Media Stakeout Following Republican Policy Luncheon
Copyright 2004 The Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
September 14, 2004 Tuesday
HEADLINE: MEDIA STAKEOUT WITH SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA); AND SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA); AND SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME); AND SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX) FOLLOWING SENATE REPUBLICAN POLICY LUNCHEON
LOCATION: OHIO CLOCK CORRIDOR, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
BODY:
SEN. SANTORUM: Good afternoon, everybody. Here we're going to be talking about some of the work that we've been doing on health care and what we have planned for the future, and then Senator Collins is here to give us an update on intelligence reform and the progress that we hope to make before we leave here.
On the issue of health care, as you know, the Finance Committee had a hearing today, which Chairman Grassley will report to us on, with respect to the Medicare prescription drug card and the future of that program. And that is one of the great accomplishments of this session of the Congress, that we have delivered for the American people and for seniors on this important program, and we continue as a Congress to monitor that. As I said, Chairman Grassley will talk about that.
The other issue that is vitally important, and I'm hearing it on the campaign trail, is the issue of the uninsured, the issue of the rising cost of health insurance. And the work that we have done with health savings accounts, the work that we'd like to do with the issue of medical liability reform, and association health plans that the president is proposing, all of those things are in the works and we're working on and obviously are very important talking points. Contrast that with Senator Kerry's $1.5 trillion program that will obviously blow the deficit higher than we ever could anticipate, or contrast that with a huge tax increase that would be needed to pay for that. So I think we've got a responsible program that we've been advocating both in Medicare and private sector, and contrast that with the Kerry plan, which of course is irresponsible.
And I'd just make one final point. In 20 years in the United States Senate, Senator Kerry has never put forward any-or led the charge in any health care reform issue, has not either put it forward or pushed it or obviously accomplished it. And I find it another remarkable instance where Senator Kerry now talks up his program on the campaign trail, but has failed to deliver in 20 years in the United States Senate.
Chairman Grassley.
SEN. GRASSLEY: Yes.
Four and three-tenths million seniors and disabled people are benefiting from the discount card so that they're able to get drugs much more cheaply than they otherwise would as a direct result of the legislation that the president passed-we passed and the president signed last December. One million seniors are also benefiting even more so from the $600 help that they're getting from the Medicare fund to buy prescription drugs; $600 this year, $600 next year. In addition to what's coming from the taxpayers to help seniors buy drugs, there's-many companies are going to continue the help that comes from that $600 out of their own resources by having inexpensive drugs for seniors even after the $600 is used up.
I am very concerned, though, as our hearing today shows, that there's a lot of misinformation coming out on the part of the Democrats about the value of the discount card, because the fact is that seniors are getting drugs much more inexpensively now as a result of this legislation. So I want seniors to look at this legislation, those who haven't signed up, and benefit from it. And I would also like to have the Democrats follow some advice from their very own people, some people who oppose the legislation, but they said that the benefits of the legislation ought to be taken advantage of by everybody, whether you like the bill or not. And those Democrats and those organizations that maybe didn't like the bill totally are helping to sell that bill, because it is very beneficial.
SEN. HUTCHISON: We are in a liability crisis in this country, and it is affecting our health care throughout our system. We have tried repeatedly to bring up medical malpractice reform in the United States Senate, and repeatedly we cannot get the Democrats to vote with us to go forward on any kind of plan. We went forward with medical liability reform, and we lost that, and we narrowed it down to just OB-GYN and emergency physicians-emergency room physicians, and we couldn't get them to help us with that either.
Today in Texas 68 percent of the OB-GYNs have either retired, relocated or pared down their service, including not delivering babies, because of the medical liability crisis. We have 254 counties in Texas. One hundred and one counties do not have an OB-GYN in that county. In the valley in south Texas, the liability premiums are running up to $100,000 a year. And so our doctors are retiring.
So Republicans are committed to liability reform. We would like to have the Democrats cooperate with us, but so far we have been able to get no cooperation. And OB-GYN doctors are retiring every day when they still have 10 and 15 years left in their practices, but they just can't afford the liability premiums.
SEN. SANTORUM: Okay. On intelligence reform, Senator Collins.
SEN. COLLINS: Another top priority for the Republicans is to enact intelligence reform before we adjourn. In my judgment, there's no more important piece of legislation for us to complete action on than the recommendations of the 9/11 commission to strengthen our intelligence community.
We've been working very closely with the White House. The Governmental Affairs Committee has completed eight hearings and has heard from a wide array of experts in this area.
Joe Lieberman and I are very close to reaching an agreement on the outlines of an intelligence reform bill. And we're on track to mark up a bill next week as requested by the Senate leadership.
Q Senator Grassley -- (off mike) --
SEN. GRASSLEY: Yeah? On Medicare, I hope.
Q On drug reimportation, the Democrats are calling for a vote on-I know that you criticized Senator Frist before for stalling on the bill. Are you going to be working with the Democrats to bring a vote --
SEN. GRASSLEY: No, I will not be working with the Democrats to bring a vote on the bill.
Q Senator Grassley, what is holding back completion of the corporate tax bill right now?
SEN. GRASSLEY: Concern on the part of the House of Representatives before they appoint conferees, the extent to which we will get the bill out of conference to finality. And the reason they're concerned about that is because they don't want to spend all their time on the floor of the United States House of Representatives doing motions to instruct. And I have sympathy toward that. And we're trying to work a process where we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. But you know, we're just starting discussion on process, nothing on substance.
Q Senator Grassley, I was just wondering-you're in the process of doing a new process bill, I hear. What is the status of that process --
SEN. GRASSLEY: What's your question?
Q I understand that you're in the middle of working out a new process bill to ensure that the -- (inaudible) -- bill is considered before the November election. What's the status of that? What makes it different?
SEN. GRASSLEY: Well, just as I said to her, we're having some discussion about process, nothing on substance, in order to show the leadership of the House that we will be able to produce a bill. And that's all we're discussing at this point.
Q Chairman Grassley --
Q On the (middle class ?) tax cut, is that also a part of this discussion on process? Do you still expect that that could move next week?
SEN. GRASSLEY: I don't have an answer for you.
Q Senator Grassley, on Medicare, what can be done about the increase in premiums, the 17.5 percent increase?
SEN. GRASSLEY: Well, I guess I should ask a question in return, which is an answer to your question, that the formula that has been in place for the annual increase in the Part B premium has been on the books unchanged for a very long period of time, and I've never heard anybody suggest-this year, last year or the year before-and there's been increases every year-that that formula should be changed. Because there's been an understanding that the division of the citizen paying 25 percent and the taxpayers of America paying the other 75 percent was a fair division between the premium.
And in fact, just the opposite. We've had Democratic candidates for the highest office of the land vote for those formulas, for what they are right now. And we've also, in recent debate last year on the prescription drug bill, we had Democratic candidates for higher office write me letters urging increases in payments to providers and to HMOs to make sure that seniors had access to good quality services of doctors, et cetera. And when you increase payments to doctors and other payments, you know, the cost of medicine goes up. And when the cost of medicine goes up, the cost of insurance goes up.
So I think it's very unfair for people who have asked us to increase payments to physicians and to other organizations, and have not suggested that the 75-25 division is bad, to now somehow come along and say something's got to be done; something's got to be done.
I just don't understand it. And to me it's intellectual dishonest or else political demagoguery.
Q I understand your point. But do you regret the additional payments to the HMOs under the Medicare --
SEN. GRASSLEY: I would regret it if I didn't have doctors, whether it's in downtown New York City or rural Iowa, that seniors can go to.
And we have situations demonstrated to us all over the United States where we had doctors refusing to take any more Medicare people. In some places, it's a critical situation. And it won't be critical now, because of the payments that were made to doctors.
SEN. SANTORUM (?): Thank you.
Q Senator Collins, how far off are you in the process of developing legislation to propose --
SEN. COLLINS: We're very far. Senator Lieberman and I have had several discussions. We're meeting again this afternoon. And I am confident that we're going to be able to reach an agreement on a bipartisan bill. The markup has been scheduled for next Tuesday. I expect that it'll be-it'll take a few days to complete action on the bill. We're consulting with other committee members as we put the final touches-but we're very close to reaching an agreement. There's still a few remaining issues.
SEN. SANTORUM (?): Thank you all very much.
SEN. COLLINS: Thank you.