Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 106 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 106 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 145 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1999 No. 141 House of Representatives The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was The message also announced that the MORNING HOUR DEBATES called to order by the Speaker pro tem- Senate insists upon its amendment to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- pore (Mr. BALLENGER). the bill (H.R. 2990) ``An Act to amend ant to the order of the House of Janu- f the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ary 19, 1999, the Chair will now recog- allow individuals greater access to nize Members from lists submitted by DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO health insurance through a health care TEMPORE the majority and minority leaders for tax deduction, a long-term care deduc- morning hour debates. The Chair will The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- tion, and other health-related tax in- alternate recognition between the par- fore the House the following commu- centives, to amend the Employee Re- ties, with each party limited to 30 min- nication from the Speaker: tirement Income Security Act of 1974 utes, and each Member, except the ma- WASHINGTON, DC, to provide access to and choice in jority leader, the minority leader, or October 18, 1999. health care through association health the minority whip, limited to 5 min- I hereby appoint the Honorable CASS plans, to amend the Public Health utes. BALLENGER to act as Speaker pro tempore on Service Act to create new pooling op- The Chair recognizes the gentleman this day. portunities for small employers to ob- LUMENAUER J. DENNIS HASTERT, from Oregon (Mr. B ) for 5 tain greater access to health coverage minutes. Speaker of the House of Representatives. through HealthMarts; to amend title I f of the Employee Retirement Income f MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE Security Act of 1974, title XXVII of the PAIN RELIEF PROMOTION ACT OF Public Health Service Act, and the In- 1999 A message from the Senate by Ms. ternal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect McDevitt, one of its clerks, announced consumers in managed care plans and Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, that the Senate had passed with other health coverage; and for other this week H.R. 2260, the so-called Pain amendments in which the concurrence purposes,'' requests a conference with Relief Promotion Act will be brought of the House is requested, bills of the the House on the disagreeing votes of to the floor of this chamber. The bill's House of the following titles: the two Houses thereon, and appoints supporters say passage will result in H.R. 659. An act to authorize appropria- Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. GREGG, Mr. FRIST, more humane treatment of terminally- tions for the protection of Paoli and Brandy- Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. NICKLES, Mr. ill patients. Tragically, they are mis- wine Battlefields in Pennsylvania, to direct GRAMM, Mr. ENZI, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. taken. the National Park Service to conduct a spe- DODD, Mr. HARKIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, and This bill's passage will do two things. cial resource study of Paoli and Brandywine It will overturn Oregon's death with Battlefields, to authorize the Valley Forge Mr. ROCKEFELLER, to be the conferees Museum of the American Revolution at Val- on the part of the Senate. dignity law, and it will undermine the rights of States to establish medical ley Forge National Historical Park, and for The message also announced that the standards. It also puts law enforcement other purposes. Senate has passed bills of the following H.R. 2990. An act to amend the Internal agencies in the position of second- titles in which concurrence of the Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals guessing one of the most difficult med- House is requested: greater access to health insurance through a ical decisions faced by doctors: how to health care tax deduction, a long-term care S. 548. An act to establish the Fallen Tim- best alleviate the pain terminally-ill deduction, and other health-related tax in- bers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National patients suffer, whether or not that centives, to amend the Employee Retirement Historical Site in the State of Ohio. Income Security Act of 1974 to provide access treatment involves life-ending deci- to and choice in health care through associa- S. 762. An act to direct the Secretary of the sion-making. tion health plans, to amend the Public Interior to conduct a special resource study Congress is frequently put in a posi- Health Service Act to create new pooling op- to determine the national significance of the tion of judging whether to intervene in portunities for small employers to obtain Miami Circle site in the State of Florida as the States' decisions. Some judgments well as the suitability and feasibility of its greater access to health coverage through are relatively easy to make. For exam- HealthMarts; to amend title I of the Em- inclusion in the National Park System as part of Biscayne National Park, and for ple, we now have reached the point ployee Retirement Income Security Act of where most people are comfortable 1974, title XXVII of the Public Health Serv- other purposes. ice Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of S. 938. An act to eliminate restrictions on with the Federal Government pro- 1986 to protect consumers in managed care the acquisition of certain land contiguous to tecting against racial discrimination. plans and other health coverage; and for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and for Such was not always the case. Many other purposes. other purposes. decisions, however, are very much in a b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H10121 . VerDate 12-OCT-99 01:37 Oct 19, 1999 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A18OC7.000 pfrm02 PsN: H18PT1 H10122 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE October 18, 1999 gray area, which some choose, unfortu- and, in some cases, I guaranty that working Americans that if they nately, to use for political reasons. One every day in America there are the switched jobs or if they lost their job such gray area, the issues that affect equivalent of physician-assisted sui- they could continue with their current the end-of-life decisions, is not only cides. In every State but Oregon people health coverage. difficult but personal. look the other way. Oregon stands out We reformed the Food and Drug Ad- In my State of Oregon we have strug- because we have at least attempted to ministration, giving people quicker ac- gled, debated, and agonized with this provide a framework. If this misguided cess to life-saving drugs and medical issue throughout the last decades. The legislation were to be passed, iron- devices and provided for better food end-of-life issue is a very complex one. ically, Oregon, the only State with quality. With the advent of new medical tech- guidelines where we are trying to deal The Republican controlled Congress nologies, it is becoming even more with it, would be subjected to extraor- got tough on criminals by enhancing challenging. There are a wide range of dinary scrutiny. Elsewhere, people penalties for sexual crimes against would continue to look the other way. moral and medical issues associated children, and established a Nationwide I strongly urge the defeat of this with end-of-life decisions, but none tracking system for sexual predators. that require Federal interference. Yet ironically termed Pain Relief Pro- motion Act before it undermines not We also enhanced punishment for drug- Congress is being asked to pass legisla- induced rape. tion that would undermine a law only the will of the people of Oregon, Education was enhanced by giving passed and subsequently upheld not but also before it damages the sanctity local districts more say in how the once but twice by a vote of the citizens of the doctor-patient decision-making money that they had was spent on of Oregon. process and erodes quality end-of-life Now, our death with dignity legisla- medical treatment. teaching their children. tion is still a work in progress, but the f We also provided tax relief and al- preliminary evidence suggests that this lowed for health insurance deductions REPUBLICANS HAVE ACCOM- for small businesses. option may actually reduce the inci- PLISHED A LOT BUT STILL NEED We developed medical savings ac- dence of suicide. Rather than having a PRESIDENT'S HELP flood of people to our State to take ad- counts so Americans can better decide vantage of the provisions of the law, it The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under how to provide for their health care. appears that individuals having the the Speaker's announced policy of Jan- We also protected elderly patients from knowledge that they, their families, uary 19, 1999, the gentleman from Flor- being evicted from nursing homes. ida (Mr. STEARNS) is recognized during and their doctor can control this situa- The Republican majority strength- tion, gives them a sense of peace and morning hour debates for 5 minutes. Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, last ened our national defense by increasing contentment that enables many to week President Clinton in his press pay and retirement benefits, long over- move forward, enduring the pain and conference attacked the Republican due for our military; enhancing health the difficulty without resorting to tak- Senators for their courageous stance care for veterans; and providing for a ing their own life.