Senate Proceeding 06-16-09 on Jun 16th, 2009 :: 0:17:50 to 0:32:20
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0:17:50 to 0:32:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pat Roberts

0:17:51 to 0:18:13( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: quorum call: mr. roberts: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. roberts: mr. p ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, mr. roberts: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i may proceed for approximately 16 minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. roberts: i distinguished acting presiding

0:18:14 to 0:18:35( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: officer. mr. president, last week i came to the senate floor to talk about the flawed process of our current attempts to reform the health care syst country and the urgent need to fix those flaws. those efforts included a letter,

0:18:36 to 0:18:57( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: my letter, which every republican member of the finance and the "help" committee -- health, education, labor and pensions -- signed requesting some very reasonable steps to be taken by chairman kennedy and senator dodd, who is standing in for our friend and colleague, senator kennedy. and we asked the chairman to

0:18:58 to 0:19:19( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: release the details of their plans to reform health care. we asked them to do so in a timely manner to allow us time to read and understand the policies and to get reactions from our constituents, ie. the people who will benefit or won't benefit, not the mention the providers of health care. we asked them to give us the

0:19:20 to 0:19:41( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: estimates of how much their plans would cost and how it would impact and finally, we asked them to identify how they intended to pay for these plans. it was my sincere hope that by receiving this information, we could better participate in the quest to ensure that every

0:19:42 to 0:20:02( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: american -- eve has meaningful access to health care, not to mention patient choice. well, unfortunately the health care reform process has been so corrupted by artificial time lines and a hurry-up and a

0:20:03 to 0:20:28( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: writing hell for leather mentality, it really to destroy a health care system that has served most americans very the american health care system represents one-sixth of our economy, which has been repeated many times on this senate floor, offers health insurance coverage to 250 million americans and employs over 16 million people.

0:20:29 to 0:20:49( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: it leads the world in medical innovations that saves lives inside as well as far outside of our borders. so this actually is an international health care bil president obama has recognized that most people are happy with their health care. obviously they would like some

0:20:50 to 0:21:11( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: changes, some reforms, but he has repeatedly assured them that if you like what you have, you can keep it. well, because changes system have the potential to impact every single american citizen and citizens of other nations, it seems to me we must ensure that we protect the best of its features when we consider changes to shore up its deficiencies.

0:21:12 to 0:21:33( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: careful consideration is required. that is why we ask for more details and that is wh we ask for more time. to date, our information have not been met and i think i am starting to understand why. yesterday afternoon congressional budget office, the

0:21:34 to 0:21:54( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: c.b.o., released its fir preliminary analysis of the bill that we are scheduled to begin marking up in the "help" committee tomorrow. now, let me repeat this. yesterday afternoon, less than 24 hours -- 24 hours. if you're a "help" committee staffer use, looking at your watch and you're wondering how's come you don't have more time --

0:21:55 to 0:22:17( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: the congssional budget office released its first preliminary analysis of the bill that we are scheduled to begin marking up tomorrow. i said in my previous speech, maybe we need a process czar, a fair play czar around here. we've got 25 czars administration. maybe we need a czar around here to at least be fair, give us more time, give us more consideration, let us know what

0:22:18 to 0:22:39( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: we're going to be voting on. so before i talk about the results of the c.b.o.'s analysis of the i need to point out that this analysis is it is incomplete because despite our persistent requests for more information from our democratic colleagues and friends, one day before the markup of possibly the most important health care

0:22:40 to 0:23:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: bill ever to cross the senate floor, they have not released the complete legislation. in fact, even when the "help" committee begins our markup tomorrow, we will not have a complete picture of what we are marking up. the most contentious components of the bill will not be released until sometime on thursday

0:23:01 to 0:23:24( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: morning, leaving us around 30 hours to significant policies, vet them with our people back home, take the specifics back home to the health everybody, every constituent that certainly is interested and wants to know the details and then file amendments to see if

0:23:25 to 0:23:46( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: we can do better, see if we can actually correct some things that we tnk are headed in the wrong direction. i said that it's hard to all of this in 30 hours. this is not digestion. this is not indigestion. this is heartburn, and it may develop into a serious than that. most egregious, perhaps, is the fact that we will most likely be

0:23:47 to 0:24:08( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: considering these major reforms without any ide of how much they will cost or how they will af bu wonder whether that isn't part of the plan. which leads me back to yesterday's c.b.o. release analyzing the cost and effect of just one of the six titles to the kennedy-dodd health care

0:24:09 to 0:24:30( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: reform bill and an title at that. according to c.b.o., the incomplete sections of title 1 will cost $1 trillion. $1 trillion. $1 trillion, and that's just for one incomplete title of this bill. what will we get for this staggering investment, for a

0:24:31 to 0:24:52( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: title whos whose purpose ostensly extend he coverage to the estimated 47 million americans currently lack in coverage. 47 million. according to c.b.o., we will only cover 16 more americans. let me say that again, according to c.b.o., we will only more -- 16 million more americans. that doesn't seem like a very good return for a bill that

0:24:53 to 0:25:13( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: seeks to cover three times that many people. instead of extending health insurance to uninsured, we are leaving tens of millions still uncovered, and the c.b.o. says that that figure is around 37 million. so you can see we have some flaws in this approach on this bill.

0:25:14 to 0:25:34( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: in addition, the c.b.o. says that 15 million people would lose their employer-sponsored insurance and another 8 million -- again the would lose coverage from their current source. now, who are we going to trust around here? at least when we ask the c.b.o. to get some specifics, they are providing some specifics and

0:25:35 to 0:25:55( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: that is that 15 million people would lose their employer-sponsored insurance, another 8 million would lose coverage from their current source. that's 23 million people. that's a lot of folks. as i said, president obama consistently promised that if you like the health insurance plan you have, you can keep it. under the kennedy-dodd bill,

0:25:56 to 0:26:17( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: 23 million americans who may like what they have cannot, in fact, keep it. again, according to the c.b.o., nonpartisan. i can't even imagine how muc nor bill will cost taxpayers when c.b.o. figures in the rest of the initiatives that my friends across t aisle wish to add, and i am positive that

0:26:18 to 0:26:38( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: under the complete plan by my colleagues, millions more americans will not be able to keep the insurance that they like. that's because in the plans that have already been a new government-run taxpayer-financed insurance plan that's estimated to replace private insurance for over 100

0:26:39 to 0:27:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: million an expansion of medicaid for everyone up to 150% of the federal poverty level and they want to enact dozens upo of new programs. for example, title 3 of this bill includes -- listen to this -- a $10 billion-per-year cost in mandatory spending --

0:27:01 to 0:27:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: mandatory spending; this is on the appropriator side -- for something called a prevention and public health trust fund the appropriations subcommittee on health with very little, if anything, direction on just what the money would be used for. now, this is unprecedented and amounts, in my view, to a slush fund regardless of any

0:27:22 to 0:27:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: description. another section provides an unknown amount of sums as be necessary -- as may be necessary to fund something called a community makeover. excuse me, a community transformation grant to build

0:27:43 to 0:28:04( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: jungle gyms. mr. president, sidewalks, jungle gyms, grocery stores. this is a health care bill, not a rural development bill. i am shocked by the numbers that have come out so far and they are just the beginning. well, come to think of it, maybe it maybe if you build a better sidewalk, people could walk on

0:28:05 to 0:28:26( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: that sidewalk, pass the jungle gym, exercise on the jungle gym go, to the grocery store, have mandates to buy nothing but fruits and vegetables, come back past the j some more and since the sidewalk is fixed, they can go home and we would cure or help cure the obesity factor that we today. maybe that's the tie. maybe that's the tie.

0:28:27 to 0:28:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: i am shocked, as i've said, by the numbers. one independent group -- now, listen again to this, you've got to lis called h.s.i.etwork in minnesota has estimated the cost of the

0:28:48 to 0:29:09( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: entirety could be $4 trillion. $4 trillion. the lewen group has estimated that up to 119 million americans could lose their private insurance coverage under a government-run plan. and i am willing to bet that the american public will be as shocked as i am once they understand what has been lurking, the banner of reform. the refusal to release

0:29:10 to 0:29:31( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: information like this until the very last possible minute under an unjustifiably accelerated time line, leaving senators, let alone the american public, to examine the merits of this plan makes me think the health care e clothes. let me repeat what the c.b.o. has said.

0:29:32 to 0:29:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: 16 million americans newly insured -- good thing -- but 3 37 million americans still insured. 23 million americans lose what they have for $1 trillion. mr. president, direction. this is the wrong direction.

0:29:54 to 0:30:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: we ought to say "whoa." put a sign up in both committee rooms and say "whoa," underneath that a sign that s "do no harm." congressional daily, just to add to this concern that i have and the frustration in regard

0:30:15 to 0:30:36( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: health care reform reported tuesday, june 16, today, score add recent version of the senate finance committee -- this is finance, i'm talking about, but the finance committee and i have the privilege of serving on both -- their overhaul proposal is $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

0:30:37 to 0:30:58( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: according to several sources, a typical news sto committee's timeline to redees and markup the legislation could slip open the news and senate finance committee chairman baucus said the numbers are on a bill that is twoeeks old and the bill has evolved since then. the chairman indicated it is unlikely he will release it

0:30:59 to 0:31:20( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: wednesday as previously estimated -- that's tomorrow -- the high score could add more credence to an ins proposal offered by senate budget committee chairman conrad as an alternative. so we don't know, is it $1.5 trillion? is it $1 trillion? we don't know. in an offhand comment that may

0:31:21 to 0:31:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: or may not be private, but i don't think anymore anything should be private in regard to health care reform, the chairman said it was a response to senator snowe for this bill in committee if we don't know how much it will cost and how it will merge with the help committee bill? basically the answer coming back

0:31:43 to 0:32:07( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: is, this bill isn't going to be written here. it isn't going committee, but it will be written in conference. that's called "trust me." i don't see how we can have much t no closed.