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Lott

[Page: S2413]  GPO's PDF

   Lugar

   Mack

   McConnell

   Murkowski

   Nickles

   Roberts

   Roth

   Santorum

   Sessions

   Shelby

   Smith (NH)

   Smith (OR)

   Specter

   Stevens

   Thomas

   Thompson

   Thurmond

   Voinovich

   Warner

   Akaka

   Baucus

   Bayh

   Biden

   Bingaman

   Boxer

   Breaux

   Bryan

   Byrd

   Chafee, L.

   Cleland

   Collins

   Conrad

   Daschle

   Dodd

   Dorgan

   Durbin

   Edwards

   Feingold

   Feinstein

   Graham

   Harkin

   Hollings

   Inouye

   Jeffords

   Johnson

   Kennedy

   Kerrey

   Kerry

   Kohl

   Landrieu

   Lautenberg

   Leahy

   Levin

   Lieberman

   Lincoln

   Mikulski

   Moynihan

   Murray

   Reed

   Reid

   Robb

   Rockefeller

   Sarbanes

   Schumer

   Snowe

   Torricelli

   Wellstone

   Wyden

   Bennett

   McCain

   The motion was rejected.

   Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, a record 44 million Americans were uninsured last year, and that shameful nu mber grows relentlessly by a million more each year. No man, woman, or child in America should have the quality of their health measured by the quantity of the ir wealth. The United States remains isolated as the only industrial nation in the world, except South Africa, that doesn't guarantee health insurance to its citizens. Our failure to do so is a national disgrace.

   A budget is a statement of principles and priorities. This budget states that lavish tax breaks for the wealthy are more important than providing families with health insurance. The amendment I am o ffering with Senator LAUTENBERG and Senator ROCKEFELLER is a significant step toward that goal. It reduces the tax breaks for the wealthy by $11 billion over five years, and the savings are used to provide health insurance to the parents of chi ldren covered by Medicaid and CHIP. It is supported by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Center on Disa bility and Health, Families USA, the National Ass ociation of Community Health Centers, the National Associati on of Public Hospitals & Health Systems, the National Council o f Senior Citizens, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and the Service Employees International Union, as well as thirteen other organizations. I ask unanimous consent that their letter of support be printed in the RECORD following my remarks.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

   [See exhibit 1.]

   We have budget surpluses as far as the eye can see. We have a strong and growing economy. Yet the divide between those who have and those who have not is growing at an alarming pace. Millions of Americans are left out and left behind under the Republican budget plan. Alarming rates of hunger, homelessness and lack of health care are indicators that our ec onomy is healthy, but our society is not. If we can't take steps to address these challenges now, when will we ever do it?

   Our colleagues argue that their budget accommodates some so-called ``health'' tax breaks. But the health-orie nted tax proposals in the R epublican budget are a raw deal for the American people. These proposals do very little to expand coverage among the uninsured. Instead, they propose to squan der tens of billions of dollars on proposals that would largely give new subsidies to those who already have insurance.

   I am all in favor of making insurance more affordable. After all, unfair rating practices and price gouging by insurance companies is part of the problem. However, the Republican tax subsidies are not targeted to those without health insurance, and they are too low to be of any real assistance to the millions of uninsured Americans who are uninsured bec ause they can't afford the h igh cost of adequate coverage.

   An overwhelming majority of the uninsured are working men or women, or fa mily members of workers. Of these workers, the vast majority are members of families with at least one person working full-time.

   Most uninsured workers are uninsured because t heir employer either d oes not offer coverage, or because they are not eligible for the coverage if it is offered. Seventy percent of uninsured workers are in firms where no c overage is offered. Eighteen percent are in firms that offer coverage, but they are not eligible for it, usually because they are part-time workers or have not worked in the firm long enough to qualify for coverage. Only 12 percent of uninsured workers are offered coverage an d decline.

   Most of the uninsured have low or moderate incomes. T hirty-seven percent are at or below the federal poverty level. Twenty-eight percent have incomes between 100 and 200 percent of poverty. Fifteen percent have incomes between 200 and 300 percent of poverty. Only one in five have incomes above 300 percent of poverty.

   While good coverage for all Americans may not be feasible at this time, we can and must do more to close the current health insurance gap.

    It is a national scandal that lack of insurance coverage is the seventh leading--and most preventable--cause of death in America today. Numerous studies indicate that lack of insurance leads to second-class health care or no health care at all. Those without insu rance are less likely to get the care they need to stay healthy and productive. A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that angina patients with insurance are more than twice as likely as uninsured patients to receive needed byp ass surgery. Across the nation, more than 32,000 patients are going without needed heart surgery because of their lack of insurance.

   The numbers are equally dramatic when it comes to cancer. Early detection and treatment of cancer often makes the difference between life and death. Uninsured patients are two and a half tim es more likely not to receive an early diagnosis of melanoma and one and a half times more likely not to benefit from early detection of breast cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer. Tragically, the new and promising treatments resulting from our national investment in the NIH are out of reach for millions of uninsured Americans.

  &nbs p;In 1997, we took a major step toward guaranteeing health insurance to millions of childr en in low-income working families whose earnings are above the cut-off for Medicaid. Every state is now participating in the children's health insurance plan, and most states have plans to increase coverage under these programs again this year.

   As of January, two million children had been enrolled in the program, and many other children had signed up for Medicaid as a result of the outreach efforts. Soon, more than three-quarters of all uninsured children in the nation will be eligible for assistance through either CHIP or Medicaid.

   An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 57 percent of uninsured children had an unmet major med ical need before enactment of CHIP. But just one year after receiving coverage, only 16 percent of these same children had an unmet medical need.

   The lesson is clear. We have the resources. We have good programs. We must do all we can to increase their effectiveness.

   Clearly, the states and the federal government have more to do. Fewer than a quarter of post-welfare jobs offer health insurance as a benefit--and eve n when it is offered, too few companies make it available for dependents.

   The overwhelming majority of uninsured low-wage parents are struggling to support their families. Too often, there is too little left to pay for health care. Parents who work hard, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, should be eligible for assistance to buy the health insurance they need to protect their families. Our message to them today is that help with health care is on the way.

 & nbsp; Currently, Medicaid is generally available only to single-parent families. Our proposal repeals this ``health marriage tax,'' a serious penal ty for low-wage two-parent families, comparable to the ``marriage penalty'' in the tax code.

   This proposal also rewards work. Most parents in families with an employed person are not eligible for Medicaid, while families headed by non-workers are eligible if their income is low enough.

   Coverage for parents also means that coverage for their children is more likely too. Parents are much more

[Page: S2414]  GPO's PDF

   This step alone will give up to six and a half million more Americans the coverage they need and deserve. Our goal should be to enact this coverage before the end of this year. Our amendment lays the ground work for this coverage by including this important idea in the Budget Resolution. I urge my colleagues to support it.

   Exhibit 1

   April 6, 2000.
Sen. EDWARD KENNEDY,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Health Office, Hart Senate Office Buil ding, Washington, DC.

   DEAR SENATOR KENNEDY: The undersigned organizations support your efforts to reduce the size of the tax cut in order to provide funds for health coverage for low-wage working f amilies.

   Now that states are implementing the State Child Health Insurance Program, we are faced with the glaring problem of these children's parents going without health coverage. The numbers of uninsu red Americans continue to grow; yet in 32 states, a parent working full-time at the minimum wage is considered too well off to qualify for Medicaid.

   In addition, low-wage working parents are less likely to be offered health benefits than higher-wage worke rs. Of employees earning $15 or more per hour, 93 percent are offered health benefits by their employer; by contrast, only 43 percent of employees earning $7 or less per hour are offered such coverage. Even when low-wage workers are offered coverage, the required average contribution--$130 a month--is considerably higher than the $94 a month the average higher-wage worker is required to contribute.

   Your amendment will help millions of low-wage families gain access to health coverage that is currently out of their reach. We commend your efforts to help America's uninsured families.

    Sincerely,
AIDS Action; Alpha 1; American Association on Mental Retardation; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; American Nurses Association; American Public Health Association; Association of Jew ish Aging Services; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Brain Injury Association; Center on Disability and Health; Families USA; National Associa tion of Community Health Centers; National Association o f People with AIDS.
National Association of Public Hosptials & Health Systems; National Association o f Social Workers; National Council of Senior Citizens; National Hispanic Council on Aging; National Partnership for Women & Families; Neighbor to Neighbor; NETWORK A Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Paralyzed Veterans of America; Public Citizen's Congress Watch; Service Employees International Union.

   Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?

   There is a sufficient second.

   The yeas and nays were ordered.

   Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

   The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

   Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2942. The yeas and nays have been ordered.

   The clerk will call the roll.

   The legislative clerk called the roll.

   Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Utah (Mr. BENNETT) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. MCCAIN) are necessarily absent.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?

   The result was announced--yeas 49, nays 49, as follows:

   Akaka

   Baucus

   Bayh

   Biden

   Bingaman

   Boxer

   Breaux

   Bryan

   Byrd

   Chafee, L.

   Cleland

   Collins

   Conrad

   Daschle

   Dodd

   Dorgan

   Durbin

   Edwards

   Feingold

   Feinstein

   Graham

   Harkin

   Hollings

   Inouye

   Jeffords

   Johnson

   Kennedy

   Kerrey

   Kerry

   Kohl

   Landrieu

   Lautenberg

   Leahy

   Levin

   Lieberman

   Lincoln

   Mikulski

   Moynihan

   Murray

   Reed

   Reid

   Robb

   Rockefeller

   Sarbanes

   Schumer

   Snowe

   Torricelli

   Wellstone

   Wyden

   Abraham

   Allard

   Ashcroft

   Bond

   Brownback

   Bunning

   Burns

   Campbell

   Cochran

   Coverdell

   Craig

   Crapo

   DeWine

   Domenici

   Enzi

   Fitzgerald

   Frist

   Gorton

   Gramm

   Grams

   Grassley

   Gregg

   Hagel

   Hatch

   Helms

   Hutchinson

   Hutchison

   Inhofe

   Kyl

   Lott

   Lugar

   Mack

   McConnell

   Murkowski

   Nickles

   Roberts

   Roth

   Santorum

   Sessions

   Shelby

   Smith (NH)

   Smith (OR)

   Specter

   Stevens

   Thomas

   Thompson

   Thurmond

   Voinovich

   Warner

   Bennett

   McCain

   The amendment (No. 2962) was rejected.

   Mr. DOMENICI. I move to reconsider the vote.

   Mr. GRAMM. I move to lay that motion on the table.

   The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

   AMENDMENT NO. 2911

   Mr. REID. Mr. President, the next amendment in order is the Boxer amendment No. 2911.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by title.

   The legislative clerk read as follows:

   The Senator from California [Mrs. BOXER] proposes an amendment numbered 2911.

    At the end of title III, insert the following:

   SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    (a) FINDINGS.--The Senate makes the following findings:

    (1) The demand for after school education is very high, with more than 1,000,000 students waiting to get into such programs.

    (2) After school programs improve educational achievement and have widespread support, with over 90 percent of the American people supporting such programs.

    (3) 450 of the Nation's leading police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecutors, along with the presidents of the Fraternal Order of Police, and the International Union of Police Associations, support government funding of after school programs.

    (4) Many of our Nation's governors endorse increasing the number of after school programs through a Federal and State partnership.

    (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.--It is the sense of the Senate that this resolution assumes that the President's level of funding for after school programs in fiscal year 2001 will be provided, which will accommodate the current need for after school programs.

   Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this Senate should be very proud because in the last few years with our action and that of the administration, we have accommodated a million kids into afterschool programs. That is the good news.

   The bad news is that 1 million kids are waiting in line. This sense of the Senate simply says we should take action to accommodate those next million children.

   I understand we are going to have this accepted. I am very pleased about that.

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