Michael Bilirakis

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox].

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. McIntosh].

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1787, the bill just passed.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, the intent of the original Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act passed in 1993 was to relieve health centers of the burdensome costs of private malpractice insurance by extending Federal Tort Claims Act coverage to health center employees. The funds saved on these premiums could then be used to provide health care to additional individuals. H.R. 1747 extends current law and enables these health centers to maximize their Federal dollars and provide health care service to more people. Based upon the current statute, 542 health centers have been approved for FTCA coverage. However, because final regulations were not issued until May 8, 1995 the program has not been fully implemented. This lengthy period of uncertainty regarding the law's scope has made it necessary for many health centers to continue their private malpractice coverage. Despite this delay, 119 health centers have reportedly saved $14.3 million because they have been able to drop private malpractice coverage for one or more of their clinicians. The amendment before us would make the FTCA coverage permanent. The amendment also clarifies that participation in the FTCA is at the option of the health center and is not mandatory. It also modifies a study of the program so that a true cost-benefit analysis of the program will be done. This amendment was crafted with input from a bipartisan group of Members, the community health centers, and insurance agents who sell private malpractice insurance. I believe this amendment satisfies everyone's objectives for this legislation. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1747. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman again for his cooperation regarding this legislation, and I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Mrs. Johnson].

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, there is one reason and one reason only that we are here today. Whether some in this Chamber recognize it or can admit it, one reason brings us here today: Unless we have the courage to pass this balanced budget, all too soon we will have no revenue to fund the good programs our Nation needs. We all want America to remain the strongest country in the world. We want our children to grow up healthy, well educated, drug free, and prosperous. We just can't achieve these goals without first addressing the deficit. Otherwise, we, our Nation and our children's future will be strangled by runaway deficits. Former Democratic Senator Paul Tsongas made this clear when he noted that ``The Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform shocked even cynical inside-the-beltway types by pointing out that, on the current path, entitlement programs plus interest will cost more than all Federal revenues by the year 2012.'' All of the rhetoric, the acrimony, and the accusations that have been aired here in the past few weeks--even this Government shutdown--will be a small price to pay if we balance this budget, if we have the foresight to look beyond the obstacles of today and secure the future for our children and their children. We must pass this landmark legislation to balance our Federal budget and begin to honestly address our Nation's problems. Support his bill.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Regular order, Madam Speaker. Enough is enough.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Possibly, present company excepted, I do not know, I would suggest that most of the Members on the other side of the aisle have been involved in Medicare debates over the years, particularly during election time. They are very adept at it, and this morning proves that, I think, more than anything else. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I guess unfortunately I misspoke in my opening remarks when I talked about the bipartisan nature of what we were doing here this morning, regarding this piece of legislation. That is very unfortunate. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Barton].

Mr. BILIRAKIS. My point of order is to the effect that the debate over there has nothing at all to do with the legislation before us, which is to repeal the unnecessary regulatory burden of the cardiac pacemaker registry imposed by the Social Security Act, period. It is limited to that particular point, that subsection.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I have the continuing point of order. But the point of order has already been ruled upon and is being violated by the Members on the other side of the aisle. This is ridiculous. Let us stay on point for crying out loud.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I rise to a point of order.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2366, legislation to repeal the unnecessary regulatory burden of the cardiac pacemaker registry imposed by the Social Security Act. Section 1862(h) of the Social Security Act requires doctors and hospitals receiving Medicare funds to provide information to the Federal Government upon the implementation, removal, or replacement of pacemaker devices and pacemaker leads. However, in 1990 the Congress amended the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act to establish comprehensive reporting requirements that make the registry requirement in the Social Security Act duplicative and unnecessary. Removal of this unnecessary reporting requirement will be welcomed by the health care community and by manufacturers as well [[Page H 12207]] as by the Federal agencies charged with complying with this requirement. I want to emphasize that repeal of the requirement will have no impact on the public health, because it is redundant of a newer and more comprehensive requirement. Madam Speaker, I want to commend my colleagues, the gentlewoman from Nevada [Mrs. Vucanovich], a Republican, and the gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman], a Democrat, for recognizing the need for this legislation and working for its quick consideration. During these times it is nice to have a little bit of bipartisanship. I also want to commend the Speaker for instituting the Corrections Calendar. I believe this bill is a perfect example of the type of legislation for which the new Corrections Calendar is intended. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I ask for regular order at this point in time. The point of order I believe has already been made, Madam Speaker.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman would yield further, I did not make the rules of the House. I would suggest to you that your party, when you controlled this House for 40 years, made these rules of the House in terms of germaneness and sticking to the point.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Florida sat here very patiently and respectfully while the [[Page H 12210]] gentleman from California went on for something like 15 minutes in spite of the fact that I felt he was out of order at that point in time. We have special orders here, we have many ways in order to get this done. We have a very simple corrections bill here that everyone has agreed to go forward, and I think we should just go forward with this and have regular order.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, may I inquire at this time as to how much time remains on each side?

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague from Ohio, we are talking about the cardiac pacemaker registry here. I do not quite understand this. I have sat here very patiently. I think I have had the opportunity, I know I have had the opportunity to interrupt previously. I have not done so, but I think the other side is taking advantage of the situation.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2366.