[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S736-S737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT REFORM ACT OF 2009

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to Calendar No. 252, H.R. 3961.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3961) to amend title XVIII of the Social 
     Security Act to reform the Medicare SGR payment system for 
     physicians and to reinstitute and update the Pay-As-You-Go 
     requirement of budget neutrality on new tax and mandatory 
     spending legislation, enforced by the threat of annual, 
     automatic sequestration.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

[[Page S737]]

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, there is a substitute amendment at the desk, 
and I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered and agreed 
to and that the bill, as amended, be read a third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3331) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF SUNSETS.

       (a) USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 
     2005.--Section 102(b)(1) of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and 
     Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-177; 50 U.S.C. 
     1805 note, 50 U.S.C. 1861 note, and 50 U.S.C. 1862 note) is 
     amended by striking ``February 28, 2010'' and inserting 
     ``February 28, 2011''.
       (b) Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 
     2004.--Section 6001(b)(1) of the Intelligence Reform and 
     Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458; 118 
     Stat. 3742; 50 U.S.C. 1801 note) is amended by striking 
     ``February 28, 2010'' and inserting ``February 28, 2011''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment of the 
amendment and third reading of the bill.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill, as amended, was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
  The bill (H.R. 3961), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. REID. I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that 
motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the title 
amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to and that 
the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3332) was agreed to, as follows:

                     (Purpose: To amend the title)

       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to extend expiring 
     provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization 
     Act of 2005 and Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 
     Act of 2004 until February 28, 2011.''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I would like to go back past the original 
bill we just passed for the extension for a year and explain what my 
amendment did to the original text the leader was propounding. I paid 
for it, and I paid for it out of stimulus money.
  We passed in this body just last week a pay-go that is extended to 
all the bills that come through this body. We passed a bill earlier 
this week on which we did not do pay-go. We did not pay for it--at 
least $10 billion of it. The cost of these extensions is another $10 
billion. That means that $20 billion goes directly to the debt of this 
country.
  We just extended the debt limit to over $14 trillion. The reason I 
offered the offset that the leader objected to was so that my 40 
grandkids don't have to pay the bill. We cannot keep shifting our 
spending to our kids and our grandkids.
  Believe me, I want to extend those provisions just as badly as the 
leader does, but we need to pay for them. That is the reason I offered 
my substitute to his original text.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, let me say this: The bill we passed today is 
fully paid for. There is no deficit spending whatsoever. In fact, 
everything was paid for. Every part of that was paid for. In passing 
that bill, there is not a cent of red ink.
  It is my understanding that with this short extension we have tried 
to get done today, my friend from Kentucky believes it should be paid 
for by taking money out of the stimulus funds----
  Mr. BUNNING. Unspent stimulus funds.
  Mr. REID. Yes--and pay for it that way. It is my understanding that 
we are willing to have a vote on that. I say to my friend, I am pretty 
sure that is what your leader and I spoke about. I would be happy to 
have a vote on that.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I ask for time to speak.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. BUNNING. I have been here 24 years, I say to the Senator from 
Nevada.
  Mr. REID. We came together.
  Mr. BUNNING. And I have been fooled by some things and some things 
have gone past me and I woke up after it had already passed me. This is 
not one of those things that was going to do that. Of course, we can 
have a vote on it, and, of course, it can be defeated, and then, of 
course, we can pass the bill without the money. I am not willing to 
risk that $10 billion being added to the deficit. I was not ready to 
risk voting on a bill I knew would not get the amount of votes 
necessary to pay for it. If the majority leader would have included it 
in his UC, I would have had no problems. But he did not include it in 
his UC. So that was the reason I asked to pay for it.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I don't want to delay this any longer than 
necessary. I don't know how we could be more fair. I have not talked 
with my Democratic Senators, but I think there may be some Senators on 
this side of the aisle who agree with Senator Bunning. That is why we 
are here.
  Right now, we are in a very difficult predicament. I think it would 
be too bad if people whose unemployment insurance is being terminated--
all we are asking for is a few weeks, and then after the extension it 
will give us time to have this body and the other body make a decision 
by voting on it. We are asking for a short extension. My personal 
belief is that the extension of unemployment insurance is truly an 
emergency, as I indicated earlier, as I feel about COBRA.
  I understand where my friend is coming from. I have never been a part 
of trying to fool him in any way intentionally. As I understand it, we 
are willing to vote on this legislation. If we are not able to work 
that out, I don't know what can be more democratic than that. We are 
all elected to make our choices here. I would be happy, as I told the 
distinguished Senator from Kentucky, if he came up with some way we 
could proceed on this issue, to give every consideration to any 
proposal he would make.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________