SENATE—Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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17588 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 155, Pt. 13 July 14, 2009 SENATE—Tuesday, July 14, 2009 The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was SCHEDULE The costs of health care today are called to order by the Honorable RO- Mr. REID. Mr. President, following staggering. Families in every part of LAND W. BURRIS, a Senator from the leader remarks, the Senate will be in a Nevada and in every State feel this State of Illinois. period of morning business, with Sen- every day. But the costs could get ators allowed to speak for up to 10 min- much higher. If we do not act, they will PRAYER utes each. The majority will control get worse, much worse, much higher. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- the first 30 minutes, the Republicans If we do not act, they will get higher. The average American family today fered the following prayer: will control the final 30 minutes. Fol- pays twice as much for its health care Let us pray. lowing morning business, the Senate then it did a decade ago. If we do not Almighty God, our help in ages past will resume consideration of the De- act, less than a decade from now those and our hope for years to come, thank partment of Defense authorization bill. costs will double again. Families are You for the demonstrated durability of Pending is an amendment dealing not making more money, but they are our governmental institutions and for with the airplane, the F–22. That paying more trying to get healthy and those who serve You faithfully by pre- amendment has been offered by Sen- to stay healthy. If we do not act, less serving our freedom. Bless our Sen- ators LEVIN and MCCAIN, the two man- than a decade from now you will spend ators as they strive to do Your will. agers of this bill. The President has in- almost half your family’s income on Lord, manifest Your presence and dicated if the F–22 language stays in health care. No one can be expected to power in their daily work so that they the bill, he will veto it. afford that. No one should have to af- will not become weary in doing good. A decision has to be made today as to ford that. Move them toward the deeper dedica- how we are going to dispose of this After a while, the trillions of dollars tion and the higher purpose of pro- amendment, either by passing it or by millions of families spend start to add viding hope for the marginalized in our moving beyond it in some way. We will up. Our country spends on health care world. Show them what they can do to recess today from 12:30 until 2:15 to twice as much per person than any bring about the moral and spiritual re- allow for the weekly policy lunches. other developed nation on the planet. newal of this Nation in order to hasten There will be no rollcall votes after 2 Health care costs consume almost 20 the coming day of justice and peace in or 2:30 today. cents of every dollar we spend. That is our world. We pray in the Name of the f of every dollar spent in America. If we King of Kings. Amen. HEALTH CARE REFORM do not act, in a generation it will con- sume more than one-third of every dol- f Mr. REID. Mr. President, I think lar. nearly every one of us has gone to the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE You may be fortunate enough to af- doctor and taken home advice to help ford health care this year, but if we do The Honorable ROLAND BURRIS led us get better or to live healthier. the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: not act, you may not be able to say the Maybe at one point in our lives, we same next year. If we do not act, your I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the were told, for example, to exercise children will likely not be able to say United States of America, and to the Repub- more. Maybe we were told to cut some- the same when they grow up. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, thing out of our diet, lose some weight, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Last Thursday, I was in an event add something to it, gain some weight, with Senator MURRAY, where she got f change your diet in some way. notice from the State of Washington Maybe we were prescribed medica- that 135,000 people who are bene- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING tion for a short while or for a long ficiaries of a health insurance plan in PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE while. People within the sound of my her State got a notice that the average The PRESIDING OFFICER. The voice in this Senate Chamber all have rate of increase to the 135,000 recipients clerk will please read a communication been to doctors, and many are taking of health care in that plan will have an to the Senate from the President pro medicine now. It is not always easy to increase on an average of 17.5 percent. tempore (Mr. BYRD). hear the advice doctors give or to fol- Staggering. We have all read the The legislative clerk read the fol- low the advice they give. It is never charts and seen the numbers repeated lowing letter: easy to change your lifestyle, even if by those who oppose fixing our broken U.S. SENATE, you know you will be better in the long health care system. There are charts PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, run. and there are conversations all toward Washington, DC, July 14, 2009. But you also know the risk of not fol- maintaining the status quo, keeping To the Senate: lowing your doctor’s orders and the things the way they are. But it is as if Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, consequences of not taking your medi- they have not bothered to do the math of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby cine. The costs of doing nothing are far on the costs of doing nothing. appoint the Honorable ROLAND BURRIS, a greater. You know that if you do not Health care reform is economic re- Senator from the State of Illinois, to per- do something this time, the news after form the duties of the Chair. form. That is why we want to lower ROBERT C. BYRD, your next checkup may even be worse; skyrocketing costs and bring stability President pro tempore. it will take even more drastic steps or and security back to health care. That Mr. BURRIS thereupon assumed the more difficult changes to get healthy is why we are committed to passing a chair as Acting President pro tempore. again. plan that protects what works and Well, America has had its checkup, fixes what does not. I am encouraged f and the prognosis is not promising. Our by the cooperation and commitment of health care system is sick. It is not several Republican Senators willing to RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY healthy. Our doctor’s orders are very work with us to get that done and to LEADER clear: If we do not start taking better get it done before it is too late. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- care of ourselves, it is only going to get I appreciate the tireless work of our pore. The majority leader is recog- worse. This is the message America Finance and HELP Committees, Demo- nized. has. crats and Republicans, as they write a ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Mar 15 2010 14:25 Nov 14, 2011 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR09\S14JY9.000 S14JY9 TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD July 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 155, Pt. 13 17589 prescription for America that will clear about what they want to see in a America’s jobs over the past decade at work. I had a call last night about 10 result. Americans want health care a time when the unemployment rate is from CHRIS DODD, indicating the that is more affordable and accessible, approaching 10 percent. According to progress that has been made in the but they also want to preserve the the President of the National Federa- HELP Committee. choice and quality that our current tion of Independent Business, some Republicans have offered hundreds of system provides. proposals currently being considered in amendments—hundreds of amend- We also know what Americans do not Congress could kill more than 1.5 mil- ments—and they are working their way want. They do not want a government lion jobs. And there is strong evidence through those. Those Republican plan that forces them off their current that low-wage workers, minorities, and amendments sometimes improve the insurance; denies, delays, and rations women would be hardest hit. In the legislation. For example, Senator DODD care; or costs trillions of dollars, only middle of a recession, we should be said he was very pleased they were able to leave millions of Americans with looking for ways to create jobs, not de- to work something out on bio- worse health care than they currently stroy them. We should be looking for generics—that is a prescription physi- have. ways to help workers, not hurt them. cians get—and there is some real activ- And Americans certainly do not want Americans want health care reform.