[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 16, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6626-S6628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I decided to come to the floor to talk 
about a couple of things. One is health care reform and the other is 
the stimulus package.
  We are seeing attacks from the party of no, the Republican Party, 
every day on this floor, and I believe the purpose is to derail health 
care reform. I think it is perfectly legitimate to debate how we do it, 
but I think when everything is stripped away, you are going to see the 
Republicans as the party of the status quo.
  In relation to health care reform, the status quo has to go, because 
it is hurting our people. I will put a couple of facts out there that 
are irrefutable; they are just facts. The fact is, if we don't act, 
soaring health care costs are unsustainable for our families. In this 
great Nation, we pay twice as much as any other nation for our health 
care. The fact is we must turn this around. As the wording is now, we 
must ``bend that cost curve,'' because we cannot sustain the situation 
as it is. It is hurting our families. Premium rises are unbelievable. 
We all know it in our own circumstances. And we know the uninsured keep 
growing. Why? Because they cannot afford the premiums or maybe 
companies won't take them because they may have had high blood pressure 
or something, and they don't get the coverage they need. So they don't 
avail themselves of prevention.
  We have too much obesity in this country among our kids and adults. 
We know that prevention in and of itself could bend that cost curve. If 
someone understands nutrition and diet, and they get help in making 
sure they change their lifestyle or that their kids don't eat sugar and 
fattening foods all the time, it has an enormous impact on what happens 
to them when they get older. Diabetes is a major problem. We can turn 
that around, along with the heart risks that go with it later on, and 
the stroke risks that go with high blood pressure. These things can be 
controlled.
  We took a first step in prevention when we passed the bill on smoking

[[Page S6627]]

which, for the first time, will give the FDA the ability to regulate 
cigarettes and keep these products away from our kids, who are lured 
into smoking. You know how it is, because I am sure everybody knows 
someone who has this addiction, how very difficult it is--those folks 
who want to quit have such a hard time. Clearly, if we have prevention 
as the name of the game, we are going to see a decrease in costs, we 
are going to see healthier families, and we should see lower premiums.
  The question is: If we do nothing, can we sustain what happened? If 
we do so, it ought to stress prevention and also make sure that the 
insurance companies are kept honest. How do you do that? It seems to me 
you want to make sure we have some kind of plan out there that has to 
live by the same rules as the private sector, be it a cooperative, a 
public plan, but it should live by the same rules so we can test and 
judge whether our people are getting ripped off when they get these 
huge increases in their premiums. We also need a plan that covers the 
uninsured, however we deal with it, because there is no question about 
it that when people are uninsured, they are still going to get the 
health care they need. No doctor is going to turn them away when they 
show up in the emergency room with a stroke or heart condition that 
probably has not been looked at for a long time. The signs of a stroke 
you can find through blood pressure taking. If they haven't done that, 
when they show up there, who pays for it? The fact is, those costs come 
right back home to us. Somebody has to pay for it. That is reflected in 
the premium.
  So here is the point. I don't think it is that complicated. If you 
stress prevention, and if you have a plan out there--a nonprofit plan--
that can keep the insurance companies honest and make sure they are not 
overcharging us, and if you cover the uninsured, I think those are the 
principles I am looking for. I don't think it is that complicated. But 
we hear our colleagues on the Republican side come out to the floor day 
in and day out bashing public plans.
  Let the Republicans introduce a bill to repeal Medicare. That is a 
public plan. Our seniors love it. The Republicans fought it in the 
1960s. The Democrats passed it under Lyndon Johnson. Why don't they 
come here and say they want to repeal Medicare?
  Another public plan is veterans' health care. It is a government 
plan. Why don't they come here and put forward a proposal to completely 
do away with veterans' health care? I will tell you, the veterans in 
this country will rise up--the Republican veterans, the Democratic 
veterans, the Independent veterans, the old and young veterans. Why 
don't they do that, instead of coming here and saying public plans are 
bad?
  How about SCHIP, the public plan that allows our children to be 
covered, our poor kids? Why don't they come here and say our children 
should not be covered and let's repeal it?
  How about our military? They get free health care through the public 
domain. Should we now cancel that and contract it out?
  Look, I am for a robust debate. I am for a bipartisan bill. I want to 
work toward that. But let me tell you this: If we don't get 60 votes 
for something, we cannot quit around here. We cannot allow a terrible 
crisis toward the end of life bankrupt our families. More than half of 
our families who file bankruptcy do it because of a crisis in their 
health. We cannot afford that. The fact is that we are on the verge of 
being able to do something but not if the party of no comes here every 
day and bashes every idea and starts frightening the American people. 
They will have their chance, but I hope we won't stop. We will have to 
figure out a way to do it with a majority vote. That is my feeling. 
This is too important an issue. Our families cannot take it. They 
cannot take a circumstance where they are now already paying a third of 
their money for their mortgage. Are they going to pay another third, or 
half, for health care? What is left over to live a life and support 
their kids?
  Come on, get over it, party of no. Come to the table and work with 
us. Don't bash every idea President Obama lays down on the table. He is 
the President. Give him a chance to move this forward.


                          The Stimulus Program

  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, speaking of bashing things, my last 
commentary until we vote is this:
  Senator Coburn has put out a report in which he bashes the stimulus 
program. I think it is very important for the American people to 
understand a few things. One, a couple of his examples are right on 
target, and we always expect there will be a couple of things that 
would happen that were wrong. The administration is aware of that. We 
tried to get on top of it and stop it. But we lost over a trillion 
dollars from our economy and we put in this stimulus package--about 
$787 billion--so we can make sure that this great recession doesn't 
turn into a great depression. That is why we have I think 30 inspectors 
general overseeing this program.
  Despite that, I understand Senator Coburn. He was never for the 
stimulus. He said let the American people work their way through it, 
that government should stay out. That is fair. Now he is bashing the 
stimulus program. All of the work he has done thus far has identified 
.7 percent--not even 1 percent--that was a problem. Some of those are 
way off base. I want to talk about some of them in California that he 
has highlighted and has bashed:
  First, $200,000 to place restrooms at a Black Butte Lake, California 
park. Excuse me. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I think 
having a clean restroom in a State park that is safe and available is 
quite important. But he says that is ridiculous. It creates jobs to 
build that, and it is an important hygienic issue that I think needs to 
be addressed.
  He talked also about a State park. This is near and dear to my heart. 
It is $620,000 to build a State park for our children in Long Beach, 
CA. I don't know about Mr. Coburn in Oklahoma--they have fewer people 
there, true. I have a State of 37 million people. We have a lot of 
kids. We have a lot of kids who get in trouble after school and who 
drop out of school. We have a problem. They love to skateboard. As a 
matter of fact, we had a former gang in Oakland come forward and 
actually construct it themselves. Building a State park for our kids is 
not a boondoggle. It is a safe place for them to go, and you create 
jobs when you do it.
  We are installing energy efficient runway guidance lights at the San 
Diego Airport. Yes, energy efficient lighting saves money. As a matter 
of fact, this thing has a payback. It cost $5 million. It has a payback 
of 2 to 5 years. When you put in efficient lighting, there is a 
payback. It uses less electricity and it lowers the cost. But, no, 
Senator Coburn bashes that. Those are some examples of what he is 
bashing just in my State.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a document 
entitled ``Funding Notification By Program'' for my State of 
California.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Funding Notifications by Program

       The table below presents breakdown of total dollars 
     allocated to a state by program. Programs are identified by 
     the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number and 
     the program title provided in the agency report.

                            STATE: CALIFORNIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         CFDA number                  Program              Allocated
------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.394.......................  State Fiscal               $5,960,267,431
                                Stabilization Fund.
93.778.......................  MEDICAL ASSISTANCE          1,991,907,534
                                PROGRAM.
84.391.......................  IDEA Part B Grants to       1,226,944,052
                                States.
84.389.......................  Title I Grants to           1,128,225,993
                                Local Educational
                                Agencies.
14.258.......................  Tax Credit Assistance         325,877,114
                                Program.
14.317.......................  Section 8 Housing             305,037,547
                                Assistance Payments
                                Program Special
                                Allocations.
66.458.......................  Clean Water SRF......         280,285,800
81.041.......................  State Energy Program          226,093,000
                                (A).
17.260.......................  WIA Dislocated                221,906,888
                                Workers.

[[Page S6628]]

 
14.257.......................  Homelessness                  189,086,299
                                Prevention and Rapid
                                Re-Housing Program.
17.259.......................  WIA Youth Activities.         186,622,034
81.042.......................  Weatherization                185,811,061
                                Assistance for Low-
                                Income Persons (A).
66.468.......................  Drinking Water SRF...         159,008,000
16.803.......................  Office of Justice             135,641,945
                                Programs (OJP)
                                Edward Byrne
                                Memorial Justice
                                Assistance Grant
                                (JAG) Formula
                                Program--http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recoveryact.html.
14.885.......................  Public Housing                117,918,838
                                Capital fund
                                Stimulus (Formula).
14.253.......................  CDBG Entitlement              112,675,396
                                Grants.
16.804.......................  Office of Justice              89,712,677
                                Programs (OJP)
                                Edward Byrne
                                Memorial Justice
                                Assistance Grant
                                (JAG) Formula
                                Program--http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recoveryact.html.
17.258.......................  WIA Adult Program....          80,117,954
84.386.......................  Educational                    70,805,622
                                Technology State
                                Grants.
93.703.......................  Health Center                  63,688,867
                                Integrated Services
                                Development
                                Initiative.
84.126.......................  Vocational                     56,470,213
                                Rehabilitation State
                                Grants.
84.393.......................  IDEA Part C Grants             53,233,307
                                for Infants and
                                Families.
17.207.......................  Employment Service/            46,970,564
                                Wagner-Peyser Funded
                                Activities.
84.392.......................  IDEA Part B Preschool          41,028,219
                                Grants.
84.033.......................  Federal Work Study...          20,657,189
93.659.......................  Adoption Assistance..          19,904,604
66.805.......................  LUST Trust Fund                15,577,000
                                Program.
14.882.......................  Native American                15,033,342
                                Housing Block Grants
                                (Formula).
14.907.......................  Lead-based Paint               14,999,190
                                Hazard Control in
                                Privately-Owned
                                Housing.
93.658.......................  Foster Care--Title IV-         13,888,000
                                E.
16.588.......................  Office on Violence             13,298,809
                                Against Women (OVW)
                                Recovery Act STOP
                                Violence Against
                                Women Formula Grant
                                Program--http://
www.ovw.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recovery.html.
10.579.......................  Child Nutrition                12,864,683
                                Discretionary Grants
                                Limited Availability.
10.569.......................  The Emergency Food             12,411,681
                                Assistance Program
                                (Food Commodities).
10.561.......................  State Administrative           10,795,187
                                Matching Grants for
                                Supplemental
                                Nutrition Assistance.
14.255.......................  CDBG State's Program           10,652,033
                                and Non-Entitlement
                                Grants in Hawaii.
16.802.......................  Office of Justice               8,110,055
                                Programs (OP) OVC
                                FY09 VOCA Victim
                                Compensation Formula
                                Grant Program
                                (Compensation)--http
://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recoveryact.html.
93.707.......................  ARRA--Aging                     6,585,441
                                Congregate Nutrition
                                Services for States.
17.235.......................  Senior Community                4,293,139
                                Service Employment
                                Program.
16.800.......................  Office of Justice               4,233,003
                                Programs (OJP)
                                Internet Crimes
                                Against Children
                                Task Force Program--
                                http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recoveryact.html.
84.399.......................  Services for Older              3,707,078
                                Individuals who are
                                Blind.
93.705.......................  ARRA--Aging Home-               3,242,063
                                Delivered Nutrition
                                Services for States.
10.568.......................  The Emergency Food              3,110,696
                                Assistance Program
                                (Administrative
                                Costs).
16.801.......................  Office of Justice               2,931,000
                                Programs (OJP) OVC
                                FY09 VOCA Victim
                                Compensation Formula
                                Grant Program
                                (Assistance)--http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
BJA/recoveryact.html.
66.454.......................  Water Quality                   2,830,700
                                Planning (604b).
14.908.......................  Healthy Homes                   2,624,992
                                Demonstration Grants.
66.040.......................  State Clean Diesel              1,730,000
                                Grant Program.
84.398.......................  Independent Living              1,623,087
                                State Grants.
84.401.......................  Impact Aid                      1,428,766
                                Construction.
17.265.......................  Native American                  $236,970
                                Employment and
                                Training.
                              ------------------------------------------
      Total..................  .....................     $13,462,105,063
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Mrs. BOXER. If you go through this, you will see in the largest State 
of the Union, which is suffering with an 11.2 percent unemployment 
rate, projects that are putting people to work today and doing good 
things. There is a medical assistance program; a clean water State 
revolving fund grant; a State energy program, which is putting people 
to work; weatherization assistance for low income; working with the 
youth; and it goes on and on. There are safe drinking water grants, a 
law enforcement grant, educational technology grant, adoption 
assistance grant, and a foster care grant.
  Why is my colleague not coming down here and saying he did find less 
than 1 percent of a problem, but these other things are good, and these 
other things are putting people to work and they are saving our 
children, saving our environment, and saving energy?
  It is the party of no. No, no, no, a thousand times no. The American 
people understand that we on this side of the aisle, and our President, 
in reaching across the aisle, are going to continue to work for change. 
Change means getting out of this mess we are in right now--this deep 
recession. We are going to continue to do it. They are going to say no, 
no, a thousand times no. We will work with them when they want to work 
with us. If they don't, we have to figure out a way to bring the change 
and jobs to America, the energy efficiency to America, and all that is 
good that the American people deserve.

                          ____________________