Departments of Commerce and Justice and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND JUSTICE, AND SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (Senate - October 04, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. STABENOW. Before the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts leaves the floor, I thank him for his leadership in so many areas but none more important than advocating for health care and for the children of this country. As he has said numerous times, we are spending $330 million a day in Iraq and we have come together in a bipartisan way to say children should be receiving $19 million for health care; $19 million for children's health care in the United States for working families versus $330 million for Iraq.

I thank the Senator from Massachusetts for his voice. There is no one stronger or more passionate or more effective on this issue.

Also, before speaking further about health care, I thank our leaders on this very important appropriations bill in front of us, our Commerce-Justice-Science bill which Senator Mikulski has led so effectively, along with her ranking member, Senator Shelby. When we talk about changing the direction of the priorities of this country, this particular appropriations bill does that. Under the leadership of the chairwoman, we are investing in community policing, we are beefing up the FBI, we are dealing with drug enforcement, we are doing those things to keep our communities safe every day. I am very proud to support her efforts in changing the

direction of this country, to focus, among other things, on keeping Americans safe and investing in science and research and opportunities for jobs for the future.

HEALTH CARE REFORM

I particularly come to the floor today to speak about affordable, accessible health care--quality health care for Americans. Access to affordable health care is one of the most critical issues facing families of America, facing businesses of America. There is not a meeting I go to--whether it is with seniors, with families, with those advocating for children, with small businesses, big businesses--the No. 1 issue folks want to talk about is the skyrocketing cost of health care, health insurance premiums going up, and the difficulty in getting health insurance. They want us to come together, our Federal Government, our Congress, our President, and find a solution to something that is a national crisis.

Health care should not be a commodity. It should not be just an issue. It is a public issue, a public service, a public health issue. We are all paying the price for not having addressed this sooner.

According to a recent study by ``Families USA,'' approximately 90 million Americans have gone without health insurance for all or part of the last 2 years. These numbers are even higher than we had thought. Certainly in my home State of Michigan, where we are seeing the middle-class families across Michigan being squeezed on all sides--folks who have worked in manufacturing and continue to work in manufacturing, the industries that created the middle class of this country--they find themselves being squeezed, being asked to take less pay in order to continue to have health care for themselves and their families; more and more people falling into the category of those losing their jobs, therefore losing their health insurance. What is most amazing and important for us to understand, of the 90 million people who have not been able to get health insurance for all or part of the last 2 years, 70 percent of them are working full time.

This is a crisis and it is not acceptable in the greatest country in the world. To add insult to injury, we in America pay twice as much of our GDP for health care as any other industrialized country. We are paying twice as much, and 90 million people in the last 2 years were without health insurance for part or all of that time. This has to change. It is long past needing to change. This has to change soon.

That is why I am so pleased to be joining a bipartisan group of Senators in making a commitment to universal health coverage. I am very proud to be cosponsoring the Healthy Americans Act, which has been championed by RON WYDEN, my friend and colleague from Oregon, and his partner, Senator Bennett from Utah. It is important that we tackle this issue in a bipartisan way so both parties, so all of us, are invested in making the changes we need to make the health care system work for everybody, for all Americans--for our businesses, for our families, individuals, small towns, big cities. We have to get a handle on this. I am so appreciative of the focus and the leadership Senator Wyden is providing, in bringing all of us together to do that.

There is a sense of urgency that is needed and we are coming together to provide that sense of urgency, to say we hear it from those around the country and we are rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. This legislation is a good place for us to start, for us to develop a real solution to the health care crisis. The bill's main goal is making sure each American gets health insurance that is equal at least to what every Member of Congress gets. I would think as employees of the American people, the employer should be asking for nothing less.

It creates a strong insurance regulatory system that protects families against discrimination based on preexisting conditions. This is absolutely critical. If we are talking about a universal system that is privately administered, then you cannot have insurance companies cherry picking, covering only certain people, saying if you have some kind of a preexisting condition, you cannot get insurance. That is not going to work and this bill changes that.

It is critical that there be accountability and oversight and the regulation that is needed to make sure everyone can afford to get the insurance they need for themselves and their families. This is the goal all of us as Members of the Senate should be behind. I do understand this is a work in progress. I come to this bill with important improvements that I believe need to be done in order for me to ultimately support a final bill. As the process moves forward, it is important that certain critical improvements be made, such as people who currently have good insurance plans and want to keep them should be able to do so. We should not do anything to undermine employer-sponsored health insurance for those who choose to keep it.

Second, and this is so important, we are seeing with so many people in Michigan now, and others in the auto industry, any voluntary employee benefit association, or so-called VEBA, that results from a collective bargaining agreement must get the same tax treatment they do under current law.

Three, I believe there should be a choice of a public plan for health insurance, such as Medicare, to compete with private sector plans. When we are talking about a choice of private plans or keeping what you have, we should also add to that a public choice, so people have real competition and real choice. That is something I am advocating for.

I mentioned earlier that we need to make sure whatever is done involves the best possible consumer protections; that whatever we are doing in terms of private sector insurance, they should need to take allcomers. They should not be able to pick and choose who gets insurance based on preexisting conditions. There are other important regulatory mechanisms that need to be in place.

Finally, it is critical that there be a real safety net for low-income families who are now on Medicaid or similar programs. I strongly believe we cannot keep the status quo when it comes to health care. We cannot do it anymore. We cannot do it. It is affecting every part of our economy.

Rapidly growing health care costs are literally costing us jobs in America. When we look at good-paying manufacturing jobs in this country, I invite you to come to Michigan and talk to people who have worked hard all their lives, who have built a good life for their family, who are now, because of health care costs, losing their jobs.

American businesses are at a serious disadvantage in competing with businesses around the world that do not have to pay the same costs for health care. Our workers are being asked to take pay cuts in order to keep their coverage. Too many Americans find themselves without basic health insurance in the greatest country in the world. Shame on us. It is time to get this right.

It is past time for every American to have access to the health care they need and deserve. Let me say as part of that, we have shown what we can do as a Senate, in a bipartisan way, when we come together and we have a focus on the goal of covering children and working families with health insurance.

Despite the President's veto, which is, to me, unexplainable, given the overwhelming need and support of American families, and even from business and labor, and health care providers coming together on a bipartisan basis here, it is mind boggling to me that the President would veto that bill. We have shown what we can do together.

I am so pleased to be working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, as well as with Senator Wyden, certainly Senator Bennett, but I want to particularly say I am proud to be coming to this process and this legislation at the same time as my good friend, Senator CHUCK GRASSLEY, who has shown such courage. He and Senator Hatch are heroes in terms of advocating for children's health care and showing the courage to stand up to their President. It is not an easy thing to do. But to stand up and tell the truth, to debunk what has been said as inaccurate, it is something that truly everyone in this Chamber and around the country respects and admires.

Coming to this legislation with Senator Grassley is also something that is important to me. I believe in addition to making sure that 10 million children have health insurance they need, it is time to then take the next step--universal health care for every person in America. I believe health care should be a right in the United States of America, not a privilege.

It is time to get this done. I am hopeful this legislation will serve as a starting point for Democrats and Republicans to accomplish what the vast majority of Americans want: to be able to afford good health insurance for themselves and their families.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source