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“MAKING CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2008” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S12255-S12258 on Sept. 27, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MAKING CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2008
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of H.J. Res. 52, which the clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 52) making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2008, and for other purposes.
The Senate proceeded to consider the joint resolution.
extending the medicare section 508 program
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, Senator Casey and I, along with our colleagues, Senators Stabenow, Conrad, Lautenberg, Schumer and Dorgan, filed an amendment to H.J. Res. 52, the appropriations continuing resolution for fiscal year 2008, to extend the Medicare section 508 program for 2 years. For a considerable period of time, there have been a number of hospitals in Pennsylvania and across the country that have been suffering from low Medicare wage index reimbursement, which has caused them great disadvantage in comparison to surrounding areas. Hospitals in these counties are surrounded by MSAs--metropolitan statistical areas--with higher Medicare reimbursements, and as a result, a flight of critical medical personnel occurs as hospitals are not able to provide employees with competitive wages.
During the consideration of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, I met with Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley and ranking member Max Baucus about the bill provisions, including the need for a solution to the Medicare area wage index reclassification problem in Pennsylvania. Section 508 was included in the bill, which provided $300 million per year for 3 years to increase funding for hospitals nationally to be reclassified to locations with higher Medicare reimbursement rates. As part of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act, which was signed into law on December 20, 2006, a 6-month extension of the section 508 Medicare wage index program until September 30, 2007, was included.
Mr. CASEY. I thank my colleague, Senator Specter, for his important work over the years on this issue, and I greatly appreciate our collaboration since I have taken office to find both an immediate and a long-term solution to the wage index problem. This issue is critical to ensuring that health care is available to Pennsylvanians and all Americans in areas that are being underfunded by the Medicare wage index reimbursement system. Further complicating this issue are the exceptions to the Medicare wage index regulations. Since 1987, exceptions have been created to the wage index program for rural facilities, new facilities and others. In fact, in 1999, Congress passed legislative reclassifications for specific hospitals to allow selected facilities to move to a new MSA and receive greater Medicare reimbursement. While these reclassifications have improved funding for those hospitals, hospitals that did not receive improved funding are being further disadvantaged.
Mr. CONRAD. I, too, want to lend my support for a 2-year extension of the Medicare section 508 hospital program. As the chairman and ranking member well know, I worked within the Finance Committee during the Medicare Modernization Act to create this vital program. For too long, Medicare has shortchanged Rural States, like North Dakota, in the wage index formula by not accurately reflecting real wages. Furthermore, the reclassification system has been biased towards urban areas and has failed to take into account the rural health care system experience where service areas overlap and facilities routinely compete across several hundreds of miles for professional staff. The section 508 program has helped to somewhat level the playing field for these hospitals--allowing them to improve their wages and make other significant investments--but its continuation is critical to ensuring the financial viability of many hospitals in North Dakota. The Congress must pass Medicare legislation this fall that includes a 2-year extension of the section 508 program.
Mr. BAUCUS. I appreciate the leadership my colleagues have shown on this important issue. Extending the section 508 program is a priority of the Finance Committee. Unfortunately, an agreement could not be reached to include this provision in this bill.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I thank my colleagues for introducing this amendment. This program provides vital funding for many hospitals including those in Iowa, and I was very disappointed that the House blocked our attempt to extend this program. It is unfortunate. Extending this program, however, does not address fundamental problems related to the wage index system. As mandated under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC, released their report examining an alternative Medicare wage index methodology. The legislation also requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose revisions to the wage index in the fiscal year 2009 Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule. I look forward to considering this proposal as we continue our work to make Medicare hospital payments more equitable.
Ms. STABENOW. I also wish to thank Senators Specter and Casey for raising this issue. We have worked together to ensure the continuation of 508 while we work to ensure that Medicare reimbursement more adequately reflects our hospitals' true costs. Section 508 funding has provided crucial assistance to a number of hospitals in my State, although I note that there are still inequities in the reimbursement system that must be corrected.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am, like my colleagues, strongly in favor of extending the section 508 program. This is a critical program for some New York hospitals, and I appreciate the chairman's commitment to include the extension in future Medicare legislation.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I would also like to thank the chairman and ranking member for their leadership on this issue and Senators Specter and Casey for their continued support. Without an extension of the section 508 program, hospitals in New Jersey stand to lose over $22 million. These hospitals cannot afford to sustain this loss and still provide the care needed to New Jersey residents. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to provide an extension of this important program.
Mr. DORGAN. I thank Senators Specter and Casey for raising this issue. Extending the section 508 program is critical for many North Dakota hospitals and is an important step to address the long-standing inequities in Medicare payment between urban and rural providers. I appreciate the commitment of the chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee and look forward to working with them to see that this extension is enacted.
Mr. CASEY. I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee for their support on this issue. The House of Representatives has already moved forward to pass legislation that would extend this program. This program is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2007, and action to extend the program for 2 years must be taken. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate our conversations about this issue in which you expressed your commitment to working to pass an extension to the section 508 Medicare wage index program this fall that will also make hospitals whole to the date of expiration.
Mr. SPECTER. I understand that the Senate is likely to take up legislation which will include a number of Medicare provisions during this session of Congress. I would appreciate the assurance of the chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee that any Medicare related legislation that is considered by the Senate this session include a 2-year extension of the section 508 program that is retroactive to October 1, 2007.
Mr. BAUCUS. I assure my colleagues that I am committed to working to address concerns about this issue as part of any Medicare related legislation that may come before the Senate.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I look forward to working with Chairman Baucus and other Finance Committee members to address this issue.
Mr. SPECTER. I thank my colleagues and look forward to working with them on this issue.
Mr. CASEY. I thank my colleagues as well and look forward to resolving this issue.
eas
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, with regard to the fiscal year 2008 continuing resolution that the Senate is taking up today, I would like to pose a question to the Senators from West Virginia and Washington. It is my understanding that the Commerce Committee has drafted a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, and that bill, S. 1300, should reach the Senate floor this session. That bill includes language with regard to Essential Air Service, EAS, to extend the state-determined mileage waiver. I thank the Committee for its work on that provision as it affects an airport in my State, as well as airports in South Dakota and Pennsylvania. In the interim, I would like to clarify that it is the intention of the Appropriations and Commerce Committees that EAS support continue for the airports in Hagerstown, MD; Brookings, SD; and Lancaster, PA along with the other airports nationwide that will continue to receive EAS funding through the Continuing Resolution today. I would direct this question to the chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety & Security if it his intent to continue EAS support for airports in Hagerstown, MD; Brookings, SD; and Lancaster, PA?
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Yes. We do hope to pass the full FAA authorization this session, and it contains the EAS mileage waiver. In the interim, it is the intent of the Committee that EAS funding should continue to these airports.
Mr. CARDIN. I would further like to get the views of the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies on this matter.
Mrs. MURRAY. This continuing resolution provides funding for the Essential Air Service program at the current rate with the expectation that the program shall continue to function as it is functioning now. We expect the Department of Transportation to avoid any major policy decisions that can impact this program during the period of the continuing resolution--especially given the fact that there is already legislation reported out of committee and awaiting Senate action that addresses the continuation of air service to these communities.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I commend my colleague from Maryland for addressing this issue. I am a member of the Appropriations Committee and I, too, understand that the Committee intends to continue EAS funding under the continuing resolution to airports in Maryland, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania that currently receive it.
Mr. SPECTER. This issue also affects an airport in my home State, in Lancaster, PA. Based on the provisions in the full FAA authorization, I agree that it is the intent of the committee that EAS funding should be extended to the airports currently affected by the EAS state-
determination mileage waiver.
Mr. JOHNSON. An airport in Bookings, SD, is also affected by the state-determination mileage waiver. So I am pleased to hear from all of my fellow appropriators that EAS funding should continue uninterrupted to the affected airports.
Mr. CARDIN. I thank all of my colleagues--both those responsible for the FAA reauthorization and those responsible for appropriating the funding for EAS--for making it clear that they expect the airports in Hagerstown, Lancaster, and Bookings to receive EAS funding under the continuing resolution.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am disappointed that we are about to begin the 2008 fiscal year without having enacted any of the appropriations bills for that year. I am even more disappointed that we are about to vote on a continuing resolution that provides tens of billions of dollars to continue the misguided war in Iraq but does not include any language to bring that war to a close. We need to keep the Federal Government operating and make sure our brave troops get all the equipment and supplies they need, but we should not be giving the President a blank check to continue a war that is hurting our national security. For that reason, I will be voting against this resolution.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to speak about the continuing resolution on which the Senate will soon vote. The resolution itself is a reasonable product that is largely the result of bicameral, bipartisan discussions. The resolution will allow the day-
to-day functions of our Government to continue and will provide at least some of the additional funding that is necessary for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to execute the mission with which they have been tasked. It is also worth noting that the resolution does not attempt to use its inherent leverage to force any significant or controversial policy changes. I urge my colleagues to support passage of the resolution.
But as we come to the end of the fiscal year, I must express my deep concern about the lack of progress toward enacting the appropriations bills. This lack of progress is not the fault of the Appropriations Committee. Under Chairman Byrd's leadership, the committee reported all twelve bills in ample time to be considered by the full Senate over the course of the summer. But for whatever reason, to date the Senate has passed only four of the twelve regular appropriations bills, and prospects for consideration of the remaining bills appear uncertain at best.
Last year, under Republican leadership, the Senate failed to send all but two of the appropriations bills to the President. We were roundly criticized for this, and rightly so. As a result we left Federal agencies to limp along on a continuing resolution for 5 months, and were then presented with a full-year, formula-driven joint funding resolution to which no Senator had an opportunity to offer amendments. That is a process that I hope will not be repeated. No Senator should want that.
We simply need to buckle down and do our work. It is true that the President has said he will veto many of the appropriations bills based on his concerns about spending levels. It seems that there are people on both sides of the aisle and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue who feel strongly about that question, and who are quite anxious to have that debate. But we can't have the debate if we don't call up the bills. The President can't veto what we haven't presented to him, and Congress can't vote to uphold or override a veto that never gets executed.
I understand that completing action on the remaining bills seems like a daunting task. But I know of no better way to complete such a task than to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I am pleased to hear the majority leader suggest that next week we will consider the Defense and the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bills. This is good news. I urge my colleagues to offer their amendments promptly when these bills are called up and to recognize that the opportunity to offer amendments to the subsequent bills is dependent on completing action on the pending bills.
It is particularly critical that we complete action on the Defense appropriations bill and the supplemental appropriations necessary to support the men and women in our Armed Forces and our diplomatic corps. While I am encouraged that we may consider the regular Defense appropriations bill next week, I am seriously concerned about reports that Congress may not consider a supplemental appropriations bill for the global war on terror until next year. While the continuing resolution we will pass tonight contains some ``bridge'' funding to support the troops through November 16, is an inadequate amount for the longer term.
As directed by Congress, the President submitted an FY 2008 war supplemental request in February. We expect to receive an amendment to that request any day. The Appropriations Committee held a hearing on these requests on Wednesday, and should be prepared in short order to act on legislation to fund our troops in the field. Delaying consideration of such legislation until next year is simply unacceptable. We have spent the last 2 weeks, and much of this Congress, in earnest and often useful debate on Iraq war policy. Amendments have been offered and votes have been taken. Deeply felt disagreements remain.
But the fact is that we have tens of thousands of American men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan performing the mission that their Government has assigned to them. The new fiscal year is upon us, and it is time for us to get on with the business of providing our men and women in uniform the resources they need to perform that mission successfully. To try to change American policy in Iraq by slowly starving our troops of those resources is unfair, and it is dangerous to American interests.
I urge the Senate to both forge ahead to complete action on the regular appropriations bills and to act promptly to provide our troops with the supplemental funds that they need.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
Mr. SANDERS. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on the third reading of the joint resolution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the third time, the question is on passage of the joint resolution.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), and the Senator from Illinois
(Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 1, as follows:
YEAS--94
AkakaAlexanderAllardBarrassoBaucusBayhBennettBingamanBondBoxerBrownBunningBurrByrdCantwellCardinCarperCaseyChamblissCoburnCochranColemanCollinsConradCorkerCornynCraigCrapoDeMintDoddDoleDomeniciDorganDurbinEnsignEnziFeinsteinGrahamGrassleyGreggHagelHarkinHatchHutchisonInhofeInouyeIsaksonJohnsonKennedyKerryKlobucharKohlKylLandrieuLautenbergLeahyLevin LiebermanLincolnLottLugarMartinezMcCaskillMcConnellMenendezMikulskiMurkowskiMurrayNelson (FL)Nelson (NE)PryorReedReidRobertsRockefellerSalazarSandersSchumerSessionsShelbySmithSnoweSpecterStabenowStevensSununuTesterThuneVitterVoinovichWarnerWebbWhitehouseWyden
NAYS--1
Feingold
NOT VOTING--5
BidenBrownbackClintonMcCainObama
The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 52) was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the order that relates to Senator Menendez on this matter.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. I also ask unanimous consent that the next votes be 10-
minute votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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