[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2161-S2164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2015--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the pending business.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 178) to provide justice for the victims of
trafficking.
[[Page S2162]]
Pending:
Portman amendment No. 270, to amend the Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act to enable State child protective
services systems to improve the identification and assessment
of child victims of sex trafficking.
Portman amendment No. 271, to amend the definition of
``homeless person'' under the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act to include certain homeless children and
youth.
Vitter amendment No. 284 (to amendment No. 271), to amend
section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify
those classes of individuals born in the United States who
are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Amendment No. 271 Withdrawn
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, in the interests of moving the human
trafficking bill forward and with the understanding that these
amendments could be offered later in the process, I withdraw my
amendment No. 271.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is withdrawn.
The Senator from Ohio.
Amendment No. 270 Withdrawn
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, in addition, I withdraw my amendment No.
270.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment is withdrawn.
The majority leader.
Amendment No. 1120
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1120, which is
at the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell], for Mr. Cornyn,
proposes an amendment numbered 1120.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 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 strengthen the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act by
incorporating additional bipartisan amendments)
Strike section 101 and insert the following:
SEC. 101. DOMESTIC TRAFFICKING VICTIMS' FUND.
(a) In General.--Chapter 201 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3014. Additional special assessment
``(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of
the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and ending
on September, 30 2019, in addition to the assessment imposed
under section 3013, the court shall assess an amount of
$5,000 on any non-indigent person or entity convicted of an
offense under--
``(1) chapter 77 (relating to peonage, slavery, and
trafficking in persons);
``(2) chapter 109A (relating to sexual abuse);
``(3) chapter 110 (relating to sexual exploitation and
other abuse of children);
``(4) chapter 117 (relating to transportation for illegal
sexual activity and related crimes); or
``(5) section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1324) (relating to human smuggling), unless the person
induced, assisted, abetted, or aided only an individual who
at the time of such action was the alien's spouse, parent,
son, or daughter (and no other individual) to enter the
United States in violation of law.
``(b) Satisfaction of Other Court-Ordered Obligations.--An
assessment under subsection (a) shall not be payable until
the person subject to the assessment has satisfied all
outstanding court-ordered fines and orders of restitution
arising from the criminal convictions on which the special
assessment is based.
``(c) Establishment of Domestic Trafficking Victims'
Fund.--There is established in the Treasury of the United
States a fund, to be known as the `Domestic Trafficking
Victims' Fund' (referred to in this section as the `Fund'),
to be administered by the Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services.
``(d) Transfers.--In a manner consistent with section
3302(b) of title 31, there shall be transferred to the Fund
from the General Fund of the Treasury an amount equal to the
amount of the assessments collected under this section, which
shall remain available until expended.
``(e) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--From amounts in the Fund, in addition to
any other amounts available, and without further
appropriation, the Attorney General, in coordination with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, for each of
fiscal years 2016 through 2019, use amounts available in the
Fund to award grants or enhance victims' programming under--
``(A) sections 202, 203, and 204 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044a,
14044b, and 14044c);
``(B) subsections (b)(2) and (f) of section 107 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105);
and
``(C) section 214(b) of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 13002(b)).
``(2) Grants.--Of the amounts in the Fund used under
paragraph (1), not less than $2,000,000, if such amounts are
available in the Fund during the relevant fiscal year, shall
be used for grants to provide services for child pornography
victims under section 214(b) of the Victims of Child Abuse
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13002(b)).
``(3) Application.--Amounts transferred from the Fund
pursuant to this section for each of fiscal years 2016
through 2019 are subject to the requirements contained in
Public Law 113-235 for funds for programs authorized under
sections 330 through 340 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254b-256).
``(f) Transfers.--
``(1) In general.--Effective on the day after the date of
enactment of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of
2015, on September 30 of each fiscal year, all unobligated
balances in the Fund shall be transferred to the Crime
Victims Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
``(2) Availability.--Amounts transferred under paragraph
(1)--
``(A) shall be available for any authorized purpose of the
Crime Victims Fund; and
``(B) shall remain available until expended.
``(g) Collection Method.--The amount assessed under
subsection (a) shall, subject to subsection (b), be collected
in the manner that fines are collected in criminal cases.
``(h) Duration of Obligation.--Subject to section 3613(b),
the obligation to pay an assessment imposed on or after the
date of enactment of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act of 2015 shall not cease until the assessment is paid in
full.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) Written certification.--Not later than September 30,
2016, and each September 30 thereafter, the Attorney General
shall submit to Congress a written certification as to the
total amount in the Fund.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In any fiscal year
for which a written certification submitted under paragraph
(1) indicates the total amount in the Fund is less than
$30,000,000, there is authorized to be appropriated to the
Fund an amount equal to $30,000,000 minus the total amount
indicated in the certification.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 201 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3013
the following:
``3014. Additional special assessment.''.
Cloture Motion
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The senior 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,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Cornyn
amendment No. 1120 to S. 178, a bill to provide justice for
the victims of trafficking.
Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Roy Blunt, Johnny Isakson,
John Barrasso, Pat Roberts, Mike Crapo, Roger F.
Wicker, Tom Cotton, James M. Inhofe, Tim Scott, Richard
Shelby, John Thune, John Boozman, Chuck Grassley, James
Lankford, Steve Daines.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, like every Member of this body, I am
frustrated we haven't been able to reach an agreement to pass the
bipartisan Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
So today--just now--we have offered a compromise amendment that
provides a path forward on this important legislation. I want to
express my gratitude to the majority leader for teeing up this
amendment and this vote and helping us move forward to resolve this
problem.
Briefly, this proposal would completely strike a provision in the
underlying bill that Members on the other side have objected to
regarding the application of the Hyde amendment. The proposal would
replace this language with a provision negotiated by Leader Pelosi from
H.R. 2, the so-called doc fix bill that we just passed overwhelmingly
and that passed the House a few weeks ago 392 to 37--180 House
Democrats supported this language in the House bill. The Pelosi
language from this bill is similar to my proposal, in that it simply
says that any funds used to provide services to human trafficking
victims would be subject to the same requirements as funds under the
Public Health Services Act. This would clarify that all money in the
Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund must be derived from the General
Treasury, the routine and ordinary source of all Federal funding.
[[Page S2163]]
In other words, requirements placed upon funds under my bill would
not be placed on money derived from criminal fees or penalties,
something our Democratic friends seem to have some objection to, but
they would only be placed upon money drawn from the General Treasury.
This is exactly what Members on the other side have asked for.
Finally, as an additional measure of good faith, my proposal would
also include an amendment drafted by Senator Leahy, the ranking member
of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that has been supported by every
Democratic Member of that committee. This amendment would authorize the
appropriation of additional funds into the Domestic Trafficking
Victims' Fund.
Some Members on the other side of the aisle have filibustered this
important legislation because they say they objected to language I
included that references the Hyde amendment. I have now agreed to
strike that language. They are also filibustering because they objected
to attaching routine Hyde restrictions that have been the law of the
land for nearly 40 years--the money that is outside of the General
Treasury process. Now, I have agreed to change the language of my bill
so the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund only includes money drawn
from the General Treasury. I have also agreed to accept the amendment
from Senator Leahy that I previously opposed in the interest of trying
to get to ``yes.''
I plan to speak more on this tomorrow, but I am hopeful that by
finally making these changes, we can be met at least halfway by our
friends across the aisle. I feel like we have continued to try to make
changes in this legislation in an interest of giving them an
opportunity to vote for a bill they said they all support but which
they ultimately filibustered because of the objections I just
addressed, and both of the major objections are addressed by this
amendment and this legislation.
So I hope we can get to a resolution on this bill. The victims of
human trafficking are typically young girls between the ages of 12 and
14 years old. This is justly called modern-day slavery, because these
victims of human trafficking are literally enslaved and sold for sex or
held for involuntary servitude against their will. Many of them come
from other countries, but the vast majority of them come from right
here in the United States of America.
We need to do something about this. This legislation does that
``something,'' and I think we have more than demonstrated good faith in
trying to meet our colleagues' objections across the aisle by proposing
language that works, that accomplishes the result but removes the
objectionable language our colleagues across the aisle have seen fit to
filibuster on.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, while my colleague is on the floor, I want
to commend Senator Cantwell for her superb work on this legislation.
Senator Cantwell has really been the leader in the effort to get the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to look at alternative payment
models in the Medicare Advantage Program. This is a hugely important
program for us in the Northwest. It is also, by the way, very
extensively used in Minnesota. I think my colleague from Washington
State has done particularly important work in also looking, as part of
this discussion, at what is called a value-based modifier.
Mr. President, I have some thank-yous to make--and I will be very
brief--but before I do that, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a
colloquy with Senator Cantwell.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. CANTWELL. I rise to talk about a provision in this legislation
intended to move the health care payment system toward better outcomes
and efficiency.
Physicians in my State and others are innovating by partnering with
high-performing Medicare Advantage plans. This model can grant the
health care provider significant accountability and ownership of a
patient's health, with the result of achieving impressive health
outcomes, reducing overlap and duplication, and saving money for
everyone involved.
I was successful in including a provision in the bill requiring the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to study integrating alternative
payment models in the Medicare Advantage payment system. This study
will also assess feasibility of including a value-based modifier.
I look forward to working with my Finance Committee colleagues in the
future to promote the innovation and efficiency taking place in
Medicare Advantage.
I ask that the distinguished ranking member of the Finance Committee
work with me in the future toward these goals.
Mr. WYDEN. H.R. 2 moves the physician payment system from one that
rewards volume to one that rewards value. I look forward to extending
value-based policies across the entire spectrum of Medicare. I agree,
it is important to reward all providers and all Medicare Advantage
plans that provide high value and high quality care. I look forward to
working with the Senator and the entire Finance Committee to achieve
these goals.
Ms. CANTWELL. Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. WYDEN. Just a couple of quick thank-yous, and then I want to let
my colleague wrap up for our side.
It is pretty clear, Mr. President, that a bill of this magnitude does
not happen by osmosis. It comes about because of scores of hearings,
roundtables, briefings, and countless hours of staff time. I am just
going to take a couple of minutes to thank some people who did so much
to make this possible.
First, I thank Leader Reid and his very capable health care staffer
Kate Leone. When there is a big health care issue before the Senate,
Kate Leone is the person you want to have in the trenches with you. I
want to thank Senator Reid, because during the short tenure in which I
was the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, we started working
closely together on reforming the Medicare reimbursement system, and
his leadership is very much a part of the success of this evening.
Second, there was staff at the various congressional support agencies
who provided technical assistance. We are talking about CMS, the
Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service,
legislative counsel, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. I
would also like to note the efforts made by Ira Burney, Anne Scott, and
Jennifer Druckman in the CMS Office of Legislation and Tom Bradley and
Lori Housman of the Congressional Budget Office.
I would also like to recognize Chairman Hatch and his very capable
and dedicated staff. They worked many, many months on this issue,
constantly reaching across the aisle--and former Hatch staffer, Dan
Todd, current Hatch staffers Kristin Welsh and Erin Dempsey
particularly deserve recognition.
I want to close by thanking my staff, our finance staff and personal
staff, affectionately known as the health team. Some, such as Karen
Fisher, Matt Kazan, Juan Machado, and former staffer David Schwartz
have survived two Democratic chairmen and more doc fixes than they
could possibly wish to remember. So this is an especially significant
moment for them. Others, like Anne Dwyer, Hannah Hawkins, and Jennifer
Phillips, provided invaluable insight and counsel along the way.
One last point, if I might. Having tried for years to specialize in
health care, going back to the days when I was codirector of the Oregon
Gray Panthers, I thought that over the years that I picked up a little
bit with respect to health care policy and came to really understand
the issues--not so much, particularly when I think about the
extraordinary work of two very talented individuals in our office who
have really been the leaders, in my view, on this SGR reform cause. One
was our health chief Liz Jurinka. She deserves special notice for her
persistent leadership, creativity, and focus and, secondly, her
colleague, Jocelyn Moore, whom we had the good fortune--who came to us
from Senator Rockefeller. She brings great expertise and years of
experience to the field. Certainly, what I have learned from them,
after a career of trying to specialize in these issues, has done so
much to assist the committee, assist
[[Page S2164]]
me, and I want to express my gratitude to them.
The work of the bipartisan Finance Committee staff--through all its
fits and starts--is what got us here today. I want to thank all of
them, and I think it is very appropriate that my colleague from
Washington State, Senator Cantwell, who has done so much good work on
these issues, is going to close today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oregon for his
leadership on this legislation and on health care in general. I will
always think of him as a Senator who has been an advocate for reforming
our health care system and oftentimes wanting to move faster than
everybody here.
I am with him and the Northwest is with him, and that is why tonight
is really a very proud moment for him as the ranking member of this
committee to see the monumental shift in the way we have been dealing
with the payment system and the Medicare access system and the
children's health care program. So tonight, hopefully, we will put
behind us a long-debated issue of how physicians are paid, but it will
also start us on a new path to make sure people in America are
guaranteed better outcomes and a process by which we will help reduce
the costs of health care by focusing on both the cost of health care
and the outcomes. So my colleague entered into the Record tonight--and
I want to thank him for that--a colloquy that addresses the issue of
how those who are part of accountable care organizations who will be
given the resources to focus on high-performing health care systems
will be able to under this study equate exactly how well they can do
and how well they should be rewarded in reducing costs and giving
better outcomes.
My colleague from Oregon speaks of this because he and I come from a
part of the country that literally delivers better outcomes in health
care at lower costs than many other States in the United States of
America. Our residents want to know why the rest of the country can't
practice medicine the same way. We want those savings that you get from
the health care system to be plugged in or used for other purposes.
They could be part of tax reform even. But we also want the citizens of
our State to get better health care. We want them to have better
outcomes, and we think that moving off a fee-for-service system and
onto a system that focuses on the outcome of patients is the best way
for our country to move forward.
So this legislation before us today builds on that process we started
in the Affordable Care Act, something that is called the value-based
modifier that basically takes the fee-for-service system--when you
think about it, fee for service is about volume, about ordering more
tests--and we are saying we want physicians to be rewarded for the
outcome and the good performance and the focus on whether the patient
actually gets well or is given the best health care delivery.
In essence, the value modifier seeks to emulate the success
Washington and Oregon have had and give us better, healthy outcomes for
patients and lower costs. This year the value-based modifier is the
beginning which physicians for the first time will see an adjustment.
And building on that progress, Sylvia Burwell, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services recently announced that Medicare would aim to tie 90
percent of their Medicare fee-for-service payments to quality or value
initiatives by 2018. So this is tying half of all Medicare fee-for-
service payments to an alternative payment model and helping us move
forward on, again, focusing on outcomes.
I thank my colleague for entering into the colloquy the ongoing
analysis that we need to do to continue to make changes on the health
care system and congratulate him on the significant success of getting
this bill done. It means we can spend more time focusing on efficiency,
on quality, on the best way to compensate physicians but also keeping
the focus on the patients and making sure they get better outcomes.
I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
Mr. President, 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. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________