Senate Proceeding on Oct 26th, 2009 :: 0:27:10 to 0:38:10
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0:27:08 to 0:27:28( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: mari leader in the can reach a consent agreement for a reasonable number of amendments. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, leadership time is reserved. there will now be a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. a senator: mr. president? does the republican leader desire to speak?

0:27:10 to 0:38:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Lamar Alexander

0:27:29 to 0:27:51( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i ask as as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'll let the majority leader make his own announcements, but there's a lot of discussion in the news media today that in a short period of

0:27:52 to 0:28:13( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: ti he intends to hold a press conference announcing that he'll push ahead with the so-called public oion vote on health care legislation, one that currently includes an opt-out provision for states. i don't know whether he intends to do that or whether he doesn't, and he's entitled to

0:28:14 to 0:28:38( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: make his own announcement, as i said. but it does provide a good opportunity to talk about what we mean by a public option in health care, or a government-run health care plan, putting government in the health care business, and how it already

0:28:39 to 0:29:01( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: works, and how it might work if states were allowed to opt out. the reason it's to ez talk about this -- easy to talk about this -- and the former governor of virginia who is presiding officer prao e siding knows about this as well as i do -- is we already have in existence today in the united states a

0:29:02 to 0:29:24( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: public option insurance, health insurance program which states may opt out of. it's called medicaid. medicaid is the largest government-run program that we have in health care, even larger thanedicare.

0:29:25 to 0:29:46( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: medicare for older people has about 40 million persons who depend on it. medicade, which sometimes offers confusion, and it's a different program. it's a program for low-income americans. it started out for women and children and it it gradually expand over the years until

0:29:47 to 0:30:08( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: today it has nearly 60 million americans who depend on it. and the health care legislation, which is coming toward us in the baucus bill out of the finance committee, in the health -- in the bill out of the health committee, on which i serve, and in the bills from the house of representatives, all of those

0:30:09 to 0:30:29( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: pieces of legislation would expand the medicade not medicare for seniors, but the medicade program and send part of the bill for that expansion to the states. so let's talk about that a little bit. particularly if it's true that the majority leader is about to

0:30:30 to 0:30:50( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: propose that we have yet another government-run insurance program giving the states the right to oopt out, which sounds pretty good. let's see how this one works that we already have. especially since the healt reform bill, that's headed our would, according to the

0:30:51 to 0:31:12( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: congressional budget office expand medicade, cost states an additional $33 billion in state dollars, and add 14 million people to the medicade program. and i guess the first thing to know about a government-run health insurance program, which states can opt out of, is that they really can't.

0:31:13 to 0:31:36( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: i mean, in the real world they really can't. none has. every state in america has a medicade program. the federal government pays perhaps 55% or 60% of it. state taxpayers pay the rest. most of the rules are written in washington. states can a

0:31:37 to 0:31:58( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: from the rules so long -- it's a long anded burdensome process. but it's not realistic to say that the states can opt out of the medicade program for low-income americans. and i suppose it might not be realistic, therefore, to say that the states would be able to opt out of a new government

0:31:59 to 0:32:22( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: option program -- a government-run option program thatay be suggested by the majority leader. we should wait and see what proposes. but i think we'd be wise to pay attention to the fact that in the current government-run program that we have today, no state finds it realistic i to opt out. expanding medicade, which is what the health insurance brim

0:32:23 to 0:32:46( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: coming toward us on the floor proposes to do is not just an expensive item for the federal government and for states. it's a terrible vehicle for health care reform. the former governor -- the current governor of tennessee,

0:32:47 to 0:33:07( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: gorgovernor bratson, said that putting mor low-income americans into medicade is not health care reform. why would he say that? because it makes it worse for those americans as they seek to get access to care to doctors and hospitals. an as they seek to get good --

0:33:08 to 0:33:32( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: and as they seek to get good quality care. plus the program is riddled with so much fraud and abuse, that according to the congressional budget office $1 out of $10 is stealen or wasted. most governors who struggled with medicade, and i'm one of them, agreed that its expansion is a bad idea. and they unanimously have said

0:33:33 to 0:33:57( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: to us in congress that if you washington want to expand medicade, then you in washington need to pay for medicade. that's the theory of no more unfunded mandates that every governor that i know about has agreed with for years. the fact is nothing used to make

0:33:58 to 0:34:18( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: me angrier as a governor than distinguished politician in washington standing up, make a good speech, coming up a good idea, having a press conference, and sending the bill to the states. what does the legislature and the mayor and city council have to do? they have to cut services. they have to raise taxes.

0:34:19 to 0:34:39( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: they have to run up tuitions. they have to cut some csses because somebody in washington thought it was a good idea to do that's what we're proposing to do with comaismed we're saying to the states we have a great idea here. we want to expand medicade by dumpg another 14 million low-income americans into this program, but congratulations,

0:34:40 to 0:35:02( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: we're going to send you the bill to help y for "the washington post" quoted my home state governor, governor bratison, "i can't think of a worse time for this bill to be coming. i would love to see it -- he means health care reform happen -- but no one's going to put the their education system into the

0:35:03 to 0:35:23( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: tank for it. one of the most painful letters i ever read on october 25 about the fiscal situation similar to the governors in most state. by 2013 we expect to return to the 2008 levels of revenue and we will cut programs dramatically over $1 billion. at that point we'll have to

0:35:24 to 0:35:45( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: start digging out we'll not have given raises to state employees and teachers in five years. our rainy day fund will be depleted. we'll not have made any substantial investments in years. there will be major cuts to areas such as children's services. on top of, that there are additional services, medicade

0:35:46 to 0:36:09( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: will continue to grow and the rates of the excess of the economy and our tax revenue and our idea of health care reform is to expand medicade and send the governor a bill o of $775 million over the next five years which he can't afford. the other legislation from the "help" committee would cost the states even more. according to the centers for

0:36:10 to 0:36:32( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: medicare and medicade services actuarial report medicade represented 40% of the government costs expenditures for health, 41% of state health costs. it's the largest source of general revenue-based services. larger than comairmt i can vidly rember 25 yearsgo, 30 years ago as governor every

0:36:33 to 0:36:53( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: time i made up a budget, i'd start with roads, that comes from the gas tax, i'd go to prisons, go through kindergarten through the 12th grade, the former governor of virginia probably had this experience. that's pretty much a set thing. then you get down to the end, what are you choosing from, you

0:36:54 to 0:37:14( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: choose between higher education, the university of tennessee, university of virginia, and medicade. what's happening? medicade is going up like a rocket and state spending for higher education is flat. our higher education systems across are under stress because we have allowed medicade to grow out of control and not only do

0:37:15 to 0:37:35( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: we now about to expand it -- about to expand it and send more of the bill to the states. the governors are saying don't do that. the revenues are down 17%, 18%, 20%, 30% in some states. if you're going to pass it, they say pay for it. that's a chance that governsors should have a chance to get an

0:37:36 to 0:37:58( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: answer for. according to the texas medicade office, the current proposal to expand medicade will cost the state $20 billion over the next 10 years. we're passing it. they're paying for that much of it. according to the south carolina governor's office, $1.1 billion over 10 years. governor schwarzenegger said

0:37:59 to 0:38:10( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar Alexander: that california can be as high as $8 billion a year. a "new york times" article said that the recession is driving up and enrolling medicade at higher