14613 Hon. Donald A. Manzullo Hon. Jon C. Porter

July 17, 2006 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 152, Pt. 11 14613 clearly the preferred alternative. Commercial THANK YOU, HECTOR BARRETO, time high. All this was accomplished while health plans have long recognized the clinical FOR A JOB WELL DONE transforming the SBA into an agency to meet value and cost-effectiveness of home infusion the challenges of the 21st century. Change is therapy, and full and proper coverage of home HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO hard but Mr. Barreto made the courageous de- infusion therapy is commonplace among these OF ILLINOIS cision to have the SBA operate more like the payers. Medicare stands virtually alone in its IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES private sector than a bureaucracy. Doing more with less should be praised. not condemned, antiquated coverage policies that discourage Monday, July 17, 2006 particularly in this tough budget environment. the use of a therapy that in actuality should be Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, last Monday Then, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita. and Wilma promoted for its cost savings, safety, clinical was the last day in office for Hector Barreto, violently struck the gulf coast last year. It was effectiveness, and convenience. At a time the second-longest serving SBA Administrator as if a swath of complete devastation 100 when there is a growing awareness of the in its 53-year history. Last week, there was a miles wide ripped through our country from need to prevent or limit inpatient hospital stays reception in honor of former Administrator Boston to Chicago. Again. Administrator for our Nation’s elderly, we believe this legisla- Barreto with a broad spectrum of the small Barreto and his team in the Office of Disaster tion is extremely timely. business community in Washington in attend- Assistance came through despite enormous ance. This reflected well upon Mr. Barreto and obstacles placed in their path, including not Our bill is very simple in its approach. Cur- his leadership style to bring people together of being able to really get to the areas of deep- rently, whatever coverage exists for home in- diverse interests and backgrounds. est destruction until well after a month after fusion therapy is divided between part B and I don’t know how Mr. Barreto put up with Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. The part D. Part B coverage is based on the dura- being in Washington for these past 5 years. SBA and Administrator Barreto in particular ble medical equipment benefit, because an I’m proud to be associated with Mr. Barreto took many below-the-belt political potshots item of DME—the infusion pump—is some- and where he has taken the SBA to serve along the way. I know when a person’s integ- times needed to administer home infusion more small businesses than ever before in the rity has been unfairly questioned, and I had to therapy. That coverage, however, is limited to history of the agency. I’m also proud to say stand up to defend a decent and honorable about 23 drugs. Part D, the outpatient pre- that Mr. Barreto and I have similar back- man. I was proud to stand with Mr. Barreto grounds, growing up in the family restaurant scription drug benefit, covers more infusion last December in the press conference to put business in the Midwest. drugs than part B, but does not cover the some context and additional facts into a very It’s amazing to see what has happened dur- complicated situation. services, supplies and equipment necessary to ing the tenure of Mr. Barreto as Administrator Just as a side note, it is very interesting to safely and appropriately administer these of the SBA. Mr. Barreto was confirmed by the me that the media is not reporting that the therapies in the home. As a result, both part Senate and then sworn into office on July 25, SBA thus far has approved a record amount B and part D coverage of home infusion are 2001. Several weeks later, our Nation was hit of over $10 billion in disaster loans to more very limited. Under part B, Medicare bene- by the awful terrorist attacks on September than 152,000 Gulf States residents, rep- ficiaries do not have access to many of the 11. More Americans were killed in 9/11 than at resenting an accomplishment 21⁄2 times great- most common infusion drugs covered by com- Pearl Harbor. Mr. Barreto was just getting er than the Nation’s previous largest dis- mercial health plans. Under part D, many used to his new job responsibilities and this aster—and all done at a faster pace. That is beneficiaries have to pay for the infusion serv- terrible tragedy struck America. Administrator something to be proud of. Barreto rose up to the challenge by extending ices, supplies, and equipment with out-of- Mr. Speaker, I want to take this brief oppor- Economic Injury Disaster loans to small busi- pocket funds. The clear result is that access to tunity to once again thank Mr. Barreto for his nesses all across America regardless of their leadership; for his friendship; and for his serv- home infusion therapy, despite its potential for proximity to the locations of the actual terrorist ice to our country. Our Nation’s small business cost savings and good clinical outcomes, is attacks. The terrorists sought to devastate our community is better for Mr. Barreto’s tenure as needlessly limited. economy by tearing down the World Trade the second longest serving SBA Administrator Our bill would consolidate coverage for Center and disrupting air travel but they did in history. The new SBA Administrator, Steve home infusion therapy under part B, so that not count on the resiliency of the small busi- Preston, has some fairly big shoes to fill. coverage would be centered in one benefit ness sector and the American people. More Freda and I wish Hector Barreto and his and coverage would be designed to appro- than 10,000 small businesses across the Na- family all the best in his new endeavor as the tion employing 166,000 workers were helped priately and accurately reflect what is involved new national chairman of the Latino Coalition. with over $1 billion in 9/11 SBA disaster loans. in the safe and effective provision of home in- I am confident that Mr. Barreto will never for- If that wasn’t enough, Mr. Barreto achieved get his small business roots. fusion therapy. The Secretary of HHS would great results in other programs of the SBA. f apply quality standards that are consistent Between 2000 and 2005, the SBA more than with prevailing community standard of care doubled the number of loans made through its PAYING TRIBUTE TO KATHY commonly utilized by commercial health plans. main business loan guarantee programs. The AUGUSTINE Both beneficiaries and the Medicare program dollar volume also dramatically increased—in itself would reap the benefits of broader ac- 7(a) by nearly 40 percent and in the 504 pro- HON. JON C. PORTER cess to these important medical treatments in gram by threefold. And after a series of pro- OF NEVADA the home. grammatic shut-downs and curtailments, I IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES joined with Mr. Barreto in making the historic I introduced a similar bill in 2001 that would decision in late 2004 to finally get the 7(a) pro- Monday, July 17, 2006 have established a home infusion therapy gram off the rollercoaster of the appropriations Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to benefit under part B. Since then Congress en- process and have it funded entirely through honor the life of Kathy Augustine, a dedicated acted the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 user fees just like the 504 and the SBIC pro- Nevada leader, who passed away on Tues- which created the part D prescription drug gram. Now, the 7(a) program is going like day, July 11, 2006. benefit. While I appreciate the efforts to broad- gangbusters, serving record numbers ,of small Kathy was a devoted and passionate public en coverage of the drug portion of home infu- businesses throughout all demographic servant, having served in the Nevada State sion therapy, the problems I have described groups, as compared to when it was receiving Assembly from 1993 to 1995, and also in the still persist because CMS believes it does not a loan subsidy. State Senate from 1995 to 1999, where she have the authority to cover anything beyond There has also been a steady increase in chaired the Legislative Affairs and Operations the drugs. Thus, effective coverage of home the number of individuals receiving technical Committee and was Vice Chairman of Tax- assistance, education, and counseling through ation and the Human Resources and Facilities infusion therapy has remained elusive. We the SBA and its resource partners. Also, as a Committees. In 1999, Kathy became the first can fix this now. result of active engagement between the SBA woman to be elected as Nevada State Con- Along with my colleagues, I urge early con- and Federal agencies, Federal procurement troller. To add to her impressive re´sume´, sideration of this long-overdue bill. dollars going to small businesses are at an all- Kathy was also a Trustee for the Center for VerDate Sep 11 2014 13:10 May 03, 2017 Jkt 049102 PO 00000 Frm 00157 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\FDSYS\BOUNDRECORD\BR17JY06.DAT BR17JY06 ejoyner on DSK30MW082PROD with BOUND RECORD 14614 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 152, Pt. 11 July 17, 2006 Governmental Financial Management, and the Meetings scheduled for Tuesday, July 11 a.m. National Association of State Auditors, Comp- 18, 2006 may be found in the Daily Di- Commerce, Science, and Transportation trollers, and Treasurers’ representative on the gest of today’s RECORD.

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