[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 19164-19165]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED

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   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

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                       ABRAHAM AMENDMENT NO. 1502

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. ABRAHAM submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to 
the bill (S. 1233) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for other 
purposes; as follows:

       On page 68, line 5, before the period insert the following: 
     ``, or the Food and Drug Administration Detroit, Michigan 
     District Office Laboratory; or to reduce the Detroit Michigan 
     Food and Drug Administration District Office below the 
     operating and fulltime equivalent staffing level of July 31, 
     1999; or to change the Detroit District Office to a station, 
     residence post or similarly modified office; or to reassign 
     residence posts assigned to the Detroit District Office.''
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                   ROBERTS AMENDMENTS NOS. 1503-1504

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. ROBERTS submitted two amendments intended to be proposed by him 
to the bill, S. 1233, supra; as follows:

                           Amendment No. 1503

       On page 76, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:
       Sec. 7__. Prohibited Activities on CRP Acreage.--None of 
     the funds made available by this Act shall be used to 
     implement Notice CRP-327, issued by the Farm Service Agency 
     on October 26, 1998.
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                           Amendment No. 1504

       On page 76, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:
       Sec. 7__. Sense of the Senate Regarding Access to Items and 
     Services Under the Medicare Program.
       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following:
       (1) Total hospital operating margins with respect to items 
     and services provided to medicare beneficiaries are expected 
     to decline from 4.3 percent in fiscal year 1997 to negative 
     4.4 percent in fiscal year 2002.
       (2) Total operating margins for small rural hospitals are 
     expected to decline from 4.2 percent in fiscal year 1998 to 
     negative 7.1 percent in fiscal year 2002.
       (3) The Congressional Budget Office recently has estimated 
     that the amount of savings to the medicare program in fiscal 
     years 1998 through 2002 by reason of the amendments to that 
     program contained in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is 
     $206,000,000,000, exactly double the level of cuts expected 
     when the bill was enacted.
       (4) Health care providers are beginning to provide fewer 
     health care services to medicare beneficiaries in both urban 
     and rural areas as a result of the implementation of the 
     Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
       (5) The concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 
     2000 recognized that Congress has the responsibility to 
     review payment levels under the medicare program to

[[Page 19165]]

     ensure that medicare beneficiaries have access to high-
     quality health care services.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that Congress should--
       (1) reject further reductions in the medicare program under 
     title XVIII of the Social Security Act;
       (2) reject extensions of the provisions of the Balanced 
     Budget Act of 1997; and
       (3) target new resources for the medicare program that--
       (A) address the unintended consequences of the Balanced 
     Budget Act of 1997; and
       (B) ensure the access of medicare beneficiaries to high-
     quality skilled nursing services, home health care services, 
     teaching hospitals, inpatient and outpatient hospital 
     services, and health care services in rural areas.

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