[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 31307-31308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3194, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS AND 
             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MAX SANDLIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 1999

  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, this is no way to govern. Republicans have 
decided to run this budget bill through Congress by keeping

[[Page 31308]]

members in the dark. The budgeting process that brought us this bill at 
3:30 a.m. must change. Congress needs to find a better way to fund day-
to-day government operations without jeopardizing funding for critical 
initiatives and programs by a process that is too partisan and deeply 
divided.
  Even though I object to the process which brought us this bill, I 
will support its final passage because it contains a number of 
provisions which are absolutely essential for the people in my 
district. These provisions include relief for rural hospitals hit hard 
by the Balanced Budget Act of 1977 (BBA), access to local stations for 
rural satellite TV viewers, critical protections for dairy farmers, and 
the hiring of teachers and law enforcement officers.
  Health care providers in rural East Texas have been hit exceptionally 
hard by the BBA changes. Many hospitals in East Texas receive 55-75% of 
revenue from Medicare. The budget package includes an agreement that 
would give hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies and 
other health care providers relief from cuts in Medicare payments that 
was enacted under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
  This agreement will provide an estimated $12.8 billion over five 
years in additional Medicare payments for hospitals, home health care 
agencies, managed care plans and other health providers. It also 
includes provisions targeted at small hospitals and rural hospitals. In 
addition to a higher rate of reimbursement for these institutions, the 
bill allows them to increase the number of residency positions they are 
allowed to offer.
  Hospital outpatient departments will also see relief. The agreement 
includes a provision stating that Congress never intended to impose a 
5.7% cut in payments to hospital outpatient departments. This provision 
will restore these payments, reimbursing hospitals about $4.2 billion 
over five years. This is critical for the financial security of our 
rural hospitals in East Texas. Patients' care options will be preserved 
with this provision, and the quality of care will be preserved.
  The budget bill also contains important provisions which would allow 
satellite TV viewers access to local programming. Until now, satellite 
providers have been barred from transmitting the signals of local 
broadcast stations back to subscribers in the same local market. This 
legislation, however, contains important provisions of the Satellite 
Home View Act, which recently passed the House with overwhelming 
support.
  In addition to allowing satellite carriers to transmit local 
broadcast signals back to subscribers in the same local market, this 
legislation would also eliminate the current 90-day waiting period 
before cable subscribers can switch to satellite service. These 
provisions are good news for satellite viewers who have been unfairly 
left deprived of access to local weather, news, and programming.
  With regard to dairy, the agreement includes policy provisions that 
direct the USDA to implement its proposed ``Option 1-A'' Class 1 
differential milk pricing structure. By doing so, the measure blocks 
portions of USDA's preferred milk marketing orders reform plan (Option 
1-B) and essentially preserves the status quo in milk pricing for 
Texas.
  This is a victory for Texas dairy farmers. If Option 1-B had been 
implemented, Texas dairy farmers would have lost $56 million in 
producer income. With this agreement, we are preventing that loss and 
preserving the East Texas dairy farm.
  The budget also contains a number of important Democratic victories, 
including funding for 100,000 new teachers, after school programs, Head 
Start, school construction, and the COPS program. These victories also 
include extensions of important tax credits for research and 
development, the Work Incentive tax credit, Welfare to Work credit, and 
Alternative Minimum Tax relief for individuals.
  This year we have also given our service men and women a pay raise 
and provided funding for increased workload at Red River Army Depot. 
Specifically, the FY00 budget appropriates $384 million for upgrading 
the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Finally, this bill puts aside $147 
billion for reducing the national debt and helping ensure that future 
generations can share in the economic prosperity we are now 
experiencing as a nation.
  Although I am pleased with the positive aspects of this bill, I am 
deeply disturbed by its more troubling provisions. Those include an 
arbitrary across-the-board cut upon which Republicans have insisted. 
Instead of eliminating the irresponsible member earmarks that load-up 
this budget with unnecessary spending or cutting Member pay raises, 
Republicans have opted for a damaging, indiscriminate across-the-board 
cut. Moreover, they rely on accounting gimmicks to disguise the real 
spending in this bill, and they tell us this budget won't break the 
caps. This bill has not been scored, so we have no choice but to accept 
Republican claims that it won't dip into the Social Security trust 
fund.
  I find the Republicans' failure to cut the Congressional pay raise 
particularly unconscionable. This bill would actually exempt the 
Congressional pay raise from the across-the-board cut. This provision 
is extremely upsetting, considering that Congress twice voted against 
this exemption.
  Republican tactics throughout the budget process have produced an 
imperfect bill. Their unwillingness to negotiate with Democrats from 
the beginning is the reason behind this 11th hour budget bill. 
Unfortunately, Republicans put off budget negotiations until the very 
last minute in favor of partisan rhetoric and have thereby prevented 
Congress from passing a Patients' Bill of Rights, funding a Medicare 
prescription drug benefit for seniors, increasing the minimum wage for 
working Americans, and providing meaningful tax relief for families.
  These realities make it especially difficult for me to cast my vote 
in favor of this bill. The most troubling consequence of this bill is 
the potentially detrimental effect of the across-the-board cut on 
veterans' healthcare. I will vote for the Motion to Recommit for this 
reason, and for all the other reasons I have cited, in hopes that these 
problems can be addressed before final passage of the bill.
  However, should the Motion to Recommit fail, I will support final 
passage because, although it is imperfect, this bill is a product of 
lengthy negotiations. I accept that negotiation requires compromise, 
and not everyone will agree on every aspect of a compromise. All in 
all, I support this bill because, despite its shortcomings, it is good 
news for the people of East Texas.

                          ____________________