[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1719-S1782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND
FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2013
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate will proceed to H.R.
933.
The clerk will report the bill.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 933) making appropriations for the Department
of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other
departments and agencies for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2013, and for other purposes.
Amendment No. 26
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Mr. REID. On behalf of Senators Mikulski and Shelby, I call up their
substitute amendment, as modified, which is at the desk.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the
amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] for Ms. Mikulski and Mr.
Shelby proposes an
[[Page S1720]]
amendment numbered 26, as modified, as follows:
On page 1, strike lines 3, 4, and 5.
(The text of the amendment is printed in the Record of Monday, March
11, 2013, under ``Text of Amendments.'')
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. I withdraw the cloture motion.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion is withdrawn.
Mr. REID. The first two amendments we will go to on this bill,
according to the two managers, are the amendments by Harkin and Cruz.
If Senator Harkin is not available immediately, then Senator Cruz can
do it. These are the first two amendments, and I ask that both of them
come to the floor at the earliest possible time. In fact, soon. The two
managers, Senator Shelby and Senator Mikulski, will be here shortly.
In the meantime I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will withdraw my request for a quorum
call. I didn't know my friend, the distinguished Senator from Illinois,
was here wanting to talk, which is a rare occasion.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, if we could continue our dialogue.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I want to thank the majority leader before
he leaves the floor. I look forward to amendments and debate. Again, I
apologize to all my colleagues if we held up this legislation, but we
did want time to examine this legislation as we had previously
requested. I thank my colleagues and look forward to moving forward
with amendments. The Senator from Oklahoma and I are prepared with
amendments whenever they are in order.
I thank my friend from Illinois, and I appreciate the enormous
responsibility he has in his new position.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Arizona as well.
I think we have a rare moment of peacemaking and harmony in the Senate.
It may not last for long, so I want to speak while we have that moment
and say for the Record that I don't dispute any of the statements made
by the Senator from Arizona nor do I question his right to do so,
including his responsibility to raise questions about spending.
We are at a time when we are cutting spending right and left--even at
the Department of Defense. I do want to put on record the following:
This bill, which we are considering as it relates to the Department of
Defense in its entirety, is the bill that was passed by the House
Republican majority. This is not a bill which was written on this side
of the Rotunda. We have received it. That doesn't mean we should not
ask questions about what the House did, but I don't want to be assigned
the blame or asked to take responsibility for provisions which I did
not author. We took the House version and brought it to the floor in an
effort to get this moving in an expedited manner.
I know some of the questions the Senator from Arizona has raised are
not new. There was a longstanding debate here in the Senate about
whether to expand the notion of minority contracting to include Native
Alaskans and Native Hawaiians. Understandably, Senator Stevens of
Alaska, who chaired the subcommittee for a long time, and Senator
Inouye, who also chaired the subcommittee--and unfortunately he passed
away just a few weeks ago--believed that the minority status for
contracting should include their native tribes people. They fought for
it, and it was included. I know the Senator from Arizona perhaps took
exception to that and debated with them. To renew that debate is
perfectly appropriate, but it is not a new provision in the bill. It is
something that has been there for some time. I welcome the debate. I
think it is a fulsome debate and an important one, but I wanted to say
that for the Record.
This is the House Republican bill and the measures which the Senator
from Arizona addressed have been debated for a lengthy period of time.
Some issues that were raised are new to me. I have to look more
closely--and I should--to find out the merits of the provisions.
Before we go any further with that, I----
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, could I briefly respond?
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if I could ask any time that we use from
now until the managers arrive on the floor be for debate only. I ask
unanimous consent for that purpose.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I say to my friend I had no assurance that
what came from the House--the defense portion of this bill--was going
to be ``preconferenced,'' and that it was going to be the final bill.
So to expect for me to honestly examine the House-passed bill without
knowing what the disposition of it would be on the Senate side is a
little much. During the intervening time, the Senator from Oklahoma and
I have found items in this bill that have nothing to do with the
defense bill. For example, $65 million for Pacific coast salmon
restoration for States including Nevada. I know there are rivers
coursing through Nevada all the way to the Pacific Ocean, but the point
is there is $993,000 in grants to dig private wells for private
property owners.
We have a list of provisions which we were able to uncover which we
find controversial and should be open for debate and discussion. But it
is over, and we are moving forward.
I hope the Senators whose amendments have just been made and ordered
will come to the floor so we can debate and vote.
I thank the Senator from Illinois, and I yield the floor.
Mr. DURBIN. I see my friend and colleague from the State of Rhode
Island, who serves on the Defense Appropriations Committee as well as
the Armed Services Committee, and I will yield to him next.
I do want to say a word about the Department of Defense appropriation
contained in this bill. This act provides $604.9 billion, including
$87.2 billion for overseas contingency operations. That is a reduction
from the 2012 level of $633.2 billion. There were no changes in the
bill that passed the House last week. The bill fully complies with the
spending caps in the Budget Control Act. It contains no Member-
requested earmarks in compliance with the earmark moratorium. Congress
has cut the defense budget to find programs which we believe are
excessive to accommodate scheduling delays, budget errors, and unspent
funds.
The bill includes 671 cuts to programs in the budget request that
have funds that are not needed for the remaining 6\1/2\ months of the
year. I believe everyone should agree with the notion that if we are
going to replicate last year's budget--for goodness' sake, we are not
going to build the same ship twice, so we are trying to avoid those
obvious misappropriations and waste of Federal tax dollars.
The bill also rescinds $4 billion in unspent prior-year
appropriations for 87 programs that have been delayed or terminated.
There has been talk in the press that the Defense appropriations bill
included here gives an advantage to the Pentagon when it comes to
sequestration, but that is not true. Until this bill is enacted, the
Defense Department is dealing with two challenges: sequestration and
the threat of defense being under a full-year continuing resolution for
the first time in our Nation's history.
This bill does nothing about sequestration. Nearly $42 billion in
defense cuts have already been ordered by the President, and this bill
does not change that at all.
Some people think the Defense Department is being afforded special
treatment in being able to transfer money to deal with sequestration.
In fact, this bill keeps a tight rein on the Pentagon's transfer
authorities. The bill actually provides less transfer authority than
what the Defense Department requested in February of 2012.
The Defense Department asks for $5 billion in general transfer
authority. The bill allows $4 billion. The Defense Department asks for
$4 billion in transfer authority for overseas contingency accounts. The
bill provides $3.5 billion. All these transfer authorities are subject
to congressional approval processes.
[[Page S1721]]
The perception that this bill gives the Pentagon excessive
flexibility to deal with sequestration is not correct.
The other challenge facing the Department of Defense is the threat of
a year-long continuing resolution if we fail to pass this bill--a bill
that would do nothing more than extend the authority of last year's
spending bill. Some of the Department's most pressing fiscal challenges
relate to trying to live in today's world using last year's budget.
Passing a defense bill will give the Pentagon relief from the threat of
living under a full-year continuing resolution for the very first time.
But that is not because of flexibility, that is because an
appropriations bill is a better steward of taxpayer dollars than a
continuing resolution.
Here are five reasons why a continuing resolution would be harmful to
our national defense: Readiness. Readiness is the way to measure
whether our troops are properly trained and equipped to do their
mission. Under last year's funding bill, operation and maintenance
accounts would be underfunded by $11 billion. In other words, if we
just took last year's bill, we would be short $11 billion in preparing
our troops for battle. I will tell my colleagues that these operations
and maintenance accounts which result in readiness training mean
survivability for our men and women in uniform. It is that basic. That
directly translates into less training, if we don't do something about
it, and delayed repair of equipment. Every member of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff has warned us that readiness is on the verge of plummeting
because of fiscal uncertainty. That is disgraceful and unacceptable.
Once readiness goes down, it takes years to rebuild it.
Spending on unneeded programs is also a concern. Continuing last
year's bill would fund $17 billion worth of programs that are no longer
needed--specifically 31 programs that have ended.
For example, a continuing resolution would provide $2.6 billion for
MRAP armored vehicles. The Pentagon has already bought these vehicles,
and with our troops beginning to draw away from Afghanistan, we don't
need more at this moment. This bill would not provide funds for
unneeded programs such as this.
Third, no new starts or multiyear authority. A simple extension of
last year's bill would extend the prohibition on new programs and
multiyear contract authority. A multiyear contract must be specifically
authorized by law and only when the government would save approximately
10 percent compared to buying each year's requirements.
If this authority is not provided, the taxpayers stand to lose $150
million in cost savings for the V-22 Osprey and as much as $373 million
in savings on the Army's Chinook helicopter. To put that in simple
terms, if we can enter into multiyear contracting and get discounts on
what we will need in the future, it is in the best interests of our
national defense and the taxpayers. Losing that multiyear contracting
results in the opposite. We overpay for things we know we will not
need.
When the government needs to be finding ways to make taxpayer dollars
stretch further, a simple extension would require the government to
turn away from cost savings that have already been negotiated.
On the fourth point, shortfalls will go unaddressed. There is a long
list of shortfalls in the defense budget that are not controversial but
wouldn't be fixed by a continuing resolution. Here are just a few
examples we are considering: $1.5 billion for National Guard equipment;
$2.3 billion for ship operations; $271 million to close the shortfall
in TRICARE health care programs; $211 million added for the Iron Dome
missile defense program that protects Israeli cities from short-range
rockets.
The President of the United States visited us yesterday for lunch and
talked about his upcoming trip to the Middle East to meet with our
allies in Israel. I will tell my colleagues the President, as well as
the leaders in Israel, know how important the Iron Dome missile defense
program is and we should not shortchange it.
Another example: $45 million is added to focus intelligence efforts
on finding Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the Lord's Resistance
Army in Uganda.
I recently visited Africa. I have been in the field with our troops
who are stalking this man and they will find him. He is a notorious
murderer. The President has said we will put an end to his reign of
terror and we will. This bill, the bill we are considering, will
provide the funds to finish that.
Let me summarize by saying this bill is a compromise solution that
meets budget caps, does not unfairly help the Department of Defense
compared to other agencies. It eliminates wasteful and unneeded
spending, lowers the risk to readiness and the threat of a hollow
force, takes care of our troops and their families, and addresses the
priorities of our national defense.
I will not quibble or argue with my colleague from Arizona or any
other colleagues. If there are provisions in the House bill--which is
included here in its entirety--that need to be challenged, addressed,
debated or changed, so be it. That is why we are here. But we are
starting with this and with the good intention of finding funds for the
Department of Defense in very challenging times.
I yield the floor to my friend from Rhode Island.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, first, let me commend the Senator from
Illinois for a very thoughtful statement about the pending
appropriations bill, particularly with respect to the funding of the
Department of Defense.
I wish to spend a moment to talk about another looming issue that is
beyond appropriations but is rapidly approaching.
In June of last year, as we commemorated the 40th anniversary of
legislation to establish the Pell Grant Program, we narrowly averted a
doubling of the interest rate on need-based student loans.
Back in January of 2012, Congressman Courtney and I introduced
legislation to permanently extend the 3.4-percent interest rate that
has helped make college loans more affordable for millions of students
across the country. But my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
instead voted for budgets that effectively called for the doubling of
the rate. They did this at a time when students are struggling--and I
will point out some of the difficulties we face--at a time when college
costs are increasing and at a time when college is becoming more and
more essential for obtaining any type of long-term, stable employment
and ability to contribute to the continued economic growth of the
country.
It took thousands of calls and letters and rallies from students and
parents across the country and President Obama himself getting involved
in this issue to bring everyone to the table to negotiate. However, we
were only able to get a temporary, short-term fix. Essentially, we were
able to keep the interest rate at 3.4 percent but only until July 1 of
this year. Interest rates will again double then on these need-based
loans unless we act.
One of the other ironies, of course, is that even at 3.4 percent,
that is a substantial interest payment at a time when Federal fund
rates are closer to 1 percent and when large financial institutions can
borrow at these very low rates, et cetera. So given that factor also,
it is essential we once again respond, prior to July 1, to the
anticipated doubling of the student loan rate.
Now is the time to develop not just a short-term solution but a long-
term solution to this growing burden of student loan debt, the rising
cost of college, and the need to improve higher education outcomes so
students complete their degrees and get the full benefit of their
investment in education and we get the benefit as a society and as an
economy of their education.
Everyone agrees college costs are too high and are climbing higher.
There has to be real reform by higher education in terms of the way
they deliver services. They cannot continue to pass on increased costs.
If that continues to happen, families will be priced out of a college
education, even with our grants and loans; so we have to do something.
Student loan debt is the next big financial crisis we are facing.
Even if we act now, we are looking at some very sobering statistics
about the growth of student loan debt already. That should prompt,
again, action now to prevent the doubling of the interest rate and
longer term action to control the costs of higher education and the
ability of families to respond to those costs.
[[Page S1722]]
Student loan debt continued to rise throughout the recession. In
fact, one of the ironies of the recession is people can't find jobs;
they are going back to college to get more training and sometimes they
are going back to college because that is what they can do. So the
irony, of course, is we are adding to the student debt. In fact, today,
student loan debt is the second largest outstanding balance after
mortgage debt. It eclipses credit card debt. It is the second largest
outstanding balance in our economy behind mortgage debt. Borrowers are
struggling under that debt.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that 17
percent of student loan borrowers are more than 90 days past due on
their payments--a large increase from under 10 percent in 2004. So in
roughly a decade, we have seen an increasing amount of students unable
to shoulder the burden of their debt. Even worse, if we consider that
44 percent of student loan borrowers are not in repayment--these are
people who statutorily don't have to start paying--the effective
delinquency rate rises to more than 30 percent. That is stunning.
This is affecting also the lives of these young people at a time when
they are beginning to establish or are hoping to establish households.
A recent Pew Research Center survey illustrates what is happening. As
the percentage of young adult households with student loan debt climbed
from 34 percent in 2007 to 40 percent in 2010--again, a huge increase
in debt--the share of younger households owning their home has declined
sharply from 40 percent in 2007 to 34 percent in 2011. Home ownership,
which is one of but not the only measure of the American dream, is also
one of the strongest supports of the American economy, but it is
rapidly being priced out of the reach of young students because of
their student debt. They literally can't qualify for mortgages.
Car ownership shows a similar trend. In 2007, 73 percent of
households headed by young adults owned or leased at least one vehicle.
By 2011, that figure dropped to 66 percent.
Students are caught literally between a rock and a hard place. Huge
financial debts for their college education prevent them from buying
homes, buying cars, and prevent this economy from growing as it has in
the past because of new households, young households coming into the
marketplace, buying homes and buying cars and starting families.
We can't do away with education. It is more important each day in a
global economy. We have to deal with this issue of rising costs. The
cost of attending college has increased by more than 550 percent since
1985. Let me repeat that: 550 percent. That is rising faster than
gasoline, health care, and other consumer items. It is skyrocketing.
Again, the universities, the colleges, education leaders at every
level--Federal, State, and local--have to begin to respond to this
rising cost of education. But keeping student loans affordable and
interest rates low is one part of the solution, particularly this
immediate crisis facing us by
July 1.
The Federal Government should price student loans based on our actual
costs of operating the student loan programs. We should set the student
loan interest rates in a way that minimizes the cost for students while
covering most of the cost for the taxpayer. The Federal Government
provides student loans to increase the number of Americans who can
obtain college degrees. We do not and should not run these programs to
generate revenue. They should be to increase the capital--the human
capital--of our country. I plan to introduce legislation to set student
loan interest rates based on the principles of keeping costs low for
both students and taxpayers.
Providing more grant aid through Pell grants and other programs is
another way to tackle these college costs. However, if college costs
continue to rise at the current rate, students relying on the Pell
grant will continue to lose ground. We need States and institutions to
partner with us to make college affordable. Again, it has to be a
cooperative effort.
With respect to the Pell grant, I have talked about the loans, but
the Pell grant is just an outright grant of funds to the student
without the need to repay. It was for a long time the backbone of our
Federal support to students in college and families trying to put their
children through college.
In 1976 the Pell grant maximum was $1,400. That was enough to cover
72 percent of the cost of attendance at a public 4-year college. In
fact, in those good old days, with a Pell grant and a summer job and a
little help, you were usually able to emerge from college after 4 years
without a huge debt, and you could start your family and buy your car
at a younger age.
In 2010 the maximum Pell grant was increased to $5,550, but that is
only enough to cover 34 percent of the cost of attendance at a public
4-year college.
In my State, we have been particularly hard hit by this recession and
economic downturn, and students and families are feeling this pressure
of increased tuition and higher fees at schools and colleges acutely.
They need these resources, and we have to ensure that they get these
resources.
As I indicated, I am planning to introduce legislation to strengthen
our higher education system and student aid programs by reestablishing
a strong Federal-university-State partnership for college access and
affordability and by requiring institutions to assume more of the risk
in the student loan programs and to do so in a way that I think will
vindicate our best principles and our soundest economic rationale.
I look forward to working with Chairman Harkin. He has been a leader
on these issues for so many years, both as the chairman of the HELP
Committee and chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee. We want to
start by preventing, obviously, the doubling of student loans by July
1. That is step 1, but it cannot be the last step.
Mr. President, with that, I yield floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I come to the floor on the 1,414th day
since the Senate has passed a budget and on a day where, amazingly, the
President of the United States is reported to have said: ``We don't
have an immediate crisis in terms of [our] debt.''
Well, we do have a debt crisis that threatens both future
generations--because somebody is going to have to pay that debt back,
and thanks to abnormally low interest rates, right now they are not
spiraling out of control, but if interests rates were to return to
historic norms, I believe for each additional percentage point in
interest we would have to pay on our national debt, it would result in
roughly $1.7 trillion more we would have to pay back. So in many ways
the United States is lucky, even though we are on the brink of what
scholars such as Reinhart and Rogoff have said--we are on the precipice
of a debt crisis because once interest rates begin to rise, the
creditors lose confidence in our ability to repay that debt, and our
economy spins out of control, resulting not only in a severe recession
or worse but also harm to some of the most vulnerable people in our
society who depend on the safety net that government provides.
It is also, in a debt crisis, impossible for the Federal Government
to do what it must do in terms of national security. Indeed, that is
what led the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen,
to say that the single greatest threat to our national security is our
debt. And it keeps getting worse and worse because the President seems
unwilling to deal with the obvious and to enter into what he likes to
call the grand bargain but one that can only occur if the President is
willing to talk about the entire economy and not just raise taxes.
The President has said that we must embrace a balanced approach to
deficit reduction. Of course, reasonable people can disagree on what a
balanced approach looks like, but we all know what a balanced budget
looks like.
Yesterday morning House Republicans released a plan that balances the
Federal budget over the next 10 years. We still do not have the
President's proposed budget even though it was due on February 4, and
we are now advised that we may not see the President's own proposed
budget until sometime in April, which, coincidentally, is after the
time that the House and the
[[Page S1723]]
Senate will act on their proposed budgets. It seems once again that the
President has taken to leading from behind.
For that matter, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has told us
that the President's proposed budget will not even try to balance the
budget but, instead, put us on what he calls a ``fiscally sustainable
path.'' But that cannot be true. Unless the Federal Government adopts
serious reforms to Medicare and Social Security, mandatory spending
programs which occupy roughly 61 percent of all Federal spending--the
kinds of reforms the President has constantly rejected--we cannot put
our country on a fiscally sustainable path by definition.
As the President knows because his own bipartisan fiscal commission
told him so in December 2010, to save Medicare we must make structural
changes that ensure the program will be affordable over the long term.
I do not know any young person the age of my two daughters--30 and 31--
who actually believes Medicare and Social Security are going to be
there for them when they retire. They simply do not believe it because
they see the irresponsibility of the present generation in not only
racking up bills they are going to have to end up paying, they are
seeing us do nothing to address the fiscally unsustainable path for
Medicare and Social Security.
Any of us who have studied the problem understand what the problem is
with the Medicare system. Right now, an average couple will put, let's
say, $1 in the Medicare trust fund for every $3 they will ultimately
take out of it. This is not a pay-as-you-go system by any means, as
opposed to Social Security, where basically you will get $1 out for
every $1 you put in Social Security--but not Medicare because of its
unique problems.
The current Medicare system incentivizes quantity over quality, and
its price controls distort the entire health care market. In my State,
in Texas, about one-third of the doctors will not even take a new
Medicare patient because of government price controls that basically
provide compensation to them roughly one-third less than what private
health insurance plans would provide. Expanding those price controls,
as the President has proposed, would only make Medicare's problems
worse.
For all the challenges Medicare has, Medicaid--which is designed to
provide health care to low-income Americans--is even worse in terms of
the compensation provided to medical providers, hospitals, and doctors,
and so many of them simply will not take Medicaid patients, leaving
Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries ``coverage'' but no access in many
instances.
By restructuring the Medicare Program and increasing competition, we
can hold down cost growth in Medicare and make it available not only to
the present generation of seniors but also to future generations of
seniors. That is the sort of serious issue that is not going to go away
that the Senate budget should deal with.
It should also provide a framework for sensible Tax Code reform. We
all know the Tax Code is way too complicated. We also know it is
riddled with tax credits, deductions, credits--what the Simpson-Bowles
Commission called tax expenditures. Yet the President does not want to
eliminate those tax deductions, credits, and expenditures for the
purpose of reforming the Tax Code, bringing down marginal tax rates not
only for businesses and individuals, he wants to use it to raise taxes
again.
There is a bipartisan consensus, however, that tax reform should
lower the rates and broaden the base. Indeed, those are the
recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson Commission and the Domenici-
Rivlin panel as well. But, as I said, the President wants to use what
he calls tax reform as a Trojan horse to raise taxes again. He argues
that we will not have a balanced approach to deficit reduction unless
we pass another massive tax hike, and that is after the President
raised taxes by $600 billion in January.
From what I understand, our friends across the aisle--Senator Murray,
as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee--are about to unveil a
budget proposal that would raise taxes again by at least $1 trillion.
I realize that if you think government is the answer to almost every
question that comes up in America today, you are going to need bigger
government, more intrusive government, funded by higher tax revenue.
But they seem to be forgetting a few things. First of all, the
Congressional Budget Office tells us that Federal tax revenues in 2014
are already projected to exceed the historical average. Secondly, the
President's health care law, ObamaCare, already contains another
trillion-dollar tax increase that is discouraging job creation and
hurting our economy. Finally, as I pointed out, Democrats in this body
already got a $600 billion tax increase earlier this year, while hard-
working Americans--the middle class in America--got a tax increase with
the return of the payroll tax.
By my view, no one should be talking about another tax increase until
the Federal Government quits wasting so much taxpayer money. My
colleague from Oklahoma, Senator Coburn, who was just on the Senate
floor, has singlehandedly worked tirelessly to expose frivolous and
unnecessary spending, and the numbers are remarkable. For example, when
Senator Coburn asked the Government Accountability Office to
investigate how much Federal spending was duplicative, the Government
Accountability Office found that more than $364 billion of duplicative
spending existed. And the President wants to close down tours at the
White House because of the budget sequester. Give me a break.
How can anyone support another massive tax increase when the Federal
Government is literally spending hundreds of billions of dollars on
redundant services? For that matter, how can anyone support another
massive tax increase when we are spending nearly $15 million each year
to give millionaires unemployment checks? How can anyone support
another massive tax increase when we are spending $\1/2\ million on
shampoo products for dogs and cats? That is your Federal Government at
work for you. How can anyone support another massive tax increase when
we are spending $181,000 studying the effects of cocaine on Japanese
quail? I know these sound ridiculous to the extreme, but that is the
whole point. The Federal Government is littered with spending that we
simply do not need, and yet, rather than do something about that, our
friends across the aisle want to raise taxes once again, along with the
President of the United States.
No one said cutting spending or reforming entitlement programs or
overhauling our Tax Code would be easy. But if the President truly
wants a balanced approach to our fiscal and economic challenges, he
will stop leading from behind and start leading from the front.
I am shocked the President would say in an interview with Jon Karl,
ABC News, that there is no immediate crisis in terms of the debt. What
he might be forgetting is what economists tell us: When the debt gets
so large, it retards economic growth. Forget the debt crisis part. That
has an immediate impact on job creation in America.
We are all wondering why the recovery from the recession of 2008 has
been the slowest since the Great Depression. Well, one reason is people
are worried about tax rates going up because they see debt upon debt
being piled up. They are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what
is going to happen. They are also experiencing additional costs in
terms of health care, when they were told by the President back in
2008-2009 if we passed ObamaCare, the average family would see a
reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500. They were also
told a lot of other things, such as if you like what you have, you can
keep it. That did not end up being true either.
The President needs to listen to his own experts, such as the
bipartisan fiscal commission he himself appointed. Not only do we risk
a debt crisis if we do not deal with the $16.5 trillion debt we have if
interest rates were to go up, it is having an immediate impact on
unemployment. More than 20 million people in this country are either
out of work or working part time and want to work full time. That ought
to be enough to get the President to act.
Should he choose to act, should he choose to lead, we will be happy
to meet him halfway to deal with the single most important issue facing
the
[[Page S1724]]
country today. But it starts with passing a budget, something Senate
Democrats have not done for 1,414 days.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Heitkamp). The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, thanks to the cordiality and
cooperation of Members on both sides of the aisle, but particularly
those who initially had an objection to us going forward, we now can
move forward. We are waiting for the junior Senator from Texas, Mr.
Cruz, to come to the floor. He will be offering the first amendment. As
soon as he gets here, we are off and running.
I am going to thank everybody for getting us to this point: Senator
Shelby for working with me on the bill, Senators Reid and McConnell,
and particularly now Senators McCain and Coburn. We have a way of
addressing their concerns. So we are ready. We are waiting for the
Senator.
I note the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Texas.
Amendment No. 30 to Amendment No. 26
Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 30.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Texas [Mr. Cruz], for himself, Mr. Lee,
Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Paul, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Johnson of
Wisconsin, Mr. Risch, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Scott, Mr.
Heller, Mr. Toomey, and Mr. Johanns, proposes an amendment
numbered 30 to amendment No. 26.
Mr. CRUZ. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment
be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To prohibit the use of funds to carry out the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used--
(1) to carry out any provision of the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) or title I or
subtitle B of title II of the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), or the
amendments made by such Act, title, or subtitle; or
(2) for rulemaking under such Act, title, or subtitle.
Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I rise to deliver my first official speech
on the floor of the Senate on an issue which I believe is the most
urgent issue facing the country; namely, the dire need to restore
economic growth to our Nation.
I will note at the outset this is the second opportunity I have had
to speak on the Senate floor. The first was last week during the
historic filibuster led by the junior Senator from Kentucky for nearly
13 hours.
I will note a particular debt of gratitude I owe to Senator Paul. The
very first time I spoke on this floor was in a colloquy with Senator
Paul. I had the opportunity to read Travis's letter from the Alamo, to
read Shakespeare's ``St. Crispin's Day Speech,'' to read the opening
monolog from ``Patton,'' and to read Ronald Reagan's 1964 speech, ``A
Time to Choose.'' This is a debt I will always owe Senator Paul. As
they say in the beer commercial: ``It don't get no better than that.''
Sadly, I promise my colleagues in the rest of my tenure, I am
confident we will not have an opportunity to rival those glorious words
William Barret Travis penned as he was standing for principle 177 years
ago.
This being said, the topic of the day is, in my judgment, a topic of
exceptional importance. Every elected Member of Congress, whether
Republican or Democratic, should have as their very first priority
restoring economic growth in this country. In the last 4 years we have
seen stagnant growth. In the last 4 years our economy has averaged 0.8
percent growth each year. To put that in context, this is a fraction of
historical levels. Since World War II, our economy has enjoyed 3.3
percent growth per year.
Last quarter the economy was struggling along and grew 0.1 percent.
It was effectively stagnant.
If we want to solve the great many fiscal and economic challenges
facing this country, growth is the critical precondition. If we want
the 23 million people who are struggling to find jobs to get back to
work--and I know every one of us wants those 23 million people to get
back to work--we must restore economic growth. If we want to turn
around the train wreck which is the balance sheet of the Federal
Government, our perennial recurring deficits and debts, this can't be
done without restoring growth.
In my view we should be working across the aisle in a bipartisan way
to focus on bringing growth back. This should be our No. 1 priority.
Given that, the purpose of this amendment is to advance economic growth
and, in particular, to delay funding of ObamaCare until economic growth
returns.
Let me be clear. In my view ObamaCare should be repealed in its
entirety, which was the very first bill I introduced in the Senate. At
a minimum, in my judgment, ObamaCare should not be funded and
implemented at a time when our economy is gasping for breath, at a time
when our economy is struggling to such a degree that implementing it
right now could well force us into a recession.
It seems to me every Member of this body should stand together in
acting decisively to prevent this economy from being pushed into a
recession. Implementing ObamaCare at a time when the economy is so weak
could do just that. ObamaCare hurts the economy. It hurts jobs. It
hurts young people. It hurts Hispanics. It hurts African Americans. It
hurts single moms. It hurts everybody struggling to climb the economic
ladder.
I would like to initially talk about four promises which were made
when ObamaCare was passed and the reality we have seen as it has begun
to be implemented. It is ironic the law is called the Affordable Care
Act. In the 3 years it has begun to be implemented, it has proven to be
neither affordable nor caring.
No. 1, before ObamaCare was adopted, President Obama promised the
American people ObamaCare would reduce the cost of insurance. In
particular, the President said American families would pay $2,500 less
for their insurance premiums by the end of his first term. I would note
his first term ended not long ago. Today, American families are not
paying $2,500 less in health insurance premiums. They are not paying a
penny less. Indeed, today American families are paying $3,000 more in
health insurance premiums than they were. That is a $5,500 swing out of
the pockets of hard-working Americans who are struggling make ends
meet. The reality has not lived up to the promise.
The management consulting firm Oliver Wyman issued a new study
recently which predicted people aged 21 to 29 could see a 42-percent
hike in premium costs. The higher premiums in particular are hitting
young people. Indeed, I would point out, if you are a young person,
this law going into effect right now when the economy is struggling is
particularly problematic. If you are a young person coming out of
school today, you are facing: No. 1, fewer jobs. If you didn't graduate
from high school, you are facing an unemployment rate today of over 12
percent. You have less opportunity. If you are between 16 to 19, you
are facing an unemployment rate of over 25 percent.
If you are a minority, if you are Hispanic, you are facing an
unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent. If you are African American,
you are facing an unemployment rate of over 14 percent.
What are you seeing actually in the job market if you are lucky
enough to get a job? More and more employers are dropping health care
coverage because of the burdens of ObamaCare. More and more employers
are forcing employees to work fewer hours because of the burdens of
ObamaCare. More and more individuals are seeing their premiums climb,
especially young people.
[[Page S1725]]
If you are a young person coming out of school today, you may not find
a job.
It is harder to find a job because of economic growth right now. If
you do find a job, there is a real possibility that job will not have
health insurance and you will find your hours reduced. If you do have
health insurance, you will pay higher premiums. The promises have not
lived up to the reality.
The second differential between promise and reality is President
Obama repeatedly told Americans, ``If you like your health plan, you
can keep it.'' This unfortunately has not proven to be the case.
The latest forecast from the Congressional Budget Office estimates
some 7 million people are expected to lose or be dropped from their
employer-provided health insurance by the year 2020. Indeed, health
insurers in 34 States have stopped carrying child-only insurance
policies. In my home State of Texas, one of the largest insurance
markets in the country, every single carrier has dropped its child-only
health insurance coverage. The same is true for other large States such
as Florida and Illinois. The promise, if you like your health care
coverage, you will be able to keep it, has not lived up to reality, as
more and more Americans are losing their health insurance.
No. 3, President Obama pledged repeatedly not to raise taxes on
families making less than $250,000 a year. That promise has not
materialized. Within ObamaCare, there is a tax on those who do not
maintain government-approved health insurance. There are increases on
the threshold of the deduction for unreimbursed medical expenses. There
is an increase in taxes on distributions from Health Savings Accounts
and from flexible spending arrangements. Indeed, in total, over $1
trillion in tax increases are contained within ObamaCare. The promise
has not lived up to the reality.
The fourth promise which has not lived up to the reality is in
February of 2010, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ObamaCare
would create 4 million jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immediately.
This was in 2010. By 2011, the CBO Budget Director testified before a
House Budget Committee that ObamaCare would result in an estimated
800,000 fewer jobs in the United States by 2021. The promises have not
lived up to reality.
I wish to talk about five distinct harms which have come from
ObamaCare and made life more difficult for Americans.
No. 1, ObamaCare harms the poor and those who are struggling to climb
the economic ladder. Right now, 60 million people are enrolled in
Medicaid. Medicaid is a program which is struggling, which is
challenged and desperately in need of reform to improve how it
operates. ObamaCare, by raising the eligibility age and trying to
incentivize and pressure States into expanding Medicaid, is designed to
move at least an additional 18 million people onto Medicaid over the
next 10 years.
The data demonstrates Medicaid beneficiaries face worse health
outcomes than just about anybody else in the marketplace.
In 2010, the ``Annals of Surgery'' issued a landmark study which
examined the outcomes from nearly 900,000 individuals undergoing
surgery from 2003 to 2007. The conclusion of this study was Medicaid
patients were almost twice as likely to die as those with private
insurance. Medicaid patients' hospital stays were 42 percent longer and
cost 26 percent more.
Even more striking, Medicaid patients, when compared to people
without health insurance, people who were uninsured, Medicaid patients
were 13 percent more likely to die. They stayed in the hospital for 50
percent longer and cost 20 percent more.
In 2011, Johns Hopkins did a study of patients undergoing lung
transplantation. Their conclusions were very much the same. They found
that Medicaid patients were 8.1 percent less likely to be alive 10
years after the transplant compared with those with private insurance
and also compared to those without any insurance at all. Overall, the
Johns Hopkins study found that Medicaid patients faced a 29-percent
greater risk of death, and yet ObamaCare is moving more and more of the
economically disadvantaged onto Medicaid, which subjects them to those
worse health care outcomes.
No. 2, ObamaCare hurts seniors. ObamaCare took $716 billion from
Medicare, a large portion of which came from the Medicare Advantage
Program which serves a great many seniors, and especially poor seniors.
According to the Office of the Actuary at the Center for Medicaid and
Medicaid Services, the Medicare Advantage cuts in ObamaCare will reduce
enrollment from 14.8 million to 7.4 million by 2017. It will cut it in
half. Seven million people will lose their coverage under Medicare
Advantage.
I would remind everyone that the President said, ``If you like your
health insurance, you can keep it.'' Yet 7 million seniors are losing
Medicare Advantage.
The Heritage Foundation found the substantial cuts to Medicare
Advantage in particular hurt seniors in the States of Texas,
California, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alaska, New York, Massachusetts, and
also in the District of Columbia. Those States are expected to lose
more than 50 percent of their enrollees by 2017.
I would suggest that each of us, as we return to our constituents, as
we return to address seniors, any in this body who vote today to
implement ObamaCare despite the difficult economic times, should be
prepared to answer to seniors in our States who say: Why did you vote
to damage the Medicare Advantage Program that I was relying upon?
Also, the harm to Medicare Advantage in particular is visited upon
minorities. Hispanics are twice as likely to enroll in Medicare
Advantage than the average Medicare beneficiary. African Americans are
10 percent more likely. So ObamaCare targets a program that is helping
seniors and in particular is helping those seniors who are most
vulnerable. In addition, 31 percent of African-American Medicare
beneficiaries and 38 percent of Hispanic beneficiaries are enrolled in
Medicare Advantage plans.
So those of us who return to our States that have substantial
minority populations need to be prepared to explain to Hispanic seniors
and African-American seniors why this body, why the Federal Government
is damaging a program they are relying upon for essential health care.
No. 3, ObamaCare is harming jobs. In March 2013, the Federal Reserve
said, in its annual ``beige book''--which analyzes economic data from
across the country--that ``employers in several Districts cited the
unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned
layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff.''
Added health care costs are making it harder for businesses to hire
new workers and especially low-skilled workers. This is a point that is
worth underscoring because the detrimental effects of ObamaCare are not
uniformly distributed throughout our population. They fall the hardest
on those who are most vulnerable among us. The Heritage Foundation
found that ``workers who cannot produce at least $20,000 per year'' for
a single plan ``or $27,500 per year'' for a family plan ``of value to
employers will have serious difficulty finding full-time jobs.''
Madam President, when I read those statistics, those are not simply
empty words on a page. Those are data that strike very close to home
because 55 years ago that precisely described my father. When my father
came as an immigrant from Cuba in 1957, he was 18, he was penniless,
and he could not speak English. The very first job my father received
in Austin, TX, was washing dishes making 50 cents an hour.
The reason--he told me--he got that job was, he said: Look, I
couldn't speak English. I couldn't interact with people as most jobs
required, but I could wash dishes. So he worked 7 days a week. The
reason he worked 7 days a week is because when you washed dishes, they
allowed the employees to eat, and he didn't have the money to buy food.
So by working 7 days a week, he ensured he ate 7 days a week.
So when I read statistics like this and the words, ``those who cannot
produce $20,000 per year in value to an employer will find themselves
unable to find jobs,'' I can't help but think about my dad as that 18-
year-old kid just beginning to climb the job ladder, not speaking
English, not having yet developed skills, but what he could do
[[Page S1726]]
was wash dishes. And working at 50 cents an hour is what enabled him to
pay his way through the University of Texas. It is what enabled him to
graduate, to get a higher paying job, and eventually to start a small
business. Then, today, to become a pastor.
My father is here today visiting me, and I think about the impact
these burdens would have had on him, and I tell you I am grateful that
in 1957 this so-called Affordable Care Act had not been implemented
because it could well have shut down the opportunity for him to survive
and pay his way through school and begin climbing the economic ladder.
Additionally, ObamaCare keeps small businesses small. ObamaCare is
designed so that its principal burdens are triggered when a business
has 50 employees or more. As a consequence, there is an incredible
deterrent to small businesses hiring more than 50 employees because
hiring that 50th employee triggers enormous burdens and expenses. That
has particular implications for everyone in this economy struggling to
find work because two-thirds of all new jobs come from small
businesses. By keeping these businesses small, what we are doing is
stifling the ability to grow the economy, and in particular to grow the
economy by creating opportunities for those who need to begin and want
to begin climbing the economic ladder.
By hiring the 50th employee, if a small business does not provide
government-approved insurance, it faces a penalty of up to $3,000 for
each uncovered worker beyond 30 employees. Thus, as the Wall Street
Journal explained:
If a company with 50 employees hires a new worker for $12
an hour for 29 hours a week, there is no health insurance
requirement. But suppose that worker moves to 30 hours a
week. This triggers a $2,000 Federal penalty. So to get 50
more hours of work a year from that employee, the extra cost
to the employer rises to about $52 an hour--the $12 salary
and an ObamaCare tax of what works out to be $40 an hour.
Moving to 33 hours a week costs the employer about $10 more
in ObamaCare tax.
The result is small businesses are staying smaller, and the
opportunities for those struggling to achieve the American dream are
limited. That leads to the fourth harm: ObamaCare hurts workers.
One of the consequences we are seeing over and over is that in order
to avoid the crushing costs of ObamaCare, employers are limiting the
hours employees can work. So, for example, in January, a Wendy's
franchise in Nebraska announced it would cut the hours of nonmanagement
employees to 28 hours a week. As a result, about 100 employees' hours
were cut. That is a direct impact of ObamaCare for those 100 employees
who were working at Wendy's.
Now, some may say: Well, is Wendy's a career? So many kids, so many
young people, so many Hispanics and African Americans begin, as my
father did, washing dishes or flipping burgers, and they use those jobs
to gain skills and advance up the economic ladder. To have a law that
forces small business owners to reduce those hours, to limit the hours
those workers can work, is particularly harmful.
A Taco Bell in Guthrie, OK, has also cut worker hours. A single
mother of three told Oklahoma News 9:
They informed everybody that nobody was considered full
time any longer, that everybody was now considered part-time,
and [they] would be cutting hours back to 28 hours or less
due to ObamaCare.
She went on:
Several of the people I work with, some of them are single
parents, and we do the best we can, and 28 hours a week just
isn't going to cut it for the bills.
For those who are struggling, for the single moms in this country who
are working as hard as they can to provide for their kids, seeing their
hours reduced because of the consequences of this law is a real and
material hardship, and that, sadly, is happening all over the country.
Stephen Caldeira, president of the International Franchise
Association, predicts that ``many stores will have to cut worker hours
out of necessity.''
Let me point out, by the way, it is not hard-heartedness on the part
of those small business owners. It is the simple reality of trying to
survive in this economy. As Caldeira continues, it could be the
difference between staying in business or going out of business.
Indeed, a 2011 Hudson Institute study estimates that the insurance
mandate will cost the franchise industry $6.4 billion and put 3.1
million jobs at risk. That is worth underscoring: 3.1 million jobs at
risk of kids flipping burgers, of single moms struggling to provide for
their kids who are facing hard times because of ObamaCare. It is those
who are most vulnerable who are hit the worst.
Indeed, if we look at the premium increases, in particular for young
people, they have been significant. If ObamaCare is fully implemented,
they are likely to be extraordinary. According to a 2013 staff report
from the Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce
Committee, the ObamaCare impact on young adults in the individual
market is expected to be staggering.
If we look at the city of Austin--a city I have lived in for many
years, a terrific city, a city whose slogan unofficially is ``Keep
Austin Weird.'' It is a young, hip, vibrant----
Ms. MIKULSKI. Weird?
Mr. CRUZ. Weird, which in Austin is very fitting. It is a young, hip,
vibrant city. It is referred to as the ``Live music capital of the
world.'' Right now, a young adult in Austin in the individual health
insurance market pays an average premium of $648. Under ObamaCare, that
is anticipated to rise to $1,836. That is a 183-percent increase.
I wish to repeat that, to underscore it. Today, they are paying $648.
That is expected to rise to $1,836. An additional $1,200 out of the
pocket of a young person struggling to survive is substantial. And,
indeed, nationally, that is consistent with the pattern that is
expected all over the country. That is the average annual increase. It
is parallel to what is expected in Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, and
Milwaukee.
Madam President, I have been informed that the Senator from Utah has
a time issue. I ask unanimous consent to yield to the Senator from
Utah, and thank him for joining me.
Ms. MIKULSKI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, as the manager of the bill, I thought
we were going to--of course Senator Cruz has offered his amendment--but
we were going to rotate speakers from the Democrats and Republicans.
There was no agreement to do roundrobin here, where the Senator from
Texas would yield to the Senator from Utah. I think there is some
confusion. I wish to follow the traditional regular order, where the
Senator from Texas, the proponent of the amendment, has full and ample
time; then other Senators respond, and then Senator Lee. I am not going
to make a scene, but that is the way we usually do it.
Has the Senator from Texas concluded his remarks?
Mr. CRUZ. In terms of my remarks, I have about an additional 10
minutes I wish to give. But I was just informed that the Senator from
Utah had a scheduling issue, and asked if we could show him
consideration. I am being told now that--if the Senator from Maryland
would prefer, I am happy to continue my remarks.
Ms. MIKULSKI. And for the Senator from Utah, we all have scheduling
issues. What we would want to do is make sure everybody has their say.
If the Senator from Utah has a statement he wishes to put into the
Record or wishes to return, we welcome him back. We in no way want to
impede his ability to speak.
Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, the issue has been obviated. So if I may
simply continue my remarks, and when I conclude, I will yield the
floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CRUZ. The fifth impact of ObamaCare is that it imposes a
substantial harm on the economy. On the economy altogether, ObamaCare
includes more than 20 tax increases. The Joint Committee on Taxation
estimates that over the next 10 years ObamaCare will raise $1 trillion
in taxes. That is $1 trillion from the private sector that is not going
to be available to be used to hire new workers.
Job losses just in the medical device industry, as a result of the
medical device excise tax, could total as much as 47,100 or 10 percent
of the medical device industry employment. Those jobs are needed. Those
job losses are not
[[Page S1727]]
driven by market conditions. Those job losses are driven by one thing,
which is the policy decisions of the Federal Government to implement
ObamaCare.
On March 5, 2013, Russell George, the inspector general for the IRS,
testified in the House Committee on Appropriations:
It is unprecedented in recent history the amount of
responsibility the IRS is being given in an area that most
people don't think of as an IRS function.
He went on, ``This is going to lead to problems.''
The Congressional Budget Office expects ObamaCare penalties to total
$130 billion over the next 10 years. That is up $13 billion from
previous forecasts. And more taxpayers will be hit with ObamaCare taxes
as time goes on. There is a 0.9-percent tax surcharge on individuals'
earned income, and a 3.8-percent surcharge on investment income for
individuals making more than $200,000.
But those taxes are not indexed for inflation. And so as inflation
raises the nominal income of Americans, it will push more and more from
the middle class into paying those taxes. The Tax Policy Center
estimates that by 2013, 2.4 percent of households will pay one or both
of those taxes; by 2022, 4.6 percent of households will pay; by 2032, 9
percent of households will pay. That is a significant additional tax
burden falling on Americans.
In addition, one of the most problematic short-term and long-term
implications of ObamaCare is less innovation. The United States has
enjoyed tremendous advantages because our free-market system encourages
investment in innovation. In health care in particular we have seen
incredible innovation--whether in medical devices or whether in
pharmaceuticals--because the incentives are there to invest in new
health care treatment. As a result, millions have lived better lives,
have lived longer lives, have not died from diseases that previously
were incurable and previously were untreatable. Because of the
innovation we have had in the medical field, it has led to the United
States enjoying a world-class health care system. ObamaCare is
substantially diminishing innovation in health care.
Venture capital, the seed money that funds new research and
development in health care, has dropped precipitously. In 2010, venture
capital in health care services was $1.2 billion. By 2011, it had
dropped more than in half, to $541 million. According to Dr. Scott
Gottlieb of the American Enterprise Institute, only about 30 venture
stage health care services companies got funded last year, compared to
hundreds from previous years.
If we want to continue the incredible medical innovation we have seen
over the last century, we can't be drying up the capital that is
devoted to research and development, that is devoted to new and
innovative companies. And that is exactly what ObamaCare is doing.
Then there are the compliance costs. The compliance costs from
ObamaCare are, quite simply, massive. ObamaCare will require American
businesses, families, health care providers to spend more than 127
million hours per year in compliance costs. What could be done with 127
million hours? The problem with big numbers is it is hard to get your
mind around them. What does it mean that 127 million hours are being
spent on complying with ObamaCare?
To put that into perspective, Mount Rushmore--which took 14 years to
build--could be completed over 1,000 times, and that is each and every
year. That underscores how staggering; we are talking about 1,000 Mount
Rushmores each and every year. I would note there may be some Members
of this august body who would like to see themselves on those 1,000 or
more Mount Rushmores.
But rather than needless compliance, we should be putting that energy
into productive endeavors. None of that compliance cost is productive.
As we say in Texas, it produces neither trucks nor tortillas. It is
simply wasted time dealing with the burdens of government.
To give you a sense of the volume of burdens, as of today the
administration has created more than 19,000 pages of regulations,
bulletins, and guidance since ObamaCare became law. If the IRS and HHS
and the Department of Labor continue at their current pace, we can
expect an additional 3,000 pages of rules--which is what I have here,
3,000 pages--in the next 6 months, the period covered by this
continuing resolution.
This is 3,000 pages right here. I will tell you, I am very glad I
don't have to sit down and read these 3,000 pages. But I will tell you
also, yesterday I held a tele-townhall with thousands of Texans. A
small business owner asked a question. She said, Look, in our small
business, we are struggling to make ends meet. How do we ascertain what
these regulations contain? I will tell you, I was very frustrated that
I could not give her a good answer, because on my desk here is 3,000
pages, and yet what has already been promulgated is over 19,000 pages.
So take this stack and send it six times up in the air. It would reach
nearly into the gallery.
I told her, I don't have a good answer for how you, struggling to
make payroll, to make sure your employees keep their jobs, possibly
digest 19,000 pages of regulations, with new pages coming out without
ceasing.
Why is our economy struggling? It is not hard to figure out why our
economy is struggling when you think about the compliance costs and
regulations that are being heaped on small businesses, when they are
told, Figure out what is in the 19,000 pages of regulations, and if you
get it wrong, you can be assured the hammer of the Federal Government
will come down upon you.
That is why I am introducing this amendment today. This amendment to
the continuing resolution is a very simple amendment. It simply
provides that none of the funds within the continuing resolution shall
be spent to implement ObamaCare or to engage in rulemaking under
ObamaCare.
Let me be clear. In my view, ObamaCare should be repealed altogether.
I think the harms from ObamaCare--and particularly the harms of the
most vulnerable among us--are significant enough that we should repeal
it in its entirety. I recognize that is not a view shared by every
Member of this body. At a minimum, however, I would submit that every
Member of this body will agree that restoring economic growth should be
a critical priority. And with our economy gasping for breath--last
quarter, we were at 0.1 percent growth--allowing ObamaCare to be fully
implemented right now has the potential of pushing this economy into a
recession. I know no Member of this body wants to see the economy go
into a recession. No Member of this body wants to see the American
people pay the price for damaging economic growth. If we allow
ObamaCare to be funded and implemented right now, each of us who votes
to do so will bear a significant amount of responsibility for the
economic damage that comes.
I would submit that every Member of this body, Republican and
Democrat, should stand together and say, at a minimum, let's restore
growth first; at a minimum, let's wait until we get back to historic
levels of growth--3.3 percent--before implementing such an incredibly
antigrowth, job-killing omnibus bill.
Let me close with a simple observation of the power of growth. If we
could get back to historic averages, 3 percent to 5 percent, every
other problem this body wrestles with becomes much simpler to resolve.
Four percent growth for a decade would create over 10 million new jobs.
Four percent growth for a decade would produce over $3 trillion in
additional tax revenue. I would note, that exceeds the tax increases.
The revenue from the tax increases that have been proposed by President
Obama exceeds the revenue from the tax increases that, my understanding
is, the Budget Committee will include in its budget before this body.
I am all for new revenue to pay down our debt. I just believe the
revenue should come from economic growth and not from higher taxes that
hammer small businesses, kill jobs, and restrict growth.
Most importantly, 4 percent growth over a decade would lift over 3
million out of poverty and into the middle class. Growth sometimes
seems to be an abstract number that only economists worry about, but
sustained growth is what has led to the unprecedented prosperity of our
great Nation. It is the reason why for centuries millions of people
have come to America seeking a better life, because there has
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been no country on Earth that has allowed so many people to start with
nothing and achieve anything.
A stagnant economy hurts, first and foremost, those struggling to
climb the economic ladder. And, in my opinion, every one of us should
come in to work every day fighting for those struggling to climb the
economic ladder to make sure we remain the land of opportunity; to make
sure we remain the hope and beacon to the world; to make sure that
every American has a fair chance to achieve the American dream. With
stagnant growth, millions are shut off from that American dream. And I
know no Member of this body wants to see that happen.
Respectfully, I would urge my colleagues to restore growth first. Do
not allow this bill to be implemented, to kill economic growth, to kill
jobs, and to potentially push this economy into a recession. Instead,
let's get growth back, let's maintain our economic strength and
security, and let's make sure opportunity remains--not just for us but
for the next generation and the generations after that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I guess I am compelled to say: Here we
go again. We have been down this road a few times before since we
passed the Affordable Care Act. Let me see, my notes tell me it is 33--
this makes the 34th time that someone on the Republican side has tried
to do away with the Affordable Care Act. This is the 34th time, and
they failed every time. But they are free to offer amendments, I
understand that. I respect the Senator's right to do that, but we have
already made our decisions on this and we are moving ahead.
I have said many times as the chair of the HELP Committee, if someone
has suggestions on how to improve the Affordable Care Act, to make it
work better, be more efficient, I am open to that. That should be
allowed, and we should have a constant exchange on maybe how we can
improve it. But this idea that we are going to repeal it? I would also
say I wonder if my friend, the Senator from Texas, saw the last
election. The Senator from Texas got elected, that is for sure, and I
congratulate him on that. But the Presidential candidate of the
Republican Party who said he wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act
lost. President Obama, who was the President who initiated this and
signed it into law won, I think quite convincingly.
So the American people basically have said it is time to move on with
the Affordable Care Act. Yet here this amendment basically would repeal
it.
I wonder if the Senator from Texas understands it is not just the
Affordable Care Act his amendment would hit, it would hit a lot of
other things. When we passed the Affordable Care Act there were
authorizations for other programs that were included with it. When the
amendment says we cannot fund any of the provisions of the Affordable
Care Act, I just made a note that we also reauthorized the Nurse
Training Partnership Act. So a lot of the funds there go for training
nurses.
Does the Senator really believe we should stop funding training for
nurses in America at this time when we need more nurses and more nurse
practitioners than ever before, at a time when our nursing profession
is facing a kind of age cliff? We have a huge cohort of nurses now who
are going to be retiring. We need to bring in new nurses. Yet his
amendment would cut funding. He says nothing we can do could support
nurse training yet in America.
Medicare fraud and abuse--fighting fraud and abuse in Medicare; that
was also included in the Affordable Care Act. Again, they have tried
frontal assaults on getting rid of the Affordable Care Act. Now this
amendment says we are going to not fund it. It would be strange. We
have a law in effect but no funding to take advantage of it.
It is almost like some people on the other side of the aisle have an
obsession with tearing down health care reform. I think it is
unfortunate that some missed the results of the last election, so it is
time to move on. This amendment really is the equivalent of repeal. It
would turn back the clock on all we have accomplished in the past year.
The administration would not be able to build the insurance exchanges
or enforce the act's requirements on private insurers.
Again, if this amendment were adopted, it would mean we would go back
to the good old days when the insurance companies were in the driver's
seat, telling you what kind of health care you are entitled to and when
you are entitled to it.
Ever since we passed the Affordable Care Act, and during the time we
debated it on the Senate floor, we kept asking our friends on the
Republican side: What is your alternative? Basically, what we got was
the status quo: Let's just stay with what we have.
I think the American people got pretty fed up with what we had, where
insurance companies could turn people down at the very moment when they
got sickest; when people had preexisting conditions and could not get
insurance or had to pay exorbitant prices for it.
I had a note, we had a family, the Grasshoffs, from Texas--the
Senator's home State. They were unable to find coverage to pay for
their son's hemophilia treatment. Why? Because they had reached their
lifetime limit on insurance payments.
The Affordable Care Act bans lifetime limits, so now they can get
treatment. More than 100 million Americans are currently protected by
this provision. This amendment would take it away. So the Grasshoffs'
treatment for their son with hemophilia would end, and they cannot
afford to pay for it out of their own pockets. Keep that in mind when
you vote on this amendment.
The Affordable Care Act allows young people to stay on their parents'
policies, we know, until they are age 26. More than 3 million young
people are taking advantage of this right now. Repeal would take that
away from families. The adoption of the Cruz amendment would take that
away because, obviously, we could not fund anything to help make this
work.
I mentioned preexisting conditions--people who have high blood
pressure, diabetes, heart disease, previous bouts with cancer. Right
now the Cruz amendment would say no. The insurance companies can say:
No, we are not going to insure you or if we do, you are going to pay
sky-high prices for insurance.
One of the big things we put in the Affordable Care Act was
prevention and wellness programs that would prevent illness. So we
provided for free preventive services such as mammograms and
colonoscopies, so people can get those without paying copays, sometimes
as much as $300 to as much as several hundred dollars for these
essential services. The Cruz amendment would put us back where we would
have to pay for those preventative screenings.
The Cruz amendment would deprive States and localities of vital
funding to combat chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart
disease, as well as funding to make sure our kids have access to
lifesaving vaccines. Thanks to health reform, the Prevention and Public
Health Fund is saving lives. The Cruz amendment would stop that.
I picked up a little bit of what the Senator from Texas said about
young people; that their insurance rates are going to go sky high. Has
the Senator ever heard of the marketplace? It is where people compete.
Under the Affordable Care Act, all of these insurance companies now
will have to go on the exchanges in the open market, with full
transparency, and they are going to have to compete. We have not had
that in the past, but under this we do. The Cruz amendment would take
that away--a real market out there for insurance, for individuals,
small businesses. They would have the same purchasing power and choice
that only big companies had before.
I guess what is most important is these exchanges that we are setting
up will bring coverage to 32 million Americans who do not have coverage
right now. They live in the oppressive fear that they are just one
illness away from bankruptcy, losing their homes, not knowing if they
can afford another doctor visit.
Did anyone tell States to stop this, stop what they were doing to
help serve our citizens? That is what this Cruz amendment does. The
Cruz amendment would take us back to the days of the doughnut hole for
the elderly because the Affordable Care Act
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closes that doughnut hole. We are closing it year after year; 6.1
million seniors have already saved more than $5.7 billion in discounts
on drugs purchased in the doughnut hole. The Cruz amendment would stop
that. It would increase seniors' drug prices by an estimated $3,500 per
person over the next 10 years.
One of the key features we put in the Affordable Care Act was going
after Medicare fraud, preventing Medicare fraud. We have increased
criminal penalties, we have launched innovative technologies to detect
and pursue those who would defraud Medicare, and we have put more cops
on the beat to preserve Medicare funds for beneficiaries and not those
who would scam the system. The Cruz amendment would stop all that, stop
our efforts we put in there to get a handle on Medicare fraud.
Something that is very important to so many of us is what is
happening in rural areas. Right now, under the Affordable Care Act,
there are incentive payments paid to rural primary care providers in
rural America--States such as North Dakota and Iowa and Texas. Right
now the Cruz amendment would stop that incentive payment for primary
care providers in rural areas.
I mentioned preventive services--right now every senior gets a
wellness visit once a year. More than 34 million seniors got that last
year, a free preventive service in Medicare so they can go in and get a
wellness check to find out if they need to do something to take better
care of themselves. They do not have to pay for that. The Cruz
amendment would say if they want to do it now, they have to start
paying for it.
Since this is kind of a blunt instrument, this amendment we have
before us would defund all activities related to health reform,
including paying the Federal employees who administer Medicare.
Secretary Sebelius has informed us payments to Medicare providers would
be significantly disrupted by this. You just cannot separate the
Affordable Care Act from all the other provisions of Medicare that are
being run by Health and Human Services or by CMS, the Center for
Medicaid and Medicare Services.
Oh, yes, the Senator also talked about the deficit, reducing the
deficit. I don't understand why someone would want to stop something
which the Congressional Budget Office said would reduce the deficit. I
guess we are going to reduce the deficit by increasing the deficit?
That is sort of the logic of this amendment.
The Congressional Budget Office affirmed that the Affordable Care Act
reduces the deficit by more than $100 billion in the next 10 years, and
more than $1 trillion in the decade that follows. So the Cruz amendment
would roll that back. I guess the Senator wants to reduce the deficit
by increasing the deficit. Go figure that one out.
It is time to stop the silly games, but I guess it will continue.
After all, in 1935 the Congress and President Roosevelt passed the
Social Security Act. Seventy-five years later there are still some on
the Republican side who would like to get rid of that.
I guess we will continue to have a few voices--not everyone--who will
still be fighting the Affordable Care Act a year from now.
In 1965 Congress passed Medicare--the Republicans fought it bitterly,
by the way--and 45 years later a few on that side are still trying to
undo Medicare by voucherizing it, and that sort of stuff. I just have
to say: Here we go again.
William F. Buckley was the founder of the National Review and sort of
the godfather of the modern conservative movement in America. He was a
very intellectual kind of guy. He was very intellectual and a good
writer and speaker. I always enjoyed watching William F. Buckley. He
once said: ``A conservative is a fellow standing athwart history
yelling: Stop!''
Well, is that really the role? I think there should be a different
role, and that is to stand with liberals, moderates, and everybody else
to figure out what is best. We need to figure out what is best for
moving ahead and not to just yell ``stop'' or repeal something. We need
to do something that is so meaningful and so broadly supported, then
figure out how to make it work the best.
I kind of conclude where I began. If people have suggestions on how
to make the Affordable Care Act work better, smoother, be more
efficient, more cost effective, fine. That would be a good debate and
discussion. Just to say: No, we are not going to fund it is an
ideological approach. It is not based on budget considerations, it is
not based on reducing the deficit, which I just pointed out. It is not
based on a rational reading of the bill and what is happening out there
in terms of setting up the exchanges and all the other things I
mentioned. It is just an ideological approach. It is sort of tearing it
down and sort of going after President Obama, I guess, one more time. I
don't want to take the position that somebody cannot offer an amendment
such as that. Sure, they can offer an amendment. They can do anything.
However, reasonable, rational people in the Senate don't need to follow
that. We need to do what is best for the American people and leave the
ideology behind.
I hope the Cruz amendment will be seen for what it is, an attempt to
repeal ObamaCare at this moment in time when we are on the cusp of
actually having it fully implemented. States have already moved ahead.
Even very conservative Republican Governors have joined in and said:
Yes, we want to extend Federal Medicaid coverage in our States.
Conservative Republican Governors are setting up exchanges. We are
moving ahead. Now is not the time to say: Well, we are going to cut the
funding.
Again, keep in mind, this doesn't just defund the Affordable Care
Act. I said there were other things, such as the Nurse Professional
Training Act, which we put in the Affordable Care Act, which would also
be defunded. It was reauthorized along with the Medicare fraud and
abuse and the area health education centers. There are a number of
things that were put in with the Affordable Care Act that would also be
defunded under the Cruz amendment.
I hope everyone will see the amendment for what it is, and I hope the
Senate will soundly reject it.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, we will be alternating on both sides
of the aisle. I regret Senator Lee had to leave, and we welcome those
who support the Cruz amendment to speak before we have to take a break.
I have to go to a meeting with Senator Reid and other members of the
committee at 12:30 p.m. We ask those who have views on this to come
forward and speak. I do have some comments on the Cruz amendment.
First of all, we welcome Senator Cruz. He is the new Senator from
Texas. He replaced a very dear friend, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Senator Hutchison and I were close friends and we usually agreed on
goals, but there were times we didn't agree on methods. With Senator
Cruz we agree that we do need a job-creating strategy. We know we need
to promote economic growth in whatever we do and even follow the
physician's adage of ``do no harm.'' That is why I absolutely disagree
with the Senator's amendment. The very things he wants to accomplish
and his underlying premise--though obviously well argued from his view
in a persuasive way--I totally disagree with.
First of all, let's talk about what the Cruz amendment does. It
prohibits discretionary funds from being used for the Affordable Care
Act. It is affectionately known by some of us as ObamaCare, because
Obama does care. So the Cruz amendment would prevent the Department of
Health and Human Services from implementing the Affordable Care Act.
This would mean the staff, for example, CMS, could not issue or enforce
regulations on insurance abuse practices, such as gender
discrimination. Quality reforms that improve the care that everybody
does and actually lowers cost would also be affected. For example,
Johns Hopkins lung transplants were cited as one study--Madam
President, I could go on, but if the Senator from Utah is ready to
speak, I will yield the floor. We were alternating, so it is actually
the Senator's turn.
Madam President, as robust as my remarks would be, I will yield to
give the Senator from Utah his rightful chance to speak.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
Mr. LEE. Madam President, I wish to extend my gratitude to my
colleague from Maryland for allowing me to speak at this time. I
appreciate that.
[[Page S1730]]
I rise in support of the amendment proposed by my good friend, the
Senator from Texas, that would defund the implementation of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act for the remainder of this fiscal
year. Almost everything the American people were told about ObamaCare
by the bill's proponents has turned out to be incorrect. We were
promised it would save money. Now we know it will cost us more money.
In 2 short years, the projected cost of the government health care
takeover has ballooned from $940 billion to $1.76 trillion. We were
told it would help a struggling economy. Now we know it will help
smother a still struggling economy.
Employers cite ObamaCare as a principal reason and reluctance to hire
new employees. According to the National Federation of Independent
Business, ObamaCare's unconstitutional mandate--which the Supreme Court
salvaged only by rewriting it as a tax--will kill between 125,000 and
249,000 jobs over the next 10 years. According to the Congressional
Budget Office, ObamaCare will reduce total American employment by
800,000 jobs by 2021.
In fairness, these are only projections. Although I believe even
those projections are optimistic, they certainly contradict the
fairytale arguments in favor of ObamaCare in 2009 and 2010, but they
are still just best guesses.
The reason Senator Cruz introduced, and the reason why I support,
this amendment is that the case against ObamaCare is rapidly moving
from fears about tomorrow to pain that is felt today--right now.
In 2008, then-Senator Obama promised that his policies would lower
health care premiums for the average American family by $2,500; 4 years
later--and 2 years after President Obama signed ObamaCare into law--the
Kaiser Foundation reports that family health insurance premiums have
actually risen by $2,370. This is one of the things we were told we
needed to pass the bill in order to find within the bill a $5,000
premium hike on working families.
What else have we found? We found that when the Federal Government
requires businesses to provide health insurance for their full-time
employees, businesses respond by cutting employee hours. Other
companies have chosen to go farther and have simply laid employees off
altogether or shifted those jobs overseas. Other companies have
admitted that the cost ObamaCare adds to their business will have to be
passed on to their customers in the form of higher prices.
Then there is the devastating impact ObamaCare has had on our medical
device industry, which is targeted for a special punitive tax under
this law. Companies from Boston Scientific, Stryker, Smith & Nephew and
others are laying off workers and shipping their jobs overseas.
It is important to remember that each of these layoffs is, in a
sense, a double strike against our economy. On the one hand, when
people lose their jobs and their health insurance, the economy suffers
in and of itself because of that impact. On the other hand, at the very
same time this is occurring because ObamaCare and the rest of the
President's failed agenda are weighing down our economy quite heavily,
there are not enough new jobs being created for the recently unemployed
Americans to fill. So the unemployed are not only staying unemployed
for longer than normal, but they are also increasing demand for already
overburdened government assistance programs. Thanks to ObamaCare, fewer
people are working and paying into the system to support people
ObamaCare is preventing from finding work and health insurance in the
first place.
The beauty of the Cruz amendment is that we don't have to pass it to
discover what it would do. We already know exactly what it would do. It
would delay the implementation of ObamaCare and thereby save taxpayer
money and American jobs. It would also restore a semblance of
democratic accountability to a process that is badly in need of
precisely that. After all, the various departments of the Federal
Government have already issued some 20,000 pages' worth of regulations
to formalize the ObamaCare system. In other words, the 2,700-page
monstrosity Congress passed in 2010 was only a fraction of the final
deforesting product.
Does anyone--literally anyone in the entire country--know what those
20,000 pages of regulations say? For all we know, we could be violating
ObamaCare right now. Somewhere in those 20,000 pages there might be
something saying we cannot do what we are doing at the moment.
Some might think I am exaggerating, but as we were all shocked to
learn recently, 98 percent of individual health insurance policies in
the United States right now are in violation of ObamaCare's standards.
When ObamaCare goes into full effect, those Americans who own those
policies will have to either buy more expensive insurance than they
have now or pay the unconstitutional fine. The unconstitutional fine
was, according to the Supreme Court, unconstitutional as a fine and
could be sustained by the Supreme Court only because the Supreme Court
rewrote the law as a tax instead of a fine.
To recap, ObamaCare is already costing us jobs that we need badly. It
is raising health care costs. It is adding to our deficit and debt. It
is forcing families off their health insurance policies they have and
like. It is a Trojan horse for 20,000 of new law that no elected
official wrote and not a single citizen in the United States has read.
Then, of course, there is the slow-motion train wreck of the law's
implementation. A majority of States in the Union have already refused
to set up their own ObamaCare exchanges. The bill has been passed and
the American people now see what is in it and they want no part of it.
So the Department of Health and Human Services is now charged with
setting up Federal exchanges in those States, but they don't know how.
The clock is ticking. People are losing their health insurance. The
exchanges are supposed to be ready to handle the massive influx of
people dumped by ObamaCare onto those same exchanges, and the exchanges
are not going to be there.
What will be there? Well, according to a report issued by the
Associated Press, uninsured Americans will find a 15-page, 21-step
application that will need approval from three separate Federal
agencies. There are expected to be more than 4 million of these
applications next year alone. Even as an advocate of the program says
in this same AP story: The form will take a considerable amount of time
to fill out and will be difficult for many people to be able to
complete. That part of the process ``does not get you to the selection
of a plan.''
ObamaCare is going to make doing your taxes feel like a round of
golf. For this reason, there are some who believe the only way to
expose ObamaCare and rescue the health care system is to let nature
take its course, to let it go into effect as soon as possible. They say
that the sooner it collapses, the sooner we can repeal it and start
over.
The Senator from Texas and I and everyone else supporting this
amendment reject that logic. We cannot in good conscience send millions
of innocent Americans into a dangerously dysfunctional health care
system run by unaccountable, if well-intentioned, bureaucrats. We will
not sacrifice millions of families to prove a political point. People's
lives and livelihoods are at stake. The American people are not pawns
in Washington's partisan political game. We work for them, not the
other way around.
As public servants we have an obligation to protect the American
people--those who elected us to serve. ObamaCare is going to hurt our
country, our economy, our constituents, our friends, and our neighbors.
It is the single greatest threat to our economy and to our health care
system. Eventually, ObamaCare will be repealed. The American people
will see the damage it does and demand that we scrap it and start over.
But for now we must at least defund it, at least for the life of this
continuing resolution--for the remainder of this fiscal year.
Senator Cruz and I have been assured that this amendment will fail
and ObamaCare will move ahead as planned. If that is the will of the
Senate, then so be it. But when ObamaCare does start to break down--
when waiting times start to grow, when costs start to explode, when
taxes start to rise, when doctors and nurses start to quit, when
hospitals start to close,
[[Page S1731]]
when businesses start to shutter, when take-home pay falls and jobs
disappear, when patients and families truly find out what is in this
bill, then the American people will know who is responsible for the
catastrophe of ObamaCare and who, like the Senator from Texas, tried to
help.
A few years ago, when then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi famously
told Members of the House that you have to pass this 2,700 page bill in
order to find out what is in it, she perhaps saw what we would be
experiencing today or at least some aspect of it. But either way, today
we now see what is in what they passed back then. We, as Members of the
Senate, have had an opportunity to review this piece of legislation
over the last few years. We know what economic impact this law is
already having as its still massive implementation has moved forward.
We need to make ourselves accountable to the American people for what
is in this law and what we now know is in this law. I, therefore,
respectfully urge each and every one of my colleagues to support this
amendment.
Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Baldwin). The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise to speak on the Cruz amendment.
I am glad Senator Lee had a chance to speak.
As I said, the Cruz amendment would prevent the Department of Health
and Human Services from implementing funding for the discretionary
spending aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Since the Presiding
Officer knows the Affordable Care Act so well and played a major part
in it when she was a Member of the House of Representatives, she knows
this amendment would have disastrous consequences. It would essentially
defund the Affordable Care Act. They call it ObamaCare. I call it
ObamaCare. As I said earlier, Obama does care, and that is why we
passed the legislation in the first place.
The Cruz amendment means that CMS couldn't do their job to, for
example, issue regulations on ending gender discrimination. It has been
said that there are all these pages of regulation. But why should we
pay more for health insurance than men of comparable age and health
status--as much as 50 percent more?
The Affordable Care Act also ends discrimination on the basis of
preexisting conditions. As the Presiding Officer knows, in eight States
women were denied health insurance because domestic violence was deemed
a preexisting condition. They were battered in their own home, and then
they were battered by their insurance agency. What are we doing here?
This is not where we are going.
Excuse me. I promised I wouldn't try to incite; I would try more to
inspire. But I feel very strongly and passionately that the Cruz
amendment should not pass. It should not pass.
I wish to speak to what the Senator said about economic growth. He
said he is for economic growth. I want to be on that list. He is a
progrowth Senator. I want to be on that list too. I think it is a
committee of 100. What I want him to know is that without a form of
health care that provides universal access but insisting on delivery
models of reform, we will have a catastrophe and not only in an earned
benefit program such as Medicare. What happens is if people don't have
health insurance, it gets shifted onto other people who do have health
insurance and the employers who have the generosity and wherewithal to
pay for it.
So if we want to be for economic growth, the first thing we need to
do is clean up our own act here. This is what we need to do here. The
politics of brinkmanship, ultimatum politicians, shut down, show down,
and slam down must end. That is what we are trying to do here. What we
are trying to do is move legislation so there is no government
shutdown.
Businesses don't invest in creating jobs because they don't have
certainty. They don't have reliability. Where is the Federal Government
going? What is it going to do? How is it going to get its act together
so businesses can invest, whether it is in their own employees or
perhaps bringing money back home from overseas, legally earned profits,
to put into infrastructure? So if a person is progrowth, they want to
have health insurance.
The two costs business cannot control are the cost of health care and
the cost of energy. We can control the impact on reforming the cost of
health care through ObamaCare. Why do I say that? First of all, if a
person doesn't have health insurance, they get sick and go to the
emergency room. Do my colleagues know what the average cost of an
emergency room visit is? It is $1,000. Do my colleagues know what a
primary care doctor gets? He gets $40. Now, what is wrong with that
picture? He gets $40, not $400, by the time all of it is taken out.
I wish to bring to the attention of my colleagues a fantastic
documentary that was on CNN on Sunday night. It was called ``Escape
Fire.'' It was a complete 2-hour documentary from CNN, not some lefty
think tank or nothing like the Institute of Medicine. This was a CNN
documentary on the cost of health care and how the system we have now
increases costs but does not increase or improve health outcomes.
I am not going to argue all those dynamics here today, but if we
really want to lower the cost of health care, we want to have President
Obama and our Affordable Care Act. This is what businesses want. What
they don't want is cost-shifting. Because some people don't have it or
because they got it too late in their own situation, the cost is
actually greater.
The other side has talked about small business. Senator Cruz just
told this wonderful story about his father--a Cuban refugee,
essentially--who came to this country. Because he couldn't speak
English, he took a job where it wasn't required, washing dishes. And
then here we go, one generation later, Senator Cruz is a Senator. I
think that is a wonderful personal story. He then went on to talk about
business.
His story is a lot like my own family's story. We came from Poland.
When we came from Poland, it was not because we were rich; we came
because we thought that Lady Liberty and her shining light really meant
something. My family started small businesses. My grandmother ran one
of the best Polish bakeries in Baltimore. My father had a small grocery
store. Because of a large family, he left school in the eighth grade,
but through his own grit and determination, with my mother at his side,
he served a community. Over 700 people came to my father's funeral
because they loved him as much, in their own way, as we did. My father,
through his grit, determination, and working--the same as Senator
Cruz's father--my father worked 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. He sent
his three daughters to college to be sure they had an education in
post-high school.
He wanted to have health care. My father was crazy about Social
Security and BlueCross and BlueShield. My father couldn't get on Social
Security until the 1950s because small business was excluded. The
reason he liked Social Security was that he worried about my mother and
he worried about his girls. He was worried that if he died, would his
own insurance--my father had insurance. My father was a planner and a
provider--a planner and a provider--but he worried about whether that
would be enough to take care of us. So when he was eligible for Social
Security, he said: I will pay my fair share so if anything happens,
fine, and if nothing happens, I am glad to pay my fair share.
As a small businessman, he didn't have access to big markets, but
through the Maryland Grocers Association--again, in the 1950s--he could
come in on BlueCross and BlueShield. He wanted health insurance for
himself, for my mother, for his daughters, and, if he could, for the
few people who worked for him because he knew that people were one
financial bankruptcy away if a big illness happened.
What my father faced in the 1950s America is facing now in 2013.
So what does ObamaCare do? It improves access for 35 million
Americans who are without health insurance. It ends the punitive
practices of insurance companies, one of which is gender
discrimination. The other is the preexisting condition denials. It also
strengthens Medicare in a way that actually reduces health costs. Data
has been released in the last several days that actually shows health
care costs are going down, and it is not because of the recession. It
is because our reforms
[[Page S1732]]
are going into effect, such as the famous Pronovost checklist developed
at Johns Hopkins University that was quoted in another study: If we
wash our hands and take care of certain things in the OR, we won't get
an infection. And if we don't get infections, we don't stay in the
hospital longer than necessary.
I chaired the quality initiatives committee that examined how we
could, through improvements in quality, not only save lives but would
it save money, and the answer was a resounding yes. I didn't make that
up.
They said: Mikulski, you are a social worker. What do you know about
delivering health care?
It wasn't my idea. I went to learned societies, such as the Institute
of Medicine, that said to err is human, but it is also costly. I am not
talking about the medical malpractice stuff--infections, returning
admissions to hospitals within 10 days or 30 days because of the way
people are often discharged, the issue of prevention.
I am the author of the so-called preventive amendment that went into
the health care bill.
What was that all about? It meant that early detection and screenings
save lives--early detection and screenings save lives. That means if
you get your mammogram, if you get your PSA test for a man, you are
more likely to find it.
But it is not only for that dread, awful ``C'' word. Let's take a
``D'' word: diabetes. A lot of people walk around and do not know they
have diabetes or high blood pressure. Both are silent killers. They can
result in strokes or death. If you have undetected diabetes, it can
kill you through a coma and other things, but it can also kill you
slowly. The consequences of prolonged diabetes can result in the loss
of eyesight, the loss of a kidney, diabetic myopathy, where you cannot
walk. And if you come in so late, you are often--rather than facing an
amputation, wouldn't it have been better to find it 10 years before and
get you into the right program, with the right diabetic educator, to
make sure we not only control your diabetes but we are not paying for
amputations, which is a heartbreak for the family and the person and a
budget buster to us?
This is what prevention is all about. It is not some gooshy-pooh
thing. It is not like a slogan on a cereal box. This is the real deal.
If you find certain of these chronic conditions sooner, you can manage
their escalation. That helps the family and the patient. It also helps
control our costs.
This is what we are talking about. This is why we care so much. And
for women, we were helped through this bill, dealing with gender
discrimination, preexisting conditions. Children were helped. And now,
right now--because ObamaCare is not fully implemented--it stops
insurance companies from denying families health insurance or charging
sky-high premiums because their child has a preexisting condition.
What are we talking about here? We are talking about autism. We are
talking about type 1 diabetes. We are talking about even children who
have arthritis.
The other day I had such a poignant thing happen. I was dashing to
the elevator, and there was a family with a young lady, a young girl
about my height, but about--well, she was 13 and a tween. When they
showed me their picture of the last time we met, that tween, that young
lady, was in a wheelchair. We do not think of someone around 11 or 9
having arthritis, but she does. This is going to be a chronic condition
with this young lady. But through the work of NIH, other great
research, and working with a biologic that was used for other medical
issues but allowed under FDA to work with her, under very strictly
controlled conditions, with parental consent, of course, this young
lady stood next to me. We laughed and we joked, back to back, because
the little girl that was in the wheelchair is now a tween, and she is a
lot taller than I am. We had a good laugh. But I will tell you, when I
got on that elevator I had a good cry, and I was so emotional about it,
I even feel it today.
What are we doing here? Don't we want to give this little girl a
break? When her mother and father applied for health insurance, do we
want the schoolmarmish no--the nos of the insurance company saying: No,
that kid has arthritis. We cannot insure you.
That kid does have arthritis, but she is walking today. She is
standing proud with her mother and father, joking with a U.S. Senator,
doing well in school. Isn't that what we want for our country and for
our young people? Why would we want to repeal legislation that does
that?
I could talk a lot about this bill. I feel so strongly about the
incredible infrastructure we have in our United States--NIH, academic
centers of excellence, learned societies from IOM to the American
Academy of Pediatrics that have advised us along the way--all of us
working together. The biologic was developed by the private sector--the
private sector--working with doctors, working with FDA, to say: Can we
try an off-label that meets all the ethical things where children are
involved?
We did it, and look at the story. That is just one story. We are a
country of 300 million people. That story is being acted out every
single day, and it is being acted out right now in the ER. If you came
to the ER with me at Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, at
Mercy Hospital, are there people who are there from trauma? Yes. Are
there people there who were in an automobile accident? Yes. I was there
3 years ago myself with a fall coming out of church. Yes. But over 70
percent who are there are there because they do not have health
insurance. And they are using a thousand dollars a visit being in
there. What kind of system is that?
So if we repeal the President's Affordable Care Act, the consequences
on families, the consequences on business, will be horrific. We are
simply shifting the cost rather than solving the problem.
Are there reforms necessary? Yes. Do the Senators from Texas and
Utah, who spoke, offer suggestions? Yes. But let's let ObamaCare go
forward. Let's evaluate, let's do due diligence, and let's do oversight
and make sure health reforms we have instituted are working, but do not
repeal it. We will endanger lives, and we will endanger our economy.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the time
until 2 p.m. be equally divided between Senator Cruz and myself or our
designees; that at 2 p.m. the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the
Cruz amendment; that there be no amendments in order to the Cruz
amendment prior to the vote; further, that upon the disposition of the
Cruz amendment, the next amendment in order be an amendment offered by
Senator Harkin relative to Labor-HHS appropriations.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the time
in the quorum call be equally divided.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I rise to speak on the pending question,
which is the Cruz amendment, to defund ObamaCare. I appreciate him
offering the amendment on this very relevant issue. I am glad we are
talking again about it.
When I ran for office 2 years ago, this was one of the central
issues. There has been a court decision since then. We need to
understand, court decisions are about the constitutionality of
something. They do not speak to its policy wisdom. That is what this
debate is about today. I think it is important because since the
election--and even going into the election--we had lost some view on
this.
[[Page S1733]]
But let me begin by saying health insurance is a problem in the
United States. There is no doubt about it. I think that to be in
opposition to the health care bill is not to say that we think nothing
should happen. On the contrary, I know health insurance is a major
problem for millions of Americans. Its affordability is a problem. Its
access is a problem, the ability of people to get the kind of health
coverage they want.
In fact, when I was speaker of the Florida House--I had the honor of
being that for 2 years in Florida--we actually worked on some ideas
that created a marketplace where the private insurers and others could
come together and create creative packages for people. That is the kind
of insurance you need. Not everybody needs the same health insurance.
Let me give you an example.
A family of four with two children--I have four children--I promise
you, you are going to wind up in the pediatrician's office quite a bit,
for everything and all kinds of stuff. We are very blessed. My
children, thank God, are very healthy. And even then, there are issues
where you need to bring them, whether it is primary care, whether it is
vaccinations, whether it is a cold that does not go away--whatever it
may be. I think it is so critically important to have that. So families
in that circumstance need a certain type of coverage.
Then there are other people, people I know who are in their mid to
late twenties. They never go to the doctor. But if they ever get sick,
it is probably going to be, unfortunately, something very bad. So those
folks maybe would rather have a plan that covers them upfront with some
primary care coverage--maybe a higher deductible that you could pay
with a health savings account--but on the back end some catastrophic
hospitalization costs so if you truly get sick, God forbid, you have
the opportunity to have the kind of coverage you need.
The point is everybody needs different kinds of health care coverage.
My hope is that this country and the Federal Government--to the extent
it has a role to play in all this--would help incentivize the creation
of marketplaces for those sorts of innovative health ideas.
As I said, not everybody needs the same health insurance. That is why
there are some principles that should have guided us when this was
debated before I got here and should guide us going forward.
For example, I think one of our guiding principles should be that
Americans should be able to buy health insurance from any company in
the country that is willing to sell it to them. Right now, health
insurance is regulated at the State level. In essence, these States
have mandates as to what insurance companies must offer in order to
sell insurance in that State, and you cannot buy insurance if it does
not have all of those. The equivalent would be of saying: You either
have to buy a Cadillac Escalade or you have to buy nothing. Some people
do not want a car that is that big and that fancy. They need something
that is a little different.
The point is those choices are not available to consumers. We should
start with an organizing principle by saying every American should be
able to buy health insurance they want from any company in America that
is willing to sell it to them.
Another part of that is you should be able to buy health insurance
for yourself. Let me tell you why that is problematic. If your employer
buys the health insurance for you, they do not have to pay taxes on the
money. Taxes are not paid on the money that is used to buy that health
insurance. But if you buy it for yourself, it is income, it is treated
as income. You have to pay tax on it. That is problematic for a couple
reasons. No. 1, some businesses and some employers would rather give
them the health care money so they can go out and buy the plan they
want. Others would want to buy you plans or give you options among
different plans.
Federal employees know very well what that is like. Let me tell you
what a Federal employee gets. A Federal employee gets a book. In that
book you get to choose between--depending on where you live--a bunch of
different plans. You go right down the graph, and it tells you: This is
how much this plan offers, this is how much you have to pay in premiums
per month, this is how much you are going to owe in copayments if you
go to a doctor, if you go to a specialist, if you go to a hospital.
How many people in America get that choice? How many people in
America get the same choices on buying health care that their
Congressmen and their Senators get? Very few. To me, that is a serious
problem.
The good news about this--imagine now, for a moment, a country where
people control their health care dollars, where you got to buy the
insurance you wanted from the company you wanted. Let me tell you what
the market is going to do. It is going to react to that. What the
market is going to do--when there are people out there who are going to
have choices over how they spend their health care dollars--they are
going to start creating insurance packages that people want to buy.
They are going to realize: We have a bunch of 25, 27, 29-year-olds in
the United States who do not get sick. We should create special
packages of insurance for them. They are going to realize: We have a
lot of families out there who can afford to pay ``X'' amount of money
for a family coverage plan. We should go out and create a special plan
for families like them.
By the way, along the lines of this level of flexibility, you could
see where small businesses all of a sudden can get together with other
small businesses. As an example, a small chamber of commerce in a
midsize city somewhere can decide to bring all of those companies
together. Together they can buy health insurance for their employees.
It is hard to buy group coverage if you only have four or five
employees. But if you can get together with a bunch of other companies
that have three, four, five employees, all of a sudden you have a
buying pool. That buying pool gives you leverage and power to go out
and create plans for all of your employees.
There is no one size fits all. We should have that kind of
flexibility in our insurance marketplace. We do not. These are not
going to cure everything, but these are important steps forward.
By the way, I would be remiss in talking about medicine to not talk
about the malpractice insurance rates, especially for specialties. Do
not underestimate what a significant impediment that is for some people
to go into the medical profession or to stay in the medical profession.
Right up front, let me tell you, if a doctor is negligent, if a
doctor commits malpractice, you should have a right to recover your
economic damages, and there should be some level of punitive damages to
encourage people not to do that in the future and to be careful. The
problem is it has gone beyond that. In many States we have a crisis
when it comes to litigation and medicine. People are not just suing
because, unfortunately, something went wrong. They are suing on
outcomes. They are not just suing because the treatment was bad. The
result is that doctors practice defensive medicine.
You go to a doctor, you go to a hospital, they order a slew of tests.
It is not because you need them, but because they want to make sure
they are covered; that if they ever wind up in a court they can be able
to say to the jury: Look at all of those tests I ordered--even though
most of them might not have been necessary. Who do you think pays for
that? We do.
It is worse than that. There are places like in Florida where
obstetricians do not even have coverage at all. They go bare. They hire
lawyers to protect their assets so they cannot be sued. I know true
stories of obstetricians who will not see certain patients anymore
because they are afraid of the outcome of what may happen.
So I think we need to look at, perhaps, not as a part of the
insurance situation but in health care across the States, a way to
incentivize States to pass medical malpractice reform that protects
patients. People should always have the right to access the court
system for wrongdoing, and especially to be compensated for their
economic damages. If a doctor commits malpractice and you cannot work
anymore, all of those lost wages that you are not going to be able to
work for in the future, you should be able to be rewarded for that.
If we allow doctors to continue to be sued in this country as an
industry,
[[Page S1734]]
which is what it has become, people are not going to go to medical
school.
Here is another problem we are starting to see. A lot of young people
in medical school do not want to go into the complex issues anymore.
They do not want to become brain surgeons. They do not want to become
OB-GYNs. They want to go into some other specialty that in addition to
offering better hours--your beeper does not go off if you are a plastic
surgeon at 3:00 in the morning. In addition to that, they do not have
to worry about liability. Let me tell you, that is a problem. In
Florida, most of our cardiologists are over the age of 50. What does
that mean 10 years from now? That means we are not going to have enough
cardiologists. It is discouraging people from going into very important
professions in medicine because they are afraid they are going to get
sued--not for doing something wrong but because things did not turn out
well in treatment.
Let me put on the record that I am not against people being able to
sue a negligent doctor. In fact, I think negligent doctors should not
only be sued, they should lose their license. I am just saying, if we
go too far, like anything else in the world, you are going to lose
people from medicine. They are going to decide not to go in it.
Let's talk about this issue for a moment and the amendment that is
before us. The problem with ObamaCare is that it is a one-size-fits-all
approach to the entire country. The health care needs of Americans are
very different. No. 1, they are very different geographically depending
on where you live; No. 2, they are very different depending on your
family situation, your health situation, et cetera.
Now, some people are very sick. They are chronically ill. That is
where we can have a conversation about high-risk pools because these
people are very difficult to insure. If someone is sure to get sick, it
is hard to find an insurance for them because you are guaranteed to be
sick. So we have to find a solution for that problem. That is where
conversations about high-risk pools at the State level are a valid
thing to talk about. But beyond that, I think people should have
flexibility. That is not what ObamaCare does.
I understand that people read the newspapers and say: This is good.
We are going to get a health care plan. We are going to be able to buy
insurance. My boss is going to be forced to give me health insurance.
That is not how it is going to work out, guys. That is not how things
work out in the real world. We are already starting to see the impacts
of it. What is amazing to me is as this law begins to develop, as
people start to see the true impact and the unintended or maybe even
the intended consequences of this law, I predict right now that the
number of people who were excited about ObamaCare is going to dwindle
dramatically.
The proof is how many groups have come here already and asked to be
exempted. How many unions, how many other groups have raised their
hands and said: Please do not make us live under the laws that we
supported. Do not make us live under their laws that we held rallies
for. Do not make us live under these laws that we bragged about because
it has a negative impact on us. And some of them are coming to bear
right now.
No. 1 is the cost. When this bill was passed, they said it would be
about $1 trillion--$940 billion to be exact. Now we know it is $1.7
trillion in gross cost over the next few years.
How about tax hikes? Absolutely, because starting in 2014, the IRS is
going to create a problem for millions of Americans and small
businesses. Basically, if you are not buying health insurance of the
kind they want, of the kind the law requires--not just health
insurance, a specific kind of health insurance--you are going to owe
the IRS a fine. Think about that for a moment. If you are a small
business owner or an individual, and you are not buying the health
insurance the government says you must have, you now are going to have
to pay a fine every year to the IRS.
Some people are going to do the math. They are going to say it is
cheaper to pay the fine than it is to buy the health insurance. That is
problematic, but it is a cost.
We are trying to grow our economy. That is the only solution to our
problems. Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to debate
budgets, we are going to debate continuing resolutions, and the word
``debt'' is going to come up. We cannot tax our way out of this debt.
There is no tax increase that gets us out of this debt. To my own
party, I say while we always have to have fiscal discipline, you cannot
cut your way out of this debt alone either. The only real solution to
our debt problems--and the debt matters because it is killing jobs in
America--the only real solution to our debt problems is a combination
of two things: rapid, robust economic growth.
If we can grow our economy at 4 percent a year, we could generate $3
trillion for debt reduction over the next decade, and we would create
millions of jobs and pull people out of poverty and strengthen our
middle class, which is the source of our exceptionalism as a country.
The second thing we need is fiscal discipline on future spending.
This bill violates both. This bill violates both. It hurts economic
growth because the only way you are going to grow your economy is if
you make America a better place to create jobs and start businesses.
That is how economic growth is created. When someone takes money they
have or money they borrowed or money someone invested in them, and they
use it, they risk it to open a new business or to grow an existing one,
as the idea works, they start hiring people, and those people now are
making a middle-class salary. Those people are now buying things and
spending money, creating jobs and opportunity for others.
That is the formula for growth and prosperity. This hurts that
because what you are now saying is, in addition to everything else you
have to put up with in America--all the State and local regulations,
all the complicated Tax Code stuff, the natural downturn in the
economy, globalism and the changes that it has brought--in addition to
all of that, here is one more thing you are going to have to do: You
are either going to have to offer health insurance of a certain kind or
you are going to owe the IRS a fine.
I promise you that is not the kind of thing chambers of commerce put
on their pamphlets when they try to attract businesses to their
communities or their States. This is not going to help in job creation.
The tax hikes are a big problem. It is especially bad for small
businesses because they have this arbitrary number of people--50
employees or more--who have to do certain things. OK. So what do you
think a lot of businesses are going to do? I know people. They have
already told me about this.
If you have 51 employees, this is a huge incentive to only have 49
employees. So you think about that for a moment. If you own a small
road-paving company with 50 full-time employees or 51 full-time
employees, you sit down with your accountant to do your math for next
year. Your accountant will tell you: By the way, if you get rid of a
couple of employees, this is how much money this is going to save you
because of ObamaCare.
So do we want to have an incentive in our laws to have businesses get
rid of workers because it helps them avoid certain costs mandated by
government? This is happening. This is not pie in the sky, this is
going to happen. There are people planning to do that already. It is
happening right now.
Here is another thing. How about part-time workers versus full-time
workers. We have already seen evidence of this across the board. But I
will tell you where you are seeing it already is in people who own a
bunch of franchises. So you own a chain of Kentucky Fried Chickens or a
chain of McDonalds, and all of a sudden you have incentive to move as
many of those people as you can to part time because they do not
trigger the ObamaCare mandates either. So now you have all of these
businesses across America that have an incentive that we have created
in this law--I say ``we,'' the people who were here when this passed--a
perverse incentive to cut people's hours so they do not trigger the
mandate. These are horrible consequences that are going to have an
impact on our country at a time when we should be growing our economy
and creating middle-class prosperity, not working against it.
[[Page S1735]]
So my prediction is that when they start to fully implement this over
the next 12 to 18 months, it is going to be an epic disaster. Not
because it was ill-intentioned, per se. I think the goal of providing
an environment where everybody can buy affordable health insurance is
something we should take very seriously and something we have to work
on. You cannot have a strong, stable middle class if people cannot
afford the cost of living. You cannot have a strong and stable middle
class if people do not have access to quality health care at an
affordable price. We should work on that. We should work on that very
hard. But we have to do that with balance.
This is not balanced. This is an across-the-board application to the
entire country that is going to hurt a lot of people. There are people
in America who are going to lose hours at work because of this bill.
There are people in America who are going to lose the health insurance
they have which they are happy with because of this bill. There are
people in America who are going to have to lay off people, and
therefore there are people in America who are going to lose their jobs
because of this bill. Our debt is going to grow.
I hope we will pass this amendment. I hope we will defund this
program. It was ill-designed. As the true ramifications of this bill
begin to apply over the next few months and the next couple of years,
we are going to be right here on this floor trying to fix it because
this country cannot be what it is meant to be if it has to deal with
something like this hanging around its neck.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Before the Senator from Florida leaves the floor, I
just wanted to commend him for his observations. I listened carefully
to what the Senator from Florida had to say. It reminds me of the
prediction many of us made when it was passed: It would be the single
worst piece of legislation in modern times.
Everything the President predicted would happen has not happened.
Premiums have gone up; jobs have been destroyed. The single biggest
step in the direction of Europeanizing our country that we could
possibly have taken we took with ObamaCare.
So I just wanted to commend the Senator from Florida for his
comments. They are right on the mark.
I also want to thank Senator Cruz for offering this amendment. I
offered it in the last Congress myself. There is no way to fix this
thing, no way to fix it. It needs to be pulled out by its roots. The
Senator from Florida pointed out it is also destroying jobs.
I was on a tele-townhall the other night. A restaurant manager called
in and said exactly what the Senator from Florida just said, that they
were moving to lower their employment and to have more part-time
workers in order to try to deal with the impending ObamaCare explosion.
So I am sure the Senator from Florida is running into that in his
State as well.
Mr. RUBIO. Let me say a couple of things--actually, a true world
example. Here is the startling thing about it. A lot of people are not
fully aware of what this means yet. This may surprise some of us who
are here every day or the people who cover politics on a daily basis,
but most Americans are not tuned into C-SPAN 24 hours a day. They get
their news in tidbits in the morning when they are making their coffee.
They have the radio on. They hear some stuff on the radio on the way to
work. Then they go to work for 10, 12, 14 hours to run a business. They
get home, they have to do homework with the kids, make dinner, put them
to bed. Maybe they get to watch an hour or two of TV. They wake up
tomorrow morning and they do it all over again. They are not in touch
with all of this on a daily basis. They have lives to lead.
You will be surprised how many small business men and women and how
many employees around the country are not even aware of this yet, do
not even realize the decisions they are going to have to make next
year. So if you are in a business that has anywhere between 45, 55, 60
employees, when you sit down at the end of this year with your
planner--be it your accountant, your lawyer, whatever it is you use,
your human resources people--and do next year's planning, they are
going to tell you: OK, next year we have this new law. This new law
says we have to offer this kind of insurance. Here are your choices:
Option No. 1 is you can offer the insurance, and this is how much more
it is going to cost than what you are paying right now. Option No. 2 is
do not offer any insurance and pay a fine to the IRS every year from
now on. Here is how much that is going to be. Option No. 3 is to let
some people go so you do not have to do any of this.
I am telling you, a lot of these people are going to say: You know
what. It breaks our heart; we do not want to do it; it is not good for
our business, but of the three options, the only one that is going to
allow us to survive is to let some people go. That is not good for us.
That is not good for us.
Mr. McCONNELL. Well, the Senator from Florida may have mentioned that
earlier in his remarks. But so far there are 20,000 new pages of
regulations--so far--a stack this high.
This is absolutely indecipherable by very intelligent people, and
they are just getting started.
I want to thank the Senator from Florida for his comments. I think
they are right on the mark. This is a huge mistake for our country.
Hopefully, someday, maybe even beginning with this amendment, we may
begin to undo this massive mistake we made a few years ago.
Madam President, we have been saying for 3 years this bill will be
too expensive; it won't do what it promised. Every day we are seeing
further proof of that.
The Federal Reserve said it will cost jobs--the Federal Reserve not
the RNC. We predicted that. Yesterday we had a glimpse of the
application process for ObamaCare. It turns out applying for it will be
as difficult as doing your taxes.
Today there is another AP story saying some folks will see their
insurance bill double next year as a result of this law. As I
indicated, so far there are 20,000 pages of regulations and many more
are expected. This bill is an unmitigated disaster for our country, an
absolute disaster.
I applaud Senator Cruz for offering this amendment. I strongly
support his efforts. Not a single Member of my party in the House and
the Senate voted for this bill in the first place. We need to get this
bill off the books and straighten out our country. This would be a big
step in the direction of achieving that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I assume a number of my colleagues have
seen the movie ``Lincoln.''
One particularly brief but poignant moment of that movie showed the
President's staff discouraging him from spending so much time talking
to regular people, leaving the White House and inviting normal people
who weren't involved in politics every day or didn't work in the White
House into the White House to talk.
They were saying: Mr. President, you need to run this war. You have
so much to do. You shouldn't be meeting with people as much.
President Lincoln said to his staff: I need my regular public opinion
baths.
Just listening to the last few speakers, particularly the Republican
leader, I think it is more important more people in this institution go
out and talk to real people who are affected by this health care law.
There is the 25-year-old who has already benefited from staying on her
mother's health care plan, the person in the high-risk pool who has
insurance now--such as a friend of mine in Port Clinton in Ottawa
County, Ohio, does--because of this law. People have seen the consumer
protections. They haven't lost their insurance because they were
expensive for an insurance company.
My colleagues need to get a public opinion bath, walk around their
States a little more and listen to people outside of the country clubs
and outside of the trade associations who are charged ideologically and
not really particularly open about these kinds of issues.
I rise to oppose the amendment offered by Senator Cruz, the badly
named ``Restore Growth First'' amendment, which would prohibit
resources included in the continuing resolution to implement the
Affordable Care Act.
[[Page S1736]]
Specious claims about how the health law will harm our economy have
already been debunked by the hundreds of Ohioans who are able to have
annual wellness visits, by the tens of thousands of young adults
staying on their parents' insurance plans, by the seniors who are
seeing the doughnut hole coverage gap closing with real savings on
prescription costs.
It has been debunked by Americans who are no longer denied coverage
because of a preexisting condition, by the Americans who are not forced
to pay more for insurance because of a preexisting condition, by women
who may now rely on affordable, accessible reproductive health
services; and starting in 2014, Americans who have not been able to
afford health insurance in the private market will be able to
comparison shop, if needed, to purchase insurance.
These much needed health care reforms which will benefit Americans
next year are already benefiting Americans and have been for a couple
of years. Continued implementation of these reforms is crucial for
improving the quality of care and bending the cost curve.
I agree with Senator Cruz on one thing: health spending is related to
the economy and to the deficit. Let's be clear. We know the health care
law will reduce the deficit by over $100 billion over the next decade.
These are Congressional Budget Office numbers, not Republican numbers
or Democratic numbers. On the Cruz amendment, repealing the health care
law would increase, not reduce, the deficit.
We know how it is helping people. There are 100,000 reasons in my own
State of Ohio to stand up for this health care law and reject this
amendment: Nearly 97,000 of Ohio's young adults are now able to stay on
their parents' plan until age 26.
Mr. INHOFE. Would the Senator yield for a unanimous consent request?
Mr. BROWN. I yield to the Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. I ask unanimous consent to be recognized at the end of
the Senator's remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BROWN. Almost 100,000 of Ohio's young adults are now able to stay
on their parents' health plan. Seniors have saved almost $300 million
in prescription drugs just since the passage of the health care law,
with an average per beneficiary savings of $774. And up to 147,000
small businesses in Ohio are eligible for tax credits.
Finally, thanks to the health law, more people in my home State and
across the Nation have access to free preventive services. As I said,
there are 100,000 reasons for Ohioans to like this law and oppose this
amendment.
There are 2 million Ohioans with private insurance who have gained
preventive health services with no cost sharing. This means major
illnesses may be detected earlier. It means decreasing treatment costs
and human suffering over the long term.
The Affordable Care Act was the most promising initiative to control
health care costs in decades. The health care law is about reducing
health costs for consumers and investing in more affordable preventive
care for Americans.
The health care law is about containing costs as we extend insurance.
It means people, rather than going to the emergency room with a sick
child, may go to the family doctor and receive preventive care prior to
the child's ear infection becoming serious. Under the new medical loss
ratio rules health insurance plans must spend at least 80 percent of
premium dollars on health care costs, not executive bonuses, not other
administrative expenses. In Ohio, 143,000 received over $11 million in
rebates.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund is the part of the health care
law which will give us test data about how to bend the cost curve
through preventive programs. Ohioans received more than $17 million
already to prevent chronic diseases and decrease smoking rates.
Mr. DURBIN. Would the Senator yield for a question?
Mr. BROWN. Certainly.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. I would ask of the Senator, pending before the Senate is
the Cruz amendment which would literally remove any funding to
implement the Affordable Care Act, as I understand; is that correct?
Mr. BROWN. That is correct.
Mr. DURBIN. We have heard from the Republicans on the other side of
the aisle that they oppose this intrusion of government into health
care and creating health insurance exchanges so Americans who currently
don't have a choice in health insurance and want to get a different
policy, if they care to get one, would have a choice through the
exchanges?
Mr. BROWN. This is what they have been saying, yes.
Mr. DURBIN. The premise behind this is the government shouldn't be
involved in this, as I understand the Republican argument; is that
correct?
Mr. BROWN. That is what they say.
Mr. DURBIN. Did I hear the Republican leader come to the floor and
speak about thousands of pages of regulations, government regulations,
which will now be part of health care?
Mr. BROWN. You did.
Mr. DURBIN. I would like to ask the Senator from Ohio, is he aware of
the fact every Member of the Senate has a government-administered
health insurance plan?
Mr. BROWN. I am aware of it. I assume my colleagues are too.
Mr. DURBIN. Is the Senator aware of any Senator on the Republican
side who has come forward--and there may be one, I don't know--who has
said: I am so opposed to government-administered health care, and as a
Senator I will not take advantage of the Federal Employees Health
Benefits Program?
Mr. BROWN. I have not heard any say that.
Mr. DURBIN. The same Senators who are critical of ObamaCare because
the government is involved in health care have themselves, their
families, and children protected by a government-administered health
insurance plan?
Mr. BROWN. It is my understanding this has been sort of the hypocrisy
we have woven through this debate over the last 3 years.
Mr. DURBIN. What is good enough for these Senators apparently is not
good enough for the rest of America?
Mr. BROWN. Apparently not good enough for a senior, not good enough
for somebody who is low income but working two $10-an-hour jobs, I
guess it is not good enough for them.
Mr. DURBIN. Is it not true the amendment by the Senator from Texas is
breathtaking because it says we eliminate all funding for the
Affordable Care Act in terms of, for example, the extension of the
availability of health insurance for children up to the age of 26?
As I understand the Cruz amendment, we couldn't fund that aspect of
the Affordable Care Act.
Mr. BROWN. The Cruz amendment doesn't just anticipate changes in the
future, it takes away all these services which have been out there that
I have been talking about: the thousands of people in Illinois, Ohio,
and Wisconsin who have benefited; 25-year-olds, 22-year-olds, such as
somebody who graduates from Champagne, Urbana, Madison, or Columbus and
don't have insurance but have a job, are 23 years old and may stay on
their parents' health plan. All of the preventive care literally
hundreds of thousands of seniors in Ohio now receive with no copay or
no deductible would all be wiped away. All the provisions people have
benefited from already would be taken away by this amendment.
Mr. DURBIN. This breath-taking Cruz amendment would actually say to
these families with children who are currently on the family policy up
to the age of 26: It is over. Those kids are now on their own.
Mr. BROWN. These kids would be on their own, but the Senators who are
pushing this amendment would still have their health insurance, just to
reiterate that.
Mr. DURBIN. The Cruz amendment does not eliminate the government----
Mr. BROWN. It doesn't take away the insurance for those people voting
on this amendment; that is correct.
Mr. DURBIN. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which
protects Senators and Congressmen, is not affected by the Cruz
amendment?
Mr. BROWN. My reading of it is it is not affected.
Mr. DURBIN. They don't hate that aspect of government-administered
health insurance?
[[Page S1737]]
Mr. BROWN. Apparently not.
Mr. DURBIN. Is it also true the seniors who would receive benefits
under the Affordable Care Act, for example, annual physicals which are
available, those would be eliminated as well?
Mr. BROWN. In my State and the Senator's State, since his State is
slightly larger than mine--over 1 million seniors in each State and
hundreds of thousands in the Presiding Officer's State of Wisconsin--
millions of seniors have received some kind of preventive care, such as
screenings for diabetes, screenings for osteoporosis, and not paid a
copay or deductible. They have received their physicals and not had
their deductibles, copayer deductibles, waived as a result of the
Affordable Care Act.
The Cruz amendment would, while still protecting health insurance for
Senator Cruz and others, wipe away those benefits for seniors.
Mr. DURBIN. Is it also not true in the U.S. Capitol we have an
Attending Physician's Office run by the U.S. Navy, a government entity,
which makes itself available to each Senator if they care to pay a
monthly fee for annual physicals--a government-administered annual
physical for Senators?
Mr. BROWN. It is true. That is true. This is open to people
regardless of how they vote on the Cruz amendment.
Mr. DURBIN. Does the Cruz amendment eliminate this government-
administered physical exam which is available for Members of the
Senate?
Mr. BROWN. It does not.
Mr. DURBIN. I am starting to note a pattern here. The Senators who
wish to do away with government-administered health care for everyone
else want to keep it for themselves. Does that pattern emerge from the
Senator's analysis?
Mr. BROWN. We had this discussion back in 2009 and 2010 when we
debated this health care law, that Members of the House and Senate
continue to receive health insurance.
I recall one House Member was unhappy during campaigning against the
Affordable Care Act, as he recently came to the House. He didn't get
his insurance for the first month paid for by the government, as he
tried to take away insurance for low-income, moderate-income people in
my State, my district and the Senator's State.
Mr. DURBIN. I would say Senator Cruz would certainly be able to offer
an amendment which eliminated all government-administered health
insurance as it applies to any person in the United States. If he did
that, he would be consistent. Instead, what he has done is go after
those today who are struggling to find their own health insurance,
cannot afford it, and are simply asking for the same option as Members
of Congress have today: to be able to go to an insurance exchange and
choose the insurance plan that is best for them and their families. I
think it would be more consistent.
I ask the Senator from Ohio if he thinks it would be more consistent?
Mr. BROWN. I would like to see Senator Cruz or one of the supporters
of the Cruz amendment offer an amendment.
Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. I appreciate the words of the Senator from Illinois.
To close, Senator Durbin's comments accurately explain that there is
a bias in this institution on tax policy and health policy for some
Senators to take care of themselves and people like them, a little more
than paying attention to the rest of the country. I think this
amendment shows this and is one more good reason to vote against the
Cruz amendment.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, we have been discussing and debating
ObamaCare for 3 years--several years anyway. I have not heard the
argument before where they say you have the same government-run plan.
That is not true. That is not true at all.
I have worked in the corporate world and been on the leadership part
where we were making decisions and offered our employees the benefits
of different companies. It could be Aetna, Blue Cross-Blue Shield or
anybody else. We could make that determination as to what we wanted and
then we paid for it.
I don't think that argument has ever been used, to my memory. I
wasn't coming down to talk about that, but I will, since I am a
cosponsor of the Cruz amendment. I think anything you are able to do to
get rid of ObamaCare is in our interests.
Right now, the attorney general in the State of Oklahoma is Scott
Pruitt. I spoke with him this morning. He has a lawsuit with an amended
complaint challenging the implementation of ObamaCare. Scott Pruitt is
arguing the IRS is attempting to redefine ObamaCare's mandate tax in
order to hike taxes on Oklahoma employees. That is what is happening
right now in my State of Oklahoma. I don't know how the polling goes. I
would only say this: I sense an air of anxiety with a lot of these
people trying to support ObamaCare right now, because people have
caught on. People in the State of Oklahoma have caught on. In Oklahoma,
we would have to spend an additional $400 million over the next 10
years on Medicaid in order to cover those who already qualify and will
be forced into the program--this government program we are talking
about--due to ObamaCare and the mandate. This money will be diverted
from schools and from roads and other needs, public safety, in the
State of Oklahoma. Our research shows that premiums in Oklahoma could
increase anywhere from 65 to 100 percent due to the coverage mandates
required by ObamaCare. It is as if we are having this debate all over
again, but they are bringing up things now I have never heard of.
I want to mention one thing, and that is there is a friend of mine in
Oklahoma whose name is David Green. David Green several years ago
started with one store, a thing called Hobby Lobby--1 store in the
State of Oklahoma--and now he has 500 stores in 41 States and he has, I
don't know, I think it is over 50,000 employees. He is now facing a new
type of intimidation he has never faced in his life, and it is the
intimidation of saying because of David Green's religious convictions
against providing his employees with abortion-inducing drugs his
company now faces fines amounting to $1.3 million a day.
All those pro-abortionists out there like this. This is wonderful.
But he is someone who has hired thousands of people in 41 States in
this country and is now providing all these benefits for Americans, and
all he is saying is his religious convictions don't allow him to
participate in abortion-inducing drugs. So he is under the threat right
now, if you do the math, of a $1.3-million-a-day fine. And I guess I am
more sensitive to this than I should be because I have known him from
the very beginning.
I want to speak briefly, because I know I have a couple of colleagues
who wish to speak. Does the Senator wish to make a UC to get in line?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Yes, I came to the floor today to support
the Cruz amendment. Does the Senator from Oklahoma still wish to speak?
Mr. INHOFE. Yes, I just wanted to ask whether the Senator wanted to
lock himself in with a unanimous consent request while I finish on
another subject.
Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Yes. Madam President, I ask unanimous
consent to speak for up to 5 to 7 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I do cosponsor this amendment, and I
will be voting for it at 2 p.m. today. But there is another one that
will come up, amendment No. 28, and it could be coming up in a very
short time this afternoon, and I was afraid I wouldn't have a chance to
make a couple of comments about it.
I am cosponsoring this amendment by Senator Paul, and it withholds
funding to go to Egypt until Egypt's President Morsi declares he
intends to abide by the Camp David peace accords, which have kept the
peace between Egypt and Israel for over 30 years.
If you talk to any of your Israeli friends, they will tell you this
is significant, and I appreciate the fact he recognizes that. In fact,
the bill I had
[[Page S1738]]
introduced back in--well, I actually introduced it earlier, but
reintroduced it on January 25 of this year--S. 207--calls for the
suspension of the shipment of F-16s and other military equipment and
services to Egypt until Morsi agrees to continue to uphold Egypt's
commitment under the 1979 Camp David peace accords.
A lot of people don't realize they have been our friend, and if you
ask any of your Israeli friends, they will tell you they are. It
happens that this President is a Muslim Brotherhood president. He is
not like the ones we have had in Egypt before. People who think of
other countries having the same kind of system we have, they do not.
Right now the military is a military we trained. There is a Major
General Elkeshky, who happens to be here now and who is a friend of
mine, and he was trained at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The majority of the
middle-grade officers in Egypt have been trained in the United States.
They are our friends. And that is what we are getting at here.
So I made that qualification when I said we want to reduce the things
we are doing, and I was talking about military equipment--the F-16s--
way back in January, until they make that commitment. I think that is a
very reasonable commitment.
The amendment that will be coming up, amendment No. 28, will be by
Senator Paul and myself and it will talk about support for Egypt and go
into other areas of support over and above military equipment, saying
that until such time as they agree with what they have agreed to over
the last 30 years or so--that they will continue to be our friends--
then we want to withhold this. It is the only leverage we have. I said
this back in January, that the only leverage we have, in order to
encourage them to come with us, is to say we are going to withhold some
things, and that is what we are doing.
So when that amendment comes up--of course, I still have my bill, S.
207, and it is essentially the same as the Paul-Inhofe amendment. It is
not necessary to have them both in terms of a vote, but I think on one
we will have to have a vote, but it should tie in to what their
behavior has been in the past, what it should be in the future, so that
we don't have a Muslim Brotherhood guy running a country and we don't
know how our equipment is going to be used.
Our F-16s and other equipment, our tanks, have been used to
participate in the defense of our friends in the Middle East, primarily
Israel and of ourselves. I am hoping we will get to that when we have a
chance to have a vote on it.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Madam President, I thank the Senator from
Oklahoma for his comments.
I came to the floor to voice my support for the Cruz amendment. I
want to concentrate on the cost of the health care law, which is why we
are asking in this amendment to defund that bill because we simply
can't afford it. So much of our budget already is not considered.
Frequently, during negotiations on how we stabilize our deficit and our
debt situation, there are many items off the table, things such as
Medicare and Social Security. As unsustainable as those programs are,
they are off the table in terms of negotiation. But if you want to take
a look at the problem with the health care law--ObamaCare--it is the
fact that it is simply not affordable. I know the name of the bill is
the Affordable Care Act, but we simply can't afford it. Basic economics
101 describes the problem, because ObamaCare will dramatically increase
the demand for health care. Thirty million more Americans--and let's
face it, we all want those Americans to have access to affordable
health care--will be accessing health care or trying to, demanding
health care through some kind of program, such as Medicaid, while at
the same time the supply will be dramatically reduced. That is going to
be an economic disaster.
What I wish to do is put up a couple of charts and graphs showing the
true cost. We don't talk about the true budget window when ObamaCare
fully kicks in in the year 2016. This is based on the CBO estimate, and
all we have had to do is extrapolate the final 3 years. Basically, it
shows that ObamaCare won't cost the $1 trillion it was originally
estimated to cost when it is fully implemented between 2016 and 2025.
It will actually cost $2.4 trillion, at a minimum. And, of course, it
will be paid for by these taxes, fees, and penalties, which I guess now
are taxes, equaling about $1.4 trillion.
So given the $2.4 trillion worth of cost, we have $1 trillion worth
of taxes--and, by the way, the majority of those or a great portion of
those taxes will be indirect on middle-income Americans--that leaves
about a $1 trillion hole in the current budget window. That is the $716
billion that will apparently be taken out of Medicare providers. We are
not sure what will be happening in the full budget window, but that is
a $1 trillion deficit risk.
Again, these are all estimates, and I would argue in general that the
Federal Government is not particularly good at estimating anything.
Back when they first passed Medicare in the mid 1960s, they projected
out 25 years and said Medicare would cost $12 trillion in 1990. In
fact, it cost $110 trillion--over nine times the original estimate. I
don't believe the Federal Government has gotten better at estimating in
that intervening time period.
As a matter of fact, President Obama famously repeatedly said that if
we passed a health care law, by the end of his first term the cost of a
family plan would actually decline by $2,500. Unfortunately, that
guarantee has not come true. When President Obama took office, the
average cost of a family plan was a little over $12,000. If his promise
had come true, we would be looking at a family cost of $10,000. In
fact, the cost of a family plan today is now $15,000. Again, that is
somewhat of a broken promise.
But let's take a look at what I think is the greatest risk in terms
of cost projections by the CBO in that estimate of the total cost of
ObamaCare--the $2.4 trillion we are talking about in the true budget
window. The CBO estimated only 1 million people net would lose their
employer-sponsored care and get dumped in the exchanges with the
subsidies. But it is going to be far worse than that, because 160 to
180 million Americans access their health care through their employers.
I was one of those employers. I purchased health care for more than 31
years. The decision employers are going to be making in terms of
whether to carry health care has dramatically changed under the health
care law. Now the decision is going to be: Do I pay $15,000 for a
family plan and then try to comply with the now 20,000 pages of law--
rules and regulations?
Leader McConnell printed out those 20,000 pages. You can see it in
the hallway. It is an enormous burden for anybody trying to comply with
that.
Anyway, the decision is: Do I pay $15,000 trying to comply with
20,000 pages of rules and regulations or do I pay the $2,000 to $3,000
fine--the penalty--and in so doing I am not exposing my employees to
financial ruin, I am making them eligible for huge subsidies in the
exchange? If an individual has a median household income of $64,000,
they will be eligible for $10,000 in those exchanges--$10,000 worth of
subsidies. Who isn't going to take that deal?
And that is my point. As employers, we will drop coverage. Employers
are incentivized to do so. So rather than 1 million Americans losing
their employer-sponsored health care and enjoying those subsidies,
there will be tens of millions.
One of the amendments I will be offering in this budget process will
be asking the CBO to provide the worst-case scenario: What happens if
the McKinsey study is true, 30 percent of employers will drop coverage
or 50 or 100 percent? It will be a simple amendment to get the worst-
case scenario.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak in
support of the Cruz amendment and I do that as a doctor, as someone who
has practiced medicine for 25 years taking care of families all around
the State of Wyoming.
When we entered into the discussion about health care, and then
ultimately the discussion of what became the Obama health care law, I
would come to the floor and say, yes, we need to do
[[Page S1739]]
health care reform. Patients know what they want. They want the care
they need, from a doctor they choose, at lower cost. Because cost was
the driver of all of this.
Then we got into the debate and into the discussions and what we
ended up with was a health care law over 2,000 pages long. I said then:
Does that make a lot of sense? Let's go back to what one of our
Founding Fathers said. James Madison, the father of the Constitution,
said: Congress shall pass no laws so voluminous they cannot be read nor
so incoherent they cannot be understood. Regrettably, that is exactly
what we got with this health care law--a law so voluminous it cannot be
read and so incoherent it cannot be understood.
And when you say: Well, how do we know it is so long that it could
not be read, how voluminous, well, Nancy Pelosi said it herself. She
said: First you have to pass it before you get to find out what is in
it. Well, the American people now know what is in the health care law.
They know it, and they don't like it.
I have had townhall meetings all around the State of Wyoming. When
you go to a community and talk about the health care law and ask the
simple question, Do you believe that under the President's health care
law you will be paying more for your health care, all the hands go up.
And then you ask the question, Do you believe that under the
President's health care law the quality of your care and the
availability of your care will actually go down, and again all the
hands go up. That is why as of today this health care law continues to
be very unpopular. Nationwide, more people think the health care law is
doing harm than believe it is doing well.
Let's take a look at what the President promised during the
discussion and why some people supported it.
First of all, the President said that under the health care law, if
you like the plan you have, if you like the care you have, you can keep
it.
We now know from many studies and reports that is not the case. It
seemed in having just read the law as it was being discussed that you
weren't going to be able to keep it, but it wasn't until now that
people realize more and more that they are not able to keep what they
had if they liked it.
The other thing the President promised is that under his health care
law, insurance premiums for a family would drop by $2,500, he said, by
the end of his first term in office. The first term has come and gone,
and what families around the country are seeing is that health care
premiums didn't go down, they actually went up--up quite a bit, up by
over $3,000 per family.
Why is it that the law is so unpopular? There are many reasons, but
part of it is this so-called individual mandate--the mandate that the
government can come into your home and tell you that you have to buy a
government-approved product. Many people around the country believe it
is unconstitutional. It actually went to the Supreme Court, and the
Court ruled. The Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional. But it
is still unworkable, it is still very unpopular, and it is absolutely
unaffordable for us as a nation.
I talk to physicians and I talk to the nurses who take care of
patients. This health care law is bad for patients, it is bad for
providers--the nurses and doctors who take care of those patients--and
it is terrible for the American taxpayers.
The most interesting thing to me in the last week has been the report
called the ``Beige Book,'' which the Federal Reserve comes out with
every month. They travel around the country and ask their Federal
Reserve people what is happening in this community, that community, in
this part of the country, in that region of the country. And what is
happening to the economy? In this past month's report, it said that
specifically as a result of the health care law, businesses aren't
hiring. The Federal Reserve has called this a drag on the economy--the
health care law.
How can that be? Well, there are a couple of things. One is the huge
uncertainty--businesses not knowing what the impacts of the health care
law specifically in terms of dollars and cents are going to be. But
there are a couple of components of the health care law that are really
hurting in terms of businesses hiring people. One is that things kick
in for businesses once a business has 50 employees. So if a business
has 49 full-time employees and they are trying to expand and they have
more business and they want to hire more people, they have to decide,
what is the cost of that additional 50th employee?
Well, the costs are dramatic because it then kicks that business into
the huge expenses of supplying government-approved health care--not
necessarily health care or insurance at a level that those employees
might need or want or that business can afford, no; a government level
of approved health care that may be much more than that individual
needs or wants or can afford because the government is saying: We know
what is best, the government knows what is best for you, the family in
this community or that community and people working for that business.
So that is part of it. So those folks aren't hiring.
Remember, I said full-time employees. They define full time as 30
hours or more a week. So we have the businesses known as the 29ers,
where they are, for purposes of not having additional full-time
employees, hiring people for 29 hours a week. There have been reports
in the press of different businesses where people are working two
different jobs at two different businesses because they can only get
part-time work, and the reason they can only get part-time work is
because when they are part-time workers, the businesses aren't mandated
to pay for very expensive health care which makes it much more
difficult to be successful as a business and to keep hiring more
people.
There was a report of a Five Guys hamburger chain in one community.
They said: We are not going to expand, we are not going to build
another, we are not hiring any more full-time people, and we are going
to cut the hours of the people we have. We are putting in more part-
time people.
This is one of the unintended consequences of the health care law--
hurting the economy directly through impacting jobs.
The President says he wants to improve the economy, get people back
to work, get America on the road to recovery. Yet the health care law
is--according to the Federal Reserve in this month's ``Beige Book''--
hurting the economy, dragging down the economy.
So I come to the floor today to support the amendment by Senator Cruz
because the American people know what they were looking for in health
care reform, which was, of course, the care they need from a doctor
they choose at lower cost, and that was not at all provided under the
President's health care law.
Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REED. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise to speak today in opposition to the
Cruz amendment, which would prohibit any funding in the continuing
resolution from being used to carry out the goals of the Affordable
Care Act.
The broad scope of this amendment clearly indicates that anything
anticipated under the Affordable Care Act would be subject to
defunding, and that is a broad category of activities. In fact, we
already have seen the Affordable Care Act produce demonstrable positive
results in my State of Rhode Island, and those results could be
eliminated or reversed.
For example, because of the Affordable Care Act, there are
protections in place today for children with preexisting conditions to
ensure they are no longer denied coverage. There are over 15,000
children who have a preexisting condition who could have been dropped
from insurance coverage prior to the enactment of the Affordable Care
Act. Their parents and other adults--approximately 200,000 Rhode Island
adults also living with preexisting conditions--will gain protection
from being dropped from coverage beginning in January. We began with
children, and now we are expanding it to adults. If we don't do that,
then we are going
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to have a whole category, a huge segment of my population who may lose
access to insurance, and the inevitable result will be that they will
go to expensive emergency rooms, and they will cost all of us more
money. Rather than saving money and dealing with the deficit in a
responsible way, this will just add to our deficit problems and deny
people health care.
The law, the Affordable Care Act, included new tax breaks for small
businesses to make health insurance more affordable. Small businesses
have been able to access a tax credit of up to 35 percent of their
health care costs every year since 2010. Beginning in 2014, these
businesses may receive a tax credit of up to 50 percent of their health
care costs for any 2-year period. Again this support under the
Affordable Care Act could be jeopardized or eliminated under the
proposed amendment.
Also in jeopardy are discounts on covered brandname and generic
prescription drugs for seniors who have reached the prescription drug
coverage gap known as the famous or infamous doughnut hole. Already in
Rhode Island, seniors have saved--individual senior citizens of Rhode
Island have saved $20.5 million as a result of these discounts since
the law was enacted. These discounts will continue until the coverage
gap--the doughnut hole--is eliminated in 2020. The Cruz amendment will
stop that. Essentially we are telling seniors go back to the time of
the doughnut hole, more money out of your pocket at a time when you can
afford less and less for prescription drugs.
Many of my colleagues on the Republican side say they support these
aspects of the Affordable Care Act, yet this amendment would
effectively do away with them or cast so much doubt or confusion that
they would not be effectively implemented. We have to, I think,
continue to effectively implement the Affordable Care Act, not only in
terms of providing access to quality care for all of our citizens but
because within the Affordable Care Act were significant efforts to
improve health care efficiencies. Indeed, through these reforms, we
were able to extend the Medicare Program by, I believe, 8 years, to
2024, in terms of our funding models. All of that would be jeopardized
by this amendment.
There are some other examples, too. For example, the Affordable Care
Act would reauthorize funding to help immunize uninsured and
underinsured children and adults. Every year my State of Rhode Island
receives $3 million to immunize this population. Funding for
immunizations is critical for the child and the family, but it also
benefits all of us, because if you can immunize 75 to 95 percent of the
population, immunologists and health specialists will tell us we are
all protected through something that is technically known as herd
immunity. It makes sense, if you have a sufficient number of people who
are vaccinated against the disease, when an outbreak occurs the
likelihood of it spreading is diminished dramatically. This is another
example of a public health initiative under the Affordable Care Act,
which, if it is repealed or defunded, will leave us all vulnerable to
diseases. That is not a benefit, that is a detriment to all of us.
We have to, again, I think, consider other aspects of the Affordable
Care Act. One other aspect I wish to mention is the critical area of
health care workforce programs, programs that help train doctors and
nurses. Many of these programs are funded in the continuing resolution
and they, too, would be either eliminated or so uncertain as to be
unreliable for the institutions. In my home State, colleges and
universities, such as at the University of Rhode Island, are using
these programs to help train a new generation of health care
professionals, not just physicians but physician's assistants and
nurse-practitioners. Indeed, what we are seeing, because of the
Affordable Care Act, is a refocus to more emphasis on family
practitioners, primary care that is less expensive and more effective
over the long term in terms of prevention--all that would be
jeopardized under this proposed amendment.
There are countless other examples of not only interfering with
health care access for a vast number of Americans, but actually setting
back our efforts to reduce the deficit and to sustain programs such as
Medicare. The burden might be particularly felt by seniors because one
of the things that was most compelling in the debate about the
Affordable Care Act was closing this doughnut hole. Seniors believe we
have taken a positive step to do that. This would be an about-face for
the seniors of America, causing them to see more and more costs in
their limited budgets.
These are not the messages we want to give to seniors or families. I
urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for
the quorum be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. JOHANNS. I ask for 3 minutes to speak on the Cruz amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, today I rise to speak on behalf of the
Cruz amendment. I want to spend a couple of minutes explaining my
thoughts behind the amendment and why I am proud to be a cosponsor of
this amendment.
All across Nebraska I do roundtable meetings, where I sit down with
hospital communities, I sit down with medical professionals, I sit down
with small businesses. I have done this for years and years.
Over the last couple of years since the Affordable Care Act was
passed, I have had a number of opportunities to sit down with small
businesses. Invariably the first issue that comes up is the crushing
effect of the regulatory environment. Businesses will tell me they
simply are afraid to grow or cannot grow because of what Washington is
burdening them with. More specifically, they talk to me about the
Affordable Care Act and the toll it is taking on their businesses.
I will give you a perfect example: a small business, a franchise
business. They have a franchise in Lincoln, they have a franchise in
Omaha. The owner of that business said to me: You know, my business is
not too bad. We could actually grow this business. We look out there in
the future and see some opportunities to grow this business.
They went on to say: We have about 48 employees now, and we are not
going to grow. I said: Why would that be? Why have you decided you are
not going to grow this business? Their answer was straightforward. They
said: When we grow to over 50 employees, we become subject to the
requirements that are impossible for a business our size to meet under
the Affordable Care Act. The owner said to me: Mike, I met with the
accountants and the lawyers. We have looked at this in every possible
way we can, and we decided we are going to stay a business of this
size.
It was not isolated to that business. I went down the interstate and
sat down with another business in a different community and the story
was the same. I was told business was pretty good and that business was
there for them to grow. They had about 47 or 48 employees, and they
made the decision they will not grow. This is at a time in our Nation's
history where we are desperate for employment in the United States.
In Nebraska, we have been fortunate. We pay our bills. Our
unemployment never got over 5 percent because we are a conservative
State. Having said that, when we hear businesses say the greatest
impediment to their growth is not the competition down the street or
across the street, the greatest impediment to their growth is the
Federal Government, when we hear that, we have to realize we have done
something very seriously wrong.
I want to wrap up with another thought, and it is on a different area
of the Affordable Care Act.
Madam President, I ask for an additional minute to finish this
thought.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I met with a group of young people
today. They have their whole lives in front of them. They are talking
and thinking about what they are going to do in terms of going to
college and what their careers might be. They
[[Page S1741]]
asked me about the Affordable Care Act. I said: One of the things that
is important to point out is that my generation is going to do very
well under this act. We have caps on how much our premiums can go up,
and we have Medicare out there. Then I said: Your generation is not
going to do well. Why? Because your premiums are going to go straight
up and you are at a point in your lives where you are not going to use
a lot of health care. I am at a point in my life where I will use a lot
of health care.
This imbalance is going to be devastating to the younger generation.
When they start thinking about starting their families, buying their
first home and making an investment, what is the Federal Government
going to do? It is going to place a crushing blow upon them in terms of
higher premiums, and that is the reality of the situation.
I will wrap up with this thought; I could go on and on. As a former
Governor, I can tell everyone that adding 24 million people to Medicaid
is such a flawed policy approach. I could talk about the impact this is
going to have on accessibility for care by people who desperately need
that care, but the bottom line is this: This was a flawed policy. I was
here when it was passed. It is a policy that needs to be defunded. We
need to do the right thing with health care, and this is not it.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, could we just have quiet. We are going
to have our first vote on this bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Cruz
amendment.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg),
the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), and the Senator from
Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 45, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 34 Leg.]
YEAS--45
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Cruz
Enzi
Fischer
Flake
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kirk
Lee
McCain
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Scott
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker
NAYS--52
Baldwin
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Blumenthal
Boxer
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cowan
Donnelly
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Hirono
Johnson (SD)
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Warren
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Lautenberg
Manchin
Whitehouse
The amendment (No. 30) was rejected.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Amendment No. 53 To Amendment No. 26
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask
for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Iowa [Mr. Harkin], for himself, and Mr.
Cardin, proposes an amendment numbered 53 to amendment No.
26.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the spending package we are considering
this week I think is a little bit unusual, to say the least. Five of
the twelve Appropriations subcommittees get detailed, full-length
spending bills: Defense, Military Construction, Agriculture, Homeland
Security, and Commerce and Justice. The other seven appropriations
bills are basically on autopilot, continuing resolutions. So with a few
exceptions, whatever the government spent last year on programs in
these seven subcommittees the government will spend this year.
I know for a fact this is not what the chairwoman of the
Appropriations Committee wanted. She fought hard for an omnibus that
would have included all 12 spending bills. I am very respectful of
that. She fought hard for it, but this is where we stand right now.
I am speaking today because the programs under the jurisdiction of
the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations Subcommittee, of which I am privileged to chair, would
be put on autopilot. I suppose it comes as no surprise I think that is
a terrible mistake.
The Labor-HHS bill--or Labor-H, as it is known in the terminology
around here--is how we fund the National Institutes of Health, the
preeminent biomedical research entity in the world. This bill is how we
fund the child care and development block grant, which gives working
families access to high-quality childcare. It is how we provide Federal
funding to teach students with disabilities--the Individuals With
Disabilities Education Act--it is how we help local school
jurisdictions meet their constitutional obligation to provide a free
and appropriate education to all kids, even kids with disabilities.
These services are critical to this Nation. It has been said before--
actually, the first person I ever heard say it was a recently departed
and beloved chairman, Senator Dan Inouye, who once said: The Defense
Appropriations Committee is the committee that defends America. The
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Committee is the
committee that defines America--who we are as a country, what we are
about as a people, what we are going to do for the future of our
children in America.
So we need to examine every year whether we are spending the right
amounts of taxpayer money for these services. If that makes sense for
the Defense appropriations bill, to take a look at it yearly, to see if
we are spending the right amounts, if it is right for Homeland Security
and Agriculture, why shouldn't the same level of oversight be applied
to the Labor, Health and Human Services bill?
As a way of sort of describing where we are, this past December, we
negotiated a fiscal 2013 spending bill with Republican and Democratic
counterparts, House and Senate. So I, Senator Shelby, Congressman
Rehberg, and Congresswoman DeLauro on the House side all read this bill
through in December and signed off on it.
That was going to be in the omnibus bill. Well, as we know, we did
not have an omnibus spending bill. So the talks were bicameral and
bipartisan. They were difficult talks and we hammered out an agreement
and we had a compromise. I got some of what I wanted and I lost some of
what I wanted. But that is the nature of compromise. So with an
exception, which I will explain shortly, the amendment I have just
offered is what was agreed upon in December. No more money, not adding
any money. But we are changing some of the accounts to better represent
what we decided, both bicameral and bipartisan, should be priorities.
That is the amendment I am offering. Again, I repeat, it is what we
decided upon in December in terms of what our priorities ought to be.
If we just go with Labor-H in a CR, all of that is wiped
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out. So what I am proposing to replace that is the autopilot version
with a detailed bipartisan compromise.
I want to emphasize this point. This amendment is not my Labor-HHS
bill. Now, obviously if I had my druthers, I would have spent dollars
as I wanted them to be spent. But compromise does not work that way.
This amendment includes the priorities from the other side of the aisle
and from the other side of the Capitol. It was a give and take. Even
though there are things in the amendment I would like to change, it is
vastly superior--vastly superior--to putting all of these programs on
autopilot and doing this year exactly what we did last year and the
year before, because we were on autopilot last year too.
Let me point out two things that are different in this amendment than
what was in December. I said it was the same but there are two things
different. The agreement we hammered out in December, with Republicans
and Democrats in the Senate, Republicans and Democrats in the House
Appropriations Committee, included money for the Affordable Care Act,
for ObamaCare. This amendment I am offering today took that out, just
took it out. Even though we had agreed upon $513 million for that in
December, this is not in my amendment. I want to make that clear.
The second major difference between the December bill and this
amendment is the total cost. As I said, the December bill would not fit
within our new budget cap. We have a new budget cap since December. So
this amendment fits within that budget cap by a very small, across-the-
board cut of 0.127 percent. That is one-eighth of 1 percent to every
program in the bill. I did not do an across-the-board cut on some at
the expense of others. No. We just did it on everything, .127 percent.
So the programs that would have received increases in the December bill
still get the increases, just minus .127 percent. The programs that
were cut in the December cut will still get cut, they will just be cut
by .127 percent more. But other than those two changes, no additional
health reform money, no other kinds of cuts. The amendment is basically
identical to what we agreed upon in December. So I want to take a look
at it and see why it is better than what I call the autopilot version
or the continuing resolution.
Let's start first with education. Title I is the cornerstone Federal
program for helping all students, especially those from disadvantaged
backgrounds, helping them meet high academic standards. More than 90
percent of the school districts across America receive title I funds.
My amendment, the one that is before us, has $107 million more for
title I. What is in the bill before us has absolutely no increase,
zero.
We were able to bump that up again by an amount equal to .127
percent, as I said. It is basically the same. That is title I. Special
education, I mentioned IDEA, we have a $125 million increase in the
amendment I am offering; in the CR, no increase whatsoever.
National Institutes of Health, we are especially proud of this. The
omnibus, the Senate CR that is before us, has $71 million more than
last year. This amendment bumps it up to $211 million. So the CR has
$71 million, we have $211 million for an NIH increase.
Childcare. The underlying CR includes $50 million more than last
year. My amendment would increase that to $107 million. That means the
childcare subsidy for working families of 10,000 additional children,
families who basically depend upon this so they are able to go to work.
AIDS drugs. The Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program provides
lifesaving drugs to people living with HIV. My amendment includes $29
million more for this program. The CR has no increase whatsoever.
So far I mentioned only some of the larger programs in the bill. My
amendment addresses dozens of smaller priorities as well. At the full
committee markup of the Labor-H bill back in July of last year, Senator
Inouye, who was chairman at that time, promised Senator Murkowski that
the final fiscal year 2013 spending bill would include $10 million for
suicide prevention among Alaska Natives and Native Americans. I did not
make that promise, but it was made by the chairman of the committee. I
am honoring that promise. I honored it when we negotiated this in
December. We included that $10 million. That is in my amendment also.
Again, a small increase for suicide prevention is not possible in a
CR. But it is in my amendment. If we approve it, that funding will
become law.
TRIO Program. It is an important program to many Members on both
sides of the aisle. It has had broad support. The TRIO Program makes
the dream of a college education possible for low-income students. As
we know, this goes basically to students who are the first in their
family to go to college. So if your parents had not gone to college,
they would be eligible for TRIO, based upon income levels.
The bill we negotiated in December included an increase for the TRIO
Program. Again, that is not possible in a CR, the bill that is before
us. But it is in my amendment. If Congress approves it, TRIO will get a
$14 million increase this year. I just did not have it on my chart.
I could go on and on. There are a lot of things. Food safety, lead
poisoning screening for kids in this country, lead poisoning screening,
diabetes prevention, worker safety. These are important priorities.
They are all addressed in my amendment, because we addressed those in
December. But they are not in the bill before us.
Again, let me sort of sum up what we have here in this amendment. It
is the same total cost as what is in the bill before us, no additional
money. It was a bicameral, bipartisan compromise that we hammered out
in December. There is more money for NIH, childcare, education, I
mentioned things such as TRIO, I mentioned things such as IDEA and
others. I think it fulfills our constitutional duty to be good stewards
of the public's money, to do adequate oversight on appropriations, and
to mold and shape, again in a bipartisan, bicameral method, to work it
out.
There are some who say, gee, if we pass this, the House will not take
it. I do not know why not. They agreed upon it in December. I do not
mean the whole House, but the House Appropriations Committee, under the
chairmanship of Chairman Rogers, agreed on this in December. It was all
signed off on. So I do not know why they would not accept it. They did
not put it in their bill when they sent it over here. Okay. They did
not. Well, there are some other things they did not put in the bill
when they sent it over here too. So I think it is incumbent upon us to
do our duty, to make sure we look at these programs and decide where we
want to bump some up, maybe some we want to cut down, some we want to
modify. That is what we did in December. Well, we finished in December.
I think we started working on it back around July, if I am not
mistaken. We finally got it worked out in December.
If we had had an omnibus, we would have had this. I would not be here
today offering this amendment. Again, to those who say: Well, if we had
this, the House would not accept it, is that a reason for us not to do
our duty? Is that a reason for us not to do what is right and just and
fair, because someone says maybe the House will not take it? I mean,
the House would have some serious explaining to do on why they would
not take it since it was already in the December compromise that was
reached.
I would point out again that the defense bill, the Defense
appropriations bill that is here is what they agreed upon in December.
If that is the case, then why cannot we do Labor-H and all of the
things that we fund the same as what we had in December also? That is
my basic point here.
As I say, we did make a couple of changes. One change we did is we
took out the funding for ObamaCare, which I think is a good deal. I
mean, ObamaCare is something we have to continue to implement. It is
going to save us a lot of money. It is going to make lives better for
people all over America, already is making lives better for people with
preexisting conditions, people with very intricate diseases and
conditions that need to be managed, young people who are staying on
their parents' policies until they are age 26, the elderly who get
their free health screenings every year under Medicare. So it is
already making a big impact. I am a big supporter of ObamaCare. I want
to make sure it gets funded and implemented. But the
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fact is that we could not do that. Well, that is no reason then not to
increase NIH and childcare development block grants, IDEA, TRIO
Programs, a host of other things. If the will of the body was that we
could not do anything to implement ObamaCare, then at least let's do
our duty and agree to meet the goals and meet the targets we set in
December in our negotiations.
We laid the bill down earlier. As I said, it is basically what we had
in December. I am hopeful that Senators and their staffs will take the
time to look through it and see what is in there, because I think they
will come to the same conclusion. No more money than what we have in
the CR. It is basically the same with the exceptions I mentioned of
what we did in December. We will have a better result, a better
platform going forward the rest of this year and next year by not doing
a CR but by doing this bill in a bill form, just as we have done for
other bills in this appropriations measure.
Again, I want to thank Chairman Mikulski for fighting so hard for
this. I know she has done everything possible. But, again, sometimes it
falls to an amendment that we have to do to get things done. I am
hopeful my friends on the other side of the aisle again will take a
serious look at this and support this amendment. As I said, I see no
real reason not to support it.
I mean, I am anxious to see if someone has some arguments as to why
we shouldn't support this since, as I said, we had hammered out this
agreement over a long period of time last fall. We always spoke about
how we want to work in a bipartisan fashion, we want to accept the
results of bipartisan negotiation.
That is what we did last year. I think we started probably around
July, had an August break, at least by September--probably started in
July, then September, October, November, December we worked it out in a
very bipartisan fashion, although I didn't get everything I wanted in
the bill.
If my friends on the other side of the aisle now want to say: No, we
are not going to accept this, what is the use of engaging in long,
hard, difficult, strenuous bipartisan negotiations where we reach an
agreement and they respond: Well, we don't care. We are not going to
support it anyway.
I have taken great pride in working with my colleagues in a
bipartisan fashion last year on the reauthorization of the Food and
Drug Administration bill, the drug user bill, the drug safety bill. We
worked long and hard on these for probably almost 2 years and were able
to get them through. There were other bills I have been involved in
where we did good bipartisan negotiating, and that was the same as
this.
This is not something I rammed through and said: This is my bill;
take it or leave it. That is not the way I work. I have been the chair
or ranking member of this subcommittee since 1989. It is a great
subcommittee because it meets the human needs, social needs,
educational needs, and, yes, biomedical research needs and disease
control needs, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is
also funded under our subcommittee.
It keeps Americans safe. The Defense Committee keeps us safe from
foreign entities, other entities that would want to do us harm
militarily. Homeland Security does the same.
This committee keeps us safe from diseases. It keeps us safe from
illnesses. It provides for the kind of research which has overcome so
much in the last 20 to 30 years and the great strides we have made in
cancer and other chronic diseases. We have made great strides because
we have invested in them. This is what the subcommittee does.
It also provides for education, making sure kids who come from the
poorest families and poor areas also receive a fair shake in education
funds, programs for students who go to college, Pell grants and student
loans. It is incumbent upon us, as we can't continue to have continuing
resolutions on this type of bill. Times change, circumstances change,
and we need to modify the bill and do things which recognize some of
the new realities. This is what we have done. I am hopeful we can get
support for this amendment. I don't think it is a heavy lift at all for
anyone to support this.
I said, and I will repeat, repeat, repeat and keep repeating: There
is no new money, no more than what is in the underlying bill. It is
basically the same as we hammered out in December through long
negotiations.
Hopefully, it may be a little easier for my Republican colleagues, as
there is not any money in there for the implementation of ObamaCare.
This is something I didn't agree with, but that is life and one of the
compromises one has to make. The other items in this bill are vitally
important to the health, the welfare, the education, and safety of the
American people.
I hope the amendment will pass, and I ask my colleagues for their
support.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an explanatory statement
and a detailed funding table accompanying the amendment be printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
DIVISION__--LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES
Following is an explanation of the effects of this division
(hereafter referred to as the ``bill''). Funds for the
individual programs and activities within the accounts in
this act are displayed in the detailed table at the end of
the explanatory statement for this act. Funding levels that
are not displayed in the detailed table are identified in
this explanatory statement.
In implementing this bill, the Departments and agencies
should be guided by the language and instructions set forth
in Senate Report 112-176 accompanying S. 3295 unless
specifically addressed in this statement. In cases where the
language and instructions in the Senate report specifically
address the allocation of funds, those that should be
implemented have been restated in this explanatory statement.
TITLE I
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The bill provides $84,291,000 for migrant and seasonal
farmworker formula grants, including $5,678,222 for migrant
and seasonal farmworker housing grants, of which not less
than 70 percent of this amount shall be used for permanent
housing grants. The Secretary of Labor shall submit annual
reports documenting the use of farmworker housing funds. The
reports should include information on the amount of funds
used for permanent and temporary housing activities,
respectively; a list of the communities served; a list of the
grantees and the States in which they are located; the number
of individuals or families served listed by State; and a list
of allowable temporary housing activities.
OFFICE OF JOB CORPS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The Department of Labor's mismanagement of Job Corps
appropriations led to considerable disruptions for current
and new students at the end of program year 2011. The
Department delayed notification to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
regarding the shortfall once discovered.
In October 2012 the Department began implementing several
cost-cutting measures and shall provide quarterly reports
detailing its cost-cutting measures and their impact on both
centers and students.
The bill includes language allowing the Secretary to
transfer up to $30,000,000 for Job Corps operations from
unobligated balances. The bill requires the Secretary to
transfer not less than $10,000,000 within 30 days of
enactment of this act.
Contracts provided for the operation and maintenance of Job
Corps facilities are generally let on a 2-year basis, with as
many as 3 option years depending on the quality of
performance. When evaluating contract renewals or re-bids,
the Secretary shall provide due consideration to the Federal
investment already made in high-performing incumbent
contractors as a part of a full, fair, and open competitive
process. As part of this process, the Department shall
consider documented past performance of student outcomes and
cost-effective administration as key factors in determining
fair market value in Job Corps procurements.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
The language in Senate Report 112-176 directing the
Department to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on silica
stands as a recommendation of the Senate Committee on
Appropriations. There is a need to protect workers from
developing silicosis. Therefore, not later than 30 days after
enactment of this bill, OSHA shall provide the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
a report describing its efforts in this area, including a
chronology related to its silica standard-setting effort
initiated in 1997 and the number of silica enforcement
activities the agency has undertaken since that time.
[[Page S1744]]
Mine Safety and Health Administration
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
In order to prepare properly for emergencies, the Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) should continue to
devote resources toward a competitive grant activity for
effective emergency response and recovery training in various
types of mine conditions. The Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and Senate also expect to be
notified in advance of any reallocation of funds pursuant to
new bill language included in the bill.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is directed to
provide an additional analysis as a follow-up to its report
(prepared in response to a request in last year's conference
agreement) concerning MSHA's proposal to lower the
permissible exposure limit for coal dust. The follow-up study
should discuss the available data and estimates to date
regarding trends in the prevalence of coal workers
pneumoconiosis and other occupational respiratory diseases
among coal miners over the past two decades. The study shall
include including the adequacy of the data, methodologies,
and conclusions that can be drawn regarding trends in
prevalence both nationally and to particular regions or
categories of mining. The GAO shall provide to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate
an interim report not later than 90 days after enactment of
this bill.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall follow the language
under the Bureau of Labor Statistics heading in Senate Report
112-176.
General Provisions
General Transfer Authority
The bill includes a provision modified from last year's
bill that provides transfer authority of not to exceed 1
percent of the funds appropriated for fiscal year 2013 in
this Act for the Department of Labor.
TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES
The bill modifies a provision that allows up to 0.5 percent
of discretionary appropriations provided in this act for all
Department of Labor agencies to be used by the Chief
Evaluation Office for evaluation purposes consistent with the
terms and conditions in this bill applicable to such office.
TEMPORARY NON-AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT H-2B PROGRAM
The bill continues a provision relating to the ``Wage
Methodology for the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment H-
2B Program'' regulation published by the Employment and
Training Administration and includes a new provision relating
to the ``Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens
in the United States'' regulation published by the Employment
and Training Administration and the Wage and Hour Division.
WORKING CAPITAL FUND RESCISSION
The bill includes a new provision that rescinds $10,337,000
from ``Departmental Management, Working Capital Fund''.
EVALUATION FUNDING FOR THE TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE AND CAREER TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM
The bill includes a new provision that allows up to 3
percent of funds provided for the Trade Adjustment Assistance
Community College and Career Training grant program to be
used for evaluation and technical assistance purposes.
TRANSFER OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The bill includes a new provision that transfers Davis-
Bacon Act claims responsibilities from the Comptroller
General to the Secretary of Labor.
TITLE II
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
This explanatory statement includes tables allocating
funding for the programs, projects and activities in this
Act. The agencies funded in this act are expected to fully
implement these allocations in accordance with this
statement, except as permitted by the reprogramming and
transfer authorities provided in this act. Any action to
eliminate or consolidate programs, projects and activities
should be pursued through a proposal in the President's
budget so it can be considered by the Committees on
Appropriations.
HHS is directed to include in its fiscal year 2014
congressional budget justification the amount of expired
unobligated balances available for transfer to the
nonrecurring expenses fund (NEF), and the amount of any such
balances transferred to the NEF. This should include actual
or estimated amounts for the prior, current, and budget
years.
Health Resources and Services Administration
PRIMARY HEALTHCARE
Community Health Centers.--The bill includes statutory
language to require all funds provided for the Community
Health Centers program to be obligated prior to October 1,
2013. Bill language also provides $48,000,000 for base grant
adjustments to existing health centers.
HEALTH WORKFORCE
Within the funds provided for Primary Health Care, HRSA is
expected to provide not less than the fiscal year 2012 level
of funding for the Native Hawaiian Health Care Program.
Within the funds provided for Training in Oral Health Care,
the bill includes not less than $8,000,000 for General
Dentistry programs and not less than $8,000,000 for Pediatric
Dentistry programs, $12,344,000 for State Health Workforce
grants, and $4,048,000 for other programs authorized under
section 748 of the Public Health Services (PHS) Act, to
include public health dental residencies, dental faculty loan
repayment, and geriatric dental training programs.
The bill includes language prohibiting health workforce
funds to be used for section 340G-1, the Alternative Dental
Health Care Providers Demonstration program.
The bill moves a long-standing general provision regarding
the continuation of the Council on Graduate Medical Education
to this heading.
Public Health Workforce Development (formerly Public Health
and Preventive Medicine).--The program line has been changed
to Public Health Workforce Development to better align with
the congressional budget justification, which uses this title
to encompass a wide variety of training activities authorized
in the PHS Act. Sufficient funding has been included to
continue all activities at last year's level. In addition,
increased funding over fiscal year 2012 shall be used for a
center of excellence on integrative primary care for the
purpose of developing and disseminating best practices for
integrative medicine training for physicians and nurses.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
The bill includes a provision setting aside $78,641,000 for
Special Projects of Regional and National Significance
(SPRANS). The bill provides $551,181,000 for State grants and
includes sufficient funding to continue the set-asides for
oral health, epilepsy, and sickle cell at not less than
fiscal year 2012 levels. The set-aside for fetal alcohol
syndrome is funded at $500,000.
The bill provides not less than the fiscal year 2012
funding level for the protection and advocacy services under
the Traumatic Brain Injury program.
Within the funds provided for the Autism and Other Related
Disorders program, not less than the fiscal year 2012 level
shall be provided for the LEND program and for programs
authorized under section 399BB of the Combating Autism Act.
The bill includes a $2,000,000 increase for the Heritable
Disorders program to support wider implementation of newborn
screening for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and related
disorders.
RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS
The increase provided for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program
is intended to be awarded according to the statutory formula.
Four transitional grant areas changed status in fiscal year
2011 and HRSA transferred funds from Part A to Part B in
accordance with Section 2610(c)(2) of the PHS Act. Sufficient
funding has been included for these areas within the Part B
allocation and bill language ensures that no additional and
redundant transfers take place with respect to these four
areas. This is intended to fulfill the intent of the
authorizing statute. This should in no way preclude the
authorizing statute from taking effect for any transitional
grant area changes that occur for the first time in fiscal
year 2013.
HRSA shall allocate funds for the Minority AIDS Initiative
within the Ryan White HIV programs at not less than the
fiscal year 2012 funding level.
HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS
The bill includes language that permits the Secretary to
collect a fee from each purchase of drugs made through the
340B Drug Pricing Program.
HEALTH EDUCATION ASSISTANCE LOANS PROGRAM
The bill allows for the transfer of the Health Education
Assistance Loans Program to the Department of Education.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The bill includes $5,589,285,000 in discretionary
appropriations for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). In addition, $386,357,000 is made available
under section 241 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act and
$205,925,000 in transfers from the Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund.
IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES
The bill includes a total of $589,114,000 for Immunization
and Respiratory Diseases, which includes $525,201,000 in
discretionary appropriations, $12,864,000 that is made
available under section 241 of the PHS Act, and $51,049,000
that is made available from amounts in the Public Health and
Social Services Emergency Fund.
Within this total, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Section 317 Immunization Program............................367,870,000
Program Implementation and Accountability....................62,302,000
National Immunization Survey...............................12,864,000
Influenza Planning and Response.............................158,942,000
Section 317 Immunization Policy.--Immunizations play an
important role in protecting and promoting children's health.
On July 10, 2012, CDC proposed a policy that prohibits
section 317 funds from being used to vaccinate insured
individuals. The transition may require more time. For that
reason, the bill directs CDC to delay the policy from
[[Page S1745]]
taking effect during fiscal year 2013 to allow CDC and States
to review and adjust to the proposed change in a manner that
maintains a strong vaccination program.
HIV/AIDS, VIRAL HEPATITIS, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES AND
TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTION
The bill includes $1,101,956,000 for HIV/AIDS, Viral
Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Tuberculosis
Prevention.
Within this total, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Domestic HIV/AIDS Prevention and Research..................$786,176,000
HIV Prevention by Health Departments......................392,636,000
Activities to Improve Program Effectiveness...............363,702,000
School Health..............................................29,838,000
Viral Hepatitis..............................................19,694,000
Sexually Transmitted Infections.............................155,788,000
Tuberculosis................................................140,298,000
Sexually Transmitted Infections.--The increase provided for
the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections
shall be used to expand the Infertility Prevention Program.
EMERGING AND ZOONOTIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The bill includes $266,458,000 for Emerging and Zoonotic
Infectious Diseases. Within this total, the bill includes the
following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Emerging and Zoonotic Base Activities.......................$19,822,000
Vector-borne Diseases........................................23,083,000
Lyme Disease..................................................9,000,000
Food Safety..................................................39,781,000
Prion Disease.................................................6,000,000
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome......................................4,707,000
Emerging Infectious Diseases................................123,359,000
National Healthcare Safety Network...........................14,840,000
Quarantine...................................................25,866,000
Food Safety.--Within the increase provided for food safety,
$4,300,000 is for a microbiological data program to be
undertaken in partnership with appropriate state agencies.
The remainder of the increase shall be used to support
upgrades to PulseNet, enhance surveillance and response
capability, and develop new laboratory tools.
Lyme Disease.--CDC is encouraged to consider expanding
activities related to developing sensitive and more accurate
diagnostic tools and tests for Lyme disease, including: the
evaluation of emerging diagnostic methods; improving
utilization of validated diagnostic testing to account for
the multiple clinical manifestations of Lyme disease;
epidemiological research on tick-borne diseases to include
determining the frequency and nature of any long-term
complications; improved surveillance and reporting to produce
more accurate data on their incidence; and prevention of Lyme
and tick-borne diseases through product development,
community-based public education, and physician and
healthcare provider programs based on the latest scientific
research.
Prion Disease.--The bill includes increased support for the
prion disease program targeted toward extramural activities.
CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION
The bill includes $797,081,000 for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion.
Within this total, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Tobacco....................................................$108,077,000
Environmental Health Lab....................................1,963,000
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity....................48,998,000
School Health................................................13,522,000
Food Allergies................................................487,000
Health Promotion.............................................19,984,000
Community Health Promotion..................................6,106,000
Glaucoma....................................................3,319,000
Visual Screening Education....................................508,000
Alzheimer's Disease.........................................4,202,000
Inflammatory Bowel Disease....................................677,000
Interstitial Cystitis.........................................651,000
Excessive Alcohol Use.......................................2,440,000
Chronic Kidney Disease......................................2,081,000
Prevention Research Centers..................................17,900,000
Heart Disease and Stroke.....................................54,975,000
Diabetes.....................................................74,434,000
Cancer Prevention and Control...............................359,690,000
Breast and Cervical Cancer................................211,490,000
WISEWOMAN................................................21,304,000
Breast Cancer Awareness for Young Women.....................5,040,000
Cancer Registries..........................................51,643,000
Colorectal Cancer..........................................44,225,000
Comprehensive Cancer.......................................20,857,000
Johanna's Law...............................................5,134,000
Ovarian Cancer..............................................5,041,000
Prostate Cancer............................................13,541,000
Skin Cancer.................................................2,208,000
Cancer Survivorship Resource Center...........................511,000
Oral Health..................................................19,000,000
Safe Motherhood/Infant Health................................43,803,000
Arthritis....................................................13,001,000
Epilepsy......................................................7,757,000
National Lupus Patient Registry...............................2,000,000
REACH........................................................13,940,000
Consolidated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion.--The proposed consolidation of CDC chronic disease
programs is rejected. CDC is expected to demonstrate that
funds are spent in the exact amounts allocated and for the
purposes specified in this explanatory statement. Although
the bill does not provide the 5 percent flexibility included
in Senate report 112-176, CDC is directed to explore ways to
better achieve overlapping chronic disease goals, leverage
resources, and reduce the reporting burden.
Diabetes.--Of the increase provided, $5,000,000 shall be to
expand the National Diabetes Prevention Program.
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity program.--Of the
increase provided, $5,000,000 shall be for extension and
outreach services at land grant schools for health education
in counties that CDC determines have over 40% obesity rate.
Ovarian Cancer.--Within the funds provided for Johanna's
Law, $1,500,000 shall be used for a review of the state of
the science on ovarian cancer, as described in the Senate
report. In addition, CDC and the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) are expected to conduct a joint workshop to
examine the research gaps that remain in ovarian cancer
science.
Oral Health.--Sufficient funding is included for an oral
health literacy campaign, a conference on innovative
strategies to prevent early childhood caries, and not less
than $150,000 for planning and technical assistance to expand
public-private media campaigns.
BIRTH DEFECTS AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
The bill includes $132,037,000 for birth defects and
developmental disabilities.
The administration's proposal to consolidate disability and
health programs is rejected. This bill retains the fiscal
year 2012 position that no consolidation will be considered
without an assessment of the needs of the populations
currently served and an analysis of the impact of a
consolidation on those populations. Within the total for
Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, the bill
includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 Level
Child Health and Development................................$60,161,000
Birth Defects..............................................18,387,000
Fetal Death...................................................806,000
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome......................................9,862,000
Folic Acid..................................................2,779,000
Infant Health...............................................7,868,000
Autism.....................................................21,265,000
Health and Development for People with Disabilities..........56,585,000
Disability & Health........................................17,779,000
Limb Loss...................................................2,820,000
Tourette Syndrome...........................................1,698,000
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention...................10,630,000
Muscular Dystrophy..........................................5,828,000
Paralysis Resource Center...................................6,700,000
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder....................1,715,000
Fragile X...................................................1,681,000
Spina Bifida................................................5,734,000
Congenital Heart Failure....................................2,000,000
Public Health Approach to Blood Disorders.....................7,935,000
Hemophilia Treatment Centers................................5,500,000
Thallasemia.................................................1,856,000
PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENTIFIC SERVICES
The bill includes a total of $391,741,000 for Public Health
Scientific Services, which includes $129,614,000 in
discretionary appropriations and $262,127,000 made available
under section 241 of the PHS Act.
Within the total for Public Health Scientific Services, the
bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Health Statistics..........................................$138,683,000
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Informatics.................217,129,000
Public Health Workforce......................................35,929,000
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
The bill includes $107,316,000 for Environmental Health
Programs. Within this total, the bill includes the following
amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Environmental Health Laboratory.............................$42,383,000
Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program.................6,825,000
Newborn Screening/Severe Combined Immuno-deficiency Diseases..965,000
Environmental Health Activities..............................33,135,000
Safe Water..................................................7,109,000
Volcanic Emissions............................................197,000
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry................5,869,000
Climate Change..............................................4,800,000
Built Environment and Health Initiative.....................3,000,000
Asthma.......................................................25,298,000
Childhood Lead Poisoning......................................6,500,000
INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL
The bill includes $137,693,000 for Injury Prevention and
Control activities. Within this total, the bill includes the
following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Intentional Injury..........................................$93,282,000
Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence......................31,042,000
Child Maltreatment........................................6,959,000
[[Page S1746]]
Youth Violence Prevention..................................14,968,000
Domestic Violence Community Projects........................5,411,000
Rape Prevention............................................39,389,000
Unintentional Injury.........................................30,966,000
Traumatic Brain Injury......................................6,026,000
Elderly Falls.............................................. 1,958,000
Injury Control Research Centers...............................9,974,000
National Violent Death Reporting System.......................3,471,000
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
The bill includes a total of $292,588,000 for the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which includes
$181,222,000 in discretionary appropriations and $111,366,000
made available under section 241 of the PHS Act.
Within the total for Occupational Safety and Health, the
bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Education and Research Centers..............................$24,268,000
Personal Protective Technology...............................16,791,000
Healthier Workforce Centers...................................5,016,000
National Occupational Research Agenda.......................111,366,000
Ag, Forestry, Fishing......................................23,000,000
Mining Research..............................................52,363,000
Other Occupational Safety and Health Research................82,784,000
Miners Choice.................................................646,000
National Mesothelioma Registry and Tissue Bank..............1,020,000
ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM
The bill includes $55,358,000 in mandatory funding for
CDC's responsibilities with respect to the Energy Employee
Occupational Illness Compensation Program. A long-standing
provision, transferring funds to the Advisory Board on
Radiation and Worker Health, has been deleted without
prejudice. CDC has the authority to transfer funds to the
Board under the authorizing statute.
GLOBAL HEALTH
The bill includes $353,794,000 for Global Health
Activities. Within this total, the bill includes the
following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Global AIDS Program........................................$117,118,000
Global Immunization Program.................................160,287,000
Polio Eradication.........................................111,286,000
Other Global/Measles.......................................49,001,000
Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response..............41,601,000
International Emergency.....................................5,997,000
Global Disease Detection...................................35,604,000
Parasitic Diseases/Malaria...................................19,367,000
Global Public Health Capacity................................15,421,000
National Public Health Institutes...........................7,000,000
Field Epidemiology and Lab Training Program.................8,421,000
Global Public Health.--CDC shall provide an operating plan
for all international activities funded through this and
other CDC accounts to the Committees on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Senate.
Global Health Strategy.--CDC, FDA, and NIH are expected to
develop, coordinate, and plan jointly global health research
activities with specific measurable metrics that are based on
sound scientific methods and to track the progress toward
these agreed upon global health goals.
Global Health Capacity.--The bill reduces overall funding
by $800,000 to reflect the elimination of the Sustainable
Management Development Program. Funding for the Field
Epidemiology and Lab Training Program shall be maintained at
not less than last year's level.
National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs).--The bill
includes $7,000,000 to assist other nations in setting up and
strengthening NPHIs. This initiative is intended to be an
organizational effort, and in no way limit capacity building
work in other programs of CDC.
PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
The bill includes $1,380,889,000 for public health
preparedness and response activities, which includes
$1,226,013,000 in discretionary appropriations and
$154,876,000 made available from amounts available in the
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.
Within the total for Public Health Preparedness and
Response, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreements$642,000,000
Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness...............8,000,000
All Other State and Local Capacity............................7,767,000
CDC Preparedness and Response...............................128,802,000
Upgrading CDC Capacity....................................100,000,000
BioSense...................................................20,727,000
Lab Reporting...............................................8,075,000
Strategic National Stockpile................................594,320,000
Preparedness Administrative Costs.--CDC's proposal to
consolidate administrative costs into funding provided for
Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreements
is rejected. The bill includes $7,767,000 for these costs, in
addition to the funds provided for the cooperative
agreements.
Public Health Emergency Preparedness Index.--CDC is
expected to work with the States to develop a method to
measure the preparedness of each State.
Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).--The bill provides
$154,876,000 from the 2009 supplemental appropriations bill
to support the SNS in fiscal year 2013. The Secretary is
expected to pay particular attention to ensuring the needs of
special populations, such as children, are met in the SNS.
CDC shall submit a report within 180 days after enactment of
this act on steps being taken and resources dedicated to
maintain the integrity of the SNS and its effectiveness in an
emergency, particularly with regard to the need to rotate old
supplies and equipment, and purchase new countermeasures,
devices, and equipment to ensure the preparedness level is
sustained.
BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES
The bill provides $46,000,000, which includes $6,600,000 of
unobligated Individual Learning Accounts balances for
Buildings and Facilities activities.
The National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health
facilities that support the underground and surface coal
mining safety and health research capacity and the applied
technology and occupational hazard evaluation field research
capabilities may be becoming obsolete and not fully
operational. The bill provides $35,000,000 for CDC to support
competitive acquisition, renovation, replacement, or
consolidation of these capabilities to save operational
costs, improve productivity and support the capacities listed
above. CDC is expected to take positive steps to ensure the
capabilities are maintained to support mine safety research.
In addition, within the total provided for Buildings and
Facilities, $11,000,000 is for CDC-wide repairs and
improvements. CDC is expected to ensure future budget
requests include resource allocation requests to support
appropriate facility stewardship.
CDC-WIDE ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAM SUPPORT
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The bill includes $591,500,000 for CDC-wide activities.
Within this total, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Preventive Health & Health Services Block Grant............$105,000,000
Business Services Support...................................380,000,000
Office of the Director......................................106,500,000
Budget Information.--CDC's value to public health and
preparedness is widely recognized and budget processes that
link programs and activities to measurable public health and
preparedness goals are strongly supported. CDC is directed to
explain in the congressional budget request how sound
scientific data are linked to measurable public health and
preparedness goals and objectives for each program, and how
those goals directly relate to the budget request. In
addition, CDC is directed to provide the following
information in the fiscal year 2015 and future budget
requests:
Program evaluations--an identification of the timeframes
and criteria used to evaluate each program;
User fee, reimbursement, and other sources of funding--an
itemization of the actual and estimated collections for each
activity and the actual annual costs related to each
associated user fee, reimbursement, and other funding source
used to support CDC activities;
Accounting--a more detailed accounting of how funds are
spent in each program. The budget justification should not
only be an accounting of how funds will be spent in the
coming fiscal year, but also how funds have been spent in the
previous fiscal years, potentially under different budget
structures or organizations;
Types of activities supported--the breakdown of intramural
and extramural funding for each program; and
Working Capital Fund (WCF)--The object class breakout of
annual WCF resource inputs, assets, expenditures, carry over,
WCF-supported FTE, WCF-supported contract FTE, and WCF-
supported overhead for the prior actual year, current year
and budget year at each Center, Institute, or Office, in
addition to the CDC aggregate levels. The budget
justification should include the projected and actual reserve
with a breakout justification to explain the projected use
and identification of any reserve and residual funds for the
prior actual year, current year, and budget year. Further,
CDC shall brief jointly the Committees on Appropriations no
later than July 15, 2013 on the WCF governance structure,
rules in place to ensure appropriate activity and accounting,
and hypothetical impact of the fund if it were implemented in
fiscal year 2013 and funding adjustments for the expected
implementation at the beginning of fiscal year 2014.
Repairs and Improvements--the categorization of the needed
repairs for CDC facilities in areas such as security, life/
safety repairs, condition index, and other repairs.
Data Reporting.--Significant opportunities exist to create
administrative and economic efficiencies in the reporting of
public health data. For that reason, the Director of CDC is
directed to work with State and local health officials, to
submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations no later
than 180 days after enactment of this act on the
opportunities for consolidating the various data collection
systems in CDC. The report should
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include the opportunities and costs, advantages and barriers,
and projected timeline to such a consolidated data reporting
system, along with recommendations for adoption. The report
should include full consideration of a single Web-based data
collection information technology platform.
Individual Learning Accounts.--A long-standing provision
extending availability of funds for the Individual Learning
Account program has been deleted, as well as a long-standing
general provision regarding the management of this program.
The training and professional development of CDC staff shall
be supported and maintained by the centers and leadership of
CDC.
Office of the Director (formerly Public Health Leadership
and Support).--The program line has been changed to Office of
Director to better reflect the activities these funds
support.
Scientific Research Coordination with NIH.--CDC programs
are expected to coordinate with the Institutes and Centers of
the NIH to identify scientific gaps for ready opportunities
to accelerate understanding of diseases and their prevention
in NIH and CDC research portfolios. Specifically, updates are
requested in the fiscal year 2014 budget request on this
effort as it relates to each of the CDC cancer programs.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
The bill includes $30,873,259,000 for the accounts that
comprise the NIH total appropriation. This amount includes a
$40,000,000 increase for Institutional Development Awards
(IDeA) within the National Institute of General Medical
Sciences and a $15,000,000 increase for the Cures
Acceleration Network within the National Center for Advancing
Translational Sciences (NCATS). To improve transparency, the
bill also includes an increase of $25,300,000 for NCATS to
fully fund the Clinical and Translational Science Awards
(CTSA) program within that Center; in fiscal year 2012, CTSAs
were funded partially through contributions from other
Institutes and Centers (ICs).
Other than the adjustments described above, funding for
each IC is increased over the fiscal year 2012 level by an
equal percentage.
In accordance with longstanding tradition, the bill does
not direct funds to any specific disease research area. NIH
is expected to base its funding decisions only on scientific
opportunities and the peer review process.
NIH is expected to adopt a reasonable NIH-wide policy for
non-competing and competing inflation rates that is
consistent with the overall funding increase. Further, NIH is
expected to support as many scientifically meritorious new
and competing research project grants as possible, at a
reasonable award level, with the funding provided in this
act.
All the NIH ICs are expected to continue to support the
Pathways to Independence program, which provides new
investigators with mentored grants that convert into
independent research project grants. In addition, New
Innovator Awards, Director's Pioneer Awards, and the
Transformative R01 Program are supported through the Common
Fund. NIH should have a reasonable policy for inflationary
increases on research training stipends that are not below
the federal pay policy. The Office of the Director (OD) shall
ensure, as practicable, the programs and offices within OD
receive increases proportional to the overall increase,
unless otherwise specified.
NIH is expected to limit funding for the Intramural
Research Program to the same share of the overall NIH budget
as in fiscal year 2012. The percentage of funds used to
support basic research across NIH is expected to be
maintained.
CTSAs.--NIH shall make no changes to the CTSA program until
the Institute of Medicine (IOM) completes its evaluation of
the program, due in June 2013. Following the completion of
that evaluation, if NIH then determines that adjustments to
the CTSA program are needed, the NCATS Director is directed
to brief the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
before implementing the changes.
Clinical Trials.--GAO is requested to conduct a review of
how NIH has applied the recommendations from the 2010
Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations on NCI's clinical
trials across all ICs to improve all NIH-wide clinical trial
activity. The review should examine the specific
recommendations NIH can consider to further improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of administering, monitoring,
managing, and supporting clinical trials.
Clinical Trials Patient Enrollment.--NIH is directed to
host a workshop on the challenges regarding enrolling and
retaining patients in clinical trials. The workshop should
include public foundations that provide clinical trial
navigation services, the NIH Foundation, and other
appropriate organizations. Topics should include the
development of ways to track, monitor, and improve
participation and enrollment in NIH-funded clinical trials,
particularly among underrepresented and uninsured
populations. The workshop should also discuss potential
public-private partnerships that could address these goals.
Common Fund.--NIH is expected to continue the longstanding
policy for Common Fund projects to be short-term, high-impact
awards, with no projects receiving funding for more than 10
years. NIH is directed to discontinue health economics
research within the Common Fund.
Extramural and Intramural Research.--NIH plans to impose an
additional level of scrutiny on extramural principal
investigators with grants of $1,500,000 or more. NIH is
directed to ensure that this policy, and any other new
measures which are intended to improve oversight and
accountability for extramural researchers, should apply
equally to intramural researchers as well.
Peer reviewers for extramural research would benefit from
knowing the scope of intramural activities that are related
to the subjects under consideration to reduce the possibility
of duplication. Therefore, NIH is directed to make such
information available to extramural peer review study
sections.
Improved Trans-NIH Coordination.--The Director of the
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic
Initiatives is requested to develop a strategic plan to
improve coordination and facilitation of trans-NIH research.
The plan should include measurable objectives and specific
steps that NIH and the ICs will take to reduce duplication
and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of research
activities occurring in multiple ICs. The plan should be
posted on the NIH Web site within 180 days after enactment
and updated routinely thereafter regarding progress made
toward reaching the objectives.
Kennedy's Disease.--NINDS supports research related to
spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, also known as Kennedy's
disease. NINDS is encouraged to continue research into the
causes of this disease and animal testing for possible
avenues for treatment.
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards.--The
number of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service
Awards has declined each year since fiscal year 2007. While
there is a need to increase stipend levels, NIH should put a
higher priority on maintaining the number of awards. NIH is
expected to continue efforts to support new investigators.
National Children's Study (NCS).--There have been
significant concerns in the scientific community about NIH's
plans to change substantially the design of the NCS.
Therefore, the bill requires NIH to charter a comprehensive
IOM/National Research Council review to evaluate the proposal
and make the results public before contracts are awarded for
the NCS Main Study. Topics covered by the review should
include: the representative sample size, participation of
traditionally underrepresented groups, generalizability of
the data, participant retention rates, statistical artifacts,
required infrastructure, involvement of academia, study
costs, and other factors determined relevant by the review
experts.
NCATS.--NCATS should make every effort to prevent
duplication, redundancy, and competition with the private
sector. To that end, NCATS is directed to work with industry
representatives to initiate a process that will inform the
private sector on a regular basis about the Center's current
and planned programs and activities. A plan and timeline to
implement this process is requested within 90 days of
enactment.
Opioid Drug Abuse.--The June 2011 IOM report on pain
indicates that abuse and misuse of prescription opioid drugs
resulted in an annual estimated cost to the Nation of
$72,500,000,000. Therefore the National Institute on Drug
Abuse is urged to support scientific activities that provide
companies with the basic science to develop and implement
innovative strategies to reduce opioid drug abuse. Such
strategies may include new chemical molecule structures,
coatings, agents, or other processes with a goal of
preventing abuse while still providing the necessary pain
relief required for patient care.
Improved Coordination and Dissemination of Research.--The
OD is expected to work with the ICs and other HHS operating
divisions to establish a systematic means of disseminating
research results for the purposes of preventing duplication
of effort across the Department and enabling NIH to target
its research more effectively.
IDeA.--NIH is expected to maintain the fiscal year 2012
levels for the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence
(COBRE), IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, and
the IDeA Clinical Trial and Translation Program programs. NIH
is directed to divide the increase over the fiscal year 2012
level for IDeA equally between a new COBRE competition and
additional awards for the IDeA Clinical Trial and Translation
Program. Last year NIH was urged to give the IDeA Director
the flexibility to include all States that qualify for the
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
(EPSCoR) program in the IDeA program. An update on this
proposal was requested in the fiscal year 2013 congressional
budget justification. NIH failed to respond to either
request. Therefore, NIH is directed to review whether changes
to the eligibility criteria are warranted, including the
possible inclusion of all EPSCoR-eligible States, and to
present its recommendations in a report to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations and the relevant
authorizing committees no later than 120 days after
enactment. In addition, the NIH and IC Directors are
requested to work with the IDeA Director to implement a plan
to improve coordination and co-funding of IDeA awards and
programs to increase opportunities to improve biomedical
research capacity and training.
Scientific Management and Review Board (SMRB).--The NIH
Director has rejected the recommendation by the Scientific
Management and Review Board to create a new Institute on
substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research, and has
decided that
[[Page S1748]]
the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism should pursue
``functional integration'' to advance this research rather
than consolidation. NIH is expected to provide specific
details on how the two Institutes plan to achieve such
integration in the fiscal year 2014 congressional budget
justification.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) is expected to provide more detailed
information in its annual congressional justification,
including budgetary and programmatic information on programs
as they existed in prior fiscal years, even if the budget
request proposes a new structure or consolidation. SAMHSA
shall not make changes to any program, project, or activity
as outlined by the budget tables included in this
explanatory statement without prior notification to the
House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
SAMHSA and the Department are directed to exempt the Mental
Health Block Grant (MHBG) and the Substance Abuse Prevention
and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant from being used as a source
for the PHS evaluation set-aside in fiscal year 2013, as was
done prior to fiscal year 2012.
MENTAL HEALTH
Within the total provided for Mental Health Programs of
Regional and National Significance, the bill includes the
following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Capacity
Seclusion & Restraint.......................................2,444,000
Youth Violence Prevention..................................12,817,000
National Traumatic Stress Network..........................48,713,000
Children and Family Programs................................6,474,000
Consumer and Family Network Grants..........................6,224,000
MH System Transformation and Health Reform.................10,603,000
Project LAUNCH.............................................34,640,000
Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration.............30,749,000
Suicide Lifeline............................................5,512,000
GLS--Youth Suicide Prevention--States......................29,682,000
GLS--Youth Suicide Prevention--Campus.......................4,966,000
AI/AN Suicide Prevention Initiative.........................2,938,000
Homelessness Prevention Programs...........................30,772,000
Minority AIDS...............................................9,265,000
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Programs......................4,281,000
Grants for Adult Trauma Screening and BI....................2,896,000
Tribal Behavioral Health Grants............................20,000,000
Science and Service
GLS--Suicide Prevention Resource Center.....................5,550,000
Practice Improvement & Training.............................7,437,000
Consumer & Consumer Support T.A. Centers....................1,923,000
Primary/Behavioral Health Integration T.A...................1,996,000
Minority Fellowship Program.................................5,089,000
Disaster Response...........................................2,950,000
Homelessness................................................2,302,000
HIV/AIDS Education............................................773,000
In order to address the high incidence of substance abuse
and suicide in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)
populations, the bill provides $20,000,000 for a new Tribal
Behavioral Health Grant program within the Center for Mental
Health Services. Not less than $10,000,000 shall be used for
competitively awarded grants targeting tribal entities with
the highest rates of suicide per capita over the past 10
years. Funds shall be used for effective and promising
strategies that address the problems of substance abuse and
suicide and promote mental health among AI/AN young people.
Within the funds provided for the National Child Traumatic
Stress Network, the bill provides $1,500,000 for the targeted
collection of new outcome data from selected centers, as well
as analyses and reports related to the National Center for
Child Traumatic Stress core data set.
All grants awarded for the Primary and Behavioral Health
Integration program shall be funded under the authorities in
section 520(K) of the PHS Act.
Funds provided to Project LAUNCH should not duplicate
activities eligible for funding elsewhere in HHS and should
focus on mental health promotion and promotion strategies for
children aged 0 to 8.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT
Within the total provided for Substance Abuse Treatment
Programs of Regional and National Significance, the bill
includes the following amounts:
Budget Activity FY 2013 Level
Capacity
Opioid Treatment Programs/Regulatory Activities.............8,886,000
Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment.....28,187,000
TCE--General...............................................13,256,000
Pregnant & Postpartum Women................................15,970,000
Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention................1,000,000
Recovery Community Services Program.........................2,445,000
Access to Recovery.........................................87,666,000
Children and Families......................................29,678,000
Treatment Systems for Homeless.............................41,571,000
Minority AIDS..............................................65,863,000
Criminal Justice Activities................................70,000,000
Science and Service
Addiction Technology Transfer Centers.......................9,064,000
Minority Fellowship Program...................................546,000
Special Initiatives/Outreach................................1,436,000
SAMHSA shall ensure that Addiction Technology Transfer
Centers continue to maintain a primary focus on addiction
treatment and recovery services in order to strengthen the
addiction workforce.
All funding appropriated to the Center for Substance Abuse
Treatment for drug treatment courts shall be allocated to
serve people diagnosed with a substance use disorder as their
primary condition.
SAMHSA shall ensure that funds provided for Screening,
Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment are used for
existing evidence-based models of providing early
intervention and treatment services to those at risk of
developing substance abuse disorders.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION
Within the total provided for Substance Abuse Prevention
Programs of Regional and National Significance, the bill
includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Capacity
Strategic Prevention Framework/Partnerships for Success...109,754,000
Mandatory Drug Testing......................................4,906,000
Minority AIDS..............................................41,307,000
Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act)......7,931,000
National Adult-Oriented Media Public Service Campaign.....1,000,000
Community-based Coalition Enhancement Grants..............5,931,000
Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of
Underage Drinking.......................................1,000,000
Science and Service
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.............................9,802,000
Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies.......7,511,000
Science and Service Program Coordination....................4,082,000
Minority Fellowship Program....................................71,000
SAMHSA shall make continuation awards for Strategic
Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant/Partnerships for
Success (SPFSIG/PFS) grantees at amounts not less than what
grantees received in fiscal year 2012. Furthermore, SAMHSA
shall use any additional funding to provide new grants under
SPFSIG/PFS. These new grants shall be awarded as the program
was originally designed prior to fiscal year 2011, with
similar eligible applicants, a multiyear project period, and
reliance on epidemiological workgroups. SAMHSA shall award
these multiyear grants on an annual, incremental basis rather
than fully funding them in fiscal year 2013.
HEALTH SURVEILLANCE AND PROGRAM SUPPORT
Within the total provided for health surveillance and
program support, the bill includes the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Health Surveillance..............................................29,424
Program Management...............................................72,229
Military Families.................................................3,500
Public Awareness and Support.....................................13,545
Performance and Quality Info. Systems............................12,940
SAMHSA shall prioritize the award of the Military Families
Initiative policy academy service grants to States with
higher populations of military families not eligible for or
with reduced access to the services provided through the
Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY
The bill provides $349,053,000 for the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality. These funds are made
available through section 241 of the Public Health Service
(PHS) Act.
Within the total for the Patient Safety Research portfolio,
the bill provides $4,000,000 for research grants authorized
by section 933 of the PHS Act, as proposed in Senate Report
112-176.
Within the total for the Crosscutting Activities Related to
Quality, Effectiveness and Efficiency Research portfolio, the
bill provides $38,555,000 for investigator-initiated
research.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
The bill includes $3,826,187,000 for the Program Management
account. The bill moves the State Health Insurance Assistance
Program from CMS Program Management to the
[[Page S1749]]
Administration for Community Living. The conferees recommend
the following levels within the Program Management account:
Program management FY 2013 level
Research, Demonstration and Evaluation......................$21,160,000
Program Operations........................................2,608,785,000
State Survey and Certification..............................381,278,000
State High Risk Insurance Pools..............................44,000,000
Federal Administration......................................770,964,000
The bill includes funding for Research, Demonstration, and
Evaluation activities, including the Medicare Current
Beneficiary Survey. CMS is requested to include in its fiscal
year 2015 congressional budget justification all programs,
projects, and activities authorized in the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) intended to be supported, along with amounts
expended in the current year and 3 prior fiscal years.
CMS Policy Guidance.--CMS uses Medicare Administrative
Contractors (MACs) as its agents in lieu of federal employees
to process reimbursement activity. The MACs may develop and
implement independent policies, which can be perceived as
being inconsistent with CMS guidance. CMS is requested to
provide a detailed description in the fiscal year 2015 budget
request of the mechanisms CMS has in place or plans to put in
place to ensure its contracting agents consistently adhere to
CMS policies.
Critical Access Hospitals.--The Secretary is urged to
create a review process for those hospitals less than 35
miles by primary road from the nearest hospital for the
purpose of improving access to essential health services,
including acute medical inpatient care. If changes are
required, HHS should work with Congress for approval. CMS is
encouraged to work with the Office of Rural Health Policy in
HRSA to ensure that rural patients maintain access to
necessary health services.
Fungal Meningitis.--The 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis
remains a concern, with more than 500 illnesses and a median
patient age in the late 60s. While the primary responsibility
for ensuring the safety of drugs lies with other agencies of
Federal and State government, CMS should consider whether
there are actions it can take to ensure that the providers
are operating in a manner that is consistent with State and
Federal standards, and report to the Committees on
Appropriations within 180 days of enactment of this act
regarding its conclusions.
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.--CMS is urged to implement a
process across all operations to increase its focus on
preventing improper payments and paying claims right the
first time. A 2010 GAO report found that CMS had no formal
process in place to ensure that vulnerabilities identified by
the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program are addressed.
CMS is directed to include in its annual report to Congress
the steps it has taken to implement a systematic process
across all operations to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse
in both federal and contractor-operated program and
administrative activities and an accounting of RAC-
reported vulnerabilities. Similar language was proposed in
the Senate Report 112-176.
Rural Patient Access.--The Committees on Appropriations
strongly support efforts to preserve and improve rural
patient access to providers and durable medical equipment
(DME). CMS is requested to provide an update in the fiscal
year 2015 budget request on the steps CMS is taking to ensure
changes due to the competitive bidding process will not
negatively impact rural patient access to quality DME.
HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND ABUSE CONTROL ACCOUNT
The bill includes $309,790,000 from the Medicare Trust Fund
for the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control account.
Medicare Fraud Prevention.--CMS is expected to develop a
more robust set of tools to prevent fraud, for example using
the latest technology to ensure only valid beneficiaries and
valid providers receive benefits and ensure that payments are
for authorized benefits. GAO is directed to review the
feasibility, cost, benefits, and barriers for CMS to
implement a Medicare transactional system with ``smart card''
type technology. The review must examine technology related
to beneficiary and provider validation and authentication at
point of entry for provider care within the Medicare program
and consider ease of implementation, impact on the
beneficiary and provider, ease of use, cost attributes (long
and short term), and other criteria relevant decision making,
sourcing and implementation. GAO is expected to publish a
report within 1 year after enactment of this act.
Administration for Children and Families
REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE
The Department of HHS shall provide a briefing within 45
days of enactment for the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations regarding the rate of expenditure for all
Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs, including
information on the number of unaccompanied alien children
placed into the Department's care, the number of arriving
refugees and refugees otherwise receiving services, and how
the characteristics of these populations have changed over
recent years.
CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
The bill includes a $110,000,000 increase for the Child
Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), including a
$14,035,000 increase in existing set-asides for quality
improvement activities. HHS is encouraged to continue efforts
to improve the quality of child care programs, including the
early childhood care and education workforce.
Under current law State child care agencies may use CCDBG
funding to pay for a wide variety of initiatives, including
helping providers with the cost of supplies, such as diapers
for infants and toddlers.
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS
Within the funds provided for Head Start, the bill includes
$25,000,000 to support the transition costs associated with
the Designation Renewal System and $25,000,000 for grantee
cost-of-living adjustments.
The bill includes $3,000,000 within Child Abuse
Discretionary for competitive grants to support the
implementation of research-based court teams models that
include the court system, child welfare agency, and community
organizations in order to better meet the needs of infants
and toddlers in foster care.
The bill includes up to $10,000,000 for the Healthy Foods
Financing Initiative within the Community Economic
Development Program.
The Department of HHS is encouraged to support efforts that
help TANF recipients graduate high school or complete a GED,
which is often critical to securing employment.
Administration for Community Living
AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The bill transfers the State Health Insurance Assistance
Program from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services to
the Administration for Community Living (ACL).
Within the funding provided, the bill provides $998,000 to
continue the 24-hour call center to support Alzheimer's
family caregivers.
The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations received
no advance notice that the Department intended to establish
the ACL when the fiscal year 2013 budget was submitted to
Congress. Carrying out such organizational changes without
advance notice ignores the critical oversight role of the
Committees on Appropriations. This is not a precedent that
should occur again and the Department is urged to provide
advance notice of such mergers, particularly when they have
an impact on appropriations structures and funding levels.
ACL shall provide the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations a briefing within 30 days of enactment on how
ACL is balancing the needs of the disabled and elderly
communities.
Office of the Secretary
GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT
The Department is directed to include in its annual budget
justifications the amount of administrative and overhead
costs spent by the Department for every major budget line.
Beginning in fiscal year 2015, and each year thereafter, the
Department shall include the amount and percentage of
administrative and overhead costs spent by the Department for
every program, project and activity.
The Department is directed to issue a report identifying
which programs throughout HHS address teen dating violence
and healthy relationship strategies as a means to prevent
teen pregnancy.
The Comptroller General is directed to issue a report
within 180 days of enactment on the Department's coordination
of activities related to patient centered outcomes research
(PCOR), whether funded in this bill or through the Patient
Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund. The report should
review the processes and practices used by the Department to
ensure that the various operating divisions supporting
patient centered outcomes research prevents duplication and
is coordinated. Further, the report should review the
criteria and procedures used by the Department prior to
disseminating or making recommendations based on patient
centered outcomes research results. The report should also
include a review of the evaluation criteria used to allocate
funding and determine research topics, as well as the
metrics to measure effectiveness.
The bill provides $250,000 for the Advisory Council on
Alzheimer's Research, Care and Services, $1,000,000 for a
competitive grant or contract for the principal purpose of
providing assistance regarding transportation assistance for
individuals with disabilities, $1,000,000 to continue the
national health education program on lupus for healthcare
providers, and $3,010,000 to continue the preventing violence
against women initiative.
HHS is directed to include in future budget requests
information on user fees, reimbursements, and other sources
of funding available to HHS operating divisions that itemizes
the actual and estimated collections for each activity and
the actual annual costs related to each associated user fee,
reimbursement, and other funding source used to support these
activities.
The Department is directed to ensure that all necessary and
feasible steps have been taken to ensure that Antideficiency
Act violations similar to those reported on July 14, 2011 do
not occur in the future. The Department is directed to ensure
that future Antideficiency Act violations are submitted in a
timely manner with the appropriate account adjustment or
other action to remedy the violations.
HHS is urged to work with Congress to propose a special
hiring authority in lieu of the
[[Page S1750]]
continued expanded use of title 42. The Department is
requested to issue a report on the key parameters that would
need to be included in a special hiring authority within 180
days of enactment to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations and the relevant authorizing committees.
The Secretary is encouraged to issue the rules and
regulations required by P.L. 111-353 in a timely manner.
The Department is urged to continue existing programs run
by the Office of Minority Health that address health
disparities in rural and disadvantaged populations.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is directed to
provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Senate that provides an
update on OIG activities related to the investigation of
grantees' use of taxpayer resources to influence laws,
regulations or policies at the State or local level.
Additionally, the report should include detail as to how HHS
is implementing any new policies and how the Department is
tracking or monitoring grantee performance.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES EMERGENCY FUND
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The Department is directed to issue a report, not later
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this act, on the
implementation of a 5-year budgetary planning process for the
development of medical countermeasures. The report should
include end-to-end details of planned investments, including
the costs associated with existing and anticipated new
research and development, the costs of procuring and
maintaining all materials placed in the Strategic National
Stockpile, and the costs associated with distribution,
dispensing and surveillance. The report should include the
costs necessary to ensure sustainability of the multiple
Centers for Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing. The report
should also include details of the investment and progress
made to date in the development of products for diagnosis,
protection and treatment for the full range of radiation
exposures from nuclear and radiation threats.
General Provisions
EVALUATION TAP LEVEL
The bill modifies a provision establishing reprogramming
requirements for evaluation tap funding.
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ACCESS REGARDING THE USE OF FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE
PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The bill includes a modified provision relating to the
improvement of a more accessible Web site that details the
use of funds made available under section 4002 of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act.
PERSONNEL SUPPORT FOR THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The bill includes a new provision relating to the public
disclosure of the number of full-time equivalent Federal
employees or contractors assigned to activities to carry out
the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act.
TITLE III
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Education for the Disadvantaged
The bill includes a new provision clarifying that title I
funds may be used to address the transportation needs of
homeless children and youth, as well as support homeless
liaisons.
The bill includes new language under the School Improvement
Grant (SIG) program that allows funds to be used to implement
a research-proven, whole-school reform model.
New language is also included that will allow a State
educational agency, with the approval of the Secretary, to
establish an alternative State-determined school improvement
strategy that may be used by local educational agencies under
the SIG program. The purpose of this alternative strategy is
to allow State educational agencies to develop their own
flexible models that can be implemented by local educational
agencies that receive SIG funds.
It is expected that any approach taken with SIG funds
should address school-wide factors, whole school culture, the
individual needs of the students and data to inform
instruction and for continuous improvement; ensure that the
needs of students are addressed through the organization of
the school, curriculum and instruction, and social and
emotional support services; as well as address teacher and
leader effectiveness, including through training and support
for teachers and school leaders in school improvement efforts
and in the needs of students.
The bill also includes new language to allow local
educational agencies that are eligible to receive services
under the Rural Education Achievement Program to modify not
more than one element required under a school improvement
model.
Over the past decade Bureau of Indian Education schools
have received approximately 0.7 percent of each year's
appropriation for ESEA Title I Grants to LEAs. The Department
is urged to continue using its existing formula in allocating
these funds and to follow this practice in any relevant
future emergency funding that provides it the same authority
and discretion.
Impact Aid
The bill includes language providing for formula grants for
Impact Aid construction grants.
School Improvement Programs
The bill allows for up to 3 percent of funds available for
the State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality program to be
used for competitive awards to national not-for-profit
organizations for recruiting, training, or providing
professional enhancement activities, including in the area of
civic education, for teachers or school leaders, particularly
for high-need schools most likely to face shortages in these
areas. The bill allows up to 10 percent of the set-aside
funds to be used for related research, development,
evaluation, dissemination, and technical assistance.
The bill provides $380,000,000 for formula grants to States
and $9,214,000 for competitive grants to improve the quality
and reliability of assessment systems within the State
Assessments and Enhanced Assessments Instruments program.
Innovation and Improvement
The bill includes $549,284,000 for the Race to the Top
program. These funds are available for obligation through
December 31, 2013.
The Departments of Education and HHS are directed to use
this appropriation for another competition under the Race to
the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC). In combination
with additional resources allocated for the CCDBG and Head
Start programs, it is expected that these investments will
help improve early learning and development systems and
opportunities for young children.
The bill includes $149,417,000 for the Investing in
Innovation program, as described in Senate Report 112-176.
The bill does not include the new authority and funding
proposed in the Senate bill regarding ARPA-ED.
An opportunity to review the results from the significant
investment made in both the RTT and Investing in Innovation
programs is expected. The Secretary is directed to continue
to provide the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and Senate the findings from evaluations,
including impact evaluations and interim progress
evaluations, of activities conducted using these funds.
The bill includes $14,097,000 for continuation costs for
the School Leadership program.
Within FIE, the bill includes funding for the following
activities in the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Arts in Education...........................................$26,500,000
Data Quality and Evaluation...................................1,276,000
Full Service Community Schools...............................11,094,000
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.............1,000,000
Peer Review.....................................................350,000
Child Literacy Initiative....................................29,000,000
The bill also includes $10,000,000 for a new STEM
initiative, as described in Senate Report 112-176.
Special Education
The bill includes new language clarifying provisions of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The first
provision clarifies that penalties paid by States for
violating maintenance of effort under part B of the IDEA
shall be reallocated to States by formula to those States
that did not violate those requirements. The language further
clarifies that both the reduced State allocations due to
penalties paid and increased amounts under the reallocation
shall not be considered in fiscal year 2013 or future years
for allocations under the statutory formula. The bill also
includes new language clarifying that the level of effort
under part B that a LEA must meet in the year after it fails
to maintain its fiscal effort is the level that it should
have met in the prior year. This language clarifies
congressional intent and is consistent with the Office of
Special Education Program's (OSEP's) April 4, 2012, informal
guidance letter on the issue.
Additionally, the bill includes language clarifying that
funds reserved under section 611(c) of the IDEA may be used
to help improve State capacity to meet data collection
requirements under the IDEA and improve data collection,
quality, and use under the act.
The bill includes new language allowing the Department to
use up to $2,710,000 for incentive grants to States that
choose to serve children 3 years old until entrance into
elementary school, as described in Senate report 112-176.
Within this account, the bill includes $1,996,000 to remain
available through September 30, 2014, for the Promoting
Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) program. The bill
includes language that slightly modifies the program as it
was initially created in last year's bill. The bill also
includes new language that allows a portion of the funds
provided to be used for Pay for Success awards, as described
in Senate Report 112-176. The Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and Senate expect to be notified
prior to the issuance of any notice related to the Pay for
Success activity.
Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research
The bill includes $3,624,226,000 for Rehabilitation
Services and Disability Research.
The bill includes $6,075,000 for Demonstration and Training
Programs. Within this amount, the bill includes $750,000 to
support a new competition for parent training and
[[Page S1751]]
information centers. The Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA) shall coordinate with OSEP in carrying
out this activity. The bill does not include funding for new
technical assistance activities at RSA.
The bill continues language allowing unmatched funds in
excess of any funds requested during the reallotment process
to be available for the PROMISE program referenced under the
Special Education account. Such funds used for the PROMISE
program will remain available for obligation through
September 30, 2014.
The bill allows up to $20,000,000 made available to PROMISE
after reallotment to be used for Pay for Success, as
described in Senate Report 112-176. The Federal Government
will use funds to pay for defined outcomes, such as
employment or graduation. Philanthropic groups and social
impact investors will finance the services and would earn
payments if those services lead to the agreed-upon outcomes.
Any funds deobligated from Pay for Success projects will be
immediately available for programs authorized under the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The bill includes $37,771,000 for the Assistive Technology
program. This includes $30,492,000 for State grant activities
authorized under section 4 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
$4,283,000 for protection and advocacy systems authorized
under section 5; $996,000 for technical assistance activities
authorized under section 6; and $2,000,000 to support
alternative financing programs (AFPs) that provide financing
mechanisms for loans.
AFPs have had success in providing low-interest loan funds,
interest buy-down programs, revolving loan funds, and loan
guarantees, and in emphasizing consumer choice and control
and other partnerships that help people with disabilities
acquire assistive technology devices through loans. Such
devices and services enable people with disabilities to live
independently and often are the means that enable them to
become or remain employed. While many State programs have
developed equipment demonstration projects, lending libraries
and reuse programs, these do not cover certain types of
higher-cost expenses that promote independence, such as
adapting vehicles and modifying home entrances and showers to
enable people to remain in their homes.
Special Institutions for Persons With Disabilities
NATIONAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF
The bill includes $65,422,000 for the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf. Funding for construction will be
considered in the future as needs may warrant.
Student Financial Assistance
The Department shall provide the same funding in fiscal
year 2013 as in fiscal year 2012 for the Work Colleges
program authorized under section 448 of the Higher Education
Act (HEA) from the Federal Work-Study Program appropriation.
Higher Education
The bill includes $67,432,000 for International Education
and Foreign Language Studies--Domestic programs. The increase
in funds over the fiscal year 2012 level will support new
awards in the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign
Language programs and expand access to study abroad, as
authorized by section 604(b) of the HEA.
The bill includes language allowing funds awarded under the
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need program to be
used to fund continuation costs for the Javits Fellowship
program.
The bill includes $29,494,000 for the Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). Within the
amount for FIPSE, the bill includes $25,000,000 for the First
in the World initiative, with up to $9,000,000 set aside for
minority-serving institutions; $1,128,000 for the Training
for Realtime Writers program; $2,366,000 for continuations
for international consortia projects; and $1,000,000 for the
Secretary to enter into an agreement with the National
Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to
conduct a study on the impact of Federal regulations and
reporting requirements on institutions of higher education as
authorized under section 1106 of the Higher Education
Opportunity Act of 2008.
The bill includes $854,932,000 for TRIO. The last Upward
Bound grant competition may have disadvantaged applicants in
rural areas. Many of the rural programs that were not renewed
in the last round are located in areas of extreme poverty
that would appear to be prime targets for Upward Bound
grants. The Department shall provide an analysis within 60
days of enactment of this act of how selection criteria and
outcomes changed in the past Upward Bound grant cycle, in
order to determine whether applicants from rural areas were
put at a disadvantage compared to other applicants.
Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program
Account
The bill includes language allowing funds for the HBCU
Capital Financing Program to remain available through
September 30, 2014.
Institute of Education Sciences
The bill includes $38,077,000 for Statewide Data Systems.
The bill allows up to $10,000,000 to be used for awards to
public or private agencies or organizations to support
activities to improve data coordination, quality, and use at
the local, State, and national levels. Prior to obligating
any funds for this purpose, an operating plan describing the
proposed purpose and use of such funds shall be submitted to
the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and Senate.
IES is directed to continue support for research and
development activities related to gifted and talented
education that directly support learning and improve the
academic achievement of gifted and talented students,
including those who may not be formally identified as gifted
and those who are from underrepresented populations, as
called for in Senate Report 112-176.
IES also is directed to support a National Research Center
on the Gifted and Talented and to ensure that gifted and
talented education is reported in national reports produced
by IES, as called for in Senate Report 112-176.
General Provisions
OFFICE OF CAREER, TECHNICAL, AND ADULT EDUCATION
The bill includes a general provision renaming the Office
of Vocational and Adult Education as the Office of Career,
Technical, and Adult Education.
EVALUATION AUTHORITY
The bill includes a new provision related to the evaluation
authority established under section 9601 of the ESEA. Not
later than 45 days prior to the submission of the operating
plan required under this provision, the Department is
directed to brief the Senate Committees on Appropriations and
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and House Committees on
Appropriations and Education and Workforce on the programs
being considered for inclusion in the plan. Further, the
conferees expect the Department to include in future
congressional budget justifications a discussion of its
planned use of this new authority.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT LOAN SERVICERS AND STUDENT AID ELIGIBILITY
The bill includes a new provision that clarifies
eligibility for funding for not-for-profit loan servicers and
allows students enrolled in ``career pathways'' programs who
do not have a high school diploma or GED to become eligible
for student aid if they have passed an ability to benefit
test, completed a process designed by the State, or
successfully completed six credit hours.
HBCU GULF HURRICANE DISASTER LOANS
The bill continues a provision that authorizes the
Secretary to modify terms of Gulf hurricane disaster loans to
HBCUs if such modifications result in no net cost to the
government and if such modifications are approved by the
Departments of Education and Treasury and the Office of
Management and Budget.
TITLE IV
RELATED AGENCIES
Corporation for National and Community Service
OPERATING EXPENSES
The funding included in the bill for the State Commission
grants reflects a consolidation with Training and Technical
Assistance.
Within the total provided for Innovation, Assistance, and
Other Activities, the bill includes $44,815,000 for the
Social Innovation Fund, $3,992,000 for the Volunteer
Generation Fund, and $992,000 for the Martin Luther King Day
of Service.
The bill includes $207,491,000 for the National Senior
Volunteer Corps programs. Sufficient funding is provided to
maintain all programs at the fiscal year 2012 level.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
OFFICE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES: GRANTS AND ADMINISTRATION
Within the total for IMLS, the bill includes funds for the
following activities in the following amounts:
Budget activity FY 2013 level
Library Services Technology Act:
Grants to States..............................................156,365
Native American Library Services................................3,869
National Leadership: Libraries.................................12,000
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian..............................12,470
Museum Services Act:
Museums for America............................................20,643
Native American/Hawaiian Museum Services..........................926
National Leadership: Museums....................................7,880
African American History and Culture Act:
Museum Grants for African American History & Culture............1,410
Program Administration...........................................16,391
Within the amount provided for Program Administration, the
bill includes $1,886,000 for research and data collection
activities.
IMLS is encouraged to maintain current staffing levels and
continue to work toward improving efficiency to decrease or
eliminate requirements for FTE growth in future years.
Social Security Administration
SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME
Research and Demonstration.--Within the Research and
Demonstration activity conducted under sections 1110, 1115,
and 1144 of the Social Security Act, the bill includes
$7,200,000 for the Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI
(PROMISE) program and up to $3,000,000 for a demonstration
program to test the impact of providing financial literacy
information on the Old Age and Survivors Insurance,
Disability Insurance and SSI programs to high-school aged
youth.
[[Page S1752]]
SSA shall provide a briefing within 45 days of enactment
for the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the
factors SSA considers in the review and graduation process
for research and demonstration projects. SSA shall continue
to describe the specific section 1110 research graduation
process in the fiscal year 2014 budget request and include
the year each project or consortium was initiated.
LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
Work Incentives Planning and Assistance [WIPA] and
Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security
[PABSS].--The bill includes not less than $23,000,000 for the
WIPA program and not less than $7,000,000 for the PABSS
program. Because these programs were not funded in fiscal
year 2012, SSA shall make these funds available as soon as
possible to eligible organizations to minimize any disruption
in services.
Representative Payee Oversight.--SSA is strongly encouraged
to continue efforts to improve representative payee oversight
through partnerships with outside organizations.
Social Security Annual Statements.--The bill includes not
less than $20,000,000 for the mailing of annual Social
Security Account Statements. SSA shall provide statements in
a manner that maximizes their effectiveness, including
leveraging online resources, to inform individuals about
their contributions and benefits under Social Security
programs and to provide individuals an opportunity to review
their earnings record. Further, SSA shall brief the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations within 45 days of
enactment on their plan for mailing statements in fiscal year
2013.
Information Technology Investments.--SSA shall provide a
quarterly accounting of the Limitation on Administrative
Expenses (LAE) expired unobligated balances and the amount
made available from these balances without fiscal year
limitation for information technology investments. This
should include the total amount of Information Technology
(IT) expenses and the actual or estimated amount paid for
with LAE funds and no-year IT funds.
Long-range Strategic Plan.--The production of a strategic
plan for SSA requires the input of an external body that is
competent in addressing complex management challenges within
the public sphere. Therefore, SSA shall provide the final
draft of the strategic plan currently under development to
the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) for its
review and comment. SSA is also directed to incorporate
NAPA's views into the final document. Such incorporation may
be accomplished by including comments noting instances where
SSA does not concur with NAPA's views. The bill includes
$500,000 within SSA's LAE account to cover any expenses NAPA
incurs to complete this review. The final version of the
strategic plan shall be submitted within 180 days of
enactment to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and
the Senate Committee on Finance. SSA and NAPA shall jointly
report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
within 30 days of enactment on the plan for producing the
document.
TITLE V
GENERAL PROVISIONS
PORNOGRAPHY RESTRICTIONS
The bill includes a new general provision that prohibits
the use of government-provided information technology
resources to view, download, or exchange pornography.
REPORTING ON BALANCES OF APPROPRIATIONS
The bill includes a new general provision modifying the
application of requirements for reporting on balances of
appropriations to the Indian Health Service.
HEAL PROGRAM TRANSFER
The bill includes a new general provision that permanently
transfers the Health Education Assistance Loan program from
the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department
of Education.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
The bill includes a new general provision that limits the
attendance of Federal employees at international conferences.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The bill includes a new general provision related to the
explanatory statement accompanying the bill.
Full-Year Continuing Appropriations
The bill includes a new general provision that makes
ineffective certain provisions from the Full-Year Continuing
Appropriations Act related to this bill.
FY 2013 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
[$ in 000s]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012- Harkin Amendment
Comparable Harkin Aendment- versus FY12*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Labor----
Employment and Training Administration----
Training and Employment Services----
Grants to States:----
Adult Training, current year-...... D- 58,811- 57,465- -1,346
Advance from prior year-......... NA- (710,654)- (712,000)- (1,346)
FY14-............................ D- 712,000- 712,000- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult Training--................... ...... 770,811- 769,465- -1,346
Youth Training-.................... D- 824,353- 824,353- 0
Dislocated Worker Assistance, D- 148,151- 146,526- -1,625
current year-.....................
Advance from prior year-....... NA- (858,375)- (860,000)- (1,625)
FY14-.......................... D- 860,000- 860,000- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dislocated Worker Assistance--..... ...... 1,008,151- 1,006,526- -1,625
Subtotal: Grants to States--........... ...... 2,603,315- 2,600,344- -2,971
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Year--......................... ...... 1,031,315- 1,028,344- -2,971
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY14--................................. ...... 1,572,000- 1,572,000- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Administered Programs:----
Dislocated Worker Assistance Nat'l D- 24,066- 23,688- -378
Reserve, current year-............
Advance from prior year-....... NA- (199,622)- (200,000)- (378)
FY14-.......................... D- 200,000- 200,000- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Dislocated Worker Assistance ...... 224,066- 223,688- -378
Nat'l Reserve--.......................
Total, Dislocated Worker Assistance- ...... 1,232,217- 1,230,214- -2,003
-.................................
Native American Programs-.............. D- 47,562- 47,562- 0
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker D- 84,291- 84,291- 0
Programs-.............................
Women in Apprenticeship-............... D- 996- 996- 0
Youthbuild-............................ D- 79,689- 79,689- 0
Workforce Innovation Fund-............. D- 49,906- 40,000- -9,906
Subtotal: Federally Administered ...... 486,510- 476,226- -10,284
Programs--............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Year--......................... ...... 286,510- 276,226- -10,284
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY14--................................. ...... 200,000- 200,000- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Activities:----
Pilots, Demonstrations and Research-... D- 6,603- 0- -6,603
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders-......... D- 80,238- 80,238- 0
Evaluation-............................ D- 9,563- 0- -9,563
Workforce Data Quality Initiative-..... D- 6,463- 5,000- -1,463
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: National Activities--........ ...... 102,867- 85,238- -17,629
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----Total: Training and Employment ...... 3,192,692- 3,161,808- -30,884
Services--........................
================================================================================================================
Current Year--......................... ...... 1,420,692- 1,389,808- -30,884
================================================================================================================
FY14--................................. ...... 1,772,000- 1,772,000- 0
================================================================================================================
Office of Job Corps----
Administration-........................ D- 29,077- 29,132- 55
Operations-............................ D- 1,569,078- 1,574,000- 4,922
Advance from prior year-....... NA- (589,883)- 0- (-589,883)
FY14-.......................... D- 0- 0- 0
[[Page S1753]]
Construction and Renovation-........... D- 104,792- 80,000- -24,792
Advance from prior year-....... NA- (99,811)- 0- (-99,811)
FY14-.......................... D- 0- 0- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Job Corps--..................... ...... 1,702,947- 1,683,132- -19,815
================================================================================================================
Current Year--......................... ...... 1,702,947- 1,683,132- -19,815
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY14--................................. ...... 0- 0- 0
================================================================================================================
Community Serv. Employment Older D- 448,251- 448,251- 0
Americans-............................
Federal Unemployment Benefits and M- 1,100,100- 1,421,000- 320,900
Allowances-...........................
State Unemployment Insurance and
Employment Service Operations
Unemployment Insurance
State Operations-.............. TF- 3,225,047- 2,994,912- -230,135
National Activities-........... TF- 11,266- 11,297- 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Unemployment Insurance--..... ...... 3,236,313- 3,006,209- -230,104
Employment Service:----
Allotments to States:----
Federal Funds-................. D- 22,595- 22,595- 0
Trust Funds-................... TF- 678,247- 693,204- 14,957
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Employment Service Allotments ...... 700,842- 715,799- 14,957
to States--...........................
ES National Activities-................ TF- 20,912- 20,912- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Employment Service--......... ...... 721,754- 736,711- 14,957
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 22,595- 22,595- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 699,159- 714,116- 14,957
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Labor Certification----
Program Administration-............ TF- 50,323- 50,323- 0
State Grants-...................... TF- 15,070- 15,070- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Foreign Labor Certification-- ...... 65,393- 65,393- 0
One-Stop Career Centers/Labor Market D- 63,473- 63,473- 0
Information-..........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: State UI and ES--............... ...... 4,086,933- 3,871,786- -215,147
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 86,068- 86,068- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 4,000,865- 3,785,718- -215,147
================================================================================================================
Advances to the UI and Other Trust M- 171,000- 0- -171,000
Funds \1\-............................
Program Administration----
Adult Employment and Training-......... D- 46,677- 46,677- 0
Trust Funds-....................... TF- 8,518- 8,518- 0
Youth Employment and Training-......... D- 12,260- 12,260- 0
Employment Security-................... D- 3,476- 3,476- 0
Trust Funds-....................... TF- 39,343- 39,343- 0
Apprenticeship Services-............... D- 27,676- 27,676- 0
Executive Direction-................... D- 7,048- 7,048- 0
Trust Funds-....................... TF- 2,083- 2,083- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Program Administration--..... ...... 147,081- 147,081- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Funds--................ ...... 97,137- 97,137- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--.................. ...... 49,944- 49,944- 0
================================================================================================================
Total: Employment and Training ...... 10,849,004- 10,733,058- -115,946
Administration--......................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 6,798,195- 6,897,396- 99,201
================================================================================================================
Current Year--................. ...... 5,026,195- 5,125,396- 99,201
================================================================================================================
FY14--......................... ...... 1,772,000- 1,772,000- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 4,050,809- 3,835,662- -215,147
================================================================================================================
Employee Benefits Security Administration
S&E----
Enforcement and Participant Assistance- D- 145,243- 145,243- 0
Policy and Compliance Assistance-...... D- 31,205- 31,205- 0
Executive Leadership, Program Oversight D- 6,705- 6,705- 0
and Administration-...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: EBSA--.......................... ...... 183,153- 183,153- 0
================================================================================================================
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation----
Pension Insurance Activities-.......... NA- (86,023)- (75,943)- (-10,080)
Pension Plan Termination-.............. NA- (243,372)- (240,611)- (-2,761)
Operational Support-................... NA- (147,506)- (162,459)- (14,953)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: PBGC, program level--........... ...... (476,901)- (479,013)- (2,112)
================================================================================================================
Enforcement of Wage and Hour Standards- D- 227,061- 235,730- 8,669
Office of Labor-Management Standards-.. D- 41,289- 41,289- 0
Federal Contractor EEO Standards D- 105,187- 105,187- 0
Enforcement-..........................
Federal Programs for Workers' D- 115,720- 115,720- 0
Compensation-.........................
Trust Funds-....................... TF- 2,120- 2,120- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Federal Programs for Workers' - 117,840- 117,840- 0
Compensation-.........................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 115,720- 115,720- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 2,120- 2,120- 0
================================================================================================================
Special Benefits----
Federal employees compensation M- 347,000- 393,000- 46,000
benefits-.....................
Longshore and harbor workers' M- 3,000- 3,000- 0
benefits-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Special Benefits-............ - 350,000- 396,000- 46,000
Special Benefits for Disabled Coal
Miners----
Benefit payments-.............. M- 177,000- 158,000- -19,000
Administration-................ M- 5,227- 5,220- -7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page S1754]]
Subtotal: Spec. Bens. for Disabled Coal ...... 182,227- 163,220- -19,007
Miners, program level--...............
Less funds advanced in prior year-..... M- -41,000- -40,000- 1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Spec. Bens. for Disabled Coal ...... 141,227- 123,220- -18,007
Miners, current request--.............
================================================================================================================
New advances, 1st quarter FY14-........ M- 40,000- 35,000- -5,000
Energy Employees Occupational Illness M- 52,147- 54,962- 2,815
Compensation-.........................
Black Lung Disability Trust Fund----
Benefit payments and interest on M- 242,609- 250,043- 7,434
advances-.........................
Office of Workers' Compensation, M- 32,906- 32,906- 0
S&E-..............................
Departmental Management S&E-....... M- 25,217- 25,217- 0
Departmental Management, Inspector M- 327- 327- 0
General-..........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Black Lung Disability--...... ...... 301,059- 308,493- 7,434
Treasury Adm. Costs-................... M- 356- 356- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Black Lung Disability Trust Fund- - 301,415- 308,849- 7,434
......................................
================================================================================================================
Total: Office of Workers' Compensation ...... 1,002,629- 1,035,871- 33,242
Programs..............................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 1,000,509- 1,033,751- 33,242
================================================================================================================
Current Year................... ...... 960,509- 998,751- 38,242
================================================================================================================
FY14........................... ...... 40,000- 35,000- -5,000
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--.......................... ...... 2,120- 2,120- 0
================================================================================================================
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration S&E----
Safety and Health Standards-........... D- 19,962- 20,463- 501
Federal Enforcement-................... D- 207,753- 207,075- -678
Whistleblower Enforcement-............. D- 15,873 18,445- 2,572
State Programs-........................ D- 104,196- 104,196- 0
Technical Support-..................... D- 25,819- 24,880- -939
Compliance Assistance:----
Federal Assistance-................ D- 76,355- 76,355- 0
State Consultation Grants-......... D- 57,890- 61,844- 3,954
Training Grants-................... D- 10,709- 10,709- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Compliance Assistance-....... D- 144,954- 148,908- 3,954
Safety and Health Statistics-.......... D- 34,739- 34,313- -426
Executive Direction and Administration- D- 11,491- 11,491- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: OSHA--.......................... ...... 564,787- 569,771- 4,984
================================================================================================================
Mine Safety and Health Administration S&E---
-
Coal Enforcement-...................... D- 164,500- 166,180- 1,680
Metal/Non-Metal Enforcement-........... D- 89,063- 90,380- 1,317
Standards Development-................. D- 4,765- 5,090- 325
Assessments/Accountability & Special D- 7,103- 6,732- -371
Enforcement-..........................
Educational Policy and Development-.... D- 38,325- 34,745- -3,580
Technical Support-..................... D- 33,613- 33,613- 0
Program Evaluation and Information D- 18,157- 17,990- -167
Resources (PEIR)-.....................
Program Administration-................ D- 17,768- 18,962- 1,194
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: MSHA--.......................... ...... 373,294- 373,692- 398
================================================================================================================
Bureau of Labor Statistics S&E----
Employment and Unemployment Statistics- D- 209,367- 214,367- 5,000
Labor Market Information-.............. TF- 67,176- 67,176- 0
Prices and Cost of Living-............. D- 205,888- 210,860- 4,972
Compensation and Working Conditions-... D- 80,391- 80,391- 0
Productivity and Technology-........... D- 12,013- 12,013- 0
Executive Direction and Staff Services- D- 34,236- 34,236- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Bureau of Labor Statistics--.... ...... 609,071- 619,043- 9,972
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--........................ ...... 541,895- 551,867- 9,972
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--.......................... ...... 67,176- 67,176- 0
================================================================================================================
Office of Disability Employment Policy S&E- D- 38,879- 38,953- 74
Departmental Management----
Salaries and Expenses----
Executive Direction-............... D- 33,220- 32,722- -498
Departmental Program Evaluation-... D- 8,484- 8,484- 0
Legal Services-.................... D- 128,877- 130,938- 2,061
Trust Funds-................... TF- 325- 326- 1
International Labor Affairs-....... D- 92,309- 92,309- 0
Administration and Management-..... D- 30,282- 29,614- -668
Adjudication-...................... D- 29,172- 29,496- 324
Women's Bureau-.................... D- 11,559- 11,559- 0
Civil Rights Activities-........... D- 6,785- 7,273- 488
Chief Financial Officer-........... D- 5,340- 5,340- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: DM S&E-..................... - 346,353- 348,061- 1,708
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds-..................... - 346,028- 347,735- 1,707
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 325- 326- 1
================================================================================================================
Veterans Employment and Training----
State Administration, Grants-...... TF- 165,081- 172,000- 6,919
Transition Assistance Program-..... TF- 8,983- 14,000- 5,017
Federal Administration-............ TF- 35,155- 35,155- 0
National Veterans Training TF- 2,439- 3,414- 975
Institute-........................
Homeless Veterans Program-......... D- 38,185- 38,185- 0
Veterans Workforce Investment D- 14,594- 0- -14,594
Programs-.........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Veterans Employment and Training- ...... 264,437- 262,754- -1,683
-.....................................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 52,779- 38,185- -14,594
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 211,658- 224,569- 12,911
================================================================================================================
[[Page S1755]]
IT Modernization----
Departmental Support Systems-...... D- 11,830- 7,985- -3,845
IT Infrastructure Modernization-... D- 7,985- 11,830- 3,845
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: IT Modernization-............... - 19,815- 19,815- 0
================================================================================================================
Office of the Inspector General----
Program Activities-................ D- 77,790- 77,790- 0
Trust Funds-................... TF- 5,898- 5,898- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Office of the Inspector General-- ...... 83,688- 83,688- 0
......................................
================================================================================================================
Total: Departmental Management--....... ...... 714,293- 714,318- 25
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 496,412- 483,525- -12,887
================================================================================================================
Current Year--................. ...... 496,412- 483,525- -12,887
================================================================================================================
Current Year (emergency)--..... ...... 0- 0- 0
================================================================================================================
FY14--......................... ...... 0- 0- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 217,881- 230,793- 12,912
================================================================================================================
Total: Department of Labor--........... ...... 14,708,647- 14,650,065- -58,582
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 10,370,661- 10,514,314- 143,653
================================================================================================================
Current Year--................. ...... 8,558,661- 8,707,314- 148,653
================================================================================================================
FY14--......................... ...... 1,812,000- 1,807,000- -5,000
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 4,337,986- 4,135,751- -202,235
================================================================================================================
Two year availability..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services ...... ................. ................. .................
Administration
Health Resources and Services ...... ................. ................. .................
Bureau of Primary Health Care..........
Community health centers-.......... D- 1,566,892- 1,566,892- 0
Free Clinics Medical Malpractice-.. D- 40- 40- 0
Hansen's Disease Services-......... D- 16,045- 16,045- 0
Buildings and Facilities-.......... D- 128- 127- -1
Payment to Hawaii, treatment of D- 1,960- 1,960- 0
Hansen's-.........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Bureau of Primary Health Care ...... 1,585,065 1,585,064- -1
Health Professions----
Training for Diversity----
Centers of excellence-......... D- 22,909- 22,909- 0
Health careers opportunity D- 14,822- 14,822- 0
program-......................
Faculty loan repayment-........ D- 1,243- 1,243- 0
Scholarships for disadvantaged D 47,452 47,452 0
students......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Training for Diversity--..... ...... 86,426- 86,426- 0
Training in Primary Care Medicine-..... D- 38,962- 44,481- 5,519
Oral Health Training-.................. D- 32,392- 32,392- 0
Interdisciplinary Community-Based
Linkages----
Area health education centers-..... D- 27,220- 27,220- 0
Geriatric education-............... D- 30,629- 30,629- 0
Mental and Behavioral Health-...... D- 2,892- 4,000- 1,108
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Interdisciplinary Comm. ...... 60,741 61,849 1,108
Linkages-.............................
Workforce information and analysis-.... D 2,782- 5,000- 2,218
Public health and preventive medicine D 8,111 10,111 2,000
training-.............................
Nursing programs----
Advanced Education Nursing-........ D 63,925 63,925 0
Nurse education, practice and D- 39,182 39,182 0
retention.........................
Nursing workforce diversity-....... D- 15,819 15,819 0
Loan repayment and scholarship D- 83,135 83,135 0
program...........................
Comprehensive geriatric education-. D 4,485 4,485 0
Nursing faculty loan program....... D 24,553 24,553 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Nursing programs-............ ...... 231,099 231,099 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Health Professions........... ...... 460,513 471,358 10,845
Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical D- 265,171 275,171 10,000
Education.............................
National Practitioner Data Bank-....... D 27,963 28,016 53
User Fees-......................... D -27,963 -28,016- -53
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Bureau of Health Professions. ...... 725,684- 746,529 20,845
Maternal and Child Health Bureau----
Maternal & Child Health Block Grant- D 638,646 640,098- 1,452
..................................
Sickle Cell Anemia Demonstration D 4,665 4,665 0
Program...........................
Traumatic Brain Injury............. D- 9,760- 9,760- 0
Autism and Other Developmental D 47,142 47,142 0
Disorders.........................
Heritable Disorders-............... D 9,834 11,834 2,000
Healthy Start...................... D 103,532 103,532 0
Universal Newborn Hearing-......... D 18,660 18,660 0
Emergency medical services for D 21,116 21,116 0
children..........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Maternal and Child Health ...... 853,355 856,807 3,452
Bureau................................
HIV/AIDS Bureau----
Ryan White AIDS Programs----
Emergency Assistance........... D 671,258 666,071 -5,187
Comprehensive Care Programs-... D 1,355,640- 1,390,827 35,187
AIDS Drug Assistance Program NA (933,299) (963,299) (30,000)
(ADAP)-.......................
Early Intervention Program-.... D 215,086 215,086 0
Children, Youth, Women & D 77,167 77,167 0
Families--Part D..............
AIDS Dental Services........... D 13,485 13,485 0
Education and Training Centers. D 34,542 34,542 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Ryan White AIDS programs, ...... 2,367,178 2,397,178 30,000
appropriation.........................
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA- (25,000) (25,000) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Ryan White AIDS programs, ...... 2,392,178 2,422,178 30,000
program level.........................
Subtotal: HIV/AIDS Bureau.............. ...... 2,367,178 2,397,178- 30,000
[[Page S1756]]
Healthcare Systems Bureau----
Organ Transplantation.............. D 24,015 24,015- 0
National Cord Blood Inventory...... D 11,887 11,887- 0
Bone Marrow Program-............... D 23,330 23,330 0
Office of Pharmacy Affairs-........ D 4,472 4,472 0
340B Drug Pricing User Fees-....... D 0 6,000 6,000
User Fees-..................... D 0 -6,000 -6,000
Poison control..................... D 18,830- 18,830 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Healthcare Systems Bureau-... ...... 82,534 82,534 0
Rural Health Programs----..............
Rural outreach grants.............. D 55,553 55,553 0
Rural Health Research.............. D 9,866 9,866 0
Rural Hospital Flexibility Grants-. D 41,040 41,040 0
Rural and Community Access to D- 1,100- 3,000- 1,900
Emergency Devices.................
State Offices of Rural Health...... D 10,036 10,036 0
Black lung clinics-................ D 7,140 7,140 0
Radiation Exposure Screening D 1,935 1,935 0
Education Program.................
Telehealth-........................ D 11,502 11,502 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Rural Health Programs........ ...... 138,172- 140,072 1,900
Family Planning........................ D 293,870 293,870 0
Program Management-.................... D 159,894 162,517 2,623
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Health resources and services, ...... 6,205,752- 6,264,571 58,819
appropriation.........................
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)........ ...... (25,000) (25,000) 0
================================================================================================================
Total: Health resources and services, ...... 6,230,752 6,289,571 58,819
program level-........................
================================================================================================================
Health Education Assistance Loans Program---
-
Liquidating account-............... NA (1,000) (1,000) 0
Program management-................ D 2,807 2,807 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: HEAL--.......................... ...... 2,807 2,807 0
================================================================================================================
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program TF--
--
Post-FY88 claims-.................. M 235,000 235,000- 0
HRSA administration-............... D 6,477 6,477 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Vaccine Injury Compensation ...... 241,477 241,477 0
Trust Fund............................
================================================================================================================
Total: HRSA, appropriation............. ...... 6,450,036 6,508,855 58,819
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)-....... ...... (25,000) (25,000) 0
================================================================================================================
HRSA, funded in this bill-............. ...... 6,475,036 6,533,855 58,819
================================================================================================================
Prevention and Public Health Fund-. ...... 0 0 0
================================================================================================================
Total: HRSA, program level............. ...... 6,475,036 6,533,855 58,819
================================================================================================================
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--
--
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.. D 576,083 525,201 -50,882
Balances from P.L. 111-32 Pandemic NA- 0- (51,049) 51,049
Flu...............................
Evaluation Tap Funding-............ NA- (12,864)- (12,864)- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Immunization and Respiratory ...... 588,947- 589,114- 167
Disease...............................
HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB D 1,099,934- 1,101,956 2,022
Prevention-...........................
Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious D 252,476 266,458 13,982
Diseases-.............................
Chronic Disease Prevention, Health D 756,377- 797,081 40,704
Promotion and Genomics-...............
Birth Defects, Developmental D- 137,287 132,037 -5,250
Disabilities, Disability and Health...
Public Health Scientific Services-..... D 143,972 129,614- -14,358
Evaluation Tap Funding............. NA (247,769) (262,127) (14,358)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Information and Service, program ...... 391,741 391,741 0
level.................................
Environmental Health................... D 104,998 107,316 2,318
Injury Prevention and Control.......... D 137,693 137,693 0
National Institute for Occupational D 181,864 181,222 -642
Safety and Health1....................
Evaluation Tap Funding............. NA (110,724) (111,366) (642)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Occupational Safety and Health, program ...... 292,588 292,588 0
level 1...............................
Energy Employees Occupational Illness M (55,358) (55,358) 0
Compensation Program..................
Global Health.......................... D 347,594 353,794 6,200
Public Health Preparedness and Response D 1,299,479 1,226,013 -73,466
Balances from P.L. 111-32 Pandemic NA (30,000) (154,876) (124,876)
Flu...............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Health Preparedness and ...... 1,329,479 1,380,889 51,410
Response, Program Level...............
Buildings and Facilities............... ...... 24,946 39,400 14,454
CDC-Wide Activities.................... D 592,967 591,500 -1,467
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Centers for Disease Control, ...... 5,711,028 5,644,643 -66,385
appropriation.........................
================================================================================================================
Mandatory Funding.................. ...... 55,358 55,358 0
================================================================================================================
Discretionary Appropriation........ ...... 5,655,670 5,589,285 -66,385
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)............ ...... (371,357) (386,357) (15,000)
================================================================================================================
Balances from P.L. 111-32 Pandemic Flu. ...... (30,000) (205,925) (175,925)
================================================================================================================
Total: CDC, program level.............. ...... 6,112,385 6,236,925 124,540
================================================================================================================
National Institutes of Health
National Cancer Institute.............. D 5,062,805 5,090,976 28,171
National Heart, Lung, and Blood D 3,073,329 3,090,430 17,101
Institute.............................
National Institute of Dental & D 409,951 412,232 2,281
Craniofacial Research.................
Nat. Inst. of Diabetes & Digestive & D 1,793,721 1,803,702 9,981
Kidney Diseases.......................
Juvenile Diabetes (Mandatory)...... NA (150,000) (150,000) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIDDK, program level................... ...... (1,943,721) (1,953,702) (9,981)
National Institute of Neurological D 1,623,357 1,632,390 9,033
Disorders and Stroke..................
National Institute of Allergy and D 4,482,138 4,507,078 24,940
Infectious Diseases...................
National Institute of General Medical D 2,425,588 2,479,085 53,497
Sciences..............................
Nat. Inst. of Child Health and Human D 1,318,954 1,326,293 7,339
Development...........................
National Eye Institute................. D 701,413 705,316 3,903
[[Page S1757]]
National Institute of Environmental D 684,303 688,111 3,808
Health Sciences.......................
National Institute on Aging............ D 1,120,401 1,126,636 6,235
Nat. Inst. Arthritis & Musculoskeletal D 534,795 537,771 2,976
& Skin Diseases.......................
Nat. Inst. on Deafness & Other D 415,504 417,816 2,312
Communication Disorders...............
National Institute of Nursing Research. D 144,502 145,306 804
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and D 458,669 461,221 2,552
Alcoholism............................
National Institute on Drug Abuse....... D 1,051,420 1,057,270 5,850
National Institute of Mental Health.... D 1,477,528 1,485,749 8,221
National Human Genome Research D 512,263 515,113 2,850
Institute.............................
National Institute of Biomedical D 337,731 339,610 1,879
Imaging and Bioengineering............
National Center for Research Resources. D 0 0 0
National Center for Complementary and D 127,820 128,531 711
Alternative Medicine..................
National Institute on Minority Health D 275,929 277,464 1,535
and Health Disparities................
John E. Fogarty International Center... D 69,493 69,880 387
National Center for Advancing D 574,334 617,830 43,496
Translational Sciences................
National Library of Medicine........... D 364,822 366,852 2,030
Evaluation Tap Funding............. NA (8,200) (8,200) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLM, program level..................... ...... (373,022) (375,052) (2,030)
Office of the Director................. D 1,457,181 1,465,289 8,108
Common Fund (NA)................... NA (544,930) (547,962) (3,032)
Buildings and Facilities............... D 125,308 125,308 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: National Institutes of Health, ...... 30,623,259 30,873,259 250,000
appropriation.........................
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap funding (NA)........ ...... (8,200) (8,200) 0
================================================================================================================
Total: National Institutes of Health, ...... 30,631,459 30,881,459 250,000
Program Level.........................
================================================================================================================
Substance Abuse & Mental Health
Services Adm.
Mental Health:
Programs of Regional and National D 275,757 290,996 15,239
Significance......................
Mental Health Block Grant.......... D 438,717 448,717 10,000
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA (21,039) (21,039) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mental Health Block Grant, program ...... 459,756 469,756 10,000
level.............................
State Prevention Grants............ D 0 0 0
Children's Mental Health........... D 117,314 117,315 1
Grants to States for the Homeless D 64,794 64,794 0
(PATH)............................
Protection and Advocacy............ D 36,238 36,238 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Mental Health, appropriation. ...... 932,820 958,060 25,240
Subtotal: Mental Health, program level. ...... 953,859 979,099 25,240
Substance Abuse Treatment:
Programs of Regional and National D 398,243 373,568 -24,675
Significance......................
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA (2,000) (2,000) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs of Regional and National ...... 400,243 375,568 -24,675
Significance, program level.......
Substance Abuse Prevention Grants.. D 0 0 0
Substance Abuse Block Grant........ D 1,721,132 1,741,132 20,000
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA (79,200) (79,200) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Substance Abuse Block Grant, program ...... 1,800,332 1,820,332 20,000
level.................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Substance Abuse Treatment, ...... 2,119,375 2,114,700 -4,675
appropriation.........................
Subtotal: Substance Abuse Treatment, ...... 2,200,575 2,195,900 -4,675
program level.........................
Substance Abuse Prevention:
Programs of Regional and National D 185,956 185,364 -592
Significance......................
Health Surveillance, Crosscutting
Issues & Support
Program Management................. D 76,894 72,229 -4,665
Health Surveillance................ D 1,996 1,996 0
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA (27,428) (27,428) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surveillance, program level........ ...... 29,424 29,424 0
Military Families.................. D 3,493 3,500 7
Data Requests & Publications....... D 0 1,500 1,500
User Fees...................... D 0 -1,500 -1,500
Public Awareness and Support....... D 13,545 13,545 0
Performance and Quality Information D 12,940 12,940 0
Systems...........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Health Surveillance & Support ...... 108,868 104,210 -4,658
appropriation.........................
Subtotal: Health Surveillance & Support ...... 136,296 131,638 -4,658
program level.........................
================================================================================================================
Total: SAMHSA, appropriation........... ...... 3,347,019 3,362,334 15,315
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)........ ...... (129,667) (129,667) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: SAMHSA, program level........... ...... 3,476,686 3,492,001 15,315
================================================================================================================
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Research on Health Costs, Quality,
and Outcomes (HCQO):
HCQO, Federal Funds-............... D 0 0 0
HCQO, Evaluation Tap funding....... NA (235,768) (219,931) (-15,837)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Research on Health Costs, ...... (235,768) (219,931) (-15,837)
Quality, and Outcomes.................
Medical Expenditure Surveys, Federal D 0 0 0
Funds.................................
Medical Expenditure Surveys, Evaluation NA (59,300) (60,700) (1,400)
Tap Funding-..........................
Program Support, Federal Funds......... D 0 0 0
Program Support, Evaluation Tap Funding NA (73,985) (68,422) (-5,563)
================================================================================================================
Total: AHRQ, appropriation............. ...... 0 0 0
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding............. ...... 369,053 349,053 -20,000
================================================================================================================
Total: AHRQ, program level............. ...... 369,053 349,053 -20,000
================================================================================================================
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services
Grants to States for Medicaid
Medicaid current law benefits...... M 253,884,907 250,398,918 -3,485,989
State and local administration..... M 12,808,496 14,735,346 1,926,850
Vaccines for Children.............. M 4,030,996 4,271,015 240,019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Medicaid program level....... ...... 270,724,399 269,405,279 -1,319,120
Less funds advanced in prior year.. M -86,445,289 -90,614,082 -4,168,793
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Grants to States for Medicaid... ...... 184,279,110 178,791,197 -5,487,913
================================================================================================================
New advance, 1st quarter............... M 90,614,082 106,335,631 15,721,549
[[Page S1758]]
Payments to Health Care Trust Funds
Supplemental medical insurance..... M 178,041,000 189,520,000 11,479,000
Hospital insurance for the M 0 0 0
uninsured.........................
Federal uninsured payment.......... M 262,000 228,000 -34,000
Program management................. M 222,000 192,000 -30,000
General revenue for Part D benefit. M 51,431,000 60,744,000 9,313,000
General revenue for Part D federal M 475,000 424,000 -51,000
administration....................
Reimbursement for HCFAC............ M 310,378 309,790 -588
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Payments to trust funds, ...... 230,741,378 251,417,790 20,676,412
program level.........................
Less funds advanced in prior year.. ...... 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Payments to trust funds, current ...... 230,741,378 251,417,790 20,676,412
law...................................
================================================================================================================
Program Management
Research, Demonstration and TF 21,160 21,160 0
Evaluation........................
Program Operations................. TF 2,608,785 2,608,785 0
State Survey and Certification..... TF 375,203 381,278 6,075
High Risk Insurance Pools.......... TF 44,000 44,000 0
Federal Administration............. TF 770,963 770,964 1
0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Program Management lim. on new ...... 3,820,111 3,826,187 6,076
BA....................................
================================================================================================================
Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control
Discretionary MIP.................. TF 219,463 219,463 0
Office of Inspector General........ TF 29,674 29,674 0
Department of Justice.............. TF 29,674 29,674 0
Medicaid/SCHIP PERM-............... TF 30,979 30,979 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Health Care Fraud and Abuse ...... 309,790 309,790 0
Control...............................
================================================================================================================
Total: Center for Medicare and Medicaid ...... 509,764,471 540,680,595 30,916,124
Services..............................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds...................... ...... 505,634,570 536,544,618 30,910,048
================================================================================================================
Current year................... ...... 415,020,488 430,208,987 15,188,499
================================================================================================================
New advance, FY14.............. ...... 90,614,082 106,335,631 15,721,549
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 4,129,901 4,135,977 6,076
================================================================================================================
Administration for Children and
Families
Family Support Payments to States
Payments to territories............ M 33,000 33,000 0
Repatriation....................... M 1,000 1,000 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Welfare payments............. ...... 34,000 34,000 0
Child Support Enforcement:
State and local administration. M 3,780,819 3,272,647 -508,172
Federal incentive payments..... M 526,158 539,838 13,680
Access and visitation.......... M 10,000 10,000 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Child Support Enforcement.... ...... 4,316,977 3,822,485 -494,492
================================================================================================================
Total: Family support payments, program ...... 4,350,977 3,856,485 -494,492
level.................................
Less funds advanced in previous M -1,200,000 -1,100,000 100,000
years.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Family support payments, current ...... 3,150,977 2,756,485 -394,492
year..................................
================================================================================================================
New advance, 1st quarter, FY14..... M 1,100,000 1,100,000 0
Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program
Formula grants (non-emergency). D 3,471,672 3,471,672 0
Refugee and Entrant Assistance
Transitional and Medical D 323,195 412,875 89,680
Services......................
Victims of Trafficking......... D 9,775 9,775 0
Social Services................ D 124,305 153,407 29,102
Preventive Health.............. D 4,730 4,730 0
Targeted Assistance............ D 28,073 48,401 20,328
Unaccompanied Alien Children... D 267,211 363,767 96,556
Victims of Torture............. D 11,045 11,045 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Refugee and Entrant Assistance.. ...... 768,334 1,004,000 235,666
================================================================================================================
Child Care and Development Block Grant. D 2,278,313 2,388,313 110,000
Social Services Block Grant (Title XX). M 1,700,000 1,700,000 0
Children and Family Services Programs
Programs for Children, Youth and
Families:
Head Start, current funded..... D 7,968,544 8,018,544 50,000
Consolidated Runaway, Homeless D 97,355 97,355 0
Youth Prog....................
Prevention Grants to Reduce D 17,901 17,901 0
Abuse of Runaway Youth........
Child Abuse State Grants....... D 26,432 26,432 0
Child Abuse Discretionary D 25,744 28,744 3,000
Activities....................
Community Based Child Abuse D 41,527 41,527 0
Prevention....................
Abandoned Infants Assistance... D 11,553 11,553 0
Child Welfare Services......... D 280,650 280,650 0
Child Welfare Training......... D 26,092 26,092 0
Adoption Opportunities......... D 39,179 39,179 0
Adoption Incentives............ D 39,346 39,346 0
Social Services and Income D 0 0 0
Maintenance Research..............
Evaluation Tap Funding......... NA (5,762) 5,762 0
Native American Programs........... D 48,583 48,583 0
Community Services:
Community Services Block Grant
Act:
Grants to States for Community D 677,358 677,358 0
Services......................
Economic Development........... D 29,943 34,943 5,000
Rural Community Facilities..... D 4,981 5,981 1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: CSBG Act..................... ...... 712,282 718,282 6,000
Individual Development Account D 19,869 17,000 -2,869
Initiative............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Community Services........... ...... 732,151 735,282 3,131
Domestic Violence Hotline.......... D 3,197 4,500 1,303
Family Violence/Battered Women's D 129,547 135,000 5,453
Shelters..........................
Independent Living Training D 45,174 45,174 0
Vouchers..........................
Faith-Based Center................. D 1,370- 1,370- 0
Disaster Human Services Case D 1,992- 1,992- 0
Management........................
[[Page S1759]]
Program Direction.................. D 198,645 201,645 3,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Children and Family Services ...... 9,734,982 9,800,869 65,887
Programs, appropriation...............
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 9,734,982 9,800,869 65,887
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)........ ...... (5,762) (5,762) 0
================================================================================================================
Total: Children and Family Services ...... 9,740,744 9,806,631 65,887
Programs, program level...............
================================================================================================================
Promoting Safe and Stable Families..... M 345,000 345,000 0
Discretionary Funds................ D 63,065 63,065 0
Payments for Foster Care and Permanency
Foster Care-....................... M 4,288,000 4,143,000 -145,000
Adoption Assistance-............... M 2,495,000 2,537,000 42,000
Independent living................. M 140,000 140,000 0
Kinship Guardianship............... M 80,000 90,000 10,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Payments to States.............. ...... 7,003,000 6,910,000 -93,000
Less Advances from Prior Year...... M -1,850,000 -2,100,000 -250,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Current year.................... ...... 5,153,000 4,810,000 -343,000
================================================================================================================
New Advance, 1st quarter............... M 2,100,000 2,200,000 100,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Administration for Children and ...... 29,865,343 29,639,404 -225,939
Families, appropriation...............
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 26,665,343 26,339,404 -325,939
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap Funding (NA)........ ...... (5,762) (5,762) 0
================================================================================================================
Total: Administration for Children and ...... 29,871,105 29,645,166 -225,939
Families, program level...............
================================================================================================================
Total: Administration for Children and ...... 16,316,366 16,727,919 411,553
Families, discretionary...............
================================================================================================================
Administration for Community Living
Aging and Disability Services Programs
Grants to States:
Supportive Services and Centers D 366,916 366,916 0
Preventive Health.............. D 20,944 20,944 0
Protection of Vulnerable Older D 21,798 21,798 0
Americans--Title VII..........
Family Caregivers.............. D 153,621 153,621 0
Native American Caregivers D 6,376 6,364 -12
Support.......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Caregivers................... ...... 159,997 159,985 -12
Nutrition:
Congregate Meals............... D 439,070 439,070 0
Home Delivered Meals........... D 216,830 216,830 0
Nutrition Services Incentive D 160,389 160,389 0
program.......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Nutrition.................... ...... 816,289 816,289 0
Grants for Native Americans........ D 27,601 27,601 0
Aging Network Support Activities... D 7,873 7,873 0
Alzheimer's Disease Demonstrations. D 4,010 4,010 0
Lifespan Respite Care.............. D 2,490 2,490 0
Adult Protective Services D 0 5,000 5,000
Demonstrations....................
Senior Medicare Patrol Program..... D 9,402 9,402 0
Elder Rights Support Activities.... D 4,088 4,088 0
Aging & Disability Resource Centers D 6,457 6,457 0
State Health Insurance Program TF 52,115 52,115 0
(SHIPs)...........................
Developmental Disabilities
Programs:
State Councils................. D 74,774 74,774 0
Protection and Advocacy........ D 40,865 40,865 0
Voting Access for Individuals D 5,235 5,235 0
with Disabilities.............
Developmental Disabilities Projects D 8,317 8,317 0
of National Significance..........
University Ctrs. for Excellence D 38,792 38,792 0
in Developmental Disabilities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Developmental Disabilities ...... 167,983 167,983 0
Programs..............................
Program Adminstration.................. D 29,311 29,652 341
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Administration for Community ...... 1,697,274 1,702,603 5,329
Living................................
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds...................... ...... 1,645,159 1,650,488 5,329
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 52,115 52,115 0
================================================================================================================
Administration for Community Living ...... 1,697,274 1,702,603 5,329
Program Level.........................
================================================================================================================
Office of the Secretary
General Departmental Management
Federal Funds...................... D 218,262 223,253 4,991
Trust Funds........................ TF 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal............................... ...... 218,262 223,253 4,991
Teen Pregnancy Prevention.............. D 104,592 104,592 0
Eval Tap........................... NA (8,455) (8,455) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal............................... ...... 113,047 113,047 0
Minority Health........................ D 55,782 55,782 0
Abstinence Education................... D 4,991 5,000 9
Office of Women's Health............... D 33,682 29,120 -4,562
Minority HIV/AIDS...................... D 53,681 53,681 0
Embryo Adoption Awareness Campaign..... D 1,996 1,996 0
Planning and Evaluation (Eval Tap)..... NA (60,756) (60,756) 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: General Department Management... ...... 542,197 542,635 438
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds...................... ...... 472,986 473,424 438
================================================================================================================
Evaluation Tap..................... ...... (69,211) (69,211) 0
Trust Funds........................ ...... 0 0 0
================================================================================================================
Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals TF 72,011 79,908 7,897
Office of the Nat'l Coord. for Health D 16,415 16,415 0
IT....................................
Evaluation Tap Funding............. NA (44,811) (49,842) (5,031)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page S1760]]
Health Information Technology, program ...... (61,226) (66,257) (5,031)
level.................................
================================================================================================================
Office of the Inspector General
Federal Funds...................... D 50,083 55,483 5,400
HIPAA funding (NA)............. NA (196,090) (196,669) (579)
Evaluation Tap Funding............. NA 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Office of the Inspector General, ...... 50,083 55,483 5,400
appropriation.........................
================================================================================================================
Total: Office of the Inspector General, ...... (246,173) (252,152) (5,979)
program level.........................
================================================================================================================
Office for Civil Rights
Federal Funds...................... D 40,938 38,966 -1,972
Trust Funds........................ TF 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Office for Civil Rights......... ...... 40,938 38,966 -1,972
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 0 0 0
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds...................... ...... 40,938 38,966 -1,972
================================================================================================================
Medical Benefits for Commissioned Officers--
--
Retirement payments.................... M 375,016 395,452 20,436
Survivors benefits..................... M 28,350 31,043 2,693
Dependents' medical care............... M 93,984 100,656 6,672
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Medical benefits for ...... 497,350 527,151 29,801
commissioned officers.................
================================================================================================================
Public Health and Social Service Emergency
Fund
Asst. Sec. for Preparedness & Response:
Operations......................... D 32,982 32,982 0
Preparedness & Emergency Operations D 29,583 24,647 -4,936
National Disaster Medical System... D 52,735 52,390 -345
Hospital Preparedness.............. D 374,650 323,004 -51,646
ESAR-VHP........................... D 4,989 4,990 1
Biomedical Advanced Research & D 415,000 445,000 30,000
Development.......................
Medical Countermeasure Strategic D 0 15,000 15,000
Investor..........................
Medical Countermeasure Dispensing.. D 0 5,000 5,000
Policy, Strategic Planning & D 15,674 15,164 -510
Communications-...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: ASPR......................... ...... 925,613 918,177 -7,436
Assistant Sec. for Administration/Cyber- D 39,924 40,000 76
Security..............................
Assistant Secretary for Health/Medical D 11,247 10,971 -276
Reserve Corps.........................
Office of the Secretary:
HHS Lease Replacement.............. D 0 17,000 17,000
Office of Security & Strategic D- 6,448- 7,428- 980
Information.......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: OS appropriation............. ...... 6,448- 24,428- 17,980
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: PHSSEF appropriation............ ...... 983,232 993,576 10,344
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Office of the Secretary......... ...... 2,133,015- 2,184,923- 51,908
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds...................... ...... 2,061,004- 2,105,015- 44,011
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 72,011 79,908- 7,897
================================================================================================================
Total: Department of Health and Human ...... 589,591,445 620,596,616 31,005,171
Services..............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Funds...................... ...... 585,337,418 616,328,616 30,991,198
================================================================================================================
Current year................... ...... 491,523,336 506,692,985 15,169,649
FY14 advance................... ...... 93,814,082 109,635,631 15,821,549
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds........................ ...... 4,254,027- 4,268,000- 13,973
================================================================================================================
Includes Mine Safety and Health
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Education for the Disadvantaged
Grants to Local Educational Agencies
(LEAs)
Basic Grants----
Advance from prior year-....... NA- (2,956,911)- (2,962,510)- (5,599)
Forward funded-................ D- 3,611,410- 3,611,410- 0
Current funded-................ D- 3,984- 3,984- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Basic Grants, current year ...... 3,615,394- 3,615,394- 0
approp................................
Subtotal: Basic Grants, total.......... ...... (6,572,305)- (6,577,904)- (5,599)
Basic Grants FY14 Advance.............. D- 2,962,510- 2,962,510- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Basic Grants, program level.. ...... 6,577,904- 6,577,904- 0
Concentration Grants
Advance from prior year............ NA- (1,359,726)- (1,362,301)- (2,575)
FY14 Advance....................... D- 1,362,301- 1,362,301- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Concentration Grants, program ...... 1,362,301- 1,362,301- 0
level.................................
Targeted Grants
Advance from prior year-........... NA- (3,252,025)- (3,258,183)- (6,158)
Forward Funded-.................... D- 29,943- 92,443- 62,500
FY14 Advance....................... D- 3,258,183- 3,258,183- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Targeted Grants, program ...... 3,288,126- 3,350,626- 62,500
level.................................
Education Finance Incentive Grants
Advance from prior year............ NA- (3,252,025)- (3,258,183)- (6,158)
Forward Funded..................... D- 29,943- 92,443- 62,500
FY14 Advance....................... D- 3,258,183- 3,258,183- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Education Finance Incentive ...... 3,288,126- 3,350,626- 62,500
Grants, program level.................
Subtotal: Grants to LEAs (program ...... 14,516,457- 14,641,457- 125,000
level)................................
School Improvement Grants.............. D- 533,552- 533,552- 0
Striving Readers....................... D- 159,698- 159,698- 0
State Agency Programs:.................
Migrant-........................... D- 393,236- 393,236- 0
Neglected and Delinquent/High Risk D- 50,231- 50,231- 0
Youth.............................
Evaluation-............................ D- 3,194- 3,100- -94
High School Graduation Initiative...... D- 48,809- 48,809- 0
Special Programs for Migrant Students.. D- 36,526- 36,526- 0
[[Page S1761]]
Total: Education for the Disadvantaged. ...... 15,741,703- 15,866,609- 124,906
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 4,900,526- 5,025,432- 124,906
================================================================================================================
FY14............................... ...... 10,841,177- 10,841,177- 0
================================================================================================================
Subtotal: Forward Funded............... ...... 4,808,013- 4,933,013- 125,000
================================================================================================================
Impact Aid----
Basic Support Payments-................ D- 1,153,540- 1,173,540- 20,000
Payments for Children with Disabilities D- 48,413- 48,413- 0
Facilities Maintenance (Sec. 8008)..... D- 4,845- 4,845- 0
Construction (Sec. 8007)............... D- 17,441- 17,441- 0
Payments for Federal Property (Sec. D- 66,947- 66,947- 0
8002).................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Impact Aid--.................... ...... 1,291,186- 1,311,186- 20,000
================================================================================================================
School Improvement Programs
State Grants for Improving Teacher D- 785,126- 785,126- 0
Quality...............................
Advance from prior year............ NA- (1,678,263)- (1,681,441)- (3,178)
FY14-.............................. D- 1,681,441- 1,681,441- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Grants for Improving Teacher ...... 2,466,567- 2,466,567- 0
Quality, program level................
Mathematics and Science Partnerships-.. D- 149,716- 149,716- 0
Supplemental Education Grants.......... D- 17,619- 17,619- 0
21st Century Community Learning Centers- D- 1,151,673- 1,151,673- 0
......................................
State Assessments/Enhanced Assessment D- 389,214- 389,214- 0
Instruments...........................
Education for Homeless Children & Youth D- 65,173- 65,173- 0
Training and Advisory Services (Civil D- 6,962- 6,962- 0
Rights)...............................
Education for Native Hawaiians......... D- 34,181- 34,181- 0
Alaska Native Education Equity......... D- 33,185- 33,185- 0
Rural Education........................ D- 179,193- 188,693- 9,500
Comprehensive Centers.................. D- 51,113- 51,113- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: School improvement programs..... ...... 4,544,596- 4,554,096- 9,500
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 2,863,155- 2,872,655- 9,500
================================================================================================================
FY14............................... ...... 1,681,441- 1,681,441- 0
================================================================================================================
Subtotal: Forward funded........... ...... 2,720,095- 2,729,595- 9,500
================================================================================================================
Indian Education
Grants to Local Educational Agencies... D- 105,921- 105,921- 0
Federal Programs:...................... ...... ................. 0- 0
Special Programs for Indian D- 18,986- 18,986- 0
Children..........................
National Activities-............... D- 5,872- 5,872- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Federal Programs............. ...... 24,858- 24,858- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Indian Education................ ...... 130,779- 130,779- 0
================================================================================================================
Innovation and Improvement----
Race to the Top-....................... D- 548,960- 549,284- 324
Investing in Innovation................ D- 149,417- 149,417- 0
Transition to Teaching................. D- 26,054- 18,200- -7,854
School Leadership...................... D- 29,107- 14,097- -15,010
Charter Schools Grants................. D- 254,836- 254,836- 0
Magnet Schools Assistance.............. D- 96,733- 96,733- 0
Fund for the Improvement of Education D- 65,776- 79,220- 13,444
(FIE).................................
Teacher Incentive Fund, current funded. D- 299,433- 299,433- 0
Ready-to-Learn Television.............. D- 27,194- 27,194- 0
Advanced Placement..................... D- 30,027- 36,027- 6,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Innovation and Improvement...... ...... 1,527,537- 1,524,441- -3,096
================================================================================================================
Safe Schools and Citizenship Education
Promise Neighborhoods-................. D- 59,887- 80,000- 20,113
National Activities.................... D- 64,877- 48,600- -16,277
Elementary and Secondary School D- 52,296- 52,296- 0
Counseling............................
Carol M. White Physical Education D- 78,693- 78,693- 0
Program...............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Safe Schools and Citizenship ...... 255,753- 259,589- 3,836
Education.............................
================================================================================================================
English Language Acquisition
Current funded......................... D- 47,589 47,589 0
Forward funded......................... D- 684,555- 684,555 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: English Language Acquisition.... ...... 732,144- 732,144- 0
================================================================================================================
Special Education
State Grants----
Grants to States Part B............ D- 2,294,472- 2,434,472- 140,000
Advance from prior year........ NA- (8,576,143)- (9,283,383)- (707,240)
FY14........................... D- 9,283,383- 9,283,383- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grants to States, program level.... ...... 11,577,855 11,717,855- 140,000
Preschool Grants................... D- 372,646 372,646 0
Grants for Infants and Families.... D- 442,710 452,710 10,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: State grants, program level.. ...... 12,393,211 12,543,211 150,000
IDEA National Activities (current
funded):----
State Personnel Development........ D 43,917 45,011 1,094
Technical Assistance and D 54,781 54,781 0
Dissemination.....................
Personnel Preparation.............. D 88,299 86,205 -2,094
Parent Information Centers......... D 28,917 29,917 1,000
Technology and Media Services...... D 29,588 29,588 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: IDEA National Activities..... ...... 245,502 245,502 0
Special Olympics Education Programs.... D 0 ................. .................
Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI D 1,996 1,996 0
(PROMISE).............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Special Education............... ...... 12,640,709 12,790,709 150,000
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 3,357,326 3,507,326 150,000
================================================================================================================
[[Page S1762]]
FY14............................... ...... 9,283,383 9,283,383 0
================================================================================================================
Subtotal: Forward funded............... ...... 3,109,828 3,259,828 150,000
================================================================================================================
Rehabilitation Services and Disability
Research
Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants. M 3,121,712 3,230,972 109,260
Discretionary modification......... NA 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants, ...... 3,121,712 3,230,972 109,260
Program Level.........................
Client Assistance State grants......... D 12,240 12,240 0
Training............................... D 35,515 35,515 0
Demonstration and training programs.... D 5,325 6,075 750
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers....... D 1,262 1,262 0
Protection and advocacy of individual D 18,031 18,031 0
rights (PAIR).........................
Supported employment State grants...... D 29,068 29,068 0
Independent living:
State grants....................... D 23,359 23,359 0
Centers............................ D 79,953 79,953 0
Services for older blind D 34,018 34,018 0
individuals.......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Independent living........... ...... 137,330 137,330 0
Helen Keller National Center for Deaf/ D 9,145 9,145 0
Blind Youth and Adults................
National Institute on Disability and D 108,817 106,817 -2,000
Rehab. Research (NIDRR)...............
Assistive Technology................... D 32,836 37,771 4,935
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Discretionary Programs....... ...... 389,569 393,254 3,685
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Rehabilitation Services......... ...... 3,511,281 3,624,226 112,945
================================================================================================================
Special Institutions for Persons with
Disabilities
American Printing House for the Blind.. D 24,505 24,505 0
National Technical Institute for the
Deaf
Operations......................... D 65,422 65,422 0
Construction....................... D 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: NTID......................... ...... 65,422 65,422 0
Gallaudet University
Operations............................. D 117,541 117,541 0
Construction........................... D 7,975 7,000 -975
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Gallaudet.................... ...... 125,516 124,541 -975
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Special Institutions for Persons ...... 215,443 214,468 -975
with Disabilities.....................
================================================================================================================
Career, Technical and Adult Education
Career and Technical Education
State Grants:
State grants, current funded... D 332,030 332,030 0
Advance from prior year........ NA (789,505) (791,000) (1,495)
FY14........................... D 791,000 791,000 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Grants, program level........ ...... 1,123,030 1,123,030 0
National Programs.................. D 7,829 7,829 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Career and Technical ...... 1,130,859 1,130,859 0
Education.............................
================================================================================================================
Adult Education:
State Grants/Adult basic and
literacy education
State Grants................... D 594,993 594,993 0
National Programs
National Leadership Activities. D 11,302 11,302 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: National programs............ ...... 11,302 11,302 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Adult Education.............. ...... 606,295 606,295 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Career, Technical and Adult ...... 1,737,154 1,737,154 0
education.............................
================================================================================================================
Current Year....................... ...... 946,154 946,154 0
================================================================================================================
FY14................................... ...... 791,000 791,000 0
================================================================================================================
Subtotal: Forward funded............... ...... 946,154 946,154 0
================================================================================================================
Student Financial Assistance
Pell Grants--maximum grant............. NA (4,860) (4,860) 0
Pell Grants............................ D 22,824,000 22,824,000 0
Federal Supplemental Educational D 734,599 734,599 0
Opportunity Grants....................
Federal Work Study..................... D 976,682 976,682 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Student Financial Assistance.... ...... 24,535,281 24,535,281 0
================================================================================================================
Student Aid Administration
Administrative Costs................... D 675,750 711,618 35,868
Servicing activities................... D 367,637 393,745 26,108
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Student Aid Administration...... ...... 1,043,387 1,105,363 61,976
Higher Education
Aid for Institutional Development:
Strengthening Institutions......... D 80,623 80,623 0
Hispanic Serving Institutions...... D 100,432 100,432 0
Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opp. D 9,011 9,011 0
For Hispanic Americans............
Strengthening Historically Black D 227,980 227,980 0
Colleges (HBCUs)..................
Strengthening Historically Black D 58,958 58,958 0
Graduate Insts....................
Strengthening Predominately Black D 9,262 9,262 0
Insts.............................
Asian American Pacific Islander.... D 3,119 3,119 0
Strengthening Alaska Native/Native D 12,859 12,859 0
Hawaiian-Serving Insts............
Strengthening Native American Non- D 3,119 3,119 0
tribal Colleges...................
Strengthening Tribal Colleges...... D 25,713 25,713 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Aid for Institutional ...... 531,076 531,076 0
development...........................
International Education and Foreign
Language:
Domestic Programs.................. D 66,586 67,432 846
Overseas Programs.................. D 7,451 7,451 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: International Ed and Foreign ...... 74,037 74,883 846
Language..............................
Fund for the Improvement of Postsec. D 3,494 29,494 26,000
Ed. (FIPSE)...........................
[[Page S1763]]
Postsecondary Programs for Students D 10,957 10,957 0
with Intellectual Disabilities........
Minority Science and Engineering D 9,466 9,466 0
Improvement...........................
Tribally Controlled Postsec Vocational D 8,131 8,131 0
and Technical Institutions............
Federal TRIO Programs.................. D 839,932 854,932 15,000
GEAR UP................................ D 302,244 302,244 0
Graduate Assistance in Areas of D 30,909 30,909 0
National Need.........................
Teacher Quality Partnership............ D 42,833 42,833 0
Child Care Access Means Parents in D 15,970 15,970 0
School................................
GPRA data/HEA program evaluation....... D 607 607 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Higher Education................ ...... 1,869,656 1,911,502 41,846
================================================================================================================
Howard University
Academic Program....................... D 201,637 201,637 0
Endowment Program...................... D 3,593 3,593 0
Howard University Hospital............. D 28,834 28,834 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Howard University............... ...... 234,064 234,064 0
================================================================================================================
College Housing and Acad. Facilities Loans D 459 459 0
(CHAFL)
HBCU Capital Financing Program
Federal Admin.......................... D 352 352 0
Loan Subsidies......................... D 20,150 20,150 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: HBCU Capital Financing Program.. ...... 20,502 20,502 0
================================================================================================================
Institute of Education Sciences
Research, development and dissemination D 189,787 189,787 0
Statistics............................. D 108,748 112,748 4,000
Regional Educational Laboratories...... D 57,426 57,426 0
Research in Special Education.......... D 49,905 49,905 0
Special Education Studies and D 11,415 11,415 0
Evaluations...........................
Statewide Data Systems................. D 38,077 38,077 0
Assessment: ...... ................. ................. 0
National Assessment................ D 129,616 124,616 -5,000
National Assessment Governing Board D 8,690 7,690 -1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Assessment................... ...... 138,306 132,306 -6,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: IES............................. ...... 593,664 591,664 -2,000
================================================================================================================
Departmental Management
Program Administration
Salaries and Expenses.............. D 446,259 446,259 0
Building Modernization............. D 0 2,211 2,211
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Program Administration....... ...... 446,259 448,470 2,211
Office for Civil Rights................ D 102,624 102,624 0
Office of the Inspector General........ D 59,820 59,820 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Departmental Management......... ...... 608,703 610,914 2,211
================================================================================================================
Total: Department of Education................. ...... 71,234,001 71,755,150 521,149
================================================================================================================
Current Year........................... ...... 48,637,000 49,158,149 521,149
================================================================================================================
FY14................................... ...... 22,597,001 22,597,001 0
================================================================================================================
RELATED AGENCIES
Committee for Purchase from People who are D 5,375 5,375 0
Blind or Severely Disabled................
Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS)
Domestic Volunteer Service Programs
Volunteers in Service to America D 94,820 94,820 0
(VISTA)...........................
National Senior Volunteer Corps:
Foster Grandparents Program.... D 110,565 110,565 0
Senior Companion Program....... D 46,722 46,722 0
Retired Senior Volunteer D 50,204 50,204 0
Program.......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Senior Volunteers............ ...... 207,491 207,491 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Domestic Volunteer Service ...... 302,311 302,311 0
Programs..............................
================================================================================================================
National and Community Service Programs
AmeriCorps Grants...................... D 344,348 344,348 0
Disability Placement Funds............. D 0 0 0
Innovation, Assistance, and Other D 53,280 53,014 -266
Activities............................
Evaluation............................. D 2,994 3,994 1,000
National Civilian Community Corps...... D 31,882 30,742 -1,140
State Commission Grants................ D 15,437 15,437 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: National and Community ...... 447,941 447,535 -406
Service Programs......................
================================================================================================================
Total, Operating Expenses.............. ...... 750,252 749,846 -406
================================================================================================================
Payment to the National Service Trust.. D 211,797 208,744 -3,053
CNCS, Salaries and Expenses-........... D- 82,843- 85,886- 3,043
Office of the Inspector General-....... D- 3,992- 5,400- 1,408
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Corporation for National and ...... 1,048,884- 1,049,876- 992
Community Service--...................
================================================================================================================
Corporation for Public Broadcasting----
Budget Year +2 (Current Request)-...... D- 445,000- 445,000- 0
Budget Year +1-........................ NA- (445,000)- (445,000)- 0
Budget Year-........................... NA- (444,159)- (445,000)- (841)
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service- D- 46,163- 46,163- 0
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review D- 17,604- 17,000- -604
Commission-...............................
Institute of Museum and Library Services-.. D- 231,954- 231,954- 0
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access D- 5,989- 7,500- 1,511
Commission-...............................
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission-...... TF- 11,778- 11,778- 0
National Council on Disability-............ D- 3,258- 3,258- 0
National Health Care Workforce Commission-. D- 0- 0- 0
National Labor Relations Board-............ D- 278,306- 278,306- 0
National Mediation Board-.................. D- 13,411- 13,411- 0
Occupational Safety and Health Review D- 11,667- 11,667- 0
Commission-...............................
Railroad Retirement Board----
Dual Benefits Payments Account-........ D- 50,904- 45,000- -5,904
Less Income Tax Receipts on Dual D- -2,000- -3,000- -1,000
Benefits-.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page S1764]]
Subtotal: Dual Benefits--.............. ...... 48,904- 42,000- -6,904
Federal Payment to the RR Retirement M- 150- 150- 0
Account-..............................
Limitation on Administration-.......... TF- 108,649- 111,149- 2,500
Inspector General-................. TF- 8,155- 8,155- 0
================================================================================================================
Social Security Administration----
Payments to Social Security Trust Funds- M- 20,404- 20,402- -2
......................................
Supplemental Security Income----
Federal benefit payments-.......... M- 47,557,000- 54,245,000- 6,688,000
Beneficiary services-.............. M- 47,000- 0- -47,000
Research and demonstration-........ M- 7,998- 17,000- 9,002
Administration-.................... D- 3,611,552- 4,061,552- 450,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: SSI program level--.......... ...... 51,223,550- 58,323,552- 7,100,002
Less funds advanced in prior year-..... M- -13,400,000- -18,200,000- -4,800,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: SSI, current request--.......... ...... 37,823,550- 40,123,552- 2,300,002
================================================================================================================
New advance, 1st quarter, FY12-........ M- 18,200,000- 19,300,000- 1,100,000
Limitation on Administrative Expenses---
-
OASDI Trust Funds-................. TF- 5,320,028- 4,870,028- -450,000
HI/SMI Trust Funds-................ TF- 2,089,794- 2,089,794- 0
Social Security Advisory Board-.... TF- 2,146- 2,146- 0
Acquisition Workforce Capacity & D- 0- 0- 0
Capabilities-.....................
SSI-............................... TF- 3,123,576- 3,573,576- 450,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: Regular LAE--................ ...... 10,535,544- 10,535,544- 0
================================================================================================================
Program Integrity Funding:----
OASDI Trust Funds-................. TF- 268,076- 268,076- 0
SSI-............................... TF- 487,976- 487,976- 0
Subtotal: Program Integrity Funding--.. ...... 756,052- 756,052- 0
SSI User Fee Activities-............... D- 153,596- 170,000- 16,404
SSPA User Fee Activities-.............. D- 998- 1,000- 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: LAE--........................... ...... 11,446,190- 11,462,596- 16,406
Office of Inspector General----
Federal Funds-..................... D- 28,887- 28,887- 0
Trust Funds-....................... TF- 73,396- 75,396- 2,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Office of Inspector General--... ...... 102,283- 104,283- 2,000
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 28,887- 28,887- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 73,396- 75,396- 2,000
================================================================================================================
Adjustment: Trust fund transfers from TF- -3,611,552- -4,061,552- -450,000
general revenues-.....................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: Social Security Administration-- ...... 63,980,875- 66,949,281- 2,968,406
================================================================================================================
Federal funds--.................... ...... 56,227,435- 59,643,841- 3,416,406
================================================================================================================
Current year--................. ...... 38,027,435- 40,343,841- 2,316,406
================================================================================================================
New advances, 1st quarter--.... ...... 18,200,000- 19,300,000- 1,100,000
================================================================================================================
Trust funds--...................... ...... 7,753,440- 7,305,440- -448,000
================================================================================================================
Total: Related agencies--.............. ...... 66,266,122- 69,232,023- 2,965,901
================================================================================================================
Federal Funds--.................... ...... 58,384,100- 61,795,501- 3,411,401
================================================================================================================
Current Year--......................... ...... 39,739,100- 42,050,501- 2,311,401
================================================================================================================
2013 Advance--......................... ...... 18,200,000- 19,300,000- 1,100,000
================================================================================================================
2014 Advance--......................... ...... 445,000- 445,000- 0
================================================================================================================
Trust Funds--...................... ...... 7,882,022- 7,436,522- -445,500
================================================================================================================
Emergency Appropriations--......... ...... 0- 0- 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I wish to speak on the bill and
comment on the amendment.
First of all, I want to say to the Senator from Iowa how much I
admire him and the fantastic job he has done on behalf of the poor,
people who didn't have health care, and the disabled people who had no
voice in Washington. I want the Senator to know I am so sorry he is
retiring. I really am. The Senator is neither shy nor retiring in the
leadership role he played and the very pragmatic solutions he came up
with over the years.
If I may ask, how long has the Senator chaired the subcommittee on
Labor-HHS?
Mr. HARKIN. Before I respond specifically to the question, let me
also state how proud I am of the Senator from Maryland and her long
service, now the longest serving woman in the history of the Senate,
and her devotion to the underprivileged, to those who lack a voice and
a vote in the Senate. There is no one stronger for them than the
Senator from Maryland.
It has been a pleasure of mine to work with the Senator through all
these years. I can honestly say I don't remember any time we have ever
disagreed on anything.
Ms. MIKULSKI. The Senator is correct. If I might comment back, we
sound like two war horses at the VFW Hall. The next thing, if it wasn't
prohibited, we would be doing shooters on the Senate floor.
Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate the Senator's sentiments. One of the things
which makes me feel comfortable about retiring is knowing this
committee is left in good hands, and I mean that, really good hands.
To answer the Senator's question, I have been either chair or ranking
member of this subcommittee since 1989. When the Democrats were in
charge I was chair up until 1995, and then Senator Specter was chair
from then until 2001. Following that, I became chair for about a year
and a half or two. It went back to Republicans, and I picked it back up
again in 2007. Since 1989, I was chairman or ranking member of the
subcommittee.
[[Page S1765]]
Ms. MIKULSKI. This would be, in 2014, essentially the Senator's
diamond jubilee, 25 years.
Mr. HARKIN. Yes.
Ms. MIKULSKI. We could exchange a lot of things about diamonds, but
that would be quite a benchmark.
This is what I am going to say: What we would like to do is return to
regular order where the Senator could have brought his bill to the
floor all by itself--not in the midst of a threat of a showdown,
shutdown, lockdown. He could have brought it up with his ranking
member. Now you have the Senator from Kansas, Mr. Moran, and we have
open, public debate, transparent, going through category after
category: education, special education, funding for the National
Institutes of Health, the Department of Labor, all of those things.
The Senator's subcommittee is one of the most robust, other than
defense, and second in size in expenditure. It funds the entire
Department of Labor, the entire Department of Education, and the entire
Department of Health and Human Services. Under that, there are
spectacular agencies and independent agencies, such as the Social
Security Administration, which is literally headquartered in my
hometown of Baltimore.
It has, I would say, 40 percent of the domestic expenditures which
meet compelling human need. It also funds the kinds of programs we need
for the workforce of the future and our research of the future.
The Senator deserves to have his day. Anyone who wishes to analyze
it, scrutinize it, amend it, improve it from both sides of the aisle
should do this.
I say to my colleague, what I want to do is get this bill through
this Senate, working with my colleague Senator Shelby, who has been my
ranking member over the years and who is so well versed on the
agreement. Essentially, the ideal situation would have been regular
order where we would have passed our bills before October 1. You could
have been on the Senate floor.
Now we are in something called a continuing resolution where the
entire Federal Government is in one package. Everybody is trying to
parse it, understand it, and they should. This is not the way to
govern. We shouldn't be threatened with these deadlines and kind of an
ultimatum-type situation.
We are going to try to do the best we can. The Senator has made his
point and done it robustly. He produced a great bill, along with
Senator Shelby, in terms of coming out of the subcommittee, and then
fashioned it. It is not only great on content, policy, but it has the
sense of receiving value for the dollar as well and keeps an eye on
that.
At the same time, we were able to fashion a bipartisan agreement, but
you couldn't move the bill. Here we are now into this larger issue. My
job is to get this bill through the Senate, working with Senator
Shelby. This is our job.
I am going to say to Senator Harkin and to all Members on both sides
of the aisle, we need to get back to regular order. We can't be doing
big bills nobody understands, that everybody is suspicious of. We need
to be able to do this the way the founders of the Appropriations
Committee wanted us to, committee by committee, out in the open, with
full and open debate where we could focus on the content. When we bring
Commerce-Justice-Science, we can focus on the Justice Department, focus
on Federal law enforcement, and focus on science programs.
We can look at Labor-HHS, which has such an enormous labor impact on
our economy and an impact on the future of our economy. Remember,
research and development, the workforce of the future, through
education, Pell Grants, are all of the great things on this bill.
As the Senator proposes this amendment and the Senate works its will
on this amendment, I want to say get the job done. Let's get the bill
passed and then let's solve the sequester problem, which has a
Draconian shield hold over us. Let's get rid of brinkmanship, shutdown,
showdown politics.
Let's return to our regular order where we may produce bills, debate
them in the full sunshine of the Senate--and not only do a good job,
but the American people can understand what we are doing. There aren't
just views on policy. This is America. That is what a democracy is and
what a parliamentary body is. We should be able to bring process and
procedure. This means following a regular order with our legislation.
I thank the subcommittee chairman, Senator Harkin, for his advocacy
in the last 2 years. He and Senator Shelby worked together to produce a
great bill. We are where we are, and I hope we do all we can to pass
the bill and return to regular order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Heitkamp). The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SHELBY. Madam President, I would be remiss, while we are on the
Senate floor, as I was thinking about Senator Harkin, Senator Mikulski,
both senior Members--she is the chairperson of the Senate
Appropriations Committee where I have had the privilege to serve a
number of years. We all go back to our House days. That is where I
first met Senator Harkin. He was a couple of years younger then, and so
was I. Senator Mikulski and I were on the same committees over there.
Senator Harkin came to the Senate a couple of years before we did. We
have been involved together on the issues and against each other and so
forth, but we stayed friends. And I think Senator Harkin is absolutely
right. Senator Mikulski is very on point on regular order; that what we
are trying to do on the Appropriations Committee--and this is a big
start here--is to go back to the way we used to do things--regular
order. We would have our spirited debates--and they were spirited--in
the subcommittees of Appropriations, the full committee would come to
the floor, and we would debate it, vote on it, and go to a conference
with the House, work it out, come back, and live with it. We haven't
done that in a long time. What we are trying to do now is get back on
that track, and this is a big first step.
Having said that, I would like to take just a few minutes to speak on
Chairman Harkin's amendment. I believe there are three critical points
my colleagues should understand about this amendment. First, the draft
omnibus that has been talked about was never finalized. There were more
than a dozen significant items not agreed to at the time negotiations
ended in December. A lot of those negotiations were done at the staff
level. Critical decisions regarding health care, education, and labor
policies and billions of dollars in funding decisions at that point
remained undecided. They were never finalized.
I think these provisions have been decided and put in this amendment
without consultation by Senator Harkin. These items included such
critical issues as conscience protections for health care providers and
provisions limiting the job-killing rules by the National Labor
Relations Board. Those were critical issues for us.
Second, the Harkin amendment replaces a bipartisan continuing
resolution which the distinguished chairperson has been talking about
here for 2 days which includes key provisions in this bill we filed
which would support research at the National Institutes of Health and
emergency operations at the Centers for Disease Control with a 160-page
bill that no Republican has approved. I believe the Harkin amendment
both begins new programs and makes authorization changes to programs.
In addition, any program that did not receive an increase in funding
during negotiation on the draft omnibus that he has talked about is cut
in an across-the-board cut. These reductions hit critical job-training
programs and funding for hospital preparedness.
Finally, if the Harkin amendment is agreed to, it will undo a very
fragile consensus and poison the entire continuing resolution we have
put before us, putting our government at the risk of a shutdown. None
of us want that. House leadership has already stated they cannot and
will not support the inclusion of the Harkin amendment, and I don't
believe we should risk funding the entire Federal Government to do so.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I want to respond to my friend from
Alabama, and he is my friend, and he knows that very well. We have
traveled
[[Page S1766]]
together. Our spouses are friends, and he is a dear friend of mine. We
have worked together, as he said, going clear back to our House days.
But I am disappointed that my friend opposes this amendment. If there
is one thing that has been clear in my association with the Senator
from Alabama through all these years, I think it is that he has been an
unrelenting champion of NIH research. I am told the University of
Alabama at Birmingham ranks 11th in terms of NIH funding. That is even
higher than the University of Iowa, by the way.
So my amendment, as my friend knows, would put in a $211 million
increase for NIH funding that goes around the country. It doesn't just
go to Maryland, although some goes to Maryland, but a lot goes around
the country. So this does that.
Then I would say to my friend from Alabama, during the negotiations
from last year, the Senator from Alabama offered an amendment during
our full committee markup--that was last July--that would require the
Department of Labor to delay both the wage rule and the comprehensive
rule regarding H-2B visas. I opposed the amendment, but I included it
because it was, again, part of a bipartisan, bicameral agreement.
The Senator is right that this agreement was never signed off on
high--I guess by the Speaker of the House or the majority or minority
leader here in the Senate--but usually they have been very
accommodating if the Appropriations Committee agrees and we all agree
on what is called the four corners: the Republican House, the
Democratic House, the Republican Senate, and the Democratic Senate.
Basically, we would move those bills.
So, again, this amendment that was offered by my friend from Alabama
that would require the Department of Labor to delay both the wage rule
and the comprehensive rule regarding H-2B visas is in this amendment,
even though I oppose it, because it was part of a bipartisan agreement.
The only way this provision can take effect is by approving my
amendment because it is not in the CR. Since my friend from Alabama
offered this amendment, I think he considered it to be important, he
fought for it, but it won't take effect in a CR.
I would also remind my friend and others that the cost of this
amendment is the same as in the underlying substitute.
My friend said there were other things in the bill in December that
were not finalized. That is true, I say to my friend. That is very
true, there were other things. But these were called riders. Some were
Republican riders, some were Democratic riders. Are they in this bill?
No, because they weren't agreed to. They were there, but they were
never agreed to--and for good reason. Some of them were, obviously,
very closely held by Democrats and some very closely held by
Republicans, so there just wasn't agreement.
I am just saying that in the amendment now before us are the things
on which we did agree. So the Senator is right. Some of the things that
were out there on the riders we didn't include because they simply were
not agreed to in December. I am just saying that what is in this bill
is what we did agree to in December.
With that, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business for up to 20 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
EPA
Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, this week, March 10 to 16, has been
designated Sunshine Week. What better time for it this year since
President Obama has a brandnew nominee to head the Environmental
Protection Agency, and that agency is in desperate need of sunshine and
transparency. In the midst of Sunshine Week, I wanted to talk about
these very serious issues.
First of all, let's go back a little bit. The first day President
Obama took office in 2009, the White House Web site declared that his
administration would become ``the most open and transparent in
history.'' The President issued high-profile orders pledging ``a new
era'' and ``an unprecedented level of openness'' across the Federal
Government. Those are great goals and great aspirations. Unfortunately,
the record--particularly, as I said, at the EPA--is a lot different.
President Obama's EPA has earned a reputation for ignoring
congressional information requests, ignoring and frustrating FOIA--the
Freedom of Information Act--hiding elite e-mails, which is completely
contrary to EPA policy, and hiding other important information from the
public. Is it in desperate need of a new leader who will reverse these
antisunshine, antitransparency practices and build a true culture of
transparency and openness. Unfortunately, President Obama's nominee,
Gina McCarthy, comes from inside the very troubled agency and she has
been directly involved in many of these problem areas. That is why I
think we need to talk about these concerns.
I wish to go through four important categories where the EPA--
including during Gina McCarthy's service--has exhibited a complete lack
of transparency. It has been exactly the opposite of sunshine,
openness, and transparency.
First of all, e-mails and the growing e-mail scandal. A lot of the
EPA's troubles have surfaced through their dubious e-mail practices, e-
mail practices that have been used, in my opinion, clearly to
circumvent transparency laws such as FOIA and to circumvent
congressional oversight. We have uncovered the use of alias e-mail
accounts and private e-mail accounts to conduct official agency
business.
What is the issue there? The issue is that clearly this is a way to
avoid transparency, avoid these being produced through FOIA requests,
and try to avoid producing these important e-mails when Congress has
asked for them and to keep the public and Congress in the dark.
The most infamous example of this is Lisa Jackson, the former EPA
Administrator's complete disregard for transparency through her Richard
Windsor e-mails. Richard Windsor was an alias. I think, clearly in my
opinion, she used this alias when it came to openness and producing
documents, et cetera, that this was not necessarily her.
As it turns out, multiple EPA officials have been conducting business
through aliases or through private e-mail accounts, and these private
e-mail accounts are absolutely prohibited by the EPA. In spite of that,
we have uncovered a pattern. This is not an isolated incident. It is
not just Richard Windsor who has been used as an alias, but there is a
pattern. The Acting Administrator, Bob Perciasepe, has used an alias
private account. Region 8 Administrator Martin used me.com, a private
account; Region 9 Administrator Blumenfeld used comcast.net, a former
account; former Deputy General Counsel Yang, a lawyer for the EPA, used
a gmail.com account. That is completely contrary to the clear rules of
the EPA.
It doesn't stop with the use of these completely improper private e-
mail accounts for official business. We have also uncovered high-level
officials collaborating with environmental groups to push their biased
agenda. Administrator Martin--since he resigned over all this when we
had this come out--regularly communicated with far-left environmental
groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund on his personal e-mail
account to circumvent Federal transparency laws. His personal e-mails,
which we have since gotten, exposed the EPA's efforts to further bury
coal plants under crushing regulations.
Again, this is not just some technicality. These private accounts and
aliases were clearly used to hide stuff from Congress, hide stuff from
the public, and to try not to disclose all this collusion with outside
environmental groups and what--in my opinion--is a far-left agenda.
Another very important category is FOIA. FOIA is the Freedom of
Information Act. It was passed into law by Congress in 1966. It was
passed for a very simple purpose: to direct sunshine onto the Federal
Government. Here we
[[Page S1767]]
are in the middle of Sunshine Week, and FOIA is a classic example of an
important tool to direct sunshine onto the Federal Government.
Under former Administrator Jackson's leadership, FOIA has become a
joke at the EPA. Al Armendariz, the former EPA Administrator, had to
resign after claiming it was EPA's policy to ``crucify'' domestic
businesses. He actually called FOIA ``nonsense.'' As others at the EPA
would try to have others think, Al Armendariz was not some rogue EPA
official. In fact, this is the general attitude of the EPA.
The Obama administration again has tried to get away with the claim
that they are ``the most transparent in history.'' Yet as the
Associated Press has reported, they sometimes produce a lot of pieces
of paper under FOIA, but ``more often than it ever has, it cited legal
exceptions to censor or withhold the material, according to a new
analysis.''
This is a perfect example. This is a document produced under a FOIA
request. It is one of the infamous Richard Windsor e-mails. Guess what
is produced. Nothing. It is one thing to redact a few words or a
particularly sensitive sentence. They have produced absolutely nothing.
There is not a single word from the body of the e-mail. This is
routine. The EPA has regularly mismanaged FOIA requests. It is clearly
in the business to frustrate these sorts of requests and not to follow
the law.
I would like to show some other examples. Again, these are produced
e-mails. Most of them are from the infamous Richard Windsor e-mails.
Again, not a word in the body of any of these e-mails is produced.
There is not a single word. This is another good example. There is not
a single word produced. So we get plenty of paper, but what information
do we have for the public? Nothing.
There is something else that is particularly outrageous. We have an
e-mail that was produced from the Office of General Counsel to Region 6
officials. That e-mail talks about standard EPA protocol regarding FOIA
requests. It is not about a particular FOIA request, which might be
overbroad, inappropriate, and might have arguments against it. Again,
this e-mail is from the EPA lawyers to an EPA region, and it is about
how to deal with FOIA in general. That standard EPA protocol--according
to this e-mail--is ``to alert the requestor that they need to narrow
their request because it is overbroad, and secondarily that it will
probably cost more than the amount of money they agreed to pay.'' Then
when the requestor doesn't immediately respond to that, they just shut
down any EPA response.
Again, this is outrageous. This was not a response to a particular
request. This was the advice from EPA lawyers about how they should
always consider responding. Just always say it is overbroad, just
always say it is going to cost more money, and then shut things down,
foot drag, and obstruct. That is absolutely ridiculous.
A third important category in this pattern of activity is EPA's use
of secret data. This EPA, more than any other in history, has been
promulgating rules and regulations which have a dramatic effect on
major sectors of our economy. Obviously, this is a big deal and big
concern, particularly when it costs us jobs or potentially shuts down
businesses. Yet the EPA has been completely opposed to releasing any of
the numbers, the science--the alleged science--and the data behind
these decisions.
Again, many of EPA's regulations have big pricetags. Yet EPA refuses
to publicize the basic scientific data underlying virtually all of what
they have done. The new Clean Air Act rules are the biggest example.
Implementing the Clean Air Act happens to be the responsibility, by the
way, that Gina McCarthy has been directly overseeing since June of
2009.
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards, for example, are complex
and sweeping in their nature. The law requires, as it should, that they
be based on sound scientific data and that it be implemented through a
robust decisionmaking process. Unfortunately, that has not been the
case and recent standards have suffered from a rushed process, reliance
on secret data, and biased scientific review.
The only way we can fully know what is going on and have a discussion
about this is if EPA releases the underlying scientific data--the
underlying numbers. I have personally asked for this. In fact, this
request is 20 months outstanding. I asked for it almost 2 full years
ago. Yet EPA has adamantly refused.
Recently, it has come to light that EPA fails to complete
comprehensive economic analyses of a majority of its rules. A February
2013 study reveals that the Agency's disregard for economywide impacts,
as well as any other discrete negative impacts, renders their cost-
benefit analyses to be misleading and based on manipulated data. Again,
this is a very important category.
If sunshine is to mean anything, if it is to have any real meaning as
we stand here in the midst of Sunshine Week, we need to see the data
behind these enormously important decisions. EPA cannot use secret
data. That is contrary to the letter and spirit of the law. It is
certainly contrary to the public having access to important information
and to our responsibility in Congress on oversight.
The final category I wish to mention is the so-called unified agenda.
Under Federal law, every agency is required to produce their regulatory
agenda. In fact, they are required to produce it under law twice a
year--once in the spring and once in the fall, and that is called the
unified agenda. Again, every agency is required to produce that to the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
The problem is this requirement is observed sort of like the
requirement to pass the budget is observed in the Senate. In 2012, the
EPA was 8 months late producing their spring 2012 regulatory agenda,
and they have yet to submit their fall 2012 regulatory agenda. Again, I
have asked EPA directly about this. More than 6 weeks after the
deadline passed, EPA has yet to respond to the simple question of when
they will submit their spring and fall regulatory agendas. We have not
seen a bit of either of them yet.
This is important because it is about sunshine, openness, and
transparency. It is about being fair and open to the American people
and giving the American people--including through its representatives
in Congress--full information. This is an important area that the
nominee to head the EPA, Gina McCarthy, has to address. It is awfully
basic and legitimate to say to Gina McCarthy: If you want to become the
new EPA Administrator, you will need to answer these big, obvious, and
pertinent questions. It is particularly important since you come from
inside this very troubled, completely nontransparent agency and have
been at the heart of many of these troubling areas.
One thing I will question her directly on is her active coordination
with Al Armendariz, whom I mentioned earlier, in shutting down key
energy projects. That direct coordination was highlighted in an e-mail
we did get from Armendariz celebrating the death of a petroleum coke
plant in Texas. Armendariz wrote in that e-mail: ``Gina's new air rules
will soon be the icing on the cake.'' Shutting down jobs, shutting down
American businesses is going to be the icing on the cake.
In conclusion, I want to underscore that President Obama's EPA,
unfortunately, has been the worst example of how hollow his promise is
of being the most open and transparent administration in history. As we
begin to consider the confirmation of a new EPA Administrator, this
needs to be a big focus of our attention. Surely she needs to commit in
very concrete and specific ways to change this culture. I am concerned
that she has been part of this culture. She comes from inside the
agency. She is directly involved in many of these very troubling areas.
So we need to hear how she is going to reverse this culture and usher
in a new era of openness and transparency. I will have specific
requests for her that will allow her to prove that commitment, and I
know many other Members of the Senate have similar concerns.
I look forward to that discussion with Gina McCarthy. I look forward
to continuing this discussion with the entire U.S. Senate. Transparency
Week is an important time and an appropriate time to start that
important discussion and to end these abusive practices by the current
EPA.
[[Page S1768]]
Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I note the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the continuing
resolution before the Senate to fund the government and keep this
country moving forward. This is a very difficult assignment that they
have been handed, especially as we have a brandnew chair and ranking
member.
The bill increases support for firefighters battling blazes out West.
That is very good. It maintains a critical safety net for women and
children. That is very good. It returns full funding to several
critical conservation programs and reaffirms our commitment to
veterans, especially rural veterans--all very good. I thank Senator
Jack Reed and Senator Tim Johnson in particular for their efforts in
those areas.
But while no bill is perfect, I am deeply--deeply--disappointed by
two provisions that were slipped into this bill by the House of
Representatives when this deal was being cooked up in December.
This is Sunshine Week for the Federal Government. It is a time to
highlight the need for greater transparency and openness so voters can
hold their elected leaders accountable and for what happens here in
Washington, DC, and to just know what is going on.
I take transparency seriously. When I first ran for the Senate 7
years ago, I campaigned on the need to bring more accountability and
honest leadership to Washington, DC. My first vote in this body was for
a sweeping ethics bill that, among other provisions, improved
disclosure rules and reformed the earmark process so that everybody
would know which Member or Members of Congress requested an earmark,
and it required Members to certify that they and their families had no
financial interest in that earmark.
Under regular order, folks had a chance to come down to the floor and
try to remove earmarks they did not like. In fact, a few years ago I
remember former Senator Jon Kyl and I had a pretty good debate on this
floor about an important project for the city of Whitefish, MT. So we
debated it, and we took a vote on it in the Senate.
That is why I am so upset by two agriculture-related provisions that
someone from the House of Representatives put into this bill--and that
the Senate seems willing to accept. I do not know who authored this
provision. Maybe someone in Washington knows, but no one is willing to
put their name on it, and that is a shame. It is a shame that folks who
get so bent out of shape about earmarks do not seem to be troubled by
these provisions.
Montana is home to thousands of working families who make a living
off the land. Like my wife and me, they are family farmers and
ranchers. The House of Representatives is prepared to toss those
working families aside in favor of the Nation's large meatpacking
corporations. The House inserted a provision in the bill that gives
enormous marketing power to America's three largest meatpacking
corporations while stiffing family farmers and ranchers.
Family-run production agriculture faces tremendous market
manipulation. Chicken farmers, hog farmers, and cattle ranchers all
struggle to get a fair price from the meatpackers, and if they fight
back, they risk angering corporate representatives and being shut out
of the market. Thanks to this provision, the Agriculture Department
will not be able to ensure a fair, open market that puts the brakes on
the worst abuses by the meatpacking industry.
What is worse is that the USDA took congressionally mandated steps to
protect ranchers from market manipulation over the last few years. That
is what we told them to do in the 2008 farm bill. This provision will
actually overturn rules the USDA has already put into place. But
apparently intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying won out in the House of
Representatives, and now we are back to square one with the big
meatpackers calling the shots.
The second provision sent over from the House tells the USDA to
ignore any judicial ruling regarding the planting of genetically
modified crops. Its supporters are calling it the ``farmer assurance''
provision, but all it really ensures is a lack of corporate liability.
The provision says that when a judge finds that the USDA approved a
crop illegally, the Department must reapprove the crop and allow it to
continue to be planted--regardless of what the judge says.
Let's think about that. The U.S. Congress is telling the Agriculture
Department: Even if a court tells you that you failed to follow the
right process and tells you to start over, you must disregard the
court's ruling and allow the crop to be planted anyway.
Not only does this ignore the Constitution's idea of separation of
powers, but it also lets genetically modified crops take hold across
this country even when a judge finds it violates the law. Once again,
agribusiness, multinational corporations are putting farmers as serfs.
It is a dangerous precedent. It will paralyze the USDA by putting the
Department in the middle of a battle between Congress and the courts.
The ultimate loser will be our family farmers going about their
business in feeding America in the right way. Sunshine Week should not
be show and tell. Slipping corporate giveaways into a bill at the same
time that we call for more open government is doubling down on the same
policies that created the need for Sunshine Week. That is why we need
to remove those corporate welfare provisions from the bill.
Montanans elected me to go to the Senate to do away with these shady
backroom deals, to get rid of handouts to big corporations, to make
government work better. We still have many challenges in front of us. I
commend the leaders of the Appropriations Committee for their
commitment to working together to bring us a plan on which we can vote.
These two provisions undermine our good work to support family farm
agriculture. These provisions are giveaways, pure and simple, and will
be a boon worth millions of dollars to a handful of the biggest
corporations in this country. They deserve no place in this bill. We
simply have to do a better job on both policy and process.
I know Chairwoman Mikulski is committed to doing better. I strongly
support her efforts. I wanted to thank her for that commitment. But we
ought to start right here and now by striking those corporate
giveaways.
I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the
pending amendment and call up amendment No. 33.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Would the Senator withhold?
Mr. McCAIN. I yield to the chairwoman.
Ms. MIKULSKI. First of all, I know the Senator has been waiting
patiently to file his amendment. I have been waiting patiently for him
to be able to do it. As I understand it, we are trying to negotiate a
sequence to vote on the Harkin amendment and for the Senator to be able
to offer his amendment as promptly as swiftly as we can.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum without violating
the Senator's rights.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum
call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 33 to Amendment No. 26
Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending
amendment and call up amendment No. 33.
[[Page S1769]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The assistant bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain] proposes an amendment
numbered 33.
Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment
be disposed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To strike certain authorities relating to the use for grants
of funds of the Office of Economic Assistance of the Department of
Defense)
Strike section 8039, relating to the use for grants of
funds of the Office of Economic Assistance of the Department
of Defense.
Strike section 8104, relating to the use of funds of the
Office of Economic Assistance of the Department of Defense
for grants for Guam.
Mr. McCAIN. I come to the floor to talk about amendment No. 33, which
would strike sections 8104 and 8039 of the bill. It is a pair of Guam
earmarks that directly contravene the explicit directions provided by
the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives in the conference report on the fiscal year 2013
National Defense Authorization Act.
Congress has not yet received a sufficient cost analysis of the
proposed movement of the troops from Okinawa to Guam. Because of that,
and the whole operation of these troops from Okinawa to Guam has still
not been decided, the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate
explicitly prohibited this type of premature investment in civilian
infrastructure.
At a time when the Department of Defense is facing the impact of
sequester, on top of the $487 billion in cuts directed by the
President, it is appalling and disgraceful that the authorizing
language would be directly circumvented by the authorizers.
I want to read the language for my colleagues' benefit. After hours
and hours of hearings, of amendments, of markup, of 3 weeks on the
floor of the Senate, the product stated:
Restriction on development of public infrastructure. If the
Secretary of Defense determines that any grant, cooperative
agreement, transfer of funds to another Federal agency, or
supplement of funds available in fiscal year 2012 or fiscal
year 2013 under Federal programs administered by agencies
other than the Department of Defense will result in the
development (including repair, replacement, renovation,
conversion, improvement, expansion, acquisition, or
construction) of public infrastructure on Guam, the Secretary
of Defense may not carry out such grant, transfer,
cooperative agreement, or supplemental funding unless
specifically authorized by law.
So here is clear language of the National Defense Authorization Act
directly contradicted by this continuing resolution. What in the world
is the job of the authorizers if it is not to have the language adhered
to? At a time when the Department of Defense is facing the impact of
sequestration, on top of $487 billion in cuts already directed by the
President, the appropriators decided that we would spend $140 million
on Guam. It is absolutely unbelievable, I say to my colleagues.
Now, let me tell my colleagues about the effect of the sequester that
has happened now. According to this line item in the appropriations
bill, it will spend $140 million on a wastewater treatment plant on
Guam and another project. So we are going to spend $140 million on
that.
Meanwhile, I say to my colleagues, here is what has already happened,
with the sequester to the Armed Forces. The Army: Cancels four brigade
exercises at the National Training Center or Joint Readiness Training
Center. The Army: Reduced base operations by 30 percent; cancels half
the year of helicopters and ground vehicle depot maintenance; stops
post-war repair of 1,300 vehicles and 17,000 weapons; reduces readiness
of 80 percent of the Army's nondeploying brigades; stops tuition
assistance for all Active and Reserve soldiers.
Navy: Cancels several submarine deployments; reduces flying hours on
deployed carriers in the Middle East by 55 percent; steaming days by 22
percent; reduces Western Pacific deployed operations by 35 percent;
nondeployed Pacific ships lose 40 percent of steaming days; reduces
Middle East Atlantic MED ballistic missile defense patrols; shuts down
all flying for four of nine carrier air wings 9 to 12 months to restore
normal readiness at two to three times the cost; cuts all major naval
exercises; defers emergent repairs; cancels Blue Angels shows in third
and fourth quarter; USS Truman carrier deployment delayed indefinitely.
I might say that deployment was to the Middle East where the
centrifuges are spinning. The USS Eisenhower career deployment extended
indefinitely; USS Nimitz and USS Bush carrier strike groups will not be
fully ready for scheduled fiscal year 2013 deployments.
Air Force: Likely prevent Air Force's ability to achieve the 2017
goal of being fully auditable; defer nonemergency facility
requirements; reduce repairs by 50 percent over 420 projects at over
140 installations across the Air Force; affects runway repairs and
critical sustainment projects; delays planned acquisition of satellites
and aircraft, including JSF and AC-130J, which will increase the future
cost of these systems; reduces flying hours for cargo, fighter and
bomber aircraft; stops tuition assistance for all Active and Reserve
airmen.
Marine Corps: I hope my colleagues will listen to this. The
Commandant of the Marine Corps says:
By the end of this year, more than 50 percent of my combat
units will be below minimal acceptable levels of readiness
for deployment to combat.
I repeat. The Commandant of the Marine Corps says:
By the end of this year, more than 50 percent of my combat
units will be below minimal acceptable levels of readiness
for deployment to combat.
Unable to complete rebalancing of Marine Corps forces into the Asia
Pacific region; will cause 55 percent of the U.S. Marine Corps forces
to have unsatisfactory readiness ratings; 50 percent of the U.S. Marine
Corps aviation squadrons will fall below ready-to-deploy status; U.S.
Marine Corps will not be able to accomplish planned reset of equipment
returning from overseas expeditionary forces; depot level maintenance
will be reduced, delaying resettability by 18 months and reducing
nondeployed forces; facilities sustainment will be funded at 71 percent
of requirement, reducing effectiveness of home station training and
quality of life.
These are the effects of sequestration. So what do they do? What do
they do in the continuing resolution? They add $140 million for Guam
for a wastewater treatment plant. Talk about divorced from reality.
Talk about insensitivity to the men and women who are serving this
country. I am already beginning to hear from them, I will tell you
that.
There are a lot of bright young men and women who are serving this
country, are serving it with courage and skill and are the best
probably we have ever seen. I am hearing from their leaders. They are
making decisions about whether to stay in the military. It is an All-
Volunteer Force. I can tell you what a lot of them are deciding when
they see something as ridiculous as this, and there are other
outrageous and stupid things in this bill.
While all of the things are taking place in the Air Force, the Army,
and the Marine Corps, we are now on this list--we have $5 million--they
are adding money, adding money, adding millions. In fact, it comes up
to billions--$5 million for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program,
$5 million for the Department of Defense Star Base Youth Program, $154
million for an Army, Navy, and Air Force ``alternative energy resource
initiative,'' $18 million for unspecified ``industrial preparedness,''
$16 million for Parkinson's disease research--there is a whole bunch in
here for medical research. They are taking it out of defense. I am for
research in all of these programs, whether it be Parkinson's or
neurofibromatosis or HIV/AIDS research, but they are taking it out of
defense.
They are adding $9 million for unspecified radar research, $20
million for university research initiatives, $7 million for a Civil Air
Patrol Program increase, $45 million for Impact Aid. The list goes on
and on and on.
While the Air Force is unable to fly, the Civil Air Patrol will get
an additional $15 million. I am a great admirer of the Civil Air
Patrol.
The fact is that what we are doing is we are cutting the flying hours
and affecting the readiness of the men and women who are serving in the
military
[[Page S1770]]
in this country. I repeat a statement of the Commandant of the Marine
Corps: By the end of this year, ``more than 50 percent of my combat
units will be below minimal acceptable levels of readiness for
deployment to combat.'' What did these appropriators do? They put in
$140 million for wastewater treatment on Guam, which is expressly
prohibited by the National Defense Authorization Act.
I have been on this floor for many years fighting against what I
believe is encroachment by appropriators on the authorizers' business.
I have never, in 26 years as a member of the defense appropriations
committee and the Armed Forces committee, seen anything quite as
egregious as this.
I say to my colleagues, who are authorizers and not appropriators, if
you let them get away with directly violating and contradicting the
express language of the National Defense Authorization Act, you are
next. You are next. This is unacceptable. I hope my colleagues will
vote on the issue of whether we need to spend this money, particularly
at this moment, with the condition of our military.
Many of our constituents say: Why is this being so hard hit? Why is
the military being so hard hit?
They don't quite understand sequester--this thing the President said
won't happen. This sequester affects 19 percent of what we call the
discretionary spending. They exempted about two-thirds of all of the
discretionary spending and then took 50 percent of what was left of 19
percent of the spending. This has a dramatically increased effect on
what we need most; that is, our national security. It is shameful.
I hope my colleagues and friends know that this Guam provision would
provide, which is expressly prohibited, $120 million for a public
regional health laboratory and civilian wastewater improvements. The
Department of Defense wants to move marines to Guam but does not know
how much military infrastructure will be needed--military
infrastructure will be needed to support the move--what the
implications will be to operational responsiveness in the Pacific
theater or how much any of it will cost.
Over the last 2 years, the Armed Services Committee received many
hours of testimony, briefings, and meetings on the troop realignment in
the Pacific and directed the Center for Strategic and International
Studies to conduct an independent assessment on U.S. force strategy in
the region. The assessment--delivered in August 2012--recommended a
better alignment of engagement strategies between the U.S. Pacific
Command and the Department of Defense in order to improve our
capabilities in the region and respond to a range of contingencies. The
CSIS was clear in the appraisal that the Department of Defense had not
adequately articulated the strategy behind its future posture planning
nor aligned the strategy with resources in a way that reflects current
budget realities.
After more testimony, briefings, and meetings, the Armed Services
Committee acted and, through the vehicle of the fiscal year 2013
National Defense Authorization Act, prohibited the use of funds for any
military realignment to Guam until the Department of Defense and the
U.S. Pacific Command provided a detailed set of reports. These reports
will address the plan for ensuring that any proposed force realignments
in the Pacific region to include moving U.S. marines from Japan to Guam
and Hawaii are supported by resources that will allow our forces to
meet operational requirements. Admiral Locklear, commander of the U.S.
Pacific Command, told me yesterday that these reports would be ready
this summer.
The Department of Defense has planning left to do. While Congress may
someday authorize some number of marines to be realigned to Guam, it
will only be after we have a clear understanding of the clear
implications and costs. In this context, the Appropriations Committee
would fund unrequested civilian infrastructure--not military
infrastructure, civilian infrastructure--far greater in scope than
would be required in the event the most extreme estimates of troop
realignment occurred. There is absolutely no justification for it.
This is why the Armed Services Committee expressly prohibited such
funding, because we don't know how much military or civilian
infrastructure we may need, if any. Has one single marine, sailor, or
airman been assigned to Guam as part of the intended buildup that would
justify using DOD money to rebuild Guam civilian wastewater facilities
or build a new civilian health laboratory? The answer is obviously no.
The support payoff to Guam to solve an already existing problem has
nothing to do with any future military realignment to Guam. This is no
better than last year's set of earmarks for a cultural artifacts
repository.
It should be very clear by now that these expenditures pushed through
in direct contravention of the bipartisan, bicameral decisions of the
Armed Services Committee are a shameful waste of taxpayers' money. In
my view, this is a clear example of political abuse of the
appropriations process.
I could go on for a long time. In fact, instead of doing a continuing
resolution, we should be doing everything we can to avoid the
sequester, which has such a disastrous effect on our military.
I am sure my colleagues are aware that in Tehran the centrifuges are
spinning. North Korea just had another nuclear test. They threatened to
cancel the cease-fire of 1953. They are making very aggressive noises
toward South Korea and, I believe, our 30,000 men and women who are
stationed there. Tension between Japan and China is very high. For my
colleagues' information, I am sure they know that the Chinese have
increased, doubled, and redoubled their spending on their military. The
Middle East is in a state of turmoil, which could lead to an
international crisis almost at any moment. Seventy thousand Syrians
have been slaughtered by Bashar al-Asad. There are over 1 million
refugees, as that conflict shows all possibility of spreading to
Lebanon and to Jordan.
What are we doing? We are imposing Draconian cuts on the U.S.
military, which caused the Commandant of the Marine Corps to say 50
percent of all his combat units will be below minimal acceptable levels
of readiness for deployment to combat.
I have been around this body and this Nation for a long time. I have
seen this movie before. Everybody talks about war weariness. Everybody
talks about how weary we are of Iraq and Afghanistan, and indeed we
are. We were war weary after Vietnam. We cut the military, cut the
military, and we cut the military as we are doing today. The Chief of
Staff of the U.S. Army in the late 1970s came before the Armed Services
Committee and said we have a hollow army. Do you know what we are doing
right now with sequestration? We are hollowing out our military. To add
insult to injury, we are putting on a long list of wasteful,
unnecessary programs, many of which have nothing to do with defending
this Nation. Some are outright pork-barrel spending.
I hope my colleagues, particularly those on authorizing committees,
will understand that if the appropriators are able to directly
contradict language in authorizations that are passed by both Houses of
Congress and signed by the President of the United States, then you
become irrelevant to the process. I don't think the 80-so of us who are
not members of the Appropriations Committee should be subjected to
irrelevance.
I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland is recognized.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I wish to say the Senator who currently
now chairs the Subcommittee on Defense will speak on the amendment of
the Senator from Arizona. I wish to speak about the process and about
sequester.
First, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense finished its work
before the August recess. The authorizers didn't get it done until
December 20. There is a gap here because Senator Inouye--a very happy,
blessed, and beloved memory--moved his committee in an expeditious way,
which appropriators are supposed to do.
Remember, appropriations are supposed to be done before October 1.
Senator Inouye chaired the committee, chaired the full committee and
then chaired this Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Senator
Inouye did his job under the authorization that was present before him.
[[Page S1771]]
The authorizers didn't pass their bill until December 20. We want to
respect the authorizers not only on defense but on every committee.
They need to pass their bills before we pass ours. We work on our bills
by holding our hearings under regular order beginning when we get the
President's budget, which we wish would be up-tempo a bit. Then we
start our hearings, mark up our bills in May and June, and begin to
move them through the process.
Before we attack the Appropriations Committee, we should attack the
process and get back to regular order, where authorizing and
appropriating are in sync.
The second thing I wish to comment on is sequester. I want to
acknowledge what the Senator from Arizona said about the impact of
sequester. Sequester is an awful, awful, awful thing. That is not on
this bill. When the Budget Committee comes up, along with the
negotiations by the President with the leadership of the House, I
absolutely agree with him, we must cancel sequester and ensure that not
only our Defense Department but others who defend America, such as our
Border Patrol guards, are not unduly harmed. And we are hollowing out,
to use the quote from General Amos, an extraordinary Commandant.
What we need to do is get a process in order to have the proper
policy debates.
I note that the subcommittee chairman will now comment on the
specifics.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Senate majority leader is
recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Let me thank the chairwoman of the Appropriations
Committee, Senator Mikulski. This is her first major assignment on the
floor of the Senate. It is an awesome responsibility. I note that she
was not only up for this job, she was made for this job. She has the
knowledge, skill, and drive we need to make sure the Appropriations
Committee is playing its important historic role in the Senate.
I commend the Senator from Alabama, my friend Senator Richard Shelby
too. Senator Shelby and Senator Mikulski have been close partners in
developing a very complicated bill. This bill we are considering is
going to fund the Federal Government for the remaining 7 months;
otherwise, when we run out of money March 24, literally, the government
will close. They are working and have worked hard for the last several
weeks to get this bill ready.
A version of the bill passed the House. Now it is being considered on
the floor of the Senate and Senators are being allowed to offer
amendments, which is their right.
One of the Senators who just offered an amendment is Senator John
McCain of Arizona, who is well known to virtually everyone in America
as a former candidate for President and by virtue of his service to our
Nation. I would say I count John McCain as a real friend. We came to
the House of Representatives the same year. We have maintained that
friendship here in the Senate. We have worked closely together on
immigration reform and many other issues. I can't think of a finer
Senator on the other side of the aisle.
I don't need to speak to John McCain's reputation when it comes to
military service. We know the story: a Navy pilot shot down over
Vietnam, captured and held captive, subjected to torture for more than
5 years. John's body still bears the scars of that terrible experience.
Thank God he survived and continues to serve in the Senate representing
the people of Arizona and the Nation in his capacity as a Senator. He
has been the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, so he
knows those issues not only as a veteran, a man who served in the
Vietnam war, but also as a Senator who has looked closely at each of
the issues that affects the Department of Defense. He doesn't hold a
candle to anyone, take a step back to anyone when it comes to his
commitment to our military and our Nation's defense. But now it is my
responsibility to come to the floor of the Senate and argue against an
amendment Senator McCain is offering on the Department of Defense bill.
You might think to yourself: Durbin, how did you get this assignment?
The fact is, as chairman of this particular subcommittee, it is my
responsibility to argue the other side of the issue that Senator McCain
has brought to the floor.
I come to this assignment brandnew, just a few weeks now, since the
untimely passing of our great friend and national hero, Dan Inouye of
Hawaii. Because of his passing, there were vacancies created, and I
ended up in this position as chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense
Appropriations in the Senate. It is a job I am learning, and I confess
there are many here who know it better than I do. But I will do my best
because I know the awesome responsibility attached to it.
I stand today to urge my colleagues to vote against the amendment
John McCain has offered to this continuing resolution as it relates to
the Department of Defense. There are basically four provisions in
this--three or four provisions in the McCain amendment--and I wish to
address each of them.
One of the provisions allows the Department of Defense to give grants
to organizations. That sounds like a very easy thing to explain, and it
is. The three organizations that receive the grants from the Department
of Defense are well-known to most Americans; certainly two are--the USO
is one.
The USO for decades has been an organization which has tried to
provide help to our veterans, usually stationed overseas, and to give
them things as basic as entertainment, to counseling, or when they go
through airports to make sure they have a place to stop by and get a
cup of coffee and a doughnut. That is the USO. I have understated their
mission, but we are all familiar with it.
The other organization is one known to every American, I am sure, the
Red Cross. The third is an organization new, but important, called
Fisher House. Fisher House. Let me tell you about Fisher House.
Two years ago, I was invited to the grand opening of a Fisher House
facility near the Hines VA Hospital in Chicago. Fisher House is to
military and veterans hospitals what Ronald McDonald houses are to
children's hospitals. What we are saying here in the underlying bill is
that the Department of Defense can provide grants to these
organizations--Fisher House, Red Cross, and USO. The McCain amendment
says no, they can't. The McCain amendment strikes the authority of the
Department of Defense to give them these grants. I think that is a
mistake. And for that reason alone, I hope my colleagues will vote
against the McCain amendment.
The services being provided through these organizations and at these
facilities are nothing short of remarkable. Fisher House, right in the
city of Chicago, near Hines VA Hospital, is a beautiful home--a place
where families who have a loved one who is going through surgery or
rehabilitation at the Hines VA Hospital are given a chance to stay
overnight. They do not have to pay for a hotel room and they are
treated like royalty, as they should be. These are military families--
mothers and fathers, spouses and children, who are treated like royalty
at Fisher House while they are waiting for their loved one to finish
the treatment or surgery they need to come back home.
Why wouldn't we do that? Why wouldn't we provide that kind of
service? The Fisher House facilities are largely built by charitable
contributions, donations from everybody. So to give to the Department
of Defense the ability to transfer up to $4 million a year--$4
million--to the Fisher House, why, of course, we want to do that.
Across America they do such extraordinary things.
In terms of the Red Cross grants, here is what the Red Cross does,
and every Member of Congress knows this. A family will call a Senator
and say: Senator Shelby, we live in Mobile, AL, and I wanted you to
know the mother of a soldier overseas has just passed away and we have
to get the word to him right away. What Senator Shelby or what Senator
Durbin would do is to call the Red Cross and say: You have to help us.
We have to get in touch with this service man or woman overseas
somewhere. So it is an opportunity for them to use their network of
volunteers and communications to reach out to that soldier, that
sailor, that airman, or marine. That is what they do. They spend about
$10 million in emergency communication services to keep
[[Page S1772]]
a hotline running connecting servicemembers, veterans, and their
families with the services they offer. There is $2 million for theater
support of deployed troops--emergency communication services between
deployed servicemembers and their families back home.
They provide lounges, the Red Cross does, in these theaters of
operation, war settings, for troops to have access to computers so they
can be in touch with their families back home.
One of the big surprises I ran into as I visited our troops in
Afghanistan and Iraq was to find many of them Skyping away with their
families while they are far away. Some of these facilities are being
provided by the Red Cross.
The list goes on and on of all that the Red Cross does to support and
help our troops. But the list can't tell you in specifics what Red
Cross volunteers do. These men and women--and you see them everywhere
under the flag of the Red Cross--show up when a tornado hits, when a
flood hits, and they always show up when our troops need a helping
hand.
When our troops get off the plane in Landstuhl, Germany, after being
grievously wounded or injured overseas and are about to be
hospitalized--maybe facing their first surgery--one of the first
smiling faces they will see will be a Red Cross volunteer, there to
say: What can I do for you; can I get in touch with your family; is
there something you need? The stories are legendary about soldiers who
land at these bases and a Red Cross volunteer walks up to them.
I recall one story in particular about one of the soldiers who
volunteered at the Red Cross who said: What do you want? And the
soldier said: I need a rootbeer float. Imagine, a rootbeer float. And
in a matter of 15 minutes, up pops the Red Cross volunteer with a
rootbeer float. It was a small thing for that soldier, but it was an
important thing.
So to say we are not going to allow the Department of Defense to
provide grants to the Red Cross, the USO, or to Fisher House I think is
a mistake. These are great organizations with great volunteers and they
do a wonderful job day in and day out to help our troops overseas. If
it were my son or daughter overseas, I would like to know the Red Cross
is going to be there. I would like to know the USO is going to be
there. And God forbid that we would ever need some work at a military
hospital; I would like to know there is a Fisher House nearby in case a
family needs it because they can't otherwise afford to stay at a hotel
for a number of nights.
The McCain amendment would stop the grants by the Department of
Defense to these three organizations. If it were not for the fact that
such a fine man, a veteran, offered this amendment, some people might
say: Why would you do that to our military servicemembers? I don't
think we should.
There is also a situation that has been going on for some time
regarding Guam. Guam is an important place for stationing some 16,000
marines--16,000 men and women who volunteered to serve in the U.S.
Marine Corps and are stationed on Guam. It is a challenge. I have been
there. It is a remote location, but important for our national
security, particularly in the Pacific theater. Wouldn't we want to say
to the men and women who are there in uniform that they are going to
have the basics taken care of? And wouldn't we want to say that one of
the basics is to make sure they have safe drinking water and wastewater
treatment facilities?
Here is what we found out. We found out that on the island of Guam
our 16,000 marines are in a facility that has reached the absolute
limit in terms of wastewater treatment. The Department of Defense came
to us and said: For these troops, we have got to build a new wastewater
treatment facility. Well, of course, we do. We don't want to
shortchange them or jeopardize public health in any way.
The McCain amendment would eliminate this money, $106 million in
funding, for a wastewater treatment plant on Guam. This is not some
frill, this is a basic. Everyone wants to believe their son or
daughter, volunteering for the Marine Corps and stationed somewhere
overseas, is being taken care of by our government--that the government
is doing everything we can to make sure they have the basics they need
to stay healthy. Well, this is one of those basics--$106 million for a
wastewater treatment plant in Guam.
There is also a $13 million ask here that I think makes sense when it
comes to the safety of these troops. We want to make sure there is a
public health lab in Guam. God forbid these men and women in uniform,
or anyone who represents the United States, is facing some biological
terrorist. God forbid there is some substance being used that could
endanger their lives, and God forbid we would have to rely on
laboratory facilities in Atlanta, GA, if you are halfway around the
world. That is where the most professional facilities are. So the
Department of Defense said: Let's put a $13 million investment in a
basic public health lab in Guam to protect the safety of Americans and
our troops.
Look at these things. Look at what I am asking for--not for museums,
not for things that may be considered frivolous and unnecessary in a
given context but, rather, for the basics to support our troops in the
field and to provide those who are stationed on Guam some of the most
fundamental and basic public health facilities.
So it pains me to come to the floor and to resist an amendment
offered by my friend Senator McCain, but I do it in memory of Senator
Dan Inouye, who helped write this bill, who himself was a recipient of
the Congressional Medal of Honor and had a distinguished career of
service in the military.
I hope my colleagues will listen carefully to this debate, and though
they feel the strong positive feelings I do toward Senator McCain, they
will go to the merits of the issue and defeat the McCain amendment.
Make sure the ability of the Department of Defense to continue to work
with Fisher House, the Red Cross, and the USO is authorized in law.
Let's make sure the 16,000 marines on Guam have the most basic things
they need to be safe and healthy and come home just as we want them to.
That is what this is all about.
I urge my colleagues to vote against the McCain amendment.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Blumenthal). The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant 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.
Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the time until 5:30 p.m.,
for debate on the McCain amendment, be equally divided between Senators
McCain and myself or our designees; that at 5:30 p.m. the Senate
proceed to a vote in relation to the McCain amendment and that there be
no amendments in order to the amendment prior to the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I don't know if Senator McCain is nearby,
but if he is, I want to give him a chance to come over and use the few
minutes remaining before the rollcall vote.
But for those Members of the Senate who did not listen to the earlier
statements by Senator McCain and myself, this amendment is very basic
and very straightforward: Senator McCain would cut or eliminate the
ability of the Department of Defense to give grants to three
organizations: Fisher House, Red Cross, and USO.
Fisher House is the Ronald McDonald House of military and veterans
hospitals. I have visited the one in Chicago. I have talked to my
colleagues about other Fisher House facilities around America. They are
remarkable and amazing places.
Fisher House is where a family who may not be wealthy has a chance to
stay and be treated like royalty while their son, their daughter, their
husband, their mother is being operated on in a military hospital. That
is what Fisher House is all about. I have seen it. The volunteers who
man these houses make sure people are treated in the way they should be
and make us proud as Americans. The McCain amendment would eliminate
the authority of the Department of Defense to give money to the Fisher
House to continue their operations.
The McCain amendment would also eliminate funding grants that are
given to the Red Cross and the USO. The Red Cross is an extraordinary
organization,
[[Page S1773]]
and every American knows what they are about. But in the fiscal year
2010, the Red Cross provided more than 597,000 emergency communications
services for nearly 150,000 military families, and they provided nearly
$6 million in financial aid to 5,000 military families, not to mention
thousands of Red Cross volunteers--including servicemembers, veterans,
and military spouses--offered comfort and support to our wounded troops
and their families at hospitals around the world.
The USO is another great organization which has provided assistance
and entertainment to our troops, many of them stationed far away from
home and far away from their family.
In addition, the McCain amendment would eliminate the construction of
a wastewater treatment facility in Guam. We have 16,000 marines
stationed in Guam. The administration--the President has asked for this
money because the wastewater treatment facility in Guam is inadequate.
It is not safe. It is a public health hazard. An environmental impact
statement prepared for the realignment of marines from Okinawa to Guam
clearly finds that the current system is near capacity and needs
upgrading.
So whether you argue that Guam is going to have a large future, a
small future, the current allocation of marines in Guam deserves the
most basic sanitary wastewater treatment facility. You would expect it,
would you not, for your son or daughter serving in our Marine Corps? We
should expect no less, and the McCain amendment would eliminate the
funding necessary for this wastewater treatment facility, as well as a
public health laboratory to test samples of suspected toxic substances
in a timely manner to protect Americans and our troops in that theater
of the world.
I don't know why Senator McCain has picked out these elements. I
think they are all positive elements. I hope my colleagues will join me
in defeating the McCain amendment. It is an amendment which would take
needed resources away from the USO, Red Cross, and Fisher House and
deny this wastewater treatment facility in Guam. I hope my colleagues
will join me in opposing the McCain amendment.
At this point I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a
quorum, in the hopes that Senator McCain can return before the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be rescinded. I wish to give my friend, Senator McCain, the
author of this amendment, the opportunity to speak.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I guess the time here is short. Sometimes
when you can't argue the merits of an issue you just make up something.
Senator Durbin claims this amendment would cut funding for the Fisher
House, Red Cross, and the USO. If you read the bill, the Fisher House
is covered in the CR in section 8070. The Red Cross and USO are covered
in section 8078. This amendment strikes section 8039, which pertains to
the Office of Economic Adjustment fund, the OEA fund. It has nothing to
do with Fisher Houses, the Red Cross, mothers of America, apple pie, or
the flag--nothing to do with those except that it strikes legislation
which is expressly prohibited in the Defense authorization bill. It
strikes language which is directly prohibited by the National Defense
Authorization Act.
If the Senator wants to claim that Fisher House, Red Cross, USO,
small animals, children, the United Way, whatever else he wants to,
they are covered in other parts of the bill. I suggest to the Senator
from Illinois reread the bill which says--section 8070 talks about
Fisher Houses; section 8078 talks about the Red Cross and the USO. Our
amendment strikes 8039, which is the Office of Economic Adjustment,
that funding.
I thank the Senator for recognizing that. It is already part of the
record. It is very clear this has nothing to do with the Fisher House.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we have been assured by the House in the
construction of this bill that this provision was added explicitly to
make certain that there be no question that the grants that are given
to these organizations would be authorized and included in this
appropriations process. That is their belief. With an abundance of
caution, we support their belief because we know of the importance of
these organizations.
I now move to table the McCain amendment No. 33, and I ask for the
yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr.
Lautenberg) and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 50, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 35 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Baldwin
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Blumenthal
Boxer
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cowan
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Hirono
Johnson (SD)
Kaine
Klobuchar
Landrieu
Leahy
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Warren
Wyden
NAYS--50
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Cruz
Donnelly
Enzi
Fischer
Flake
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
King
Kirk
Lee
Levin
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Scott
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker
NOT VOTING--2
Lautenberg
Whitehouse
The motion was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? If not, the question
is on agreeing to the amendment.
The amendment (No. 33) was agreed to.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set the pending
amendment aside to consider----
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, the Senate is not in order. I know there
is a lot of gloating over this amendment--I don't mean yours. Could we
kind of keep it quiet so Senator Inhofe can offer his amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, first, I ask unanimous consent to set
aside the pending amendment for consideration of my amendment.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. I just 2 minutes ago got a copy of what my dear friend is
going to offer, and here we go again with a series of environmental
riders that have nothing to do with this bill, that would change laws
that protect our rivers and our streams, and involve the EPA making
sure we prevent oilspills.
Frankly, I am objecting to this at this time unless I know we are
going to have a 60-vote threshold; otherwise, I will put us in a quorum
call at this time.
Mr. INHOFE addressed the Chair.
Mrs. BOXER. I have the floor because I am reserving the right to
object.
Mr. INHOFE. No, I have the floor.
Mrs. BOXER. All right. Go ahead.
Mr. INHOFE. First of all, I would not object to a 60-vote threshold
in order to get things to move along. I would say my good friend from
California has seen this bill several times before, and several months
ago we actually had a vote on it, but I have no objection.
Mrs. BOXER. Thank you so much.
Amendment No. 29 to Amendment No. 26
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
[[Page S1774]]
Mr. INHOFE. This is something we are all familiar with. There is a
spill prevention or an SPCC----
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will suspend.
The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Inhofe] proposes an
amendment numbered 29 to amendment No. 26.
Mr. INHOFE. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment
be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To prohibit the expenditure of Federal funds to enforce the
Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule of the Environmental
Protection Agency against farmers)
At the end of title VII of division C, insert the
following:
Sec. 17___. No funds made available under this Act shall
be used to implement or enforce with respect to any farm (as
that term is defined in section 112.2 of title 40, Code of
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)) the Spill,
Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule, including
amendments to that rule, promulgated by the Environmental
Protection Agency under part 112 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations.
Mr. INHOFE. This is a bill that for years and years has come up. It
was originally designed for refineries that have very large amounts of
storage, of oil, of propane, of all that type of material, and it was
designed for them to have the necessary safeguards in place. Then,
later on, there became a gray area. I ask the question because it has
never been answered: Should they now be able to apply this to farms?
Farms may have perhaps a little bit of propane over here and over here,
someplace else, something else. It might add up to the 1,320 gallons at
one time. If that is the case, then they would be under the same
requirements as we currently have for refiners. I am talking about them
having to do volumes and volumes of paperwork. They would have to
purchase new double-lined containers and build berms around their
storage facilities. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of
dollars, and this could be an average-sized farm.
The EPA has not done enough outreach to farmers to help them get into
compliance. When this came up before, we introduced this same amendment
that would give them time, with the assurance at that time that they
would do this. In fact, I recall personally visiting with Lisa Jackson
and she had every intention to go ahead and make these notifications.
So the EPA shouldn't be allowed to enforce the rule against farmers
at this time. What this amendment does is asks for an extension to give
them time. I plan on talking to the new Director of the EPA about this
very issue. This is not just exempting farmers. This is giving more
time, in this case, until the end of this fiscal year.
So I would like to be able to pass this. I do urge its adoption and
ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, if we are still on the Inhofe amendment, is
there still an opportunity to speak on the amendment before a vote is
called or is the Senator asking for a vote immediately?
Mr. INHOFE. I am sorry, I could not hear the Senator.
Mr. REED. Is the Senator asking for a vote immediately or is there
still an opportunity to speak?
Mr. INHOFE. No. We are asking for a vote sometime tomorrow.
Mrs. BOXER. Does the Senator wish to have time?
Mr. REED. I would like to, at the appropriate moment, be recognized
to speak, respectfully, against the Senator's amendment.
Mrs. BOXER. Well, now is the time.
Mr. REED. Now is the time? Well, in that case, let me go ahead and
speak.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, Senator Inhofe is proposing a very sweeping
amendment that would affect a rule the EPA has developed over the
normal rulemaking process, with notice and comments over many, many,
many months. It is scheduled to go into effect in May of this year. The
amendment the Senator is offering, as I understand it, exempts all
farms from this EPA oilspill regulation. Again, this rule is designed
to prevent or significantly prevent the pollution of navigable waters
by oilspills coming from agricultural operations.
One of the issues here is the definition of what appropriate farm
should be exempt. As I understand the amendment, it is all farms. That
includes large agribusinesses that have the capability not only of
mitigating these hazards but also the resources to do so and,
collectively, would contribute to environmental quality.
I know the agricultural community is concerned. And I know also this
the type of very complicated legislation that is best resolved at the
authorization level. The Senator from Oklahoma, I think, has already
indicated there are bills pending, and these bills are much more finely
attuned in nuance to address more specifically the problem rather than
a total effective preemption from the rule for all farms.
So I would urge very strenuously that--and I know the intentions of
the Senator from Oklahoma are to assist the agricultural community, but
I do not think this is the place or the time, as we try very seriously
to get a bill through by the end of the week, essentially, that will
keep the government operating, to decide on these complicated
authorization issues, effectively cutting out completely a very serious
and detailed rulemaking process that the EPA has undertaken.
So I will urge my colleagues at the appropriate time to resist the
amendment.
Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator yield?
Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield?
Go ahead.
Mr. REED. I will certainly yield.
Mr. INHOFE. I want to correct and make sure it is clear the
understanding of what this is. This is something that is in existence
today, and it is going to be temporarily holding this until the EPA
will study to see what kind of hardship this is going to be to all the
Senator's farmers and my farmers. This is not the bill that--I actually
have a bill that would exclude farmers from this. This is not that
bill. This merely extends that deadline to give them time to do what
they had agreed they were going to do in terms of the EPA studying this
issue.
I wanted to make sure that clarification was on the Record.
Mr. REED. I appreciate very much that clarification. But let me
retain my time and then yield to the Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. If I could ask my colleague a couple questions, if he
would engage in a colloquy with me.
Mr. REED. I will yield.
Mrs. BOXER. I know the Senator from Rhode Island--and I appreciate
what he said about how sweeping this is. The Senator has the amendment
in front of him, does he not?
Mr. REED. I have the amendment, yes.
Mrs. BOXER. I need to say here, please, colleagues, this is not any
kind of an extension of time. This says:
No funds made available under this Act shall be used to
implement or enforce with respect to any farm. . . .
And it goes through the Spill, Prevention, Control, and
Countermeasure rule.
Does my colleague read it the way I do? This is not an extension of
time. This is a prohibition on EPA implementing the rule. Am I correct?
Mr. REED. I believe the Senator is absolutely correct. There is no
time extension. One could argue that as this CR runs out maybe this
provision would run out. But the intent of the bill is clearly that
there is no money to be expended for any implementation against any
farm.
Mrs. BOXER. Exactly.
Mr. REED. That is the language of the bill.
Mrs. BOXER. I want to ask my colleague a couple other questions.
Farmers are exempted if they store less than 1,320 gallons of oil
aboveground or less than 42,000 gallons underground. That is the rule.
Is my colleague aware of that?
Mr. REED. Well, I thank the Senator for bringing that to my attention
because one point I would make--and I think Senator Inhofe does want to
engage also--but one point I would make is that in this EPA rulemaking
process there is a requirement to evaluate the cost and benefits with
respect to the rule. In that sense, many of these issues have been
addressed, and they have been done so in a very careful way.
[[Page S1775]]
Two, it has been done by listening to--in fact, requiring legally to
take the opinions, the comments of many people, stakeholders from all
sides. And then, frankly, the other cost and the traditional cost to
protest a rule is not to legislatively eliminate it, particularly in an
appropriations bill, but to contest the rule in court based upon the
facts.
Mrs. BOXER. Will my colleague yield for one more question? I know my
colleague, Senator Inhofe, wants to speak. By the way, we have a deep
friendship. But this is something we have never agreed on.
I want to make a point about the EPA rule. Farmers storing any amount
of oil, I say to my colleague, are exempted if an oilspill could not
reasonably be expected to reach rivers and streams.
My colleague was talking about this as some Draconian rule. The fact
is, even one quart of oil, used oil, can contaminate up to 2 million
gallons of drinking water.
I am a little blindsided on this, I have to say to my friend. If he
is going to keep on doing these riders on here that threaten the health
of the American people, I wish he would take it to me and at least give
me a personal heads up because this is something that is very serious,
and I will be speaking more on it tomorrow.
I thank my colleague for yielding.
Mr. REED. I believe I still have the time.
Let me make one point. This is a complicated rule that has tried to
balance various equities--environmental protection, protecting the
navigable waters of the United States, recognizing small farms or farms
where in no way their oil could reach down to where it should be
exempt.
Here, on the other side, is an amendment that is very broad, open
ended--no funds, all farms. I think in this context, I would urge my
colleagues to resist the amendment.
I think the Senator from Oklahoma wants to speak.
Mr. INHOFE. Yes. Let me make one comment for clarification.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. We will have the opportunity to look at this closer, as
the Senator from California suggests, tomorrow. We have talked about
this in the past. This is extending that May 30 date to the end of the
fiscal year. As you know, everything that would be an amendment adopted
on this would expire at the end of the fiscal year. So it is just an
extension of that time. Because by their own admission, the EPA has not
had time to listen to the concerns of the farmers. And I am talking
about farmers in both of your States there as well as my State of
Oklahoma.
As far as making the determination as to where the oil might go, I
think we all know that would be a very difficult thing to do. There has
been an effort for quite some time to take the word ``navigable'' out,
which would open it to anywhere.
So I think perhaps tomorrow we will have time to get into this. I
really wanted to get it in the queue. I have done that, and we will
have a chance tomorrow.
I thank the Senator.
Mr. REED. If I could reclaim the time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Let me say, I think the Senator's comments are accurate in
that because the CR terminates on September 30, then because it
terminates, the CR, this language might go away. But the clear language
here is not a--and I think that is the point the Senator from
California made--is not a time-certain extension for the EPA to do
something. It is: No funds, no farms. And I think there is a reasonable
concern--that certainly I have--that this will not just be a deliberate
delay of several months, but this is the intent to stop this law
indefinitely, as this language was drafted.
Mr. INHOFE. Look, I would conclude by saying, yes, that would be my
intent, but not with this legislation. This amendment does not do that.
I actually do have a bill that I have up that would permanently exempt
farmers in certain categories from being under the jurisdiction of
these limitations. But that is not what this is at this time.
I thank the Senator very much.
Mr. REED. I thank the Senator from Oklahoma, and I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business for 10 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Budget
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, here in Washington, DC, the budget debate
is often discussed in terms of abstract numbers and political winners
and losers. But the truth is that budgets are about far more than that.
They are about our values and our priorities, and they are about the
people across the country whose lives are impacted by the decisions we
make.
Today the Senate Budget Committee discussed one approach to tackling
our budget challenges, an approach that, while getting our debt and
deficits under control, will also create jobs and build a foundation
for prosperity from the middle out.
Tomorrow we will continue this discussion and vote on a plan. Then we
will move this debate here to the Senate floor, and then, hopefully,
work toward a balanced and bipartisan agreement with the House of
Representatives, while the American people have a chance to weigh in.
I believe our budget must meet not just one but many pressing
challenges of our time. We have come a long way since early 2009 when
President Obama entered office facing massive deficits and an economy
that was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month.
We have made progress toward getting our debt and deficits under
control, and we have added back jobs, but the recovery is not as strong
or as fast as it needs to be. Millions of workers continue struggling
to get back to work, and we still have some very serious challenges
when it comes to our medium and long-term deficit and debt challenges.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be asked to make tough
choices as we work to tackle these challenges responsibly. This process
is not going to be easy. There is a serious difference of opinion about
what our government should be doing to keep our economy and our
national finances moving in the right direction.
One approach is to follow a path back to the economic policies of the
last administration. This is the path to more tax cuts for the rich but
less opportunity for the middle class to get ahead. It is a path not to
prosperity, which can only truly be built from the middle out, but to
the deterioration of our national infrastructure and the decline of our
schools and the dismantling of the Medicare promise we have made to our
seniors. This approach, in fact, was on the ballot last November.
Voters around the country rejected it. Instead, they want an approach
that puts the middle class first, that returns our Nation to the fiscal
and economic policies that have worked for this country before, by
focusing on jobs and the economy, cutting spending responsibly, and
calling on the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.
The Senate budget--which we put out today--reflects the progrowth,
pro-middle class agenda that the American people went to the polls and
supported in November.
Our budget is really built on three principles: No. 1, we need to
protect our fragile economic recovery, create jobs, and invest in long-
term growth. No. 2, we need to tackle our deficit and debt fairly and
responsibly. And, No. 3, we need to keep the promises we made to our
Nation's seniors and families and our communities.
We believe with an unemployment rate that remains stubbornly high and
a middle class that has seen their wages stagnate for far too long, we
simply cannot afford any threats to our fragile recovery.
That is why this budget uses equal amounts of responsible spending
cuts and new revenue from the wealthiest Americans to fully replace the
cuts from sequestration--cuts that, by the way, threaten hundreds of
thousands of jobs this year, and cuts that endanger economic growth for
years to come, and cuts that are being felt in States such as mine,
where military families are losing services, local housing officials
are being forced to cut housing vouchers for the homeless, and
furloughs are being handed out to those
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who are cleaning up nuclear waste that threatens our environment.
The budget we are offering invests in infrastructure and job training
to get Americans back to work now. It prioritizes education, as well as
research and development, so that our workforce of today and tomorrow
has the skills to compete in the 21st century global economy.
Our budget puts jobs and the economy first and foremost. But it also
builds on the work we have done over the last 2 years to tackle our
deficit and debt responsibly.
Since 2010, Congress and the administration have worked together to
reduce the deficit by $2.4 trillion--$1.8 trillion coming from spending
cuts, $600 billion coming from allowing tax rates to rise on the
wealthiest Americans, which we voted on in the year-end deal.
The Senate budget takes us the rest of the way to that $4 trillion
goal and beyond. It builds on the $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction
already done with an additional $1.85 trillion in new deficit
reduction, for a total of $4.25 trillion in deficit reduction since the
Simpson-Bowles report.
Our budget reduces the deficit to below 3 percent of GDP by 2015 and
keeps it well below that level for the rest of the 10-year window in a
responsible way. It pushes down our debt, as a percentage of the
economy, moving in the right direction. Our budget tackles the deficit
the way the American people have consistently said they want it done,
with an equal mix of responsible spending cuts made across the Federal
budget and new revenue raised by closing loopholes and cutting wasteful
breaks that primarily benefit the rich.
This budget cuts spending responsibly by $975 billion, finding
savings across the budget, including health and defense. It matches
those responsible spending cuts with $975 billion in new revenue, which
is raised by closing loopholes and cutting unfair spending in the Tax
Code for those who need it the least, while locking in tax cuts for the
middle class and low-income working families and protecting them from
having to pay a penny more.
Since we have so far been unable to get a deal because Republicans
reject using new revenue from the wealthiest to help us reduce the
deficit, I want to emphasize that there is bipartisan support for
deficit reduction through making the Tax Code more fair and efficient.
During the recent fiscal cliff negotiations Speaker Boehner proposed
that we reduce the deficit by $800 billion by closing what he called
special interest loopholes and deductions. This budget takes him up on
that.
In addition to investing in jobs and economic growth and tackling our
deficit and debt responsibly, this budget also keeps the promises we
have made to our seniors, our families, our veterans, and our
communities. We strongly reject the call to dismantle Medicare by
voucherizing it because this critical program that seniors and families
support, paid into, and depend on should be protected. This budget
takes a responsible, fair approach. It is the one endorsed by
bipartisan groups and experts. It is the one supported by the vast
majority of the American people.
The House of Representatives is also working on their budget
resolution today. I know there are going to be serious differences
between the visions and values and priorities within the budgets which
will emerge from our Chamber and theirs. But the American people are
going to have an opportunity now to examine these budgets side by side.
They are going to be able to decide which approach is best for our
economy, best for our jobs, and best for the middle class. They will
let us know whether they want to go back down the path of the trickle-
down policies that decimated the middle class and threw our economy
into a tailspin or if they would prefer the approach we have seen work
before: to tackle our deficit responsibly, to reinvest in the middle
class, to build a strong foundation for growth, and to restore the
promise of American opportunity.
The Senate budget is a balanced and responsible approach to taking us
down that second path. I am hopeful the House of Representatives will
join us at the bargaining table so we can end this gridlock and work
together toward a responsible and bipartisan budget deal that the
American people expect and deserve.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, before the Senator leaves the floor, the
chair of the Budget Committee--first of all, I want to compliment her
on the work she has done on the Budget Committee. It is indeed
impressive. I want to compliment her because she is headed for a
balanced approach, really. Increased revenue. We are not talking about
rates, we are talking about getting rid of tax break earmarks, earmarks
that go on not for one group for 1 year but go on indefinitely, such as
subsidies for corporate jets and sending jobs overseas.
But the other areas she is looking at are how we can be more frugal
in our spending, and then a rigorous review of mandatory spending. We
have to review it to see how we can get more value for our dollar.
The Senator has championed veteran's health care. She and I know we
can get more value there. I compliment the Senator on that.
I am going to ask the Senator a question about timing and process.
Does the Senator have a time mandate that has been assigned to her to
complete her bill?
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Maryland. First
of all, let me just say it is truly a pleasure to be on the floor with
the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. I just remember when the
Senator and I were here back in 1992, the Year of the Woman, and now
here we are managing these critical financial bills.
Ms. MIKULSKI. It is the economic framework for the United States of
America.
Mrs. MURRAY. Exactly. Families across the country should be grateful
for the work the Senator is doing on the appropriations side of the
committee, which focuses on making sure their kids can go to school,
that they have the research and investment they need for their health
care, and so many transportation infrastructure projects that allow
them to go to work and raise their families in a responsible way.
I respect and admire the work the Senator is doing right now on a
very difficult and challenging budget CR that no one wishes looked like
it does, but we recognize the reality of the task the Senator has been
given. She is managing it in the best way possible.
To answer the question, I would tell the Senator that we are in a
very short timeframe. Our Budget Committee will proceed through the
amendment process, and tomorrow night pass out our budget after many
amendments. At that time, our staff will work over the few short days
they have to have the paperwork ready to lay down our bill on the floor
of the Senate, hopefully, Monday night. We are under a very constricted
timeframe. It is the one piece of legislation that comes before this
body like that with 50 hours of debate and multiple amendments. We need
to finish that before we can leave for the April break.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Well, I want to share the Senator's sense of urgency to
get her bill done. In order for her to get her bill done, I need to get
my bill done. I want to pledge my cooperation, and I believe that of my
vice chairman, Senator Shelby. We have a sense of urgency to move our
bill because we must take it over to the House. There, we have a
deadline that is a Draconian one: If we do not have a continuing
funding resolution passed before the Easter-Passover break, we will
face a government shutdown. That is horrific in terms of our economy
and the people who want the U.S. Government to govern itself. It is
also one more sign that we have a problem governing. I say that
because, while the Senator is marking up her bill tomorrow, we want to
move through here so that we are done.
I would like to have this bill done tomorrow. There are those who
have obligations in their States and even at an international
conference. I would like to support that, but Senator Shelby and I need
support too. So we do not doubt people offering amendments, we do not
question their content or their policy, but we have timing and process.
Our bill is not meant to be ``pin the tail on the donkey.'' It is not
meant to
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solve every problem the U.S. Government has. Our job is to keep the
continuing resolution.
I want to say to the Senator, while, speaking to a much larger
audience, I know there is pent frustration not to be able to offer
amendments and debate. We are doing that. You win some, you lose some.
That is called the Senate. I want the Senator to know we want to work
with her so that we do not interfere in her work. But I believe one of
the ways we can get to the budget, which is the real framework for how
we can even vitiate sequester, is to get out our bill, meaning the
continuing funding resolution.
So I want to compliment the Senator on her work. I pledge to support
it, but I ask the support of all of the other 98 of our colleagues.
Let's look at what we need to get done on the continuing funding
resolution, not what we would like to get done.
Mrs. MURRAY. If the Senator from Maryland, the chairman of our
Appropriations Committee, would yield for a minute, I want to back her
up on that. I know there are probably 8,000 amendments that can be
offered to this because nobody is happy with the fact that we are faced
with a continuing resolution that does not reflect the needs of all of
our communities. I know she did not come here to debate process or to
be the mother of Senators and get them over here to offer amendments. I
know where her passion is. It is fitting for her kids and families and
communities in Maryland. That is what she wants to get back to.
If we can get past this and put the CR in place, swallow hard and
then get our budget done and work toward a process of a bipartisan
budget, we need to do that so we can then give the Senator the ability
to put the Appropriations Committee bills together. They will come out
here and we will be able to offer amendments and people will have their
say about the spending of the future. We cannot get to that unless we
get that work done.
Ms. MIKULSKI. That is right. An open and transparent process in that
legislation that we put together over a weekend, 571 pages. Senators
McCain and Coburn were right, but I could not do any more because I did
not get it from the House until Thursday. So, again, I am not here to
debate process, but I am the prodder of the process. So I am out here
prodding and pleading: Please, let's get a simple, contained order of
amendments. We thank the other side of the aisle. They are working with
us.
In terms of the floor staff who is working on this, we need the
cooperation of the Senators.
Mrs. MURRAY. I would back up the Senator and urge Senators to,
please, finish this product, move on to our budget next week, and get
that done. Then we can get to the point that America will respect the
work of this body and not lurch from crisis to crisis as the Senator
has outlined and get back to focusing on the policies those families
she cares about and represents so well want her here for.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Absolutely. I see my colleague from Maryland, such an
able and active Member, a member of the Finance Committee that is known
to make a contribution. We want him to make a couple of trillion
dollars' worth of contributions, as a matter of fact.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me thank my colleague from Maryland,
Senator Mikulski. I was listening to the exchange between Senator
Murray and Senator Mikulski. I just want to concur in their comments.
We need to act on H.R. 933, the amendments offered by Senator Mikulski
and Senator Shelby. It is important for us to move forward on this for
several reasons.
First, we are over 5 months into the fiscal year. We need to enact
the fiscal year 2013 budget. If we are going to the fiscal year 2014
budget, we have to get past the fiscal year 2013 budget. So it is
critically important that we pass the continuing resolution omnibus
bill, send it back to the House, and, hopefully, reconcile those
differences very quickly because we only have a few more days to get
this enacted in order to make sure government continues, but just as
importantly to give predictability to our agencies for the next 7
months.
We are very close to getting that done. I urge my colleagues to
cooperate as the chairperson of the Appropriations Committee, Senator
Mikulski, has said. I certainly strongly support the work that has been
done. I thank Senator Mikulski and Senator Shelby for bringing us
together in a way that I would hope the Senate would operate, that we
work together, Democrats and Republicans, come together on a bill, and
move that legislation.
Having said that, I must tell you I share the frustration that
Senator Mikulski talked about. There are provisions that are not
included in this legislation that I would like to see included, and
there are some provisions that are included that I would like to see
not included. Let me talk about one of the provisions that is included
that I regret is there. That is the provision that would extend the pay
freeze for our Federal workforce through the remainder of the current
budget year, fiscal year 2013.
I am proud to represent the people of Maryland in the Senate, along
with my colleague Senator Mikulski. We represent 130,000 Federal
workers. That is about 5.6 percent of the Maryland workforce who are
Federal workers. These are public servants. These are people who are on
the frontline. These are people who are providing critical services
every day to the people of this country.
A couple of weeks ago, I was at the National Institutes of Health. I
had a chance to talk to the workforce there. What they are doing is
critically important to the people of this country. I could tell you
that the basic research they do is critically important to a lot of
companies in the creation of jobs. That is absolutely true.
I will tell you the story of one individual I happened to meet. One
of the scientists there took me to the program on which they are
working. The work they are doing is in the field of research on renal
cancer. The reason I say this is I had a chance to meet with one of the
individuals who is in the program. He comes from a different State and
was diagnosed a while ago with having a form of renal cancer with no
cure. He was told by his doctor that he had basically two choices: We
can treat you with the only technology we know here or at any facility
in the country--and you have 6 months to live--or you may participate
in an NIH program where they are looking at alternative ways to treat
this form of renal cancer. This person chose the latter course,
traveled to Bethesda, MD, and participated in the program. They
discovered for this form of cancer a drug therapy that will stop the
growth of the cancer cells. He is now living a somewhat more normal
life with hope of survival. He didn't have that just a few months ago.
When I spoke with this person about what he felt about sequestration
or about government shutdowns, do you know what he told me? He said: I
never thought I would need government. I was working. I never thought I
would need government. NIH needs the money we give them. It helped save
my life, and it helped develop the type of scientific base we need in
this country.
This story could be told many times over. They need the
predictability of a budget. They need the legislation Senator Mikulski
is promoting, which will give them funding for the remainder of this
year so they can continue their critically important work.
I visited the Social Security Administration a week ago and met a lot
of hard-working Federal workers who were trying to send Social Security
benefits to those who need them. We have people with disabilities
trying to get a disability determination to receive a check. There is a
delay in getting this done--a delay that will only become longer if the
Social Security Administration doesn't have the people it needs in
order to process those claims.
I could mention many other agencies--NSA and the critical work they
do in cyber security. These are the best mathematicians in the world
who are Federal workers serving in the most noble of public service.
This includes Departments such as NIST, National Institute of Standards
and Technology, which develops technology needs for our future, and the
work done at FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, on food safety.
These are all people working in my State of Maryland for a Federal
agency
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as Federal workers. They are getting the job done for the people of
this country and deserve our support. They have already sacrificed and
have seen budgets that have shrunk. There are fewer people working, and
their mission has increased--more work, fewer workers. They have now
been through 2 years--which will now increase to 3--of a pay freeze.
This translates into a $90 billion contribution to the deficit problems
of this country. This is what the Federal workers have done.
Quite frankly, I find it disappointing that a very modest pay
adjustment for a 7-month period--a .5 percent, one-half of 1 percent
increase, which was in the President's budget--was held off for the
first 5 months and will now be held off for the remainder of this year.
I think this is wrong. That pay adjustment should have gone forward. I
regret that it is not included in the legislation we will act on.
The Federal workforce will have additional sacrifices because this
continuing resolution on the omnibus bill incorporates the lower
numbers caused by these across-the-board cuts by sequestration. As a
result of that, many of our Federal workers will be getting furlough
notices. What does a furlough notice mean? That means as many as 1 day
out of 5 they will be asked to not show up for work, which translates
into a 20-percent pay cut, and some possibly 1 out of every 10 days,
which is a 10-percent pay cut. If you have a mortgage payment to make
or your utility bills to pay, creditors are not going to accept the
fact that it can be 10 percent less because you have been furloughed 1
day out of every 10 days.
Our Federal workers will even do more, and I think we need to
acknowledge that not by just saying ``you are doing a great job at
public service'' but by giving them the support they need. I hope that
as we move forward on the budget considerations for fiscal year 2014,
we will take into consideration the sacrifices already made by our
Federal workforce and give them the support they need to get the job
done for the people of this country.
There are provisions which were left out of this continuing
resolution omnibus bill which I think should have been included. Let me
support Senator Harkin and the amendment he has pending, which would
basically put into the continuing resolution the work that was done
during regular order by the Appropriations Committee on the Labor-HHS
appropriations bill. It really accepts regular order. It doesn't
increase the total at all; it just adjusts the money that was spent in
fiscal year 2012 to the committee priorities established in fiscal year
2013. In other words, it establishes regular order with the same
appropriation dollars in order to update the spending in the agencies
under the committee's jurisdiction. This makes sense.
Let me give you one example, and I could give you many others. I
spoke about the National Institutes of Health. I spoke about how
valuable the work is that they accomplish. Well, as a result of budget
reductions, they may now only approve about one out of every seven
grants. They make grants to our universities and to groups who work to
find answers for these diseases. They only now may do one out of every
seven. As was explained to me by Dr. Collins, they must choose between
the really great grants that are submitted and the great, great grants
that are submitted. They can take only a few of the really great
projects that are out there.
We need to do better. Senator Harkin's amendment would increase the
amount of money going to NIH by about $140 million. Once again, it
doesn't change the overall totals; it adjusts the priorities from
fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2014. I urge my colleagues to support
the Harkin amendment to enable an agency such as NIH to receive the
help needed without affecting the overall spending of this Nation.
I really do look forward to us working together, Democrats and
Republicans, in the national interest to compromise in a bipartisan
manner. This is what we need to do. This is exactly what Senator
Mikulski and Senator Shelby have done in bringing forward this
legislation. It deserves our support.
I listened to Senator Murray, as I know we will be voting on a budget
next week for fiscal year 2014. What we need to do is work together,
Democrats and Republicans, let these bills go to conference, work
together and bring out a budget that represents the best for our Nation
to move forward.
What I hear most from the people of Maryland is that they want us to
make decisions. They need the predictability of a budget. We can give
them that for our current year by the enactment of the bill that is
currently before us, and then we could give them the predictability
they need for the future decisions of our Nation by approving in a
bipartisan manner the budget for fiscal year 2014. I would hope we
could do that also as this would clearly be in the best interests of
our Nation.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, we began a markup on the budget today.
It is the first time in 3 years the Budget Committee has actually met
to begin to mark up a bill. We had opening statements today. We made
opening statements before we saw the chairman's mark, and the mark was
produced later after the opening statements were completed.
Tomorrow we will have a markup on the budget and it will be 1 day,
and amendments will all be completed tomorrow. There will be several
interruptions, but the determination is to finish, which, of course, is
contrary to what we would like to have happen. The Republican members
of the committee asked that we have a week set aside and we do opening
statements beginning Monday or Tuesday and that we actually have
amendments up during a normal process and be able to actually engage in
the kind of debate I think would be helpful for the financial future of
our country. The chair and the Democratic majority decided we would
just do opening statements this afternoon and we would do all the
amendments tomorrow and we will complete tomorrow regardless. So that
is where we are.
I am glad we do have a budget being brought forward. If it is brought
to the floor, it will be the first time in 4 years the Democratic
majority has brought a budget to the floor. This is in violation of
plain law, statutory code of the United States, 1974, requiring a
budget be passed every year and brought forward. They refused to do so.
The majority leader said it was foolish to bring a budget. What he
meant was it was foolish politically. Surely he wouldn't contend it is
foolish for America that the Democratic leadership in the Senate bring
up a budget. Surely it would be good for the country to do this every
year, as the law requires. But that is where we have been. So we are
glad.
The House passed earlier this year a bill that said no budget, then
no pay. It said, Congress, if you don't pass a budget, at least out of
your own House, then you don't get paid. So that picked up the pace,
apparently, and we have a budget, although the President has not
submitted his budget. Amazingly, I think it is the first time in 90
years, somebody said--the first time certainly in my memory--the
President of the United States, who is required by law to have the
budget in by February 4, has waited for the House, which is marking up
a budget today, and the Senate to do their budget first. That goes
against what mayors and city councils do and Governors do. But that is
where we are.
I will tell you one thing that we have learned in the short time we
have had the budget that I think defines a lot about where our majority
wants the country to go. Over 10 years, this budget--at a time of a
dangerous fiscal crisis--spends more--$640-some-odd billion more--than
the current law we passed about 20 months ago in August of 2011. We
agreed to the Budget Control Act. We agreed to a certain amount of
money that we would spend and no more. The President signed it and both
parties in the House and Senate agreed to it. But what happens? Here we
are with their proposing a budget that will spend more money than we
agreed to spend just a few months ago.
The worst thing about this is that the Budget Control Act did not go
far
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enough. We should have reduced spending more. In addition to that, it
looks as though there will be about $1 trillion in new taxes in this
budget. So it is tax more and spend more. It is the wrong direction for
America.
People say: Well, that is just politics; what is the matter with you
guys. Why can't you reach an agreement? It is hard to reach an
agreement when the country is on an unsustainable debt path that puts
us in danger of financial crisis; a path that is already slowing growth
down in our country. Agreeing to a budget that continues down this path
is not the right thing to do. So I am deeply disappointed that we are
in this fix.
I wish we had had an opportunity in committee to really have a lot of
discussion about it back and forth, because there are good Democratic
members of our committee, talented members, good Republican members,
talented members, who bring so much to the discussion. But it was just
both sides talking today. Some good statements were made but not the
kind of engagement we would like to have had. So that is a
disappointment.
Under the current baseline we are on, according to the Congressional
Budget Office, in the tenth year of this budget we are dealing with
right now--the Budget Control Act--interest on our debt will be $850
billion--$850 billion in interest payments for 1 year on the money we
have borrowed--the almost $17 trillion we have borrowed. This is why it
is such a dangerous thing. The highway bill is $40 billion or $50
billion a year, aid to education may be $100 billion.
I am saying that in just a few years, because we have run up
unnecessarily so much debt, that interest will be $900 billion. That
will be more than the Defense Department by far. The Defense
Department's base budget is about $540 billion, and it is actually
being cut. Interest will be the largest growing item in the budget.
Food stamps went from $20 billion a decade ago to $80 billion. I just
left my farmers, who came up from Alabama, and we were talking about
that. The farm bill is about $100 billion a year. Of that farm bill,
$80 billion of it is the food stamp budget. It has gone up four times.
The $20 billion that goes to farmers, in aid and insurance, actually
was cut this year, but nothing was cut out of food stamps. They
resisted that, and rejected even a modest amendment I offered to end a
clear abuse which wouldn't have hurt anybody. I guess what I am saying
is we are in serious business here and we have to get off the debt
course we are on.
Erskine Bowles, who was appointed by President Obama to head the
fiscal commission, along with Alan Simpson--the Simpson-Bowles
Commission--said this Nation has never faced a more predictable
financial crisis. What he was saying was, if we don't get off the debt
path we are on, we are going to have a financial collapse. They didn't
say exactly what, but something like Greece, something like we had in
2007, throwing our country back into a recession, which would be a very
dangerous thing. It was a bipartisan warning to us that we needed to
act, and we haven't acted since then, and that was over 2 years ago.
We haven't done anything. So a lot of people are saying and you have
heard it said that we have to act because we are worried about our
children and our grandchildren. And we should be worried about the debt
that is out there for our children and grandchildren.
Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire put a picture up in our
Budget Committee today of her two children, ages 5 and 8, and she had
one with $1,100,000 on that child's picture, and the younger one had
$1,300,000 on her picture. That is what was calculated will be the
share of the Nation's debt that they will carry when they are adults.
This is wrong. We should not--must not--do this to our children and
grandchildren. It was not done to us. Our parents left us with a
country much more responsibly managed than this.
We have never, ever had a situation in which we have had four
consecutive years of deficits amounting to $1.2 trillion a year. Never.
Oh, President Bush spent too much. Yes, he did. He deserves some
criticism. I think he does deserve some criticism. The year before he
left office, his deficit was $161 billion; his last year was $470
billion. For the last 4 years, we have averaged $1.2 trillion, and it
is systemic and it is deep and it has to be changed.
Now, there is one more thing I really would like for my colleagues to
focus on, and I will wrap up with this point, but it is really
important. The question is: When you have debt equal to $17 trillion,
does it impact the economy now? Yes. It puts us at risk for some sort
of fiscal crisis. If there is a collapse in Europe, a collapse in
Japan, a collapse in China, it could kick us off into a major financial
disaster in the United States. It is a very fragile situation.
But the question is: Does the debt we have now slow growth today? I
think that is a really important issue, and so we have done the
research.
The issue was originally raised by Rogoff and Reinhart. They have
done a number of studies and wrote a big book about all the nations
that have gone into default and have had a debt crisis over the last
200 years. It is a thoroughly respected work of two highly competent
and proven, respected economists. What they concluded was that when
debt reaches 90 percent of the size of your economy, you slow economic
growth by 1 to 2 percent.
Where are we now? A lot of people have been using the ``public debt
of the United States.'' That is one way to calculate it, and our public
debt represents about 76 percent of our gross domestic product. But the
other debt that we use, the one you have seen most often, is the $16
trillion figure that has the numbers spinning on it--$16 trillion is
what is called the gross debt. A lot of people seem to think we are not
in danger because Rogoff and Reinhart were talking about the public
debt. That is not so. We have examined their work, and we have examined
their footnotes and their reports and analysis. It is the gross debt.
That is what they were using; that is what they calculated. We are at
104 percent gross debt, so we are well over the 90.
I would contend that the reason our economy has failed to meet, for
the last 3 years, the growth expectations that were out there is
because our debt is dragging us down now. And there are hundreds of
thousands--millions of Americans who are probably out of work today
because of the debt drag.
We need to get off this path, and the budget the majority moves in
our committee gets us nowhere off this path. It never brings our gross
debt below 90 percent or 94 percent of GDP, and we haven't finished the
analysis of it.
In addition, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central
Bank, the International Settlements Bank--all three have done similar
studies with a little different approach, and they all reach the same
conclusion. What they have concluded is that however you calculate the
debt, the United States is already above the line where growth is
slowed.
I think it was 2 years ago that the Congressional Budget Office--our
nonpartisan group who makes projections for our debt and finances in
the future--calculated that this year, 2013, we would have 4.6 percent
growth. They predicted a much higher growth last year than the 2.2
percent we got the year before that, and they missed the previous year.
They missed 3 consecutive years, predicting higher growth than
occurred. And growth means a lot.
White House economic expert Christina Romer has estimated that a 1-
percent growth in the economy--a difference between 2 and 3 percent--
means you would create 1 million jobs to have 3 percent growth rather
than 2 percent growth. That is what growth does to job creation, to
wages, the possibility of getting raises, getting more wages, more
overtime, perhaps, more bonuses, because the economy is growing. And if
it is not growing, our workers are hurting.
So in our vision--I think the members of the Republican side of this
Budget Committee--we are united in the belief that we can bring this
budget under control and we can balance it.
Now, I have to tell you, the budget Chairman Murray produced tonight
does not balance ever. It never balances. They say it is a balanced
approach. They even said a couple times that it is a balanced budget,
in our hearing. All they were trying to do was use the word
``balance,'' I think maybe--surely not but perhaps--they were hoping
people would hear them
[[Page S1780]]
say they have a balanced budget, which comes nowhere close to balance.
With $500 billion, $600 billion, $700 billion of deficit out there for
years and years, it never balances. Congressman Ryan made his budget
public, openly, a day before he commenced his hearing, and it balances
in 10 years.
This is the deal. There is good and bad news in what I am saying. The
good news is that we can increase spending every year by 3.4 percent
and the budget will balance. The path we are on, the CBO current
baseline projects us increasing spending each year at 5.4 or 5.6
percent. So if you reduce that growth instead of growing at that level,
you grow at 3.4 percent, the budget will balance. And 3.4 percent is
higher than what the Congressional Budget Office says inflation will
be. They say it is about 2.2 percent; it will be about 25 percent over
10 years. So you can increase spending over 10 years by 40 percent
above the inflation rate, and the budget will balance. You just can't
keep increasing it by 5.4 or 5.6 percent.
It is critical for America that we get on the right course. So this
is deeply troubling to me. I know we can do this. It is not that hard.
But here is the bad news and why it is painful a bit to get there;
that is, because more than half of our budget now is the entitlement
programs and interest. As I said, interest on the debt--you have to pay
it. You really can't cut the interest except by reducing your debt. And
there is no balanced budget in the short-term future, so the interest
is going up at a solid rate.
Then you have our big entitlement programs. You have Medicare, you
have Social Security, and then you have some large ones--Medicaid,
which is a surging program growing at 8 percent a year, projected to
increase by 117 percent over 10 years, and then food stamps is
considered to be an entitlement. You put all those entitlements
together and you have a problem. Those are in law. And ``entitlement''
means that if your income is at a certain level, your age is a certain
age, you are entitled to the benefit that the law gives you whether the
government has any money or not. Congress doesn't have to appropriate
it. The government has to go out and borrow the money if they don't
change the law.
So we need a plan to change Medicare, Social Security, food stamps,
and some of the other entitlement programs in a way that saves them
from the financial disaster they are headed toward, puts them on a
sound path, and actually begin to restore the finances of America.
There is still waste, fraud, and abuse in the remaining part of the
government. There are still programs that don't do any good for the
money they get. There is still money spent on projects that should
never have money spent on them from Washington, DC, and they ought to
be eliminated. But to slow growth from 5.4 percent a year to 3.4
percent a year, we need to touch a little bit of everything. And
spending will still go up. That is the good news. We can still spend
more, but we just can't spend it quite at the increased rate we are on.
Some people say: Why don't you balance it now? Why are you talking
about waiting 10 years?
We probably should do it sooner than 10 years. But I think it is a
realistic appeal to Democrats and Republicans alike--let's get on this
path, this path that is not too hard to achieve what would be fabulous
for America.
Two things. First, I believe that if we were to pass a budget that
would be on the path to balance in 10 years, we would feel some
economic growth that we have never felt before. Investors worldwide,
investors in the United States, and businesses would feel so much
better about our country. I really think that is true. Second, we would
reduce the huge debt hanging over us that is already slowing down
growth. Those two things we can accomplish.
I don't know where we will go. We will pass a budget out of
committee, I am sure, on a party-line vote. Maybe it will pass here on
the Senate floor by a party-line vote, and then it will go to
conference. I don't know, maybe Speaker Boehner or Chairman Ryan's
budget will match up with the Democratic budget out of the Senate, and
maybe something good will happen for America and we can reach some sort
of agreement. But we cannot tax our way out of this. We can't keep
increasing spending, for heaven's sake. We need to reduce the growth of
spending to a level that is reasonable and can put us on a path to
balance.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of an
amendment that I have filed, along with Vice Chairman Chambliss, to the
appropriations bill now on the floor, which will address a unique
problem the intelligence community faces in applying the sequester
reductions to the National Intelligence Program, NIP, budget.
In short, this amendment would ensure that the intelligence
community--which has to be as predictive and agile as possible--will
have the same level of flexibility in implementing budget cuts as the
Department of Defense, where most of its budget is located. Without
this relief, the intelligence community will be far less discriminating
in how it adjusts personnel and financial resources to address the
dynamic and unforeseen threats our Nation will face in the upcoming
months.
This is a commonsense amendment. It does not cost a dime, and it will
likely avoid a great deal of harm to our intelligence capabilities.
Let me briefly describe the background and how the amendment would
work.
As has been described many times, the terms of the sequestration
require that the same level of budget cuts apply across the board. That
is, departments and agencies have to apply the same percentage cut
across each account.
It therefore becomes very important how those accounts are defined.
If the account is very large, a manager has more leeway to prioritize
funding and cut the least important, or the least urgent, needs. By
contrast, if the account is defined as being smaller, there is less
flexibility to cut funding responsibly, and more important programs
will suffer.
Because of language included in the Fiscal Year 2012 Defense
Appropriations Act, however, the intelligence community must apply the
sequester in a highly restrictive way. That legislation required that
the definition of an account for sequestration in the intelligence
community is at something known as the Programs, Projects, and
Activities--known as PPA--level. The intelligence community's budget
has 685 PPAs, and each will need to be cut equally. The most
problematic of these PPAs for the intelligence agencies are the 354
PPAs within the intelligence agencies' Operations and Maintenance, O&M,
accounts. These are the accounts which fund current operations and
salaries.
The overall Department of Defense budget is roughly 10 times that of
the intelligence community, but it has only 3 times more PPAs--in other
words, it has relatively fewer accounts that are affected by
sequestration, and thus greater flexibility to absorb the sequester
cuts, since they can be applied within larger budget accounts.
This amendment would help alleviate this problem by permitting the
agencies in the intelligence community that are funded by the Defense
Appropriations bill to use the same definition of what constitutes a
Program, Project, and Activity Account as the Defense Department when
applying sequestration reductions to its O&M accounts. This specific
change will reduce the number of these PPAs from 354 to 5 and will not
affect other PPAs. No budget outside of the intelligence community is
affected--we simply provide these intelligence agencies with the same
level of flexibility as the Pentagon.
In times like today, where the threats are neither static nor
predictable, I ask that my colleagues approve this amendment so that
the intelligence community may be nimble and responsive to the dangers
our Nation faces.
This is not a simple budgetary matter. How the cuts of sequestration
are applied makes a great deal of difference in practical terms.
Just yesterday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and
other intelligence agency heads testified at the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence's hearing on Current and Projected National
Security Threats to the United States. They described the numerous,
complex, and interrelated threats we face. Director Clapper noted
[[Page S1781]]
``how quickly and radically the world--and our threat environment--are
changing.'' He stated there is an increasing risk to U.S. critical
infrastructure from cyber attacks, in particular from isolated state or
non-state actors using less sophisticated but still effective
techniques that are more prevalent today. I ask unanimous consent that
an excerpt from this transcript be printed in the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks.
The terrorist threat continues to become more diffuse since the al-
Qa'ida core leadership has been degraded and its affiliates in the
Arabian Peninsula and Africa look to fill that void and strike against
the United States. Countries like Iran and North Korea continue their
efforts to develop ever more deadly weapons of mass destruction, and
look to market them to counter their failing economies. And, the
instability in the Middle East and North Africa that has grown since
the Arab spring continues to create more dangers and potential
flashpoints in countries that 3 years ago were not assessed to have
such risks.
In the past 6 months, it has been clear that the intelligence
community needs to surge additional resources to collect and analyze
intelligence on Northern Africa. Our policymakers need more and better
information to deal with instability and terrorist activities in Libya,
Mali, and Algeria. Under sequestration, however, agencies would be
limited to do so. The same needs apply to address threats that emanate
from Iran, North Korea, Syria, and cyberspace, to name just a few.
There is no doubt that the intelligence community can reduce spending
and contribute to the Governmentwide reductions. But to strip it of all
flexibility to cut programs and personnel across the board makes no
sense.
If our intelligence agencies are to absorb the cuts required by
sequestration, our Nation's security would be better served by
providing the intelligence community with the flexibility it needs to
implement cuts in as responsible and thoughtful way under these
circumstances.
The changes my amendment seeks are necessary to help the intelligence
community adapt to a changing world as the sequestration reductions are
implemented. I understand there may be concerns with how the other
chamber will view this amendment, but I believe that our counterparts
on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence--Chairman Mike
Rogers and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger--support making these
changes to help intelligence agencies succeed in their mission.
Finally, Mr. President, let me make clear that this amendment is
intended, and I believe does, have no effect on the visibility that
Congress has in how the intelligence community will make budget
reductions due to sequestration or with how these agencies reprogram
funds. The only thing affected by the amendment is the size of the
accounts from which sequestered funds must be taken.
On behalf of myself and Vice Chairman Chambliss, I urge adoption of
the amendment.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Excerpts From the Testimony of Director of National Intelligence James
Clapper, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, March 12,
2013
In my considered judgment as the nation's senior
intelligence officer, sequestration jeopardizes our nation's
safety and security. And this jeopardy will increase over
time. The National Intelligence Program, or NIP as it's
called, which I manage is spread across six cabinet
departments, and two independent agencies. Much of it is
included in the DOD budget. For that portion of the NIP, the
Congress directed that the National Intelligence Program use
an even more onerous set of rules to carry out these cuts
than that imposed on the Defense Department.
This restrictive Program Project and Activity, or PPA,
structure as it's known, compounds the damage because it
restricts our ability to manage where to take deductions in a
balanced, and rational way. Accordingly the sheer size of the
budget cut, well over $4 billion, or about 7 percent of the
NIP will directly compel us to do less, with less. Some
examples, and I'll have to be circumspect here, in a--in an
open, unclassified setting, and we're prepared to speak more
specifically in a classified setting, of the impacts of
sequestration.
We'll reduce human technical, and counter intelligence
operations resulting in fewer collection opportunities while
increasing the risk of strategic surprise. This includes for
example, possibly furloughing thousands of FBI employees
funded in the National Intelligence Program. Our cyber
efforts will be impacted. This is an area where, as you all
know, we must--we need to keep ahead of rapid technology
advances to maintain and increase access to adversaries as
well as provide warning of a cyber attack against the U.S.
Critical analysis and tools will be cut back. So we'll
reduce global coverage, and may risk missing the early signs
of a threat. Our response to customers will suffer as well.
We'll let go over five thousand contractors, and that number
may grow, who are an integral part of the intelligence
community, and this is on top of the thousands of contractors
we've let go in previous years. We'll delay major systems
acquisitions, and decommission older, but still productive
overhead reconnaissance capabilities, thus reducing coverage.
Virtually all of the 39 major systems acquisitions across the
intelligence community would be wounded.
We'll have to re-negotiate contracts and slip schedules to
the right, which in the long run, will cost us more. And
we'll scale back cutting edge research that helps us maintain
a strategic advantage. Since we're already halfway through
the fiscal year, the mandate of across the board cuts are
equivalent to 13 percent, because we'll be forced to take
them in just seven months. These condensed timelines magnify
the impact these cuts will have on the I.C. So in response,
our approach starts with the premise that mission comes
first. Therefore, our two highest priorities are: One, to
protect our most valuable resource, our civilian workforce so
we can focus on the threats we face. And two to support
overseas operations.
Our civilian workforce works 24/7 around the world and is
crucial to performing that mission. It is our civilian
professionals who will provide the resilience and ingenuity
to help compensate for the other cuts we'll incur. I am
resolutely committed to minimizing the number, and lengths of
furloughs that would be required, not only because of the
direct impact on our mission because of the severe impact on
the morale of the people who do it. I plan to follow Deputy
Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter's sterling example, and have
my pay reduced as well in solidarity with any I.C. employees
that have to be furloughed.
Now let me emphasize here that we are not arguing against
taking our share of the budget reductions. What I am saying
is we must manage this budget crisis, and continue our vital
missions. And in so doing, we'll minimize the impact on our
nation,and on our employees. Therefore, I plan to submit a
reprogramming action that mitigates some of the most
egregious cuts to help us cut in a more rational mission
focused manner. And in this, I'm asking for your support, and
the other intelligence oversight committees for expedited
management and consideration.
And Madam Chairman I want to on behalf of the entire
intelligence community, thank you for your leadership and
your care for the mission of the intelligence community, and
introducing a bill that would give us that flexibility. Now I
must tell you that, unfortunately, I've seen this movie
before. 20 years ago I served as director of Defense
Intelligence Agency, the job that Lieutenant General Mike
Flynn has right now. We were then enjoying to reap the peace
dividend occasioned by the end of the Cold War.
We reduced the intelligence community by 23 percent. During
the mid to late '90s, we closed many CIA stations, reduced
human collectors, cut analysts, allowed our overhead
architecture to atrophy, and we neglected basic
infrastructure needs, such as power, space, and cooling. And
we let our facilities decay. And most damaging, most
devastatingly we badly distorted the workforce. All of that
of course was--was reversed in the wake of 9/11, and thanks
to the support of the Congress over the last decade, we
rebuilt the intelligence community into the premier in such
capability on the planet.
And now if we're not careful, we risk another damaging
downward spiral. So I'm going to do all I can to prevent
history from repeating that cycle. But to be clear, the--the
scope and magnitude of the cuts already underway will be long
lasting. Unlike more directly observable sequestration
impacts, like shorter hours of public parks, or longer
security lines at airports, the degradation to intelligence
will be insidious. It will be gradual and almost invisible,
unless and until, of course we have an intelligence failure.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to speak on an amendment I have
offered with my colleague from Colorado, Senator Udall, but before I do
so, I want to commend the senior Senators from Maryland and Alabama,
Senators Mikulski and Shelby, for putting forth a bipartisan proposal
to prevent a government shutdown, and to congratulate them both on
their new roles as Chairwoman and Vice Chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Committee. I look forward to working with both of them
as we complete work on the fiscal year 2013 funding bills and begin the
fiscal year 2014 budget process.
I also want to thank my friend from Colorado, Senator Udall, for
working with me to develop this bipartisan amendment, which is based on
a stand-
[[Page S1782]]
alone bill that we introduced last week.
Our amendment would help mitigate the harmful effects of the
indiscriminate across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, which
took effect on March 1.
Our amendment would not reverse the automatic spending reductions,
but would empower the heads of Federal agencies and departments to set
priorities and implement the cuts in a smarter way.
Without this amendment, sequestration will be applied without
distinction between high and low priority programs, programs that have
a proven track record of success and those that should be reduced or
eliminated.
To ensure appropriate Congressional oversight, the amendment requires
agency heads to submit their spending proposals to the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees for approval.
This Congressional oversight is an important step in the process
because the Appropriations Committees know the budget of each agency
inside and out. This review process also provides a strong incentive
for each department or agency to put forth a serious plan if it wants
to avoid the across-the-board cuts that would otherwise take effect.
Mr. President, this is an approach that our intelligence community
has requested. The Nation's senior intelligence officer, Director
Clapper, testified yesterday before the Intelligence Committee that
sequestration jeopardizes our Nation's safety and security and that the
across-the-board nature of the cuts compounds the damage by limiting
``our ability to manage where to take deductions in a balanced, and
rational way.'' His plea was for flexibility, saying ``All we're asking
for is the latitude on how to take them to minimize the damage.''
The Udall-Collins amendment would provide that needed flexibility to
the intelligence community and other areas of our government, and I
urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
Finally, I would like to note how pleased I am that the legislation
currently before the Senate includes full-year funding bills for a
number of departments and agencies, including the Departments of
Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, and
Agriculture. While I wish we had been able to move all of the annual
appropriations bills, at a minimum, we appear on the verge of passing
full-year funding bills for the departments I just mentioned, which is
particularly imprortant for the Department of Defense.
Military leaders have repeatedly warned that failure to enact a full-
year defense funding bill would have dire consequences for our
military. Military readiness would suffer, and the military would not
be fully ready to respond to crises because DOD could not transfer
funds from investment accounts into readiness accounts.
A year-long CR for the Defense Department would have resulted in a
hollow force because the Pentagon would not have been able to increase
production rates for existing weapons, start new programs, or sign
multiyear procurement contracts that will provide significant savings
for taxpayers.
When I questioned Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter on February 14,
2013, at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about what the
continuing resolution means for the Navy and our domestic shipbuilding
capability, he testified that:
We're in the absurd position where we're five months into
the fiscal year and we have the authority to build the ships
that we built last year and no authority to build the ships
that we plan to build this year. That's crazy . . . and that
has nothing to do with sequester, by the way, that's the C.R.
The full-year funding bills that are included in the continuing
resolution offered by Senators Mikulski and Shelby will help alleviate
some of the impacts of sequestration on the departments and agencies
funded through those bills.
Unfortunately, the departments and agencies that find themselves
funded under a continuing resolution, operating under a budget based on
last year's needs, are not as lucky. It is all the more important for
these departments and agencies that we provide additional flexibility,
as the Udall-Collins amendment would do, in carrying out the cuts
mandated by the Budget Control Act.
Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment so that
the cuts that are taking place now can be targeted at programs that do
not work while sparing those programs that do.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following
leader remarks tomorrow, March 14, the Senate resume consideration of
H.R. 933; that there be up to 1 hour of debate equally divided in the
usual form on the Harkin amendment; that upon the use or yielding back
of time, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Harkin
amendment; that there be no amendments in order to the amendment prior
to the vote, and the amendment be subject to a 60-affirmative-vote
threshold.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Cloture Motions
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a cloture motion on the Mikulski-
Shelby substitute amendment at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Mikulski-Shelby
substitute amendment No. 26, as modified, to H.R. 933 a bill
making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and
for other purposes.
Harry Reid, Barbara A. Mikulski, Sherrod Brown, Barbara
Boxer, Robert Menendez, Patty Murray, Amy Klobuchar,
Debbie Stabenow, Max Baucus, Tim Johnson, Benjamin L.
Cardin, John D. Rockefeller IV, Charles E. Schumer,
Carl Levin, Thomas R. Carper, Richard J. Durbin, Maria
Cantwell.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have another cloture motion to the
underlying bill at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on H.R. 933 a bill
making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and
for other purposes.
Harry Reid, Barbara A. Mikulski, Sherrod Brown, Barbara
Boxer, Robert Menendez, Patty Murray, Amy Klobuchar,
Debbie Stabenow, Max Baucus, Tim Johnson, Benjamin L.
Cardin, John D. Rockefeller IV, Charles E. Schumer,
Carl Levin, Thomas R. Carper, Richard J. Durbin, Maria
Cantwell.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum required
under rule XXII be waived with respect to both cloture motions.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________