[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S92-S93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Healthcare
Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, for the past decade, health policy,
unfortunately, has proven to be one of the most bitterly partisan
issues. It doesn't have to be this way.
I want to take a few minutes to discuss some health-related issues
that Congress left unfinished before the holidays: providing relief
from the medical device tax, reauthorizing the Children's Health
Insurance Program, funding for community health centers, and doing more
to address the opioid crisis. Each has strong bipartisan support and
could provide help to our constituents now.
First, many of us, on both sides of the aisle, agree on the need to
provide relief from the medical device tax, which went back into effect
on January 1. The medical device tax is one of these issues that leaves
most Hoosiers scratching their heads. First adopted as part of the
Affordable Care Act, the device tax was one of the few issues
Republicans and Democrats agreed needed to be fixed, and in 2015, with
bipartisan support, President Obama enacted a 2-year suspension of the
tax.
The argument was really pretty simple. The medical device tax was
making it harder for innovative companies to invest in the research and
development of new technologies, and, in the process, we were stifling
job creation. If there was a question as to whether this was the case,
the last 2 years provided evidence. When we agreed to suspend the tax
in 2016 and 2017, manufacturers used that additional money to hire new
workers, invest in research and technologies, and continue producing
innovative, lifesaving products in the United States.
For example, Zimmer Biomet, headquartered in Warsaw, IN, my home
State, used the money from the device tax suspension to invest in new
innovation to improve musculoskeletal health across the world. They
were also able to upgrade their manufacturing equipment and facilities.
Perhaps more importantly, these investments not only supported existing
jobs, but they also helped to create new jobs--new, good-paying jobs.
Yet, despite this evidence, despite this strong bipartisan support
for repeal, and despite a wide-ranging package of changes to the Tax
Code becoming law in recent days, Congress has failed to address the
medical device
[[Page S93]]
tax, which went back into place on January 1.
As we again discuss the policy priorities that were left unaddressed
in 2017, I strongly urge my colleagues to work with me to quickly and
meaningfully address the medical device tax. This would allow these
innovative companies to make the long-term investments that not only
lead to life-changing technologies but support thousands of high-paying
jobs across the country, including in my home State of Indiana.
Another issue that has garnered bipartisan support is a healthcare
program that covers millions of our children. We must reauthorize the
Children's Health Insurance Program--also known as CHIP--that expired
in September.
I have long supported the CHIP program. It provides health coverage
for millions of kids, including nearly 115,000 children from Indiana. I
am not alone in my support for this program. The fact is, CHIP has had
strong bipartisan support for the past 20 years, and Democrats and
Republicans in both the Senate and the House have shown they support a
5-year reauthorization of the program. That gives States the certainty
they need to plan their budgets and provide high-quality care to these
children.
Despite this shared commitment for the program and agreement on the
need for a long-term reauthorization, we were only able to fund the
program through March before Congress departed for the holidays. This
short-term extension bought some time, but according to the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services--CMS--some States will start running out
of money after January 19. This means families and States will very
soon face the harmful consequences of congressional inaction.
Just last week, the Congressional Budget Office said that funding the
CHIP program for the next 5 years will cost significantly less than
previous estimates. This program is vital to our families and vital to
our children. We should reauthorize the CHIP program right away.
Like the CHIP program, community health centers have enjoyed long
bipartisan support for the high-quality care they provide to our
families. Also, like CHIP, the funding for community health centers
expired on September 30, leaving many health centers across Indiana
worried about if they will have the resources they need to continue to
serve Hoosiers.
We have the ability to work together now to ensure that our community
health centers can continue to provide cost-effective, high-quality
healthcare to people all across the country.
Finally, we have demonstrated a common desire to address the needs of
the opioid and drug abuse crisis. It is a scourge. It took the lives of
63,000 people just in 2016--63,000 of our brothers and sisters, our
husbands and wives, our sons and daughters. It is a heartbreak that is
crushing the entire country.
I welcomed President Trump's declaration of a public health
emergency, and both Republican and Democratic Senators have highlighted
the need for Congress to do even more to help those struggling with
addiction.
Like many other States, the opioid epidemic has been particularly
devastating in underserved areas in Indiana that lack adequate
treatment providers.
Senator Murkowski and I have partnered on a bipartisan bill that
would encourage addiction treatment professionals to serve in
underserved areas by making addiction treatment facilities eligible for
National Health Service Corps student loan repayment and forgiveness.
We can show our commitment to increasing access to treatment by
reauthorizing the National Health Service Corps program, which expired
in September. We also must recognize that a meaningful response to the
opioid crisis will require robust and meaningful funding to help our
communities as soon as possible.
I have often said that most people think Congress can do something to
help make life better--to provide working parents with the peace of
mind that their children can grow up healthy and to instill confidence
in our communities so that they will have the tools they need to
respond to this heartbreaking crisis. At the very least, Congress
should not make this situation worse.
By failing to take action in 2017, medical device companies are once
again paying a counterproductive tax that inhibits growth in Indiana.
On all of these issues--medical device taxes, our families and our
children and this opioid crisis, community health centers--we can work
together as Democrats, as Republicans, but more than either of those,
as Americans to make sure that our families can get decent healthcare,
to make sure that no one else dies because of this terrible opioid
scourge we are dealing with. These are critically important issues.
These are issues that know no political party, that know no special
agenda. What we do know is that we need this Congress, this Senate, to
deal with them now.
Mr. President, I yield back.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). The Senator from North Dakota.
Congratulating the North Dakota State University Bison Football Team
for Winning the FCS National Championship
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I will be subbmitting a resolution in the
U.S. Senate honoring the North Dakota State University Bison football
team, who just won their sixth national championship in 7 years.
Mr. President, I know you are a football fan, so you can truly
appreciate what a fantastic achievement that is. What NDSU has
accomplished over the last 7 seasons is absolutely extraordinary. With
our victory on Saturday, the Bison have now won six national football
championship series division I national titles in 7 years. That ties
them for the most of all time. Also, in each of the past 7 years, they
have won or shared the top spot in the Missouri Valley Football
Conference championship.
We also want to congratulate the James Madison University Dukes on an
outstanding year. We had five championships in a row. The Dukes managed
to beat us last year in a semifinal game, and we came back and avenged
that loss in a thrilling championship game in Frisco, TX. It went down
to the final play. It was a very, very exciting game.
Winning a national championship is not easy, and this success,
reflected both on and off the field, is earned through hard work and
dedication. We recognize and congratulate all of the incredible players
and Coach Klieman and his tremendous coaching staff, who put in
countless hours of practice and preparation.
We also recognize the importance of good leadership from athletic
director Matt Larsen, NDSU president Dean Bresciani, and everyone at
NDSU, all the coaches and the staff, team members, and really everybody
who is part of Bison Nation. North Dakotans travel with our team. They
show up in Bison Nation, and their cheering and supporting our great
team is a huge part of our incredible victories.
We congratulate Easton Stick, the quarterback, for achieving MVP
honors and leading a tremendous offensive effort by the Bison and also
Nick DeLuca, middle linebacker, for leading an incredible defensive
effort. These were two tremendous defenses--James Madison and North
Dakota State Bison--fast, strong, and it was a thrilling game and fun
to watch.
I want to compliment James Madison not only on their program but on
all their fans and supporters--a real class act. I am very impressed
with James Madison University--their students, their team, and all of
their alumni, who also turned out in force for what was a tremendous
game in Frisco, TX.
With that, I submit this resolution to the U.S. Senate honoring the
North Dakota State Bison.
Mr. President, I have just one other thing to say: Go Bison.
With that, I yield the floor.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.