Senate Proceeding on Nov 19th, 2009 :: 2:52:50 to 3:12:30
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2:52:50 to 3:12:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Burr

2:52:53 to 2:53:15( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: would lik benefit to so that we could keep em out because of the eric hhad mustn'-- edmund so senator coburns amendment is 100% consistent with the bill that was passed t of committee unanimous. the bill says the secretary shall.

2:53:16 to 2:53:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: therefore, it means he has to. and the secretary will then have to prioritize spending within the veterans administration to fund these programs. so the third piece of what dr. coburn's amendment does is rather than force the secretary to prioritize within just programs -- meaning there are going to be vents that win and

2:53:39 to 2:54:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: veterans that look and as a congress shouldn't supposed to do? why should we not prioritize the spending h what i would good friend from illinois suggestioned was that -- suggested was that, why should we prioritize for the well, let me just say, the answer is quite simple.

2:54:03 to 2:54:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: it is our money. the suggestion that t responsibility to spundz programs that we implement is ridiculous on its face. and to suggest that the united st congress can operate any

2:54:27 to 2:54:48( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: differently than a family america suggests that we ignore everybody's input who asked us to represent them. you see, we do represent the american people. 100 individuals that represent the how can we do it differently than any family that's out there

2:54:49 to 2:55:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: struggling to meet their end of the month obligation and when their expenses, what do they do? they either cut back their expenses or they raise -- they find a place to raise more revenue. well, let mr. president, this is as simple as is it time for us to prioritize where we're

2:55:10 to 2:55:31( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: money? members will have to decide, is the u.n. pulling money from the u.n. an appropriate place for us to pull money from to then spend on our country's veterans? i believe we've got an obligation. i believe we've got a promise,

2:55:32 to 2:55:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: exist prior to when we see it's in the b benefit of the quality of life of our troops, that we provide that benefit for them. i believe we also have an obligation to this generation and the next one and the next one to pay for it. so that's tough for members.

2:55:53 to 2:56:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: if you support the coburn amendment, you support practically everything that the committee supported when we passedpassed it out on unanimous consent. if you support the amendment, you believe we have an obles to pay for t the only reason you would vote against the coburn amendment is because you don't think it is appropriate for the united nations of this money

2:56:17 to 2:56:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: to use as they see fit, would suggest this is where the disconnect is with the majority of america. they would prefer the united states senate to decide where that money wt and to use it on these caregivers and these veterans' programs. so i would encourage my collea amendment, support passage of

2:56:38 to 2:56:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: this bill this afternoon when we take it up. with that, mr. president, i would like to shift gears slightly because i somewhat ironic that we're talking about the expansion of services to our nation's veterans at a time where some herald the introduction of a bill that in all likelihood will deprive other americans of the

2:56:59 to 2:57:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: ability to have affordable health care. we've gone through several months health care being accessible and affordable for all americans. we've talked -- we talked about reforms. let's change the let's reform the system. let's make sure that access and af cost curve

2:57:20 to 2:57:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and in the last 24 hours some have come and said, we've accomplished that. it's amazing. now, let me remind my colleagues, we've all said t health care is unsustainable at s current level of investment. 17% of our gross domestic product. i find it odd that we would start the debate give than it's unsuccess staingable at its

2:57:41 to 2:58:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: current i more money reform health the obvious answer is it should cost zero if you're already spending too much. so we should look at the reforms before we look at the coverage expansion. now, i agree that every american ought to be covered. as a matter of fact, dr. coburn and i have offered comprehensive bills to do that.

2:58:03 to 2:58:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: but it's matched with real reform. what was tear railed in the last 24 -- what was heralded in the last 24 hours was trillion health care bill. $2.5 trillion over a period of collecting the revenues and paying out the expenses.

2:58:26 to 2:58:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: you see, this is smoke and mirrors, whatever you want to call it, ased in washington. if you collect years but you only pay benefits for six years, you don't get a true picture as to what it's going to you get a true impact of the revenue stream, which is over $800 billion.

2:58:48 to 2:59:08( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: diswr that $800 billion -- where does that $800 billion in new revenue appear from? they go up $493.6 bil $493.6 billion. medicare.

2:59:09 to 2:59:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: we will cut $464.6 b of med cash. -- out of medicar half a trillion we're going to take from a program with a designated population beneficiaries of our nation' seniors and those who are classified as

2:59:30 to 2:59:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: going to take a half a billion from medicare and we're going to shift it over to meet the burden of a new health care plan yet to be constructed. why is this problematic? it is $1,063 per beneficiary every year. over the health care plan, we're going to

2:59:52 to 3:00:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: steal from every senio country $10,363 worth of health care money. we're going to take it from their program and put it over in this new program because it is paid for. now, legitimately when you raise taxes, when you raise fees, when you raise revenues making tough choices and i think

3:00:14 to 3:00:35( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: when you go in and tax health plans and that raises $149.1 billion, penalty for a nonqualified health savings account and you get $1.3 billion, these are -- these are reef use in. they're legitimate. it's no smoke and mirrors. i don't think the american

3:00:36 to 3:00:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: people believe for a minute that this is deficit-neutral. i don't believe for a minute that they believe that we're going to take $464 billion out of and if they do believe it, they know we're going to pay it back in with future taxes on the american people. that's fine if that's the way we

3:00:57 to 3:01:18( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: want to prioritize. but health c every american. this is a very personal issue for every american and every family. it touches them else we do. and the truth if you take it and you put it in

3:01:19 to 3:01:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: one pocket and you take it out of the other pocket, the effects on them either haven't changed or it's been now, let me suggest colleagues that this bill is 2,074 pages. i will admit, i may be the only one, i have been not since it was introduced at 6:00 last i'm not sure that there are many

3:01:42 to 3:02:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: members that have or could have. but let me suggest to you that there will be a question about whether for the first time we use taxpayer money to perform abortions. personally, i believe that that's wrong. i will not support a legislation thatoes that. this bill does that.

3:02:03 to 3:02:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: an employer mandate at a time trying to beat competive in a global marketplace. we mandates. well, i'm not sure that that's making u.s. companies more competitive in marketplace. i think the economy's the number-one challenge that we've got in america.

3:02:25 to 3:02:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i think 10.2% unemployment and going up. if it were a disease, we'd be on the floor of the senate calling it an epidemic and we would be doing whatever and spending whatever to turn it around. but we're doing nothing. as a matter of fact, we're doing everything we can to try to drive unemployment up, to dry up the economy and to make

3:02:48 to 3:03:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: companies less competive in a global market. the president said the objective or one of the objectives was health care reform was we need to bend the cost curve down, we need to make sure that there's cost savings in health care for every american. well, let me tell you what the congressional budget office says -- and i quote -- "under the legislation, federal outlays for health care will increase

3:03:12 to 3:03:35( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: during the 2010-2019 period as would the federal budgetary commitment to health care." now, that's washington language for, do you know what? our expenditures on health care are going to go up, and what happens when federal expenditures go up? everybody's go up. i mean, that just -- that's a nonfact by the american people.

3:03:36 to 3:03:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: the coverage expansion would drive a new increasing government spending on health to the tune of years. make no mistake, this does not bend the curve down, i the curve un. we spen-- it bends the curve we spend more c.b.o. scored the bill as

3:03:57 to 3:04:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: reducing the deficit by $130 billion over 10 years, 2010-2019. now, what does it take into to come to come to that cl claition? -- calculation? it sthiewms doctors are going to get cut it assumes that dock treasures going to get cut 23% in their reimbursent in 2011.

3:04:18 to 3:04:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: we have less than a million doctors to serve 300 million people, and does anybody believe for a minute that we're going to allow a 23% cut to go in at a time that we are starved trying to attract people to go into medicine as a profession? if it does go in, we're going to take $247 billion out of the pockets of doctors that we rely

3:04:40 to 3:05:00( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: on to perform the surgeries, to make the diagnosis for us and everybody else in this country. the new creation of the class act, long-term care policy, shows in the c.b.o. score $72 billion savings. well, let me -- let me sort of explain it to you like this.

3:05:01 to 3:05:22( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: nobody qualifies today because it doesn't exist. people are going to pay premiums to be eligible for this long-term benefit. it takes about 20 years of going to be eligible to pull out out. it's not like medicare when we created it, where even if you never paid in, you started on day one.

3:05:23 to 3:05:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: so we're collecting revenues for 20 years before we ever pay out the first dime. it's not hard to understand why you'd have a $72 billion surplus out of this but let me ask you, what happens after that? what happens after you get past that 20-year number?

3:05:46 to 3:06:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: well, get into the trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars that the federal government is obligated to, based upon the premiums and the benefits that people have assigned to that they pay out. well, if you two gimmicks just on the face this bill would

3:06:08 to 3:06:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: out of balance, in the it would not be paid for. and i would suggest that that's just the startate was moved to -- from 2013 to 2014. no longer is our focus on how do we get care delivered as quickly and as efficiently. we just pushed i

3:06:30 to 3:06:53( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: because we said, geez, the congressional budget office says we're short on raising money we've raised all we can in dispeez taxes -- in fees and taxes. well, maybe not all. i think they probably got some things t to come out. the key thing is, did implement it, there are 24 million americans are that are still without insurance. the objective to cover everybody

3:06:54 to 3:07:14( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: was not th unfunded mandates to o states. i don't know of a state that's in financial health today. there may be one or two. state of north carolina was $4 billion out of balance last year. the federal stimulus was $2 billion of closing the gap. that $2 billion, by the way, we

3:07:15 to 3:07:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: didn't have. we borrowed to give to north carolina and to other states to create jobs and it was used close budget gaps so they didn't have to make tough decisions. as a matter of fact, we found out this week on one of the news channels there's $ billion that didn't have anything to do with stimulus

3:07:37 to 3:07:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: i mean, we're the laughingstock of the world on the way we applied the stimulus but the sad part of it is not the fact that it's been uncovered. it's that it didn't do anything to put americans to work. and now we're saying to the states we're going to put another

3:07:59 to 3:08:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: well, in medicare, we're going to cut from the fee-for-service payments $192 billion. so we've already got $247 billion over here that we're getting from doctors if we go through with the payment cuts cuts. now we're targeting another $192 billion just out of the medicare reimbursements right

3:08:20 to 3:08:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: out of the pockets of doctors and hospitals. is there a community hospital in amica that will b able to survive given the cuts that are getting ready to hit tm? we cut medicare advantage 43 -- excuse some cheer that. i'll tell you who doesn't cheer it -- the 20% of america's

3:08:42 to 3:09:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: seniors that chose medicare advantage as their preferred choice to traditional medicare because it required t out-of-pocket obligation, it didn't hit them for $750 deductible the day they walked into a hospital. what about those 20% of our nation's seniors medicare advantage?

3:09:03 to 3:09:23( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: what about the $43 billion in dish -- disproportion of payments? we pay at the hospitals to up for the uncompensated care that they well, i guess the authors of the bill would say, wel covering everybody so there's no uncompensated care. wrong. 24 million still without insurance. there is going to be uncompensated care and we're taking away the mean we provide

3:09:24 to 3:09:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: money we provided hospitals to make up for the uncompensated care that they've delivered, meaning it's coming right out of their hide, that local that we live $23 billion in unspecified cuts by the medicare advisory board. i mean, do we -- does america really feel comfortable with us turning over to another advisory

3:09:47 to 3:10:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: board to cut $23 billion? we just had an advisory board say, yo you know, if you're 40 to 50 and you're femal you really don't need worry about your breasts, you don't need to go get a mammogram, you don't need to do self-examinations, trust us. mr. president, one of the reasons that the health care the world is because we spend

3:10:10 to 3:10:30( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: money to innovate we hope that companies find we look at diagnostic abilities in an effort to try earl so that the options are greater and so the cost but now all of a sudden we're saying that's not important. mr. president, there are 162 million americans who cu

3:10:31 to 3:10:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: health care. in this bill, regardless of what their employer be eligible for subsidy. if they've currently got coverage but they may be low income and for some reason their employer has to drop their health care

3:10:53 to 3:11:13( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: plan because maybe they're not competitive after this in the obal marketplace, even though they would qualify from an income standpoint, they will not qualify because they were provided health care before. and our favorite, the i.r.s. says it will take another $5 billion to $10 billion so that they can actually go out

3:11:14 to 3:11:35( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and collect these fees and taxes. mr. president, the cost of the subsidy alone in the exchange are estimated by c.b.o. to grow at 8% a year. now, i just ask you, if the reason that we've gotten into this discussion, had this debate was we're trying to turn the cost curve down on health care

3:11:36 to 3:11:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: and we've quoted 6% increase a year and 5.5% increase a year, 7% increase in a year, why in the world would we be considering a plan that c.b.o. tells us is going to have increase for the subsidy of 8% a year? i would hope that if we had real reforms that worke the cost of

3:11:57 to 3:12:18( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: th subsidy would decline 8% a year mr. president, i know that there are others seeking time and i won't belabor this pnt. i would ask members, support the coburn amendment on the veterans bill, support passage of the

3:12:19 to 3:12:30( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Burr: veterans bill, read the health care bill, be prepared to debate the health care bill for a very long time, and be prepared to stand up for the american