WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2614, CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2000 -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 28, 2000)

[Page: E2004]
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SPEECH OF HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

OF WISCONSIN IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, October 26, 2000

Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition of H.R. 2614. I am deeply disturbed that this legislation was assembled by the Republican leadership without consultation with either the President or the Democrats in Congress. It is a partisan package of tax breaks for a variety of special interests. It ignores the needs of middle-class families and does not appropriately deal with the struggles of rural and teaching hospitals under the Medicare program.

This legislation does not contain the bipartisan school construction tax credit bond provision that would provide $25 billion in interest-free school construction bonds to help our crumbling schools. Instead it provides far less help to school districts, while giving the greatest tax cuts to wealthy bondholders, not average taxpayers.

This bill also fails to address the marriage penalty and reform of the estate tax to protect small businesses and family farms. Both are tax cut priorities around which there is broad bipartisan agreement.

H.R. 2614 does not provide an adequate tax solution for people who lack health insurance. Instead, it offers a sham deduction that could lead to many families paying more for the health insurance that they already have. According to the Joint Tax Committee, the deduction for buying health insurance will only succeed in helping about 5 percent of the 43 million uninsured purchase health insurance. Furthermore, this provision could lead employers to either cut back their contribution to health insurance premiums or drop coverage completely for many employees. In short, this tax deduction is very costly at $10 billion per year, yet has very little positive impact.

While this bill would increase the minimum wage 50 cents in 2001 and another 50 cents in 2002, all other provisions to help workers by altering overtime and other protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act have been dropped. Instead, the bill contains numerous small business and special interest tax breaks--such as $25 billion for an increase in the business meals deduction, repeal of 4.3 cents of the diesel fuel excise tax for railroads at a cost of $1.58 billion and a $250 million tax break for timber companies.

Instead of providing relief for those health care providers who really suffered harm from the 1997 Balanced Budget cuts this legislation would pass along 41 percent of the increase in Medicare spending to HMOs. This money could otherwise be directed toward beneficiary and health care providers needs. There is not even a guarantee that HMOs will stay in the communities they now serve. Each dollar that goes to the HMO industry in this bill is a dollar that won't go to improve coverage for a Medicare beneficiary or go to help a rural hospital remain open.

I cannot support this inappropriate use of increased Medicare dollars. I support meaningful assistance to health care providers and targeted managed care payment increases to low-reimbursement counties, like many in Wisconsin, in exchange for their commitment to remain in the communities they serve for at least three years and not abandon seniors like so many have.

This Congress has failed to pass any meaningful health reform, such as the Patients' Bill of Rights or a Medicare prescription drug benefit, and instead has chosen to provide tax breaks for special interests and millions of dollars in Medicare spending to HMOs. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.
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