Senate Proceeding on Jun 10th, 2009 :: 7:00:15 to 7:13:55
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7:00:05 to 7:00:25( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: quorum call: quorum call: senator from mr. roberts: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed. .the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. roberts: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent i may proceed for about 12 or 13 minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without

7:00:15 to 7:13:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pat Roberts

7:00:26 to 7:00:46( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: objection, so ordered. mr. roberts: i thank the president. mr. president, i rise today to talk about health care reform. what else, in regard to the interest of the american people and what we are doing here. as the republican leader, senator

7:00:47 to 7:01:07( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: out, the disiefe desire for health care reform on both sides of the aisle unites this chamber across both political and geographic boundaries. our system produces some of the best care in the world and it is the driver of a substantial share of the medical innovations that wiped out diseases,

7:01:08 to 7:01:29( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: comfort and extended our time on this earth. however, this system is not truly accessible to everybody. that's the problem, and that's what this entire debate boils down to. your ability to have access to a doctor, to go see the doctor of your choice when you need to see that doctor.

7:01:30 to 7:01:50( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: solving his this problem of access is exceedingly complicated partly because it evidences itself in so many diverseays all across the country. so many different geographical areas. for example, in our rural areas in kansas, we are struggling with attracting and retaining doctors and keeping the doors

7:01:51 to 7:02:11( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: open to our hospitals, to our pharmacies and clinics. we talk about recruiting athletes, the business of recruing doctors and health care professionals is equally as competitive. in urban areas like kansas city and wichita, our providers face very different challenges that

7:02:12 to 7:02:32( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: are just as daunting and which threaten patients' ability to access health care. on top of that, although some 250 million americans have health insurance, somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 to 47 million, depending on who you're counting and who's talking, they do not.

7:02:33 to 7:02:54( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and that makes accessing health care expensive and very challenging for them. in addition, the government-run medicare program which is on the verge of bankruptcy, by the way, does not pay doctors and pharmacists and ambulance drivers and nurse clinicians -- pardon me -- clinical lab folks

7:02:55 to 7:03:15( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and home health care providers, almost every health care provider that you can name. they don't pay them enough to cover their costs unless these providers have a nonmedicare patient population from which to recoup their losses, they cannot stay in business and their patients lose out de facto rationing of health care. now, as a member of both the

7:03:16 to 7:03:36( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: finance and health committees and the cochair of the senate rural health care caucus, i am able to participate and have been participating along with staff in this complex and very difficult effort. we must reform our health care system into one that guarantees meaningful access for all

7:03:37 to 7:04:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: americans and guarantees that patient-doctor relationship. however, this eort to date has been a tale of rhetoric versus that of reality. the promise of cooperation contrasted with the unfortunate real fact of parsonship, something i do not like to say. let me explain.

7:04:01 to 7:04:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: president obama, who ran as a postpartisan candidate, has made many emphasizing for this desire for this process to be partisan just met with some members of our leadership and obviously the leadership on the other side of the aisle as of today. others in the senate have declared their goal to be a bill that attracts upwards of 70 votes. is that possible? i would hope so.

7:04:22 to 7:04:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: could that would be a tremendous victory for the senat united states and the american people. but the reality is something really very different. today in the "lp" committee -- health, education, labor and pensions, the "help" committee -- we have begun the

7:04:43 to 7:05:03( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: process of walking through a 615-page bill that we are scheduled to mark up next tuesday. this bill does not have one single republican contribution as far as i can tell. moreover, it is incomplete with many details missing. for example, the small detail of how much it will cost. there's no cost estimate to this

7:05:04 to 7:05:24( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: bill. 615 pages just going through it as of today, going to try to mark it up next tuesday. come on now, that's not the way we should be doing business. the finance committee has conducted process so far, and i'd like to thank chairman baucus, ranking

7:05:25 to 7:05:45( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: member grassley, their staffs for their efforts, but we still have not seen a detailed proposal or cost estimates, and we are being pushed to mark something up in the next few weeks as well. i want everyone to understand why process health care reform is important, to be sure.

7:05:46 to 7:06:07( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: getting things done obviously that is important. but so is process. it's not because i do not want health care reform or any member in this body, i don't think, is in a position to say that they do not want health care reform. i want every single kansan, every single american to be able to see the doctor of their choice when they want to, especially when they have to.

7:06:08 to 7:06:28( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and i speak today because this health care reform bill will likely involve one of the biggest, most important votes that i or any one of my colleagues cast during the time that we are privileged to serve in the senate of the united states. this health care reform bill will affect the lives of every single american. it will reform a system that

7:06:29 to 7:06:51( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: drives over 16 million american jobs. it will have consequence for medical science and innovation that improves the lives of not only those of us in this great country but all across the world. when people are really sick, they come to the united states. and it will spend upwards of $2 trillion -- $2 trillion -- that our children and grandchildren

7:06:52 to 7:07:12( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: will have to someday repay. if we are going to do this, we cannot afford to get it wrong. for this reason, i letter just about a behalf of all my republican colleagues on the senate finance committee, on the "help" commtee, and i asked the

7:07:13 to 7:07:34( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: chairman of those respective committees, the distinguished chairman, senator dodd, who is now serving inenator kennedy's absence to give this process the time and the careful consideration that it deserves. that was the message of the letter: give the very careful consideration that this vital issue does deserve.

7:07:35 to 7:07:56( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: it seems to me that our requests have been extremely reasonable. first, please provide us with your detailed plan with enough time for us to read it, to understand it and get feedback from our constituents back home to people that the bill will affect. we've done this in the finance committee. goodness knows, i don't know how

7:07:57 to 7:08:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: many panels we have had, how many walk-throughs, how many slide presentations. boy, that's tough in the afternoon to turn lights off with senators trying to pay attention. and fact after fact after fact and suggestion after suggestion after suggestion and policy objective after policy objective

7:08:22 to 7:08:43( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: on each day as we go legislative smock, if you will, to try to get there from here. our requests, again, i think -- i want to say it again, first, we should provide -- you should provide us with your detailed plan with enough time to read it, understand it, get fee from our constituents back home,

7:08:44 to 7:09:04( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: the reason i said that twice is that every day we had one of these slide shows, every day we had a power point, every got more information, my office would send it back to the providers of health care in kansas, much in the same fashion as many members of the committee would send it to their people and say, hey, is this going to work? these are the people who

7:09:05 to 7:09:25( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: actually do provide the health care. now, i know the argument that you can say, well, wait a minute, we need to cut out fraud, waste, and abuse. and we need to be much more cost-conscious. and we need better practices in regards to better medical practices. either suggest to or to

7:09:26 to 7:09:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: incentivize or to mandate that the health care providers do. but in the person is sick, they're going to have to see a docto and they're going to have to see a nurse and they're going to hav some health care provider. so in the end result, we better at least be doing something that the providers say, yes, this makes common sense or you're going to see either one of two things.

7:09:48 to 7:10:08( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: you're going to see revolt. and they say, no, we're not go or else you're going to see a continuation and rationing where providers say, no, i'm not going to take part anymore in the medicare program because i'm not getting reimbursed up to cost. and in that regard, then, you see rationing. you can have the program in the world, the best

7:10:09 to 7:10:30( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: governme it can guarantee all swords of things. but if you can't provide a doctor that really provides it or a home health care provider that will provide that or any provider that will provide that, well, where are you? second, i'd like the cost estimates from the congressional budget office and the joint tax committee.

7:10:31 to 7:10:52( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: just let us know how much all of this is going to cost. that's extremely important. we're hearing anything, $1 trillion to $2 trillion. then lastly, how will it be paid for? i know we're into an eraow where basically we have the printing presses rolling. we have an economic recovery act and we have we have the stimulus, we had the omnibus.

7:10:53 to 7:11:13( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: we had the president's and we had tarp. and we had four different other acronyms under tarp. and we didn't worry too much about the pay fors and who was going to pay for it. we let the printing be economic armageddon. could we have done it better? i think so. but that's yesterday's decision.

7:11:14 to 7:11:34( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: so we should identify how this will be paid for or are going to pay for it? are we simply going to go ahead? there has been some discussion about some aspects of it that you would not pay for. there are other aspects that we need to go into because they involve probable tax increases. and now is not the time to be

7:11:35 to 7:11:55( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: increasing taxes especially on the small business despite the need for health car reform. now, i think asking for these details is absolutely fair. i think it's necessary under the circumstances. in fact, i would be ignoringy responsibilities to my constituents in kansas if i did not demand these conditions be

7:11:56 to 7:12:19( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: met. every single republican member of the finance committee and health committees signed the letter. every single one expressed the colleagues to achieve bipartisan health care reform. that brings me back to today's "help" committee walking through

7:12:20 to 7:12:41( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: 615 pages of an incomplete draft, the rushed health and finance markup schedule tuesday and the arbitrary floor debate headlines that we hear from leadership. and i just hope that our letter will slow this hurried dash to an imaginary finish line, slow it down. slow it

7:12:42 to 7:13:02( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: i know it's extremely important that we pass good health care reform legislation. it is also extremely important to prevent bad legislation from passing and america saddled it w it for about 20, 25 years. i often wish at the end of every

7:13:03 to 7:13:23( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: committee room, if in fact the bill gets to committee, the committee of jurisdiction and we could hold appropriate hearings, we would hold a sign which says "do no harm." right below it, perhaps we could say whoa until everybody can slow down and agree with regard to process and cost and specifics of the bill and trying to work together to get a good

7:13:24 to 7:13:44( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: product. there's no reason why the senate shld rush through a bill that has this much at stake. so time out, mr. president. time out. time. slow down. give us the details. that's all we're asking for. the people of this great nation deserve nothing less.

7:13:45 to 7:13:52( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: let's get health care let's get it right. thank you, mr. pre