[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.
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