Grassley floor statement on the Reid Amendment #3276, the managers’ amendment
We've been waiting for many weeks while the Democratic Leadership worked behind closed doors, out of the public’s view, to write this new health care reform bill. Last week, they were considering expanding Medicare to people from 55 to 64 years of age, increasing Medicaid to cover people up to 150 percent of poverty, and having a government-run plan run by the Office of Personnel Management. Now we have the Reid amendment. And it is chock full of special deals and it does nothing to fix the fatal flaws in the underlying Reid bill.
What kind of tax changes does the managers’ amendment make to the Reid amendment? One tax disappeared. It was the tax on cosmetic surgery, nicknamed the “Bo Tax.” In its place we have a new tax on tanning bed services. The dial on the Medicare payroll tax is turned up. So, the first time marriage penalty in the Medicare tax, one that hits about half the two-earner couples, is enhanced. Well over a million couples get to look forward to that tax hit just for getting married. The dial on the insurance fee is also turned up in the back end of the bill. But, with respect to a few favored insurance companies, the fee is turned off. The very limited small business tax credit is expanded. Over half a trillion in new taxes according to the official Congressional scorekeepers.
What kinds of tax changes stay the same? What kinds of tax changes stay the same? Basically, the managers’ amendment and the underlying Reid amendment still imposes new taxes. New taxes on everything from tanning beds to insurance policies to wages to heart valves to drugs and more. Contrary to what has been said on the floor today, the tax burden still rests on many middle class folks.
As has been said, there is a able subsidy that 12 million tax-filing families and individuals will receive. We don’t dispute that. But what the other side doesn’t want to acknowledge is this: there are 42 million tax-filing middle class families and individuals who will pay higher taxes under this bill. For every middle class tax-filing family that receives the insurance subsidy, three middle class families will pay higher taxes. I ask unanimous consent to insert in the record a copy of the corrected version of an article from Congress Daily, dated December 18, 2009.
Now this new compromise does not fix any of the core problems in the Reid bill. It's still a 2,000 plus page, two and half trillion dollar massive bill. The Reid amendment actually added about 400 more pages. These closed door negotiations didn't produce a better product. Quite the opposite. It still taxes middle-income families, seniors, and veterans. Millions of people still won't be able to “keep what they have.” And a lot of people who were hoping to pay less as a result of reform still end up paying more. And I’m not just talking about the young and healthy. It still imposes higher premiums for prescription drug coverage on seniors and the disabled. It still permanently cuts all annual Medicare provider payment updates based on productivity gains outside of health care. These cuts still go into effect even if it means that providers will get a negative payment update. And these permanent cuts still threaten beneficiary access to care.
This bill still cuts $120 billion from Medicare Advantage, cuts that will reduce Medicare benefits for 11 million beneficiaries. This bill still creates a new body of unelected officials with broad authority to make further cuts in Medicare. And this bill still unwisely makes that board permanent. This bill still requires this board to continue making even more cuts to Medicare and to do that forever. The damage this group of unelected people could do to Medicare is unknown. But we certainly do know how impossible it will be to undo this damage once it is done. The bill also still locks 54 million low-income Americans into Medicaid. This bill passes a $26 billion unfunded mandate onto states.
The Reid amendment even made this problem worse by adding $1 billion to the state's tab for Medicaid. These increased costs will cause states to raise taxes, or cut education or transportation or law enforcement. This bill still has the CLASS Act in it even though the Administration's own HHS Chief Actuary says it runs a great risk of being unsustainable. It still has a special carve-out for committee and leadership staff from having to use the health insurance exchanges. It still has special deals for brand name drug makers that will reduce access to generic drugs making drugs costs even higher for everyone.
What this process has shown is that there is a clear and significant philosophical difference between the two sides. Those differences are still there and the lines between us have become brighter still. Republicans tried to reduce the overall cost. They said no. And they increased the spending in the bill. Republicans tried to reduce the pervasive role of government. They said no. And they increased the role of government.
Republicans tried to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get benefits. They said no. And that still has not been fixed. Republicans tried to guarantee that federal funding for abortions wouldn’t be allowed under this bill. It’s been federal policy since 1976. That’s when the Hyde amendment was put in place. But they said no. They wouldn’t agree to apply that policy here. That still has not been fixed. Republicans tried to allow alternatives to the individual mandate and harsh penalties. They said no. And they’ve subjected even more people to the mandate and they’ve raised the penalties.
Republicans tried to raise medical malpractice reform. They said no. And real lawsuit reform is still not in the bill.
We have watched while the other side has expanded government coverage. Since this process began, the other side has been working hard to move millions from private coverage into government subsidized coverage. The bill creates new government programs that cover families making close to $100,000. And at the end of the day, after raising billions in new taxes, cutting about a half trillion dollars from Medicare, and imposing stiff new penalties for people who don’t buy insurance, and increasing costs for those that do, 23 million people will still not even have health insurance.
I don’t think this is what the American people had in mind when we promised to fix the health care system. The Reid bill imposes a $2.5 trillion tab on Americans. It kills jobs with taxes and fees that go into effect four years before the reforms kick in. It kills jobs with an employer mandate. It imposes half a trillion in higher taxes on premiums, on medical devices, on prescription drugs, and more. It jeopardizes access to care with massive Medicare cuts. It imposes higher costs. It raises premiums. It bends the cost growth curve the wrong way by
increasing national health expenditures. This is not what people have in mind when they think of health reform. I yield the floor.
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