[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16227-16230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

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      By Mr. ALEXANDER:
  S. 1590. A bill to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act to require transparency in the operation of American Health Benefit 
Exchanges; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, before the Internet, RCA knew how many 
records Elvis sold every day. Before the Internet, Ford knew how many 
cars they were selling every day. Before the Internet, McDonald's could 
tell you how many hamburgers it was selling

[[Page 16228]]

every day. Yet the Obama administration cannot tell us how many 
Americans have tried to sign up for ObamaCare. They can't tell us how 
many Americans did sign up for ObamaCare. They can't tell us what level 
of insurance they bought, nor can they tell us in what zip code they 
live.
  They told us that 20 million Americans have visited the ObamaCare Web 
site. They have the basic information to shop, but how many have tried 
to sign up? How many did sign up? Where do they live? What kind of 
insurance did they buy? Not only have they not told us, they have done 
their best to keep us from finding out.
  With WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden spilling our beans every day, what 
is happening on the ObamaCare exchanges is the biggest secret left in 
Washington, DC. The National Security Agency could learn lessons from 
Secretary Sebelius. We should not have to rely on anonymous sources to 
get basic information about what is happening with ObamaCare.
  Therefore, I am introducing legislation today to require the 
administration answer the following questions every week: How many 
people tried to sign up? How many people did sign up? What level of 
insurance did they buy? In what ZIP code do they live? What are they 
doing to fix the problems? This is not complicated information.
  In the Internet age, the administration ought to be able to provide 
this information not every week but every day. In fact, they should be 
able to provide it every minute. We should not have to pass a law to 
find these things out. I hope that every Senator will support this 
simple request that this legislation makes. It is a six-page bill. I 
will put it in the Congressional Record today, and everyone will have a 
chance to read it tomorrow. After everyone has had a chance to read it, 
I intend to ask unanimous consent to pass it.
  This Congress--both sides of the aisle--is dedicated to transparency. 
This administration has described itself as the most transparent 
administration in American history. So why should we not unanimously 
pass legislation to ask for the most basic information about what is 
happening on the ObamaCare exchanges?
  Health insurance companies say that in order to guarantee that 
everyone has a chance to sign up for insurance before January 1, which 
is when the law says they must, the application has to be in by 
December 15. That is not very far away.
  The administration has been talking about giving a grace period of a 
few weeks before the IRS will fine them for not having bought 
insurance, as ObamaCare says most Americans must buy health insurance. 
Still, if the Web site is not fixed, millions of Americans will be 
required to sign up for health insurance on a Web site that does not 
work. As a consequence of not being able to sign up for health care, 
they will be fined by the Internal Revenue Service.
  There is a much bigger problem than the fine, and that is millions of 
Americans may be without any health insurance at all after January 1 
because their insurance is being canceled because of ObamaCare. 
Remember when President Obama said: If you like your insurance, you can 
keep it? Well, like a lot of things that have been said about 
ObamaCare, that is turning out not to be the case.
  Our staff has counted the announcements by health insurance companies 
that are ceasing to offer policies on January 1 because they don't 
qualify under the ObamaCare law. For example, in Tennessee, the State 
provides 16,000 Tennesseans who have trouble getting insurance with a 
plan called CoverTN. Because it doesn't meet the exact requirements of 
ObamaCare, the State is having to cancel that insurance on January 1, 
and those 16,000 Tennesseans won't have health insurance.
  Other Americans--for example, Tennesseans I have talked to--have what 
we call catastrophic insurance. They have insurance that provides for a 
catastrophe. That kind of insurance is often not available under 
ObamaCare. It is not allowed by ObamaCare for most people. An insurance 
company that offers these policies will not be offering them after 
January 1, and as a result, millions of Americans will not be able to 
buy the insurance they now have.
  If individuals can't or won't sign up, that will mean that after 
January 1, many of the sickest people will go into the exchanges. The 
result will be that the price of insurance--for everyone who has 
insurance--will go through the roof. We are already seeing that in the 
insurance markets today.
  The bottom line: If the Web site is not fixed, millions of Americans 
will not only be fined by the IRS for not buying insurance on a Web 
site that doesn't work, more importantly, they will be without health 
care insurance on January 1, insurance that many of them have today.
  The President has said over the last few days that the Web site will 
be ready by November 30. You are supposed to have your application in 
by December 15 and have the insurance bought by January 1, which only 
gives 2 weeks for millions of Americans to make their way through this 
maze. We tried to obtain this simple information that I have asked for, 
yet repeatedly, the requests which I have directed to Secretary 
Sebelius have come back with no answer at all--no answers, nothing.
  Outside analysts tell us that only \1/2\ of 1 percent of the people 
who logged on to the ObamaCare Web site in the first week were able to 
enroll, but we really don't know.
  Two weeks ago I sent a letter with House Oversight Chairman Darrell 
Issa to Secretary Sebelius, asking for the information she and the 
President are not giving us; such as how many people have enrolled 
successfully in the exchanges, what the technical problems are, how 
much it already costs, and how much it will cost to address these 
problems. The deadline for a response to our request has passed. 
Chairman Issa has said--and I joined him in the letter--that he may 
consider a subpoena to get that information. The American people 
deserve an answer to these questions.
  Often when the debate comes up, someone will say, Well, the 
Republicans don't have any proposals of their own. I have often made 
those proposals. I remember on this floor of the Senate many times 
proposing steps we should take to change our health care system so more 
people could afford insurance. We went back and counted the number of 
times when, during the health care debate, various Republicans talked 
about our step-by-step proposals for what we should do about health 
care, and there were 173 mentions of our step-by-step proposals.
  The basic problem with what happened with the new health care law was 
that we--the Democratic Congress did, I didn't; I didn't vote for it--
expanded a health care delivery system that already costs too much. 
That was the wrong thing to do. That was an historic mistake. What we 
should have done is to make changes, step by step, in the health care 
delivery system that would reduce the cost of health care for the 
largest number of Americans so more people could have afforded it. 
Those were the steps we should have taken. We can still do that. Our 
health care delivery system is nearly 20 percent of our economy.
  ObamaCare is not our health care delivery system. Rather, ObamaCare 
includes some additions to our health care delivery system. ObamaCare 
is an expansion of a health care delivery system that already costs too 
much. The law is making some changes such as the ones I described 
earlier in my remarks. Those changes have been described as a train 
wreck, but we can turn the train around and head it in another 
direction--a direction of more competition, more choices, and lower 
costs for Americans buying health insurance.
  How can we do that? That is a subject for a long discussion, but here 
are a few of the ideas: Make Medicare solvent. The trustees have said 
that in 10 years there won't be enough money to pay hospital bills. We 
have a duty to make Medicare solvent.
  Reform Medicare Advantage to increase more choices and put it on a

[[Page 16229]]

more level playing field with Traditional Medicare. That will provide 
seniors more options and it should save some money.
  Make Medicaid more flexible. I was Governor. I said on the floor that 
every Senator who voted for ObamaCare ought to be sentenced to go home 
and serve as Governor and try to implement the law. During my time as 
Governor, Medicaid was 8 percent of the State budget. I see it has 
grown to 26 percent today in Tennessee, soaking up money that otherwise 
would go for higher education or for other needed parts of State 
government.
  We should encourage workplace wellness. We had a lot of debate about 
that during the ObamaCare debate and we have ended up with a regulation 
that is too restrictive. We can change that.
  We can allow small businesses to pool their resources and offer a 
larger number of plans to a larger number of Americans at prices they 
can afford. We can allow Americans to purchase insurance across State 
lines. That would reduce the cost of health care, which should be our 
major goal.
  We could expand health care savings accounts.
  There is bipartisan legislation before the Senate that would define 
full-time employment for purposes of the health care law--this one or 
any one in the future--as 40 hours instead of 30 hours. That would be a 
great help to American business and an even bigger help to the 
employees who are being forced to go from 40 hours to 30 hours--
employees who most need that income, and who, by going to 30 hours, 
will have to go to a second part-time job, and in many cases, in doing 
so, lose whatever health care benefits that might be available to them. 
I don't know where the 30 hours came from. That sounds as though it was 
made in France. A made-in-America part-time job ought to be up to 40 
hours.
  Those are just a few of the steps we could take to turn the train 
around and avoid the wreck and move us in the right direction. We will 
be making those arguments over time. But for now, we need information 
about what is happening on the ObamaCare exchanges.
  I intend to ask unanimous consent tomorrow to pass a simple, six-page 
bill. It is legislation which requires the administration to give us 
weekly reports about how many have tried to enroll, how many have 
succeeded, what ZIP Code they live in, and what level of insurance they 
have purchased. Congress needs to know that, if millions of Americans 
are going to lose insurance on January 1, before they have a way to buy 
it through a Web site that doesn't work. States need to know it 
because, as time goes on, these decisions are going to have an effect 
on the Medicaid Programs that States are a partner in and are 
operating. Americans need to know it because, in many cases--we have 
counted at least 1.5 million cases and we expect millions more policies 
that were available to Americans when the law passed will not be 
available after January 1. So these Americans--and this includes people 
working in the Congress and people who are in the Congress--these 
Americans are going to have to make decisions before January 1 about 
what insurance they will have, because the insurance they now have 
isn't going to be available under the new health care law.
  This is a six-page bill, and a pretty simple idea. If RCA knew how 
many records Elvis was selling every day, if Ford knew before the 
Internet age how many cars Ford was selling every day, if McDonald's 
before the Internet age knew how many hamburgers it was selling every 
day, surely the Obama administration can tell us every week how many 
are enrolling on ObamaCare's Web site, how many are successfully 
getting their insurance, where they live, and what kind of insurance 
they buy. The stakes are much higher than Elvis's records, than Ford's 
cars, and than McDonald's hamburgers. These are the stakes of health 
insurance that involve the lives of millions of Americans, and I hope 
my colleagues will join me tomorrow when I ask unanimous consent to 
approve legislation that will require these weekly reports.
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      By Mrs. HAGAN:
  S. 1591. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow 
the work opportunity credit to small businesses which hire individuals 
who are members of the Ready Reserve or National Guard, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, I rise today to highlight the importance 
of veteran unemployment and to announce the reintroduction of the 
``Hire-a-Hero Act''--a bill, which I introduced with Senator Scott 
Brown of Massachusetts at the start of the last Congress, to make 
permanent the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, WOTC, for qualified veterans 
and members of the Ready Reserve and the National Guard.
  The issue of veteran unemployment is more important today, than it 
has ever been.
  Though the overall unemployment rate stands at 7.2 percent, the 
jobless rate among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is 10.1 
percent, nearly 3 percentage points higher than the national average. 
Overall, 708,000 veterans are without a job.
  This issue is even more important in North Carolina, because of its 
large active duty and veteran population. More than \1/3\ of our 
population is either in the military, is a veteran, or has an immediate 
family member who is in the military or a veteran. In addition, North 
Carolina has 3 percent of the U.S. population, but 5 percent of the 
unemployed veterans.
  Employers know that hiring a veteran is not only the right thing to 
do, but it also makes good business sense. These men and women are 
highly motivated, highly-trained, and have succeeded in the most trying 
circumstances imaginable.
  I know the value of hiring veterans myself. I have three veterans and 
a member of the National Guard currently on my staff who bring unique 
perspectives to their roles that they acquired during their time in 
uniform. And it allows them to provide the best possible service to the 
people of North Carolina.
  Unfortunately, the expiration of the WOTC for veterans at the end of 
this year could make it more difficult for employers to hire veterans.
  The WOTC has been in place for many years. The credit for veterans 
has been subject to periodic short-term extensions. Recognizing the 
serious unemployment challenges facing veterans in North Carolina and 
the need for incentives to hire veterans, I introduced the ``Hire-a-
Hero Act of 2011'' in February of 2011 to make this important tax 
credit permanent.
  While that bill, did not become law, Congress was able to enact the 
Vow to Hire Heros Act of 2011 on November 21, 2011. This legislation 
expanded the WOTC for returning heroes and wounded warriors, by 
allowing larger tax credits for certain groups and extended the credit 
through 2012. Recognizing that this credit was set to expire, on 
January 2, 2013, Congress extended the credit to December 31, 2013, as 
a part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
  This crucial tax credit is set to expire again in just two months. 
That is why I am re-introducing the Hire-a-Hero Act with the support of 
the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military 
Officers Association of America, the National Guard Association of the 
United States and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. This 
bill would finally, make the WOTC permanent for veterans and members of 
the Ready Reserve and National Guard.
  I urge my colleagues to consider cosponsoring this important 
legislation that will help address the unemployment issue among 
veterans in this country.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Begich, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Durbin, 
        and Mr. Tester):
  S. 1593. A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to 
enhance the protections accorded to servicemembers and their spouses 
with respect to mortgages, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.

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  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I introduce the Servicemember Housing 
Protection Act along with my colleagues Senators Begich, Whitehouse, 
Durbin, and Tester. Our country has a strong tradition of ensuring that 
our service members are protected while they serve to keep our nation 
safe. Building on such laws and efforts, in 1940, as World War II 
escalated across the globe, Congress enacted the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Civil Relief Act ``to protect those who have been obliged to drop their 
own affairs to take up the burdens of the nation.'' In 2003, Congress 
passed a new version of this law to reflect the new challenges of post-
9/11 service and renamed it the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA. 
Since that time, Congress has further amended this law, most recently 
in August 2012, in order to address the country's high foreclosure 
rates and their impact on service members.
  Additionally, in 2010, when it became evident that military families 
needed an entity to serve as a watchdog, provide education, and help 
monitor and respond to concerns, questions, and complaints about 
consumer financial products and services, I led the bipartisan effort 
during the Dodd-Frank Act debate to create a new Office of 
Servicemember Affairs within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 
CFPB.
  The Servicemember Housing Protection Act continues in this vein, and 
seeks to address one such ongoing challenge--helping service members 
with their housing needs so they can maintain a focus on the difficult 
task of protecting our country.
  First, this bill would make it easier for service members to claim 
deployment-related financial and credit protections by expanding what 
could be submitted to constitute ``military orders.'' Currently, 
creditors require a copy of military orders in order to trigger SCRA 
protections. However, these orders are often not cut until just before 
deployment or once the service member is already deployed, placing a 
burden on some military families as they try to work with banks to 
secure SCRA protections. Broadening the scope of what could be 
submitted to trigger protections before orders have been received would 
further ensure that service members have more time to prepare for 
deployment and promptly receive SCRA protections, including the 
interest rate limitation of six percent on qualifying mortgages.
  Second, this bill would extend foreclosure protections to surviving 
spouses. Currently, service members have a 1-year window of foreclosure 
protection following service, to provide time to reacclimate to 
civilian life and get their personal affairs back in order. Our bill 
extends this one-year window of foreclosure protection to a surviving 
spouse who is the successor in interest to the home. After suffering 
such an unspeakable loss, a military spouse should not have the 
additional burden of dealing with immediate foreclosure.
  Lastly, this bill would help facilitate the transition from off-base 
to on-base housing. Due to the shortage of on-base military housing, 
many service members temporarily find off-base housing until on-base 
housing becomes available. When a service member on a waiting list is 
given the chance to move into on-base housing, he or she is sometimes 
unable to terminate his or her off-base housing lease. Including an 
order or opportunity to move from off-base to on-base housing as 
additional grounds for lease termination would allow service members 
and their families the chance to move into the military housing 
community. Several States, including Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, 
have similar laws, and we should extend this opportunity to service 
members serving at any of our military bases.
  While the men and women of our Armed Forces are protecting our Nation 
overseas, we should do everything possible to protect their families 
and homes. I urge my colleagues to join Senators Begich, Whitehouse, 
Durbin, Tester and me, as well as the Military Officers Association of 
America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in supporting this bill, and 
taking these next steps to add protections for our military families.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. McCONNELL:
  S.J. Res. 26. A joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the 
President's exercise of authority to suspend the debt limit, as 
submitted under section 1002(b) of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2014 on October 17, 2013; placed on the calendar.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was 
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 26

         Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
     Congress disapproves of the President's exercise of authority 
     to suspend the debt limit, as exercised pursuant to the 
     certification under section 1002(b) of the Continuing 
     Appropriations Act, 2014.

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