imagine 
who that person is in the life, in our own lives, people we have known, 
for that woman the moment of discovery that she is pregnant 
unfortunately is not a moment of joy. For her it is a moment of terror 
or panic or even shame in some circumstances. She may be in a doctor's 
office or a clinic or she may be at home. But for her that moment 
begins a crisis, a real crisis in her life, in which she feels 
overwhelmingly and perhaps almost unbearably alone, all alone. She 
could be wealthy, middle income, or poor. Most likely, in our country, 
unfortunately, she would be poor. But whatever her income, that woman 
at that moment in that circumstance feels very simply all alone.
  A pregnant woman may have an abusive spouse or boyfriend, for 
example, that person who is tormenting her at that moment, and that 
will continue.
  At that moment for her, she is all alone with no help at all. Another 
pregnant woman may believe she cannot support or care for a new baby at 
this point in her life. She too is all alone. Another woman might 
believe her financial situation is so precarious that she cannot care 
for or raise a child. She may also feel alone and even helpless.
  We know the staggering numbers in America today: 48 percent of all 
pregnancies are unintended; excluding cases of after miscarriages, 54 
percent of those unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
  The response: ``cannot afford a baby,'' is the second most frequently 
cited reason why women choose to have an abortion. And 73 percent of 
women having abortions citing this reason: ``cannot afford a baby,'' 
cite this reason as a contributing factor in their decision.
  So a woman who is facing the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy, 
that may be a crisis for her, does not need, does not need a lecture 
from a politician and does not need a clinical reminder that she just 
has a simple choice to make. The choice is never simple, never, and 
this woman needs support and love and understanding. She needs to be 
embraced in a time of crisis in her life, not sent on her way to deal 
with this question on her own.
  She needs our help and she needs us to walk with her, not only 
through the 9 months of her pregnancy, but also for the early months 
and years of her child's life. We in the Congress, both House and 
Senate, both parties, need to address this issue in a comprehensive way 
that meets those needs that woman has in her life.
  Some Members in this body for years, and up to the current day, have 
initiated good efforts. We should applaud those efforts and support 
them. In some cases there is support for them. But I believe neither 
political party is doing enough for pregnant women in America today--
neither party.
  While there is tremendous disagreement about how best to do this, 
there is one significant area of common ground. Despite all we hear in 
Washington, there is, on these questions, one area of common ground, 
one thing we all agree upon, and that is, we all want to reduce the 
number of abortions.
  We all want to help as many pregnant women, as many families as we 
can. Many women who have had abortions do so very reluctantly. While 
choice is a term that is widely used in this debate, many women who 
face unplanned pregnancies do not feel, do not feel they have a genuine 
choice. And that is why for so many reasons I am introducing new 
legislation, the Pregnant Women Support Act. With this bill it is my 
fervent hope that a new dialog, a kind of common ground, will emerge on 
how we can reduce abortion by offering pregnant women real choices and 
real help.

  Let me outline a couple of provisions of the bill. This bill will, 
first of all, assist pregnant and parenting teens to finish high school 
and prepare for college or vocational training. Next, it will help 
pregnant college students stay in school, offering them counseling as 
well as assistance with continuing their education, parenting support 
classes, and also childcare assistance.
  Third, it will provide counseling and shelter to pregnant women in 
abusive relationships who may be fearful of continuing a pregnancy in a 
crisis situation. It will establish a national toll-free hotline and a 
public awareness campaign to offer women support and knowledge about 
options and resources available to them when they face an unplanned 
pregnancy.
  It will give women free sonogram examinations by providing grants for 
the purchase of ultrasound equipment. It will provide parents with 
information about genetic disability testing, including support for 
parents who receive a diagnosis of Downs syndrome. It will ensure that 
pregnant women receive prenatal and postnatal care by eliminating 
pregnancy as a preexisting condition in the individual health care 
market, and also eliminating waiting periods for women with prior 
coverage.
  It will establish a nurse home visitation program for pregnant and 
first-time mothers as an eligible benefit under Medicaid and the State 
Children's Health Insurance Program, what we refer to here as SCHIP. We 
know it means Children's Health Insurance.
  One example of this home visitation program is the nurse-family 
partnership, an evidence-based program and national model in which 
nurses mentor young first-time and primarily low-income mothers, 
establishing a supportive relationship with both mother and child. 
Studies have shown this program to be both cost effective and hugely 
successful in terms of life outcomes for both mothers and their 
children. This legislation will increase funding for the Women, Infants 
and Children Program, known as the WIC Program, providing nutrition 
assistance, counseling and education, obesity prevention, breastfeeding 
support, prenatal and pediatric health care referrals, immunization 
screening and referral, and a host of other services for mothers and 
their children.
  Next, it will expand nutritional support for low-income parents by 
increasing the income eligibility levels for food stamps. It will 
increase funding for the childcare and development block grant program, 
which is the primary source of Federal funding for childcare assistance 
for low-income parents.
  Finally, it will provide support for adoption as an alternative to 
abortion and make the adoption tax credit permanent. I introduced this 
bill with the deepest conviction that we can indeed find common ground. 
I believe we can transform this debate by focusing upon the issues that 
unite us and not the issues that divide us.
  As most people know who cover the Senate and understand what happens 
here and where candidates stand, most people know this already, but I 
am a pro-life Democrat, and I believe life begins at conception and 
ends when we draw our last breath.
  I also believe the role of Government is to protect, enrich, and 
value life for everyone, at every moment, from beginning to end. I 
believe we as a nation

[[Page S14745]]

have to do more to support women and their children when they are most 
vulnerable, during pregnancy and early childhood.
  I also strongly support, and have for years, family planning 
programs, because they avoid sometimes those dark moments when a woman, 
often alone, faces a pregnancy she feels she cannot handle. I also 
support family planning programs precisely because they reduce the 
number of abortions.
  But that is not the issue I address today. Today, with this bill, I 
am focused on the woman who is pregnant, and I am asking myself, and I 
think Congress and the administration, as any Congress and any 
administration has to ask themselves this fundamental question: For 
that woman who is facing that crisis in her life, we have to ask 
ourselves, as a Congress and as a society: What more can we do? What 
more can we do to help her? That is the question we must continually 
ask. I think if we ask that question today, the answer, unfortunately, 
is: Not enough.
  We are not doing enough. I believe there is more common ground in 
America than we might realize on these questions, if only we focus on 
how we can truly help and support that woman who wishes to carry her 
pregnancy to term and how we can give her and her child what they need 
to begin healthy and productive lives together.
  For the past 34 years, unfortunately, the issue of abortion has been 
used mostly as a way to divide people, even as the number of abortions 
remains and still remains unacceptably high. We have to find a better 
way.
  I believe this legislation, the Pregnant Women Support Act, is a part 
of that better way. I believe we must look toward real solutions to the 
issue of abortion by targeting the underlying factors that often lead 
women to make the decision to have an abortion. This is precisely what 
this act, the Pregnant Women Support Act, will do.
  I really believe when it comes to this issue of helping a pregnant 
woman, we need to consider what our obligations are. I think we can 
state it very simply: We need to walk in solidarity with her, in her 
pregnancy, especially when it is an unplanned pregnancy, and we need to 
support her and give her all the help we can at this time in her life.
  That is exactly what this bill does for women who may find themselves 
in a position where they are facing one of the most difficult 
situations in their life. The woman who has no one to turn to for 
advice, for counsel, or for support, we have got to be there for her at 
that moment and for a long time thereafter.
  I truly believe there are few things more terrifying than the 
prospect of supporting another human being when you have no support of 
your own. Unfortunately, far too many women face that decision, face 
that crisis.
  So I believe reducing the number of abortions should not be a 
partisan issue. It should not pit Republicans against Democrats. So 
what do I seek? I seek common ground, and I ask my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to join me in seeking real solutions that will unite 
us in providing life with dignity, before--before--and after the birth 
of a child, for a pregnant woman, for her family, and for her child. 
Surely, we must all agree that no woman should ever have to face the 
crisis of an unplanned pregnancy all alone.

                          ____________________