Mr. Chairman, we were scheduled to mark up five bills today covering a range of subject matters.
The two health bills represent a number of bipartisan ideas on Medicare coverage for end-stage renal disease and Medicare payment policies for long term care hospitals. Many Members have contributed to the composition of these health provisions, including Representatives Rangel, Lewis, Pascrell, and Crowley.
We have a bill coming before us on excise taxes related to aircraft management services. This legislation begs the question of whether we really think that jet owners are the Americans most in need of tax relief. At a time when so many other major tax issues are looming, such as closing egregious loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas and acting on expiring energy provisions, it is curious that this tax provision is coming before the Committee. Closer examination is warranted to learn who exactly would benefit from this bill.
There were two bills scheduled related to Social Security. The first attempts to limit the use of Social Security numbers in mailed material from SSA to deter identity theft - an effort that is already underway by the Social Security Administration.
The last bill, HR 711, which was introduced by Chairman Brady, would revise the Social Security program’s Windfall Elimination Provision, commonly known as the WEP. While this legislation includes some useful provisions on improving the computation of the WEP, it also includes other harmful provisions that will cut Social Security benefits to an estimated 12 million future retirees. This legislation must be amended to prevent these cuts in Social Security benefits for retiring firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public service workers.
I look forward to a more detailed discussion of each bill as they are individually marked-up.
