[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14712-14713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I rise to discuss two issues this 
morning, health care reform and also the pending supplemental spending 
bill that, according to news reports, does not include the Senate 
language that explicitly allowed President Obama to keep photos of 
detainee abuse during the Bush administration confidential.
  I thank my friend from Kentucky, the Republican leader, who has shown 
such impressive leadership on, as he describes, probably the most 
important domestic issue that certainly will be addressed by this 
Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues over the next 
few weeks on legislation reforming our current health care system.
  Americans are looking to Congress to enact health care legislation 
that provides all Americans affordable access to health insurance and 
the ability to choose the health insurance policy that fits each 
American's needs. Yesterday, it was reported that 62 percent of 
Americans support Congress enacting a major overhaul of the U.S. health 
care system, according to a Diageo/Hotline poll.
  I believe health care should be available to all and not limited to 
where you work or how much money you make. I believe any proposal must 
use competition to improve the quality, availability, and affordability 
of health insurance and match people's needs, lower prices, and promote 
portability. I believe American families, not Washington bureaucrats or 
insurance companies, should be in charge of any health care decision. 
But I don't believe we need to expand government's bureaucracy to 
control one-sixth of our economy to ensure the uninsured get health 
coverage. Nor do I believe Americans should be asked to pay more in 
taxes to cover the costs of any comprehensive health care reform 
legislation.
  Last month, the Wall Street Journal stated:

       But now Democrats need the money to finance $1.2 trillion 
     or more for their new health insurance entitlement. . . .
       A sampler:
       End or limit the tax-exempt status of charitable hospitals. 
     . . .
       Make college students in work-study programs subject to the 
     payroll tax. Also targeted are medical residents, perhaps on 
     the principle that they'll one day be ``rich doctors.''

  I agree that any real health care reform proposal must address the 
tax treatment of employer-provided health benefits, but not in such a 
way that would force Americans to fork over more of their hard-earned 
money to the Federal Government, particularly during these difficult 
times.
  Today individuals who receive health insurance through their employer 
are not taxed on their health care benefits, as we know. However, those 
who purchase coverage on their own do not receive such a tax break. 
That is unfair and regressive. It hits those who need this tax break 
the most--the self-employed or working poor whose employer does not 
offer health insurance coverage.
  To offset the taxable treatment of this income, I believe Americans 
should have funds returned to them to assist with the cost of acquiring 
health insurance. An approach such as this treats individuals equally, 
in stark contrast to the system we currently have.
  Key to any proposal is a policy that allows people to have 
accessible, portable, and affordable health insurance coverage. 
Policies should also address what I hear from Americans everywhere I 
go--choice. Americans want choice. They want choice of their doctor, 
their care, their coverage, and employment freedom--freedom to seek 
employment that is not dependent on whether an employer provides 
insurance coverage. This is particularly important in today's difficult 
economic times when Americans are uncertain about whether they will 
have a job tomorrow. Some, including the President, criticize this 
approach. However, the New York Times reported:

       The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the 
     President would support taxing some employee health benefits.

  While I appreciate the President's and the Democrats' new 
consideration of such a proposal, it is not acceptable to turn this 
into a tax-and-spend health care reform. Any new resources derived from 
changing the existing tax treatment of private health insurance should 
be devoted to a fairer and more efficient mechanism for Americans to 
acquire private insurance.

[[Page 14713]]

  The United States spends over $2.4 trillion on health care. Health 
insurance premiums continue to rise as employer-based family coverage 
increased and Medicare and Medicaid spent $818 billion in 2008 and is 
projected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2018.
  I also want to mention something that should trouble every American 
and every Member of this Chamber.
  Last week, I spoke about what the special interests were doing to 
derail much needed health reform dealing with prescription drugs, a 
reform that is very bipartisan. Any Member in this Chamber knows I work 
across the aisle on policies that are important to the American people. 
Health reform is one issue that fundamentally must be bipartisan.
  All Americans are affected by what we do here, so we should be 
working in a bipartisan manner. It is with extreme regret that I read 
in ``Roll Call'' this morning about a meeting that Democratic staff was 
threatening--let me repeat--threatening Democratic lobbyists or the 
organizations they represent against meeting with Republicans and that 
attending meetings with Republicans ``will be viewed as a hostile 
act.''
  This is outrageous. I hope the article is inaccurate. I hope the 
staff on the other side does not view health reform as a process they 
control by threats and hostilities. I hope we are above that.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record the ``Roll Call'' article.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  [From the Roll Call, June 11, 2009]

                       Baucus Aides Warn K Street

           (By David M. Drucker, Anna Palmer and Kate Ackley)

       Top aides to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) 
     called a last minute, pre-emptive strike on Wednesday with a 
     group of prominent Democratic lobbyists, warning them to 
     advise their clients not to attend a meeting with Senate 
     Republicans set for Thursday.
       Russell Sullivan, the top staffer on Finance, and Jon 
     Selib, Baucus' chief of staff, met with a bloc of more than 
     20 contract lobbyists, including several former Baucus aides.
       ``They said, `Republicans are having this meeting and you 
     need to let all of your clients know if they have someone 
     there, that will be viewed as a hostile act,''' said a 
     Democratic lobbyists who attended the meeting.
       ``Going to the Republican meeting will say `I'm interested 
     in working with Republicans to stop health care reform,''' 
     the lobbyists added.
       Republican leaders have been meeting with health care 
     stakeholders for months, with those sessions occurring ``more 
     frequently than once a month,'' according to a senior Senate 
     GOP aide.
       The stated purpose of Thursday's meeting, organized by Sen. 
     John Thune (R-S.D.), is to discuss proposals for how to pay 
     for health care reform.
       But the underlying motivation for the get-together is to 
     encourage health care lobbyists and stakeholders concerned 
     about the Democrats' health care reform plans to speak out 
     publicly.
       ``They need to speak up,'' one Senate Republican leadership 
     aide said. ``They need to help us help them.''
       Thune said Democrats are using threats and intimidation to 
     keep unhappy stakeholders silent.
       ``If you don't engage on this thing, this train's leaving 
     the station,'' Thune said. ``If you want [Republicans] to 
     have more influence, you've got to engage.''
       One longtime health care lobbyist agreed that the GOP 
     frustration is spilling out of the Capitol and onto K Street.
       ``It is notable that Republicans are really finding their 
     voice, and their level of frustration is building with the 
     stakeholders' inability or refusal to speak out,'' this 
     lobbyist said. ``They're getting frustrated. Republicans are 
     doing it themselves.''
       One senior Democratic source charged that Thune's meeting 
     and the supposed motives behind it are in fact a smoke screen 
     for killing health care reform altogether.
       ``While Democrats and many Republicans are working 
     collaboratively to reform health care, a small group of 
     Republicans appear all too eager to derail this promising, 
     bipartisan effort,'' this source said. ``It's politics as 
     usual, it's disheartening and it's a shame.''
       Senate Republicans are opposed to plans by President Barack 
     Obama and Congressional Democrats to implement a government-
     run, public plan option as a part of health care reform. They 
     also are concerned with how Democrats plan to pay for reform.
       Recognizing they don't have the votes to stop legislation 
     on their own, Republicans are pushing their natural allies in 
     the business community to help bring public pressure to bear 
     as another way to influence the outcome.
       Obama has set Oct. 15 as the deadline for approval of 
     health care reform, and Democratic leaders in Congress are 
     rushing to clear bills from their respective chambers by the 
     end of July.
       ``Our effort has been to get these folks to speak their 
     mind,'' one senior Senate Republican aide said.
       After months of holding their tongues while inclusive, 
     bipartisan negotiations continued in the Senate Finance and 
     Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees, the 
     business community has now considered speaking out, given 
     their displeasure with the HELP panel's reform bill, which 
     was made public on Tuesday.
       But with Baucus' office still warning dissenters that 
     anyone who makes their opposition public could be permanently 
     excluded from future negotiations, the groups representing 
     businesses, health care providers, hospitals and similar 
     stakeholders are still wavering on whether to voice their 
     concerns publicly.
       The lineup of lobbyists who attended the Wednesday session 
     included a cast of Democratic insiders similar to that at 
     previous meetings convened by Baucus' staff. The participants 
     included: Jeff Forbes, a former Baucus chief of staff who 
     lobbies at Cauthen Forbes & Williams; Jonathon Jones, a 
     partner with Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart; Tarplin 
     Strategies' Rich Tarplin, an assistant secretary at Health 
     and Human Services in the Clinton administration; another 
     former Baucus top aide, David Castagnetti, of Mehlman Vogel 
     Castagnetti and OB-C Group founder Larry O'Brien.
       Democratic sources noted Wednesday that Baucus is courting 
     Republican support and remains committed to treating all 
     stakeholders fairly.
       On Wednesday, he met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch 
     McConnell (R-Ky.) in the Capitol, part of a marathon day of 
     bipartisan meetings that included a session with his GOP 
     colleagues at the White House and discussions with Republican 
     members of the Finance Committee.
       ``Chairman Baucus wants to continue to keep health care 
     stakeholders informed of the progress on health reform,'' 
     said the Senator's Finance Committee spokesman, Scott 
     Mulhauser. ``This is a lengthy, transformative process, and 
     meetings like these are an essential part of the ongoing, 
     bipartisan effort to continue to keep everyone at the table 
     working together.''
       One lobbyist who attended the Wednesday meeting with 
     Baucus' staff said that the message was more bipartisan. 
     ``They said they anticipate having a bipartisan bill and that 
     the process is going well with Republicans,'' this lobbyist 
     said. But, the lobbyist added, Baucus' team did warn, ``If 
     your clients attack the process or the product, it's going to 
     be hard to work with you.''
       As for Baucus, he told reporters earlier this week that he 
     was not aware of health care stakeholders being threatened by 
     his staff to play ball with the Finance Committee-led 
     negotiations or risk being blackballed from the process.
       ``I'm sure they can all say what they want to say,'' Baucus 
     said, referring to GOP accusations that health care lobbyists 
     have been subject to intimidations and threats. ``It's news 
     to me. I don't think so. I don't know of any.''
       Republican lobbyists said they have not felt any threats 
     from their party.
       ``For a while, Republicans have cautioned industry to be 
     careful about getting in bed with the administration or 
     Kennedy or Baucus too early,'' said Janet Grissom, a lobbyist 
     at Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart, who was once a top aide to 
     McConnell.

  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 3 additional 
minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________