[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H1218-H1228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXCHANGE INFORMATION DISCLOSURE ACT
General Leave
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 3362.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 455, I call up
the bill (H.R. 3362) to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act to require transparency in the operation of American Health
Benefit Exchanges, and ask for its immediate consideration in the
House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 455, the
amendment printed in part B of House
[[Page H1219]]
Report 113-322 is adopted. The bill, as amended, is considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:
H.R. 3362
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Exchange Information
Disclosure Act''.
SEC. 2. WEEKLY REPORTS ON HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGES.
Section 1311(c)(5) of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(c)(5)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) not later than the first Monday after the date of
enactment of this subparagraph, and each Monday thereafter
through March 30, 2015 (or the next business day when Monday
occurs on a Federal holiday), in coordination with the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor, submit
to Congress and make available to State governors, State
insurance commissioners, and the public, a report concerning
consumer interactions with the Internet website maintained by
the Federal Government for health insurance coverage
(healthcare.gov or any subsequent Internet site (or sites)
that is established in whole or in part by the Federal
Government to facilitate enrollment in qualified health
plans, the receipt of advance premium tax credits or cost
sharing reduction assistance, or comparisons of available
qualified health plans) and any efforts undertaken to remedy
problems that impact taxpayers and consumers, such report to
include--
``(i) a State-by-State break down of--
``(I) the number of unique website visits;
``(II) the number of web chat logins;
``(III) the number of individuals who create an account;
``(IV) the number of individuals who have selected a
qualified health plan;
``(V) the number of individuals who enrolled in Medicaid,
and, of such number, the number who became eligible to enroll
because of changes in eligibility effected under this Act and
the number who otherwise were eligible to enroll;
``(VI) the number of individuals who have effectuated
enrollment in a qualified health plan through payment of the
first monthly premium;
``(VII) the age of individuals who have effectuated
enrollment in a qualified health plan through payment of the
first monthly premium;
``(VIII) the number of enrollees in each zip code; and
``(IX) the level of coverage obtained;
``(ii) a detailed description of the problems identified
with website functionality, the actions that have been taken
to resolve those problems, the identity of the contractors
that are involved in such actions, the cost of such actions,
how such actions are being paid for, and the names of the
Federal officials responsible for overseeing the process; and
``(iii) a description of the separate problems with the
website, including problems relating to--
``(I) logging into the website;
``(II) enrolling in coverage;
``(III) transferring to the State Medicaid programs;
``(IV) the calculation of advance premium tax credits or
cost sharing reductions;
``(V) eligibility for qualified health plans, advance
premium tax credits, cost sharing reductions, Medicaid, or
the Children's Health Insurance Program;
``(VI) income or identity verification;
``(VII) the transfer of information to health insurance
issuers; and
``(VIII) consumer privacy and data security; and
``(D) not later than the first Monday after the date of
enactment of this subparagraph, and each Monday thereafter
through March 30, 2015 (or the next business day when Monday
occurs on a Federal holiday), in coordination with the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor, submit
to Congress and make available to State governors, State
insurance commissioners, and the public, a report concerning
the Federally operated customer service call center,
including the number of calls received by the call center,
the Internet website or enrollment problems identified by
users, how many calls are referred to the Centers for
Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, how many calls
are referred to State insurance commissioners, and how many
callers enrolled in a qualified health plan through the call
center.''.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF NAVIGATOR AND CERTIFIED APPLICATION
COUNSELOR GRANTEES.
Section 1311(i) of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(i)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(7) Public availability of list of navigators.--Not later
than 5 days after the date of enactment of the Exchange
Information Disclosure Act, the Secretary shall make
available to Congress, State attorneys general, State
insurance commissioners, and the public a list of all
navigators and certified application counselors that have
been trained and certified by Exchanges, including contact
information for all navigator entities and their partner
organizations, including subcontractors. Such list shall be
updated by the Secretary on a weekly basis through March 31,
2015.''.
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF CERTIFIED AGENTS AND BROKERS.
Section 1312(e) of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18032(e)) is amended by adding at the end
the following flush sentence: ``Not later than 5 days after
the date of the enactment of the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act, the Secretary shall make available on the
Internet website maintained by the Federal Government for
health insurance coverage (healthcare.gov or any subsequent
Internet site (or sites) that is established in whole or in
part by the Federal Government to facilitate enrollment in
qualified health plans, the receipt of tax credits or cost
sharing reduction assistance, or comparisons of available
qualified health plans) a list of all agents and brokers who
have been trained and certified by the Federal Exchange,
including their name, business address (if available), and
phone number. Such list shall be updated on a weekly basis
through March 31, 2015.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 60 minutes,
with 40 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 20 minutes
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member
of the Committee on Ways and Means.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and the gentleman from
New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each will control 20 minutes. The gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin)
each will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3362, the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act. This bill is fundamentally about transparency. Since
healthcare.gov's disastrous launch, the public has received confusing
and conflicting information about the site's functionality and the
number of individuals actually able to purchase insurance through the
Web site.
{time} 1015
States trying to enroll individuals in Medicaid and insurance
companies trying to sign people up for private insurance have received
incomplete and inaccurate applications from the Web site.
H.R. 3362 would require the Secretary of HHS to provide a State-by-
State breakdown of the number of unique Web site visits, the number of
individuals who create an account, the number of individuals who select
a qualified health plan, and the number of individuals who enrolled in
a qualified health plan or Medicaid. The report must also describe the
problems Americans are encountering with the Web site and how HHS is
addressing them.
The American people have a right to firm data and an accurate picture
of the exchanges. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am afraid the bill before the House today, H.R. 3362, the Exchange
Information Disclosure Act, is simply an effort by Republicans to
continue to impede the efforts of the administration to implement the
Affordable Care Act.
Transparency and enrollment information is important for Members of
this body to receive. But this bill's requirements on the Secretary go
way above and beyond what I think is necessary and valuable
information. This is just an attempt to pile so many requirements on
the administration that they are taking away from the true job of
enrolling people in the law.
Enrollment numbers and visitors to the site are important pieces of
information, and we certainly all know that, but this bill is simply
unnecessary. There is already extensive disclosure of data on health
insurance enrollments being provided. The administration releases
enrollment data monthly, just like they do with Medicare and the
children's health insurance program and other Federal programs. The
monthly HHS enrollment reports are excellent, detailed reports. In
fact, the newest HHS monthly enrollment report, which was issued this
Monday, which covers enrollment through December, has even more
extensive data than the two earlier monthly reports.
Mr. Speaker, in addition to providing data on total enrollments
nationally
[[Page H1220]]
and in the States, the latest report includes data both for the Nation
and the States on, first, greater breakdown of those who have selected
marketplace plans; second, age breakdown--I stress, age breakdown--of
those who have selected marketplace plans; third, financial assistance
status of those who have selected marketplace plans; and, lastly, a
breakdown of the coverage level--or metal level--of the plans people
have selected.
So these numbers show that there is a very strong demand for the
quality, affordable coverage options now available to Americans because
of the Affordable Care Act. More than 6 million Americans have now
either signed up for a private health insurance plan or for Medicaid,
including the nearly 2.2 million who signed up for private insurance
through the marketplace. Nearly 1.8 million of these consumers signed
up for private plans in December, and that is nearly five times as many
people as signed up in October and November combined.
Frankly, Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged and excited by these numbers.
Americans aren't going to the Web site because they are forced to, like
the Republicans claim. They are going to the Web site because they want
and need access to health insurance. This should be no surprise. Thirty
percent--nearly one in three--of people who have enrolled in a
marketplace plan are younger than age 35; 24 percent are between 18 and
34 years old; and there was a more than eightfold increase in December
enrollments in the Federal marketplace. In addition, more than 3
million young adults have gained coverage because the Affordable Care
Act allows them to stay on their parents' plan until they turn 26. So
we are getting more of the younger people as well.
Meanwhile, healthcare.gov and State Web sites have received more than
53 million visits, and State and Federal call centers have received
more than 11 million calls.
The administration has committed to release this information monthly,
the way they have done with every other Federal program to date. So I
am sorry to say that I simply do not believe this is a serious effort
in any sense of the word by Republicans. This bill is nothing but a
weak effort to smear the law.
I urge Members to oppose the bill. There are only so many resources
out there. Why would we want HHS to have to provide this excessive
information? I would rather they spent their time trying to enroll
people, doing more outreach, and encouraging people to sign up so that
they actually have health insurance.
So again, Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to oppose this legislation, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes
to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Energy
and Commerce Committee.
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3362, the
Exchange Information Disclosure Act.
This bill would require that HHS provide weekly progress reports
regarding the President's health care law and attempt to ensure greater
transparency from an administration that has done everything that it
can so far to bury the facts when it comes to its signature health care
law. Remember, this is the administration that knew millions of
Americans would receive cancelation notices, but they only acted to
allow people to keep their health care plans that they had and liked
after we forced their hand back a few months ago. Perhaps by acting
today we can again force them to do the right thing and share basic
information with policymakers and the public about how the law is
working or not.
In building healthcare.gov for the October 1 start of open
enrollment, the administration chose not to allow Americans to window-
shop and find accurate and reliable prices of health care plans in the
exchange.
Over the last 17 weeks since the law was launched, this
administration has released enrollment figures on just a handful of
occasions. We are still left asking the most important question:
``Who's paid?''
Instead, the administration has gone to great lengths to redefine
enrollment as the number of folks who have selected a plan through the
exchanges. These numbers simply don't tell us the true status of the
law, however. More than 3 months after the start of open enrollment, we
still don't know how many Americans have actually enrolled in health
plans by paying their first month's premium.
Just 1 day before the start of open enrollment, Secretary Sebelius
defined success as enrolling 7 million Americans by the end of March of
2014. The administration has since distanced itself from enrollment
being a measure of success at all. If enrolling individuals in health
plans is not the goal, what is?
Preventing access to reliable data about the exchanges is not exactly
what you would expect from the self-proclaimed ``most transparent
administration in history.'' It should not take a vote in Congress to
get basic information from the administration, but without voluntary
transparency, we don't have any other choice.
The bill before us would require HHS to provide accurate, useful
figures about enrollment and the operation of the exchanges on a weekly
basis. It also is going to require HHS to report to the American people
other key metrics, including demographics of enrollees, Medicaid
enrollment, regular reporting on ongoing problems with healthcare.gov,
and HHS' efforts to address those issues.
The President's health care law will cost the taxpayers an estimated
$2 trillion over the next decade. At the very least, the administration
should provide the American people regular and ongoing information
about its implementation. There is no reason for the administration to
keep the public and the Congress in the dark. Whether the news is good
or bad, it is time for full disclosure.
I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I applaud Mr. Terry for
his leadership.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina, G.K. Butterfield, a member of the Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you, Mr. Pallone, for yielding time, and
especially thank you for your leadership on our committee. It has been
nothing less than extraordinary.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the Exchange
Information Disclosure Act. This bill would cost millions of dollars of
limited Federal resources but doesn't include any mechanism for paying
for it. It is an unnecessary piece of legislation that will have no
impact or benefit to the American people. It is just the latest attempt
by the Republican majority to incite fear and distrust of the Federal
health insurance marketplace and discredit President Obama and the
Affordable Care Act.
Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent wrote that the Exchange
Information Disclosure Act is ``a political attack coming from a party
that wants to see the law fail.'' The House has voted 47 times, Mr.
Speaker, on bills that would repeal or undermine the Affordable Care
Act, but not one of them has become law.
My friend Mr. Terry's bill that we are considering today marks the
48th attempt, and it is another nail in the coffin of haphazard
Republican efforts to disenfranchise the American people by chipping
away at the Affordable Care Act, with the ultimate goal of taking away
Americans' access to affordable health care.
Make no mistake, this bill is not about transparency and open
government. Its true purpose is to pile on more and more unnecessary,
cumbersome, and unprecedented requirements so that HHS will be forced
to focus time and attention away from managing the Federal health
insurance marketplace and redirect it to completing worthless weekly
reports.
I am particularly disappointed in the committee process--or more
accurately, the lack of committee process--with regard to this bill. I
sit on Energy and Commerce's Health Subcommittee, and at no point did
the chairman of the subcommittee nor the full committee hold a
legislative hearing or markup on this bill. I don't recall one. Surely,
adding mountains of onerous reporting requirements that will cost the
government millions in order to comply would have warranted an
opportunity for members to weigh in before it was brought to the floor.
Apparently, the
[[Page H1221]]
chairman of the committee felt differently.
This bill is now the 48th example of House Republicans pandering to
their base by ramming through partisan policies that attack the
President. The bill would require HHS to supply Congress weekly reports
detailing the number of unique Web site visitors to healthcare.gov, the
number of chat logins, the number of enrollees by ZIP Code, their level
of coverage, and other data sets. What exactly my friends hope to
accomplish with this weekly data dump still escapes me.
Perhaps House Republicans weren't aware of the extensive disclosure
of data on health insurance enrollments that is already being provided
on a monthly basis. The administration releases enrollment data
monthly, Mr. Speaker, just like they do with Medicare, CHIP, and other
Federal programs.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional minute.
Mr. BUTTERFIELD. The monthly HHS enrollment reports are excellent,
detailed reports. Weekly reports will shed no more light on enrollment
in the health exchange than would monthly reports.
The bill also demands that HHS make publicly available a list of
navigator grantees. Were my colleagues unaware that the Department
released the entire list of navigator grantees back in October? I have
those here for your inspection.
I will say it again: this bill is completely unnecessary, and it is
Republican fear mongering. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, the Affordable
Care Act is the law of the land. I ask my colleagues to embrace it. It
is benefiting millions of Americans in my district and in your district
as well.
Thank you for the time, Mr. Pallone.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes
to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), the prime sponsor of the
legislation.
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, to clarify one thing, we did have a
legislative hearing on this bill with robust debate on it in that
committee hearing. Evidently, you didn't get the notice of that
hearing.
Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. TERRY. No, I only have 3 minutes. If I have extra time, I will.
Today we are taking what should be an easy vote and, frankly, a
bipartisan vote.
My legislation, the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, does nothing
more than ask the administration to provide Congress, Governors, State
insurance commissioners, and the American people with information.
By the way, the information that is outlined in this bill to be
provided or accessible on a weekly basis is simply what most States
already require to be done by health insurance companies within their
States. This is a request by State insurance commissioners, especially
ours from Nebraska that are very frustrated with the lack of
information that they are receiving about who is signing up for what
plans in the State of Nebraska.
This should be easy. What we are talking about here today is basic
transparency so we all have the data to assess what is working and what
is not. This bill is a mechanism for accountability so we can get the
answers that both Democrats and Republicans and State insurance
commissioners and Governors need to know in order to understand what is
working and what is not.
We are asking for information that an entity overseeing a health
insurance operation should have at the tip of their fingers at all
times.
{time} 1030
Our metrics are not complex. We are simply asking for: How many
people have enrolled? How many of these people have paid their first
month's premiums, which means they are actually insured, that they have
been effectuated? What plans did they pick? What ZIP Codes are they
from so we know if people from Nebraska or Iowa or Kansas have signed
up? Were they already eligible for Medicare or are these new enrollees
from the expansion? These are critical issues in determining the safety
and soundness of the policies being issued, and is, again, information
that State insurance commissioners usually receive.
This administration and some on the other side say that this
information that we are requesting is extraneous and costly and
burdensome, but yet this data is already being obtained; it is already
on a realtime basis being calculated. It is just the issue of when and
in what form this is released to the public. As to cost, here is the
CBO score--zero--not the millions that we are being told by our friends
on the other side of the aisle and the White House. This is necessary,
usual course of business data.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. PITTS. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
Mr. TERRY. We do add another part in here and another frustration
from our State insurance commissioners, which is that they don't know
who is selling the insurance. They would like to have the names of the
people who are the navigators out there. Grants go to organizations,
but we don't know who is actually sitting down and selling policies or
helping them through the exchange. That is, again, basic information
that is the normal course of business in the insurance world. We are
just asking that they provide the same information that the State law
would require of an insurance company that has had a salesman who is
out signing people up.
So that is the totality of this bill, and you have to ask the
question: If they are fighting so hard, what are they trying to hide?
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, supporters of this
legislation claim that it is simply an effort to get more information
about how the Affordable Care Act is being implemented, but it is not
really that. It is an effort to slow down the implementation of the new
law by drowning the Department of Health and Human Services in red
tape.
They want enrollment information, but this week, they got enrollment
information from the administration. That enrollment information showed
that 2.2 million Americans have signed up for private coverage. They
want demographic information. HHS has given them demographic
information. HHS is going to release all of the information that they
are asking for every month, but the Republicans say, ``Oh, that is not
good enough. We want it every week.'' They want more than what
otherwise might be available to them because they want to know some
things that I can't understand why they would want to know them.
They want to know the ZIP Codes of everybody who has signed up. They
want to know what the details are of a chat between somebody who is
asking a question on the Web site and what answers he got. I can't
understand why that is important. They want to know what transpired in
the call centers. In other words, they want to know what somebody said
in a call center. Is it their business to know what questions are asked
in a call center? They want a list of the people who are the adjusters
and the brokers. There are thousands of them around the country, so
there is no purpose to knowing that. They are not accredited by the
government. If they are by the States, it is up to each State. They
could ask each State that information.
Let me put this in perspective.
If anybody had a bill asking the private sector to come up with
reports every single week on information that they could wait a couple
of more weeks to get, it would be looked at as just straight
harassment, government red tape, bureaucracy that is intruding into the
business for no purpose. That is what this bill is all about. They want
to intrude in a government agency. I guess, if they have a bureaucratic
intrusion and the harassment of a government agency, it is okay, but if
it were to happen to a private sector business, it would be
inappropriate. If we asked polluters this information, you could get
the information. If you asked them to give you the information every
week, why do you need it every week?
I ask the Republicans: Why do they need this every week if they are
going to get it every month?
[[Page H1222]]
It is obvious. This law is working, and they don't want to come again
to the floor and ask for its repeal because people have insurance.
Millions of people now have insurance. If they want to repeal the law,
they are going to take that insurance away from them.
They want to continue to say: What are they hiding? What are they
hiding that they are not giving you on a weekly schedule but that they
are giving you on a monthly schedule?
Absolutely nothing that is significant. The enrollment reports we
already have indicate that over 6 million people have signed up for
coverage since October 1. The Web site can handle 80,000 simultaneous
users, and it has been stable even though there was a surge of
enrollment in late December.
The law is working. Republicans don't want to hear these facts. They
don't want to know about it, but they think they should get everybody
at HHS--maybe even have them hire more people--to report to them every
week so they can still not recognize that there is good news in what is
actually happening.
This is a goofy bill--it is absolutely unnecessary--and I urge my
colleagues to vote against it.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, we hear the words ``sign
up,'' ``signed up,'' ``equal to enrollment.'' We may know how many
people have signed up. We do not know how many have actually enrolled
and have paid their first month's premiums. Secondly, we are stewards
of the taxpayers--we are not shareholders--and the lack of data is
precisely what led the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to
declare this law as a train wreck in that there are no metrics, no
data, to determine whether this law is working and on track.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. SARBANES. I thank the chairman of the Health Subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 3362, which, I
think, is really just designed to harass the Department of Health and
Human Services as it is trying to do its job in bringing affordable
health care to people all across this country.
If you look at the metrics that are already being assembled by the
agency on a monthly basis, they really present a very clear picture of
whether there is progress being made or not being made with respect to
the Web site and signing people up for affordable health care, and of
course, we know that there is a lot of progress being made. That
monthly report includes the total enrollments nationally and by State
so that we can get a clear picture of what that trend is, and that is a
positive trend. It includes a gender breakdown of those who have signed
up for the plans, an age breakdown, the financial assistance, and what
kinds of plans people are choosing. That is all good, useful
information. Frankly, it is the kind of information that it makes sense
to collect on a monthly basis, not on a weekly basis. I mean, these
numbers sort of naturally evolve month to month. That is the picture,
the photograph, you want to take--month to month. Week to week doesn't
really get you any added insight into what is happening with the Web
site or with the signups.
Then look at some of the information that they would require on a
weekly basis, and you have got to ask yourself: What purpose would it
serve, a State-by-State breakdown--I am reading from the bill now--of
the number of Web chat logins? What are we going to do with that
information? That is not useful. That does not add anything to the
clear picture that can emerge on a monthly basis of how we are doing
with the Web site.
Finally, I have to observe, as Ranking Member Waxman just did a
moment ago, that we hear all the time from our friends on the other
side about the importance of government efficiency and about working
well and streamlining. We hear them talk about that both with respect
to government and, obviously, in terms of what they want to do for
private sector businesses out there. These kinds of requirements don't
help with that. They are not going to make the agency function more
smoothly and more efficiently and get the information out in a sensible
way to the American people.
This is really just designed to kind of harass the agency, to make
them run around in small circles, gathering information and providing
stuff that doesn't give us any added perspective or insight into the
progress that really is now being made. We can get that picture on a
monthly basis. The information that HHS is providing to us and to the
public--to the American people--I think, is very valuable on that
monthly basis, and that is the way we ought to continue to have it
presented to us and presented to the American people.
So I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 3362. Let's let the
agency do its job and do it well.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, opponents of the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act have argued that requiring weekly reports on the health
care law to the American people is too burdensome, too costly for the
Department of Health and Human Services. Yet, somehow, HHS managed to
find money in its budget for taxpayer-funded grants spent on such
things as bike lane signs, dog neutering campaigns, promoting a sport
called ``pickleball,'' and lobbying campaigns for soda taxes. Clearly,
HHS does not suffer from a lack of resources.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, may I just ask how much time remains.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has 5 minutes
remaining. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 10 minutes remaining.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from New
Jersey (Mr. Andrews), who has spent so much effort in passing and
drafting the Affordable Care Act.
(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. ANDREWS. I thank my friend from New Jersey for his tireless
leadership on this very important cause. It is inspirational.
Mr. Speaker, since the Affordable Care Act became law, 9 million
Americans have health insurance who did not have it before--9 million
people. Now, not surprisingly, there have been problems in the
implementation of the law. Many customer service problems need to be
addressed, and we should come together in good faith and make sure they
get addressed. This bill takes us in the opposite direction. It says
that people who could be working on solving the very real and important
problems of customers who are trying to enroll in health insurance will
have to write a report once a week instead of once a month.
If you go to get your car fixed and if there is a long line of people
ahead of you and if you are going to be late to get back to work and if
you find out the reason the line takes so long is that the person at
the counter explains the history of the carburetor to every person who
comes to pick up his car instead of waiting on the people who are in
line, requiring a report a week instead of a report a month just
doesn't make any sense.
There is another reason to oppose this bill, though, that is even
more important than that. Today, 10,000 Americans will go home and tell
their children or their loved ones that they have run out of income
because their unemployment benefits have expired. This week, 72,000
Americans will have that happen to them. There is a bill in this House,
on this floor, that could be taken up this morning and voted on to
provide relief to our neighbors and family members who are in that
position. This majority leadership has ignored that legislation.
This is a breathtaking misplacement of priorities. We can spend an
hour of the House's time on harassing Health and Human Services into
filing one report every week instead of one report every month, but we
can't take 5 minutes and debate on a bill that will restore a measure
of decency and income to 72,000 Americans a week. Many of these
Americans are over 50 years old. For every one job that is advertised
there are three people looking for that job. The callous indifference
of the House majority leadership to these people is just wrong--and so
is this bill.
We should reject this bill and, instead, proceed with a vote on aid
to America's long-term unemployed.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes
[[Page H1223]]
to the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the vice chairman of
the Energy and Commerce Committee.
{time} 1045
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania
for the great work that he has done on this bill.
What is so interesting and one of the reasons we find it necessary to
come and address these issues is Secretary Sebelius told us in December
that 5,000 people a day were getting access to health care that they
had not had before.
The other side of that story, which was not told, is 74,000 American
families a day were getting cancelation notices. They were looking at
one another across the dinner table and saying, Guess what, our
insurance has been canceled.
It has had a devastating effect. And as we try to do oversight and
due diligence and continue to push for that oversight and due diligence
and carry it out, even this morning at the Energy and Commerce
Committee, where we had Mr. Cohen, what we have found is it is very
difficult to get information, even when we are sometimes hearing from
employees admitting what they told us was wrong; but then we do not get
the straight story.
So it is very appropriate that we require HHS to release weekly
detailed reports about the exchanges, including their enrollment, their
functionality, and efforts to address the technical issues at
healthcare.gov.
It is absolutely appropriate because this is all being done with the
taxpayers' money. The American taxpayers have paid for every bit of
this. It is not the Federal Government's money. It is not President
Obama's money. It is not Congress' money. It is the taxpayers' money.
This is a failed rollout and a failed program.
This administration was supposed to be the most transparent
administration in history. It has not been that. It is well documented
that it hasn't been. Indeed, the rollout and the implementation of this
law have been even less transparent. The reason, I think, is because
there have been so many problems, such as millions of Americans losing
access to their health insurance.
None of the information being shared by the administration regarding
enrollment means much of anything. We talk about people that enrolled,
but we don't know how many people have paid and how many people have
completed that process. What are the demographics of the individuals
that are enrolling?
All of this is information that the individual that is paying for
this--the American taxpayer--deserves to know.
Who has paid for this insurance? The White House has backed away from
using any measure of enrollment as a means to determine success.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. PITTS. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. As recently as September, Secretary Sebelius herself
said that 7 million enrolled by the end of March would define success
of the law. Well, is that 7 million that go to the Web site, put an
insurance product in their cart, and then go think about it?
Mr. Speaker, when I was growing up, I spent a lot of time working in
the retail industry selling clothes in a little dress shop. Every once
in a while we would have somebody that would come in and put something
on hold. They would say, I'm going to be back.
Well, we called them the ``be-backs'' because, guess what, more often
than not, they did not come back and complete that purchase. Yes, they
put it on hold. Yes, they put it in an online shopping cart. But then
they move away from it because this program is broken, it is too
expensive to afford, and the American people do not want it.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 3 minutes
to the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Cassidy, a very active member of
the Health Subcommittee.
Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. Speaker, I kind of keep asking myself why we would
not want to provide transparency.
If the Federal Government is going to impose a massive bureaucratic
regime involving the American people, why should we not at least
require them to be accountable for the success or failure of that
regime?
The Exchange Information Disclosure Act requires accountability and
transparency, which has been, frankly, elusive from the administration
on these issues. And, indeed, before committees and before Americans
there has been a tendency to give information which is misleading.
For example, enrollment numbers are calculated by the numbers who
sign up for coverage, not those who actually pay for their first
month's premium. In reality, unless you pay for that first month's
premium, you are not enrolled. Coverage does not become effective until
these are paid; and history shows many will sign up who will never
actually enroll.
The American people are affected by this. They are paying for it. We
are their employees, so to speak. They pay our salary. They have a
right to know, and the only way to know is to see the results.
I keep on smiling in kind of an angry sort of way when I think about
those folks who came to testify about the Web site.
Two weeks before it was to open, we were told that it was ready and
that there were no problems. I specifically asked if the Spanish-
language Web site was ready. Oh, yes, there's no problem. We can just
stand it up.
In truth, none of that was true. The only way we learned it was not
true was when the numbers came out, it was clear that folks were not
enrolling. So everything we had been told was exposed as a lie, and yet
we would not have known had we not seen those enrollment figures.
Compliance should not be difficult. Insurance companies know on a
daily basis how many people have clicked on, how many people have
signed up, how many checks they receive. Insurance companies know this
on a daily basis. Certainly, Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government can
tell the American people these results on a weekly basis.
The Exchange Information Disclosure Act is a commonsense piece of
legislation that all my colleagues who champion transparency and
accountability should support. All it does is ensure full disclosure of
the most important data points needed to determine what is really going
on with the President's health care law's implementation.
It is vitally important for the public, and it is vitally important
for us as we attempt to do the American people's will in our oversight
of the program.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, we are told that the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act is just a good-faith effort to try to get some
transparency. But wait, isn't this bill coming from the same party that
shut the government down to try to kill it? Didn't that just happen?
My memory is not faint about it. My memory is very clear that we
stood here watching the Republican majority shut down all of government
to prevent people from health care access.
And now we are supposed to believe, Oh, we just want to make the bill
a little better with transparency. No. What has happened is that
millions of people are signing up. People know that if you snatch a
benefit from people that they have--and expect to have--that is going
to cause issues. And so now the tactics have changed. Instead of an
overt 50th repeal bill, now we will just try to undermine it by making
a bunch of paper requirements--more distraction, more paperwork, more
division, more obstruction.
I think I prefer the days when we just had repeal bills.
Vote ``no'' on this bill.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, again, this GOP bill is designed to harass
the Department, preventing it from doing its job. It is an unworkable,
unnecessary bill that places onerous, unrealistic, and costly reporting
requirements on HHS, with no benefit to the general public.
I heard my colleagues say over and over again, Oh, nobody is going to
enroll. Now people are enrolling, and they say they want to know
whether they paid or not.
[[Page H1224]]
Where does it end? Why don't you spend your time trying to get people
to enroll, trying to give people information and do more outreach so
people actually are able to get health insurance? That is what we are
trying to do with the Affordable Care Act--make people who don't have
insurance get insurance, make people who do have it, have it more
affordable and have a better benefit package.
All these things are wonderful. This is what people want. That is why
so many people are, in fact, signing up. And I just cannot help but
think that this is nothing but another effort to make it more
burdensome, to scare people to make it less likely that people actually
enroll.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to mention that the administration opposed the
bill. The administration said that they oppose the passage because it
would require unfunded, unprecedented, and unnecessary reporting
requirements that exceed those of other public and private programs.
I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, as Secretary Sebelius acknowledged at an
Energy and Commerce hearing in December, enrollment in an exchange plan
is not complete until the first month's premium has been paid.
The administration, so far, has refused to tell the American people
how many people are actually enrolled by paying their first month's
premium in the health care law's exchanges.
Asking the Department to provide the American people regular updates
is simply a matter of transparency. Given that HHS officials were so
blatantly wrong about the readiness of the health care law's exchanges,
they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Regular disclosure is necessary to assess the status of the law, and
that is all this bill requires. Let's make the administration, who has
continually held back facts regarding implementation of the health care
law, meet their pledge to be the most transparent in history.
I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3362, the Exchange
Information Disclosure Act. There is widespread agreement that the
ObamaCare rollout was a failure. Most of us believe the
administration's lack of transparency and candor with Congress and the
American people caused most of the problems.
Since the beginning of the rollout, I have pressed the administration
to release enrollment data to Congress. That data, including who is
actually enrolling and what the mix of those who signed up looks like,
are the kinds of hard facts we need before us to evaluate how this
fundamental restructuring of our health care is really operating.
Yet the administration did not provide that long-promised
transparency. Instead, I was forced to subpoena the administration to
get any information. While I received some of what I requested, it is
not enough for Congress to understand the true impact of this law.
It is clear that, more than halfway through the enrollment, the
administration is failing to meet its own goal of 7 million enrollees
by March 31.
Last week, the administration released data that showed it has failed
to meet an even more important goal--the right mix of young and healthy
enrollees. The reality is that you need a good balance of young and
healthy individuals in order to offset the more expensive costs of
those who are older and less healthy.
Without enough young and healthy enrollees, millions of Americans,
including those who have had their plan canceled as a result of the
President's broken promise, will see higher costs and fewer choices.
With the little data we have, we can see this is actually what is
happening.
The American people deserve better than the administration's empty
promises. They deserve to know what is really going on. Additionally,
the administration has not provided any information on the number of
people who have completed enrollment. We don't know how many people
have paid their premium.
Taxpayers don't know how many people are receiving tax credits. There
is no harm to national security if the administration provides this
information to Congress, the media, and the American people; but there
may be harm to an individual's health security if their interests
aren't protected.
Frankly, I believe this administration cares more about implementing
this law than protecting the health care of American families.
The American people have every right to know this information and the
future of their health care. Having this data will not change the
President's broken promise that ``if you like your plan, you can keep
it,'' or his promise that families will see a $2,500 reduction in their
premiums.
{time} 1100
However, it will undoubtedly affect Americans' health care future.
This is not just arbitrary data. This information will determine how
much premiums will increase next year, whether access to care will
become more limited, how many insurers may no longer offer coverage,
and whether or not you can keep seeing your current doctor.
This administration's failed rollout has given the American people
little confidence that they can effectively oversee the overhaul of
one-sixth of the economy. What possible reason, other than politics,
could there be for the administration not releasing this information?
This is data that Congress and the American people deserve to know and
that the administration should readily and willingly provide.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill
today, and I call on the Senate to take quick action to move this
commonsense legislation forward.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I think informed people are asking why are we taking up
this bill this morning. I guess one reason is the Republicans will do
anything they can to undermine ACA. Indeed, the more it is successful,
the more desperate they become.
The administration says it quite clearly:
To implement this new reporting system, contracts may need
to be modified and new staff would need to be hired on an
expedited basis, adding millions of dollars in costs to
States and the Federal Government, without additional funding
from the Congress, for information that is already largely
being provided on a monthly basis, consistent with other
publicly funded health care programs.
Maybe a second reason we are taking up this bill is because the
Republicans in this House think there is nothing else to do. This bill
is going nowhere in the Senate, and you know that. You know that. But
there is something else that we should be doing.
We are leaving here for 11 days. The House Republicans have said we
are not going to be in session next week. 1.5 million Americans have
lost their unemployment insurance because of inaction from this House
of Representatives. Next week, 72,000 more will be added to the 1.5
million people, 50,000 in the State from which Mr. Camp and I come,
50,000 left out in the cold--left out in the cold--left, really, to
their own devices, without a single bit of assistance that they really
worked for. These are people out of work through no fault of their own,
looking for work, and essentially they get, from this institution,
action this morning on a bill going nowhere when there is somewhere we
should be going.
I think this morning represents maybe more vividly than in recent
times a reprehensible distortion of priorities of the majority in this
House. There are 50,000 people in Michigan looking for work at a time
when there remains a historically high percentage of the unemployed who
are long-term unemployed. There are three people looking for work for
every job that is available. And we come forth here with a bill that is
going nowhere? Reprehensible. Inexcusable. You can go home.
I suggest you go home and talk--I guess you haven't done this yet--to
the long-term unemployed. Every single person who votes for this bill
should go home and talk to those out of work and out of luck, because
the majority in this institution, in this House, are simply out of
synch with the needs of the American people.
We shouldn't vote ``no'' on this bill, because we need the
opportunity to vote ``yes'' on what really matters.
[[Page H1225]]
I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE. Members are reminded to address their
remarks to the Chair and not to others in the second person.
Mr. CAMP. I thank the Chair for that admonition, and I yield 3
minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young), the distinguished
member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, since the launch of open
enrollment and healthcare.gov on October 1, I have heard repeated
stories of frustration from my constituents trying to enroll in the
Federal exchanges.
The President and his administration have tried to assure us time and
again that the Web site is improving and that Americans are enrolling.
Unfortunately, neither the stories I have been told, nor the claims
of this administration, are easy to verify because HHS is giving us
very little data to go off of. Now, that is a shame, because one of the
greatest constitutional obligations of the legislative branch is robust
oversight of the executive branch--to be sure that laws are working and
being enforced as intended.
But there is an even bigger shame here. In August of 2013, HHS
estimated that approximately 900,000 individuals in my home State of
Indiana were uninsured. This week, HHS offered us a progress report.
Now, can you guess how many Hoosiers, according to this report,
actually selected a plan through healthcare.gov as of December 28? Only
30,000. Now, that means, according to the HHS estimates, the Obama
administration estimates 29 out of every 30 uninsured Hoosiers have not
selected a plan through healthcare.gov.
That 30,000 figure, by the way, is suspect in itself, to put it
charitably. Since HHS is only reporting those who put a plan in a
shopping cart, we don't know how many actually went through with the
purchase.
Now, with a big deadline coming up for the individual mandate tax
penalty, it is imperative that Congress understands exactly how many
people are in compliance with the law. Merely selecting a plan won't
help you avoid being taxed by the IRS.
That is why I am a strong supporter of the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act. The Obama administration should be required to provide
the American people and Congress weekly reports on the status of
healthcare.gov. They should be required to tell us how many are
actually purchasing plans. They should be required to tell us all sorts
of additional data points they are already tracking that will help
Congress perform our oversight role on behalf of the American people.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure here in the House and,
hopefully, in the Senate.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Crowley), a member of our committee.
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, it is a shame we are not up here considering an
extension of the unemployment insurance. American families are looking
for some kind of sign that their Congress isn't going to leave town
without extending unemployment insurance, and I don't think they are
amused by this 48th attempt to undermine health care in our country.
The fact is the legislation before us is supposedly all about the
numbers. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are fixated on
the numbers behind the Affordable Care Act. They seem to think they
will find numbers that somehow discredit the law and the important
benefits it provides. But you know what? It is true that numbers tell
an important story, so here are some numbers that actually matter for
the American people:
Nine million, that is how many people have already obtained health
insurance under the Affordable Care Act--9 million. It is also 9
million people who don't have to worry that a major medical incident
could bankrupt them and their families;
Twenty-five million, that is how many seniors on Medicare received
free preventive care last year because of the Affordable Care Act--25
million. That is 25 million seniors who can get a mammogram or a
cholesterol screening without financial barriers, so that serious
diseases can be caught and treated earlier, saving taxpayers' dollars;
Eight million--big number, 8 million--that is how many jobs have been
created in this country since the passage of the Affordable Care Act--8
million. That is more than twice as many jobs created than were lost
during the 10 years before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.
These are just some of the numbers that tell the true story of the
Affordable Care Act, not to mention the number of people with
preexisting conditions who can no longer be discriminated against, or
the seniors who are seeing reduced prices on their prescription drugs,
or the small business owners who now have a way to provide insurance
for themselves and their employees.
These are the numbers. These are the numbers that matter to me
because the Affordable Care Act is about helping the American people
afford care in this country.
So my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can go and play their
numbers games as long as they want, but their fixation doesn't add up.
These numbers do.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, how much time is left on either side?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) has
2\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has
3\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of our time to the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).
(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, what we are engaged in today is what I
call loving a bill to death. Every legislator knows how you do it. You
load it up with a bunch of stuff to kill it. They are still trying to
do this. They are not talking about transparency or accountability. It
is simply another plan to muck up the path to better health for
Americans.
It is not surprising, because the House Republicans don't want a
health care system that works any more than they want a balanced
budget. If they wanted a balanced budget, they wouldn't push for health
care policies that cost more to get less.
America spends more on health care than any other advanced nation,
and we get worse outcomes. Let me tell you one of the reasons for that.
We spend less on social services. Instead of helping people afford good
food to stay in shape, we cut food stamps. Instead of supporting
families who care for their parents in the comfort of their home, we
force them to push them into nursing homes. Instead of helping people
to stay in their homes, instead of strengthening the bridge between job
and new career, we pull the rug out from under them.
And right now, every 8 seconds, another American loses his
unemployment insurance. While I am speaking, 15 families will lose
their way of supporting themselves.
Where do these people go? How do they stay healthy? Is it any wonder
our diet is full of what we call comfort food? And is it any wonder
that we are the most anxious country in the world? Is it any wonder
that the ER has become more common than the doctor's office?
We can pay now. We can invest in a country where people have jobs. We
can help people keep their homes and care for themselves, or we will
pay later in skyrocketing health care costs and the economic drag of a
sick nation.
{time} 1115
If Republicans wanted a health care system that works, we would be
investing, not wasting our time in forcing States and the Federal
Government to spend more on useless bureaucracy.
Nobody is asking for this. Maybe the insurance companies want to have
more data. I don't know. But nobody who is administering this program
has said, Let's have more reports. We don't know enough.
It is like babies; you don't weigh them every day to see if they have
gained weight. You take them in every couple of months or every month
to get the baby checked. That is what we are doing here already. And
they say, No, let's do it every day. Let's do it every week. Let's
waste more time and money.
[[Page H1226]]
Vote ``no'' on this wasteful, destructive bill.
Mr. CAMP. I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the reason this legislation is important is that, from
what little information we do have, we know the administration is not
meeting their stated goals, and they are not on track to meet 7 million
people by March 31. We don't know the mix of people that have enrolled.
We don't know how many of them are young and healthy. We don't know how
many of them have paid a premium. The reason these things are important
for us to know and to track is, this is a big deal. This is one-sixth
of the American economy. There is probably no legislative area that
affects people more than their health care.
The reason we have to know this information is because if they aren't
meeting their stated goals and their projections in terms of the cost
of this bill, it could mean that people's premiums skyrocket next year.
It could mean that the physician that they are used to seeing and being
treated by, many times for an ongoing illness, may not be available to
them under their insurance plan.
So these are important issues. These are important benchmarks for us
to know. It is important for the American people to know. It is
important for the media to know. Because then, if we can understand
what is really happening as we are in the middle of this, constructive
changes could be made to this bill. What they want to do is keep us in
the dark. They say vote ``no.'' Make sure we don't know what is going
on, and then we will have a health care crisis even greater than the
one we have now.
So I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the
Exchange Information Disclosure Act. This legislation is needed because
of what we know and what we do not know.
Congress has repeatedly asked this administration for information
about the rollout of Obamacare. We know this administration is not
transparent. We know this administration has not been forthcoming or
willing to acknowledge problems. The administration repeatedly came
before Congress and testified the exchange was ready. Now know the
federal exchange was not ready and there is mounting evidence just how
early the administration knew.
We know enrollment is in serious trouble. Based on the
Administration's projections, December enrollment was over 1 million
people below their own goal. At the current pace, enrollment for 2014
will fall over 2.4 million people short of the Administration's own
projections. They project they need 38 percent of enrollees to be young
and healthy, so far only 24 percent are. We know, without the right
demographic mix premiums will continue to go up.
This is what we know. But there is a lot we do not know.
We do not know how many people have completed enrollment by actually
paying premiums. We need this information to understand just how bad
the problem really is. The administration has been unwilling to
regularly release data about enrollments; instead we get limited,
sterilized data of the administration's choosing provided on seemingly
random dates.
Our health care system is facing a crisis, and Congress needs to be a
full partner with the Administration in fixing this disaster. For that,
we need the raw data, we need the hard truths and we need to know what
the administration knows, when they know it. This bill requires weekly
reports of all of the important data. This bill is needed if Congress
is going to be able to do its job for the American people.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 455, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
Motion to Recommit
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit
at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. I am.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order against the motion
to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. A point of order is reserved.
The Clerk will report the motion to recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Add at the end of the bill the following new section:
The SPEAKER pro tempore. A point of order is reserved. The Clerk will
report the motion to recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3362 to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce with instructions to report the
bill back to the House forthwith with the following amendment:
Add at the end of the bill the following new section:
=========================== NOTE ===========================
January 16, 2014, on page H1226, the following appeared: The SPEAKER
pro tempore. A point of order is reserved. The Clerk will report the
motion to recommit. The Clerk read as follows: Add at the end of the
bill the following new section:
========================= END NOTE =========================
The online version should be corrected to read: The SPEAKER pro
tempore. A point of order is reserved. The Clerk will report the motion
to recommit. The Clerk read as follows: Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts
moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3362 to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce with instructions to report the bill back to the House
forthwith with the following amendment: Add at the end of the bill the
following new section:
SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF LOWER COSTS AND ADDITIONAL HEALTH
BENEFITS PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES.
Not later than 5 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and every month thereafter through March 2015, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to
Congress and make available to State governors, State
insurance commissioners, and the public a report containing
information, with respect to individuals and families
enrolling in health insurance coverage through an Exchange
established under title I of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, on each of the following:
(1) The number of such individuals and families who have
received premium tax credits or have lower out-of-pocket
costs.
(2) The number of such individuals and families who are no
longer subject to discrimination based on pre-existing
conditions.
(3) The number of such individuals and families who are no
longer subject to annual and lifetime limits on health
insurance coverage.
(4) The number of such individuals and families who were
uninsured prior to enrolling in health insurance coverage
through such an Exchange.
Nothing in this Act shall limit the ability of the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to inform individuals and
families of the lower costs for health insurance coverage and
additional benefits that are available pursuant to the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and title I and
subtitle B of title II of the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Massachusetts is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her motion.
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
This is the final amendment to the bill. This amendment will not kill
the bill; and should it pass, the House will immediately take up the
bill, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, having just been sworn in a month ago, may I first say,
it is an honor to serve the Fifth District of Massachusetts. My
district is looking to us to focus on jobs, rebuild the economy, and
extend unemployment benefits. Instead, Republicans have scheduled the
48th vote to undermine the Affordable Care Act.
We have a job to do. We have to ensure that the hardworking families
we serve are able to navigate the health care law and are able to make
informed decisions about their health care coverage. Our job is to
ensure that should problems arise, we are able to direct resources
toward a timely fix.
Some of my colleagues believe that an increase in transparency will
help us achieve those goals. So why not do that? Why not let Americans
know exactly what has been going on since this law has been
implemented? Why not let people understand all facets of this law? I
support transparency and making the law the best it can be for millions
of families and children who will benefit from it.
I know firsthand how good this reform will be for the American people
because I watched it happen in my own State. In 2006, Massachusetts
implemented health care reform which today is benefiting hundreds of
thousands of families. It took hard work, and it meant lawmakers who
didn't always agree on everything had to work together to do right by
those they served. Today, 98 percent of the people in Massachusetts are
benefiting from some form of health care coverage.
Because I was not yet elected last fall, like millions of Americans,
I watched from home as the destructive and irresponsible fight against
the ACA shut our government down. It is time to stop the obstruction
over this issue and get back to work for the American people.
If our goal is truly transparency--not just harassment to make sure
the law never works--why not give the full picture? Let's give families
and businesses all of the information they need regarding what is
available to them, as well as what we are going to do to make the law
work better.
My motion to recommit will better inform those we serve with facts
about the benefits which millions of American families are seeking. My
amendment will provide the full picture, not just data handpicked to
support a partisan argument.
[[Page H1227]]
This includes information regarding how many families and individuals
have received tax credits. It will include disclosures on the number of
Americans who are no longer subject to discrimination based on
preexisting conditions. Families at home will know how many people are
no longer subject to annual and lifetime limits on coverage. They will
know how many people who were previously uninsured are now able to
access health care and plan for the future.
If we are to do right by those we serve--do what we were elected to
do, which is to make health care reform work for the American people--
then we should spare the partisan agendas and pass this commonsense
amendment.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order, and I claim the
time in opposition to the motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The point of order is withdrawn.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, opponents of the Exchange Information
Disclosure Act argue that HHS is already reporting data. Yet more than
3 months after the disastrous launch of the exchanges, we simply do not
know how many Americans have actually completed enrollment by paying
their first month's premium. As Secretary Sebelius acknowledged at an
Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in December, enrollment in an
exchange is not complete until the first month's premium has been paid.
The administration so far has refused to tell the American people how
many people are actually enrolled in the health care law's exchanges.
Either the administration is refusing to tell us how many people are
actually enrolled or they simply do not know. Neither answer should
instill confidence in a law that puts over 2 trillion taxpayer dollars
on the line.
This underlying bill would require the administration to give us real
and actual enrollment data. The American people deserve transparency,
and this is what the Exchange Information Disclosure Act would deliver.
I urge all Members to oppose this motion to recommit and vote for the
underlying bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas
and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on
the question of passage.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 186,
nays 226, not voting 20, as follows:
[Roll No. 22]
YEAS--186
Andrews
Barber
Barrow (GA)
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bera (CA)
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardenas
Carney
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Deutch
Doyle
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Enyart
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Fattah
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hahn
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Heck (WA)
Higgins
Himes
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Matheson
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Michaud
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Nolan
O'Rourke
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters (CA)
Peters (MI)
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Waxman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NAYS--226
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachus
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Bucshon
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Cook
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Daines
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Joyce
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Lankford
Latham
Latta
LoBiondo
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Marchant
Marino
Massie
McAllister
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Nugent
Nunes
Nunnelee
Olson
Owens
Palazzo
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Petri
Pittenger
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Radel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Runyan
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schock
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stewart
Stivers
Stutzman
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IN)
NOT VOTING--20
Bachmann
Buchanan
Carson (IN)
Cleaver
Dingell
Doggett
Gabbard
Hinojosa
Huffman
Jones
McCarthy (NY)
Miller (FL)
Noem
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Slaughter
Smith (NJ)
Stockman
Wolf
{time} 1151
Messrs. ROGERS of Michigan, RICE of South Carolina, ROGERS of
Kentucky, WHITFIELD, STIVERS, and FORTENBERRY changed their vote from
``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK and Mr. PETERSON changed their vote from ``nay'' to
``yea.''
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 259,
nays 154, not voting 19, as follows:
[[Page H1228]]
[Roll No. 23]
YEAS--259
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachmann
Bachus
Barber
Barletta
Barr
Barrow (GA)
Barton
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bera (CA)
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Brownley (CA)
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Byrne
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Carter
Cassidy
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Cook
Cooper
Costa
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Daines
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Enyart
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallego
Garcia
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Joyce
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Kuster
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Lankford
Latham
Latta
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lummis
Maffei
Maloney, Sean
Marchant
Marino
Massie
Matheson
McAllister
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Michaud
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Nugent
Nunes
Nunnelee
O'Rourke
Olson
Palazzo
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Peters (CA)
Peterson
Petri
Pittenger
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Radel
Rahall
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Runyan
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schneider
Schock
Schrader
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shea-Porter
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Sires
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stewart
Stivers
Stutzman
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Vargas
Vela
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Walz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IN)
NAYS--154
Andrews
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Butterfield
Capuano
Cardenas
Carney
Cartwright
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Deutch
Doyle
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Fattah
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Garamendi
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Hahn
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Heck (WA)
Higgins
Himes
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Nolan
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters (MI)
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Sherman
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Veasey
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Waxman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--19
Buchanan
Carson (IN)
Castor (FL)
Cleaver
Dingell
Doggett
Gabbard
Gutierrez
Hinojosa
Jones
McCarthy (NY)
Miller (FL)
Noem
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Slaughter
Stockman
Wolf
{time} 1200
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Personal Explanation
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, due to a medical procedure, I was unable to
vote the week of January 13, 2014. On Monday, January 13, had I been
present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall vote 12 (H.R. 1513),
and ``yes'' on rollcall vote 13 (S. 230).
On January 14, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on
rollcall vote 14 (H.R. 2274), ``yes'' on rollcall vote 15 (H.R. 801),
``yes'' on rollcall vote 16 (Journal), ``yes'' on rollcall vote 17
(H.R. 2860), and ``yes'' on rollcall vote 18 (H.R. 1233).
On January 15, had I been present, I would voted ``no'' on rollcall
vote 19 (Previous Question on H.R. 1233), ``no'' on rollcall vote 20
(H. Res. 458), and ``yes'' on rollcall vote 21 (H.R. 3547).
On January 16, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on
rollcall vote 22 (Motion to Recommit H.R. 3362) and ``no'' on rollcall
vote 23 (H.R. 3362).
Personal Explanation
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed
rollcall vote Nos. 22 and 23. Had I been present, I would have voted
``yes'' on rollcall vote No. 22 and ``no'' on rollcall vote No. 23.
Personal Explanation
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I attended the funeral of
Army Sergeant, First Class William Kelly Lacey, a fallen soldier from
my district, and missed the following rollcall votes: Nos. 22 and 23 on
January 16, 2014.
If present, I would have voted: rollcall vote No 22--On Motion to
Recommit with Instructions, H.R. 3362, Exchange Information Disclosure
Act, ``nay;'' rollcall vote No. 23--H.R. 3362, Exchange Information
Disclosure Act, ``aye.''
Personal Explanation
Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on January 16, 2014, I missed
rollcall votes 22 and 23 because of district business. Had I been
present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall 22 and ``no'' on
rollcall 23.
____________________