Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Now I ask my amendment be called up.

Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we had hoped that we might have a vote on the Dole amendment, a rollcall vote here. I need to check with one Senator on this side. Is there any objection on the other side to having a vote at this time or not? Are you prepared?

Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I will explain, as will the distinguished chairman of the committee, Senator Roth, explain in some detail what this amendment does. It is a very important amendment. It is about a $10 billion amendment. It is paid for. And it does help make health care more available and more affordable. That is the thrust of this bill and that is why, even though we certainly want to accommodate Senator Kassebaum and Senator Kennedy, as far as amendments are concerned, we think this amendment does improve the bill and it does provide a great deal of opportunity for many Americans who are now denied health care. Let me tell you why. I am committed to passing this bill and the amendment is designed to help make that happen. For many years self-employed individuals have been uncertain as to whether they could deduct their health insurance premiums. And the Democrat-controlled Congress refused to make the deduction permanent to ensure that it would apply year after year. Last year, one of the first things Republicans did when we took control of the House and Senate was to make this deduction permanent, and to increase it to 30 percent. But we said then and we say now that 30 percent is not enough. The amendment I now offer would raise the deduction for the self-employed to 80 percent by phasing in increases over the next 10 years. This will provide equity and much needed tax relief to farmers, small business men and women, and other self-employed Americans. My attempts to raise the deduction for the self-employed are not new. An amendment I offered last year passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support, but that did not stop the President from vetoing it, just as he vetoed our $500 per child tax credit. My amendment will also provide important tax relief regarding long- term care expenses. The Internal Revenue Service has not seen the wisdom to allow taxpayers a deduction for long-term care expenses or premiums paid on long-term care policies. So this amendment is needed to force the IRS to recognize that expenses to care for those unable to care for themselves are legitimate medical expenses that should be deductible. It is in the best interest of the country to provide appropriate incentives for families to give proper long-term care for family members or to plan for future expenses, such as by purchasing long-term care insurance. Families want to care for their own and the IRS should not stand in the way. This provision is particularly important for Americans who are likely to face these expenses in the near future for their parents and grandparents. Expenses to provide long-term care of a disabled or elderly relative could bankrupt a family. We cannot and will not let that happen. And neither should my Democratic friends, although they have voted against this relief in the past and the President has already vetoed this tax relief once before. I have also included medical savings accounts in this amendment. You may have heard a lot about MSA's already. But let me tell you about them. First of all, they are hardly a radical new concept. They are being used today in 13 States and have enjoyed bipartisan support for many years. MSA's provide individuals with choice and flexibility. If an individual chooses to accept an MSA, the individual can tailor his or her own health care to his or her own needs. Individuals would have their own personal savings accounts dedicated to health care spending--similar to the way they have IRA's for their retirement savings. Under the MSA proposal in this amendment, individuals could purchase a high-deductible plan and then use the money they accumulated in their savings account, up to the deductible limit, for health care expenses. They could deduct the amount they contribute to the MSA and the savings would accumulate tax free. Who could argue against providing additional options and flexibility? The answer is the same people who thought that the best way to reform the health care system was to hand it over to the Federal Government-- to impose more mandates and Government controls. The American people are thankful that the Democrat efforts to turn the health care system over to the Government failed, and they hope that Democrats will fail in their effort to block this amendment. Let us remember that the Joint Tax Committee recently analyzed this MSA proposal and concluded that 88 percent of the MSA tax benefits would go to those making under $100,000 a year, with 78 percent of the benefits going to those making under $75,000 a year. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join with me in support of substantial tax relief for Americans. Madam President, health insurance reform is, by no means, a newly debated issue in this Chamber. In fact, it predates many individuals in this town. The concern about the availability and affordability of health insurance goes back as early as the Nixon administration when President Nixon declared that the American health care system was in need of repair, particularly when it came to affordability. Madam President, that was 25 years ago. Since then, there have been dozens of health care bills debated in this Chamber--the Bentsen bill, the Dole-Packwood bill, and others, all of which were drafted with the sole purpose of making health care more available and more affordable. To this date, Madam President, none has been signed into law. We now have before us a bipartisan bill that contains the kinds of commonsense insurance reforms that this Senator and many of my Republican colleagues have long advocated. I commend my colleague from Kansas, Senator Kassebaum, for her hard work and determination to craft a health insurance reform bill that could be supported by the vast majority--if not all Members--on both sides of the aisle. Madam President, as I stand here, I have to say that I feel a great sense of relief--as I am sure many Americans will feel--that common sense has finally prevailed. For nearly a decade now Republicans have been trying to pass an incremental health insurance bill that would solve many of the problems with the availability and affordability of insurance. During the Bush administration, however, the Democrat-controlled Congress refused to give President Bush's proposal the time of day. And then came the Clinton administration, and President Clinton's insistence that turning the American health care system over to the Federal Government was the only solution. It was a solution chock full of mandates, Government intrusion, and untold costs. And the American public took one good look at it and said, ``No thanks.'' From almost the very first day of the Clinton administration through the entire long national debate over the President's plan, I said the same thing day after day after day. And what I said was this: Fix what needs fixing, makes changes in the insurance market so that more Americans are able to obtain and afford health care, and leave the many very good parts of American health care alone. Here we are, however, 2 years later, and still talking about insurance reforms that are still badly in need. And the tragedy of that, Mr. President, is that there are millions of Americans who could have been helped these past 2 years, had President Clinton not insisted on his plan or nothing. Madam President, our first priority is to start with portability. This will assure that no American is denied coverage because he or she changes or loses a job. I am committed to passing that change because it will help millions of job-locked Americans with preexisting medical conditions and their families. As I have said, eliminating job lock should have passed at least 2 years ago. Regrettably it did not. Before we get much further into this debate, I want to underscore at the outset that it is very important that we pass a bill, once and for all, that can be signed into law. There is no hidden agenda--no surprises--no smoke and mirrors. This is serious work that we have promised to the American public for a very long time. I also want to take a moment now, that I will elaborate on later, to describe an amendment Senator Roth and I plan to offer to this bill. In that amendment there will be a number of tax provisions that will enhance the insurance reforms in this bill. Again, I want to underscore, this amendment is not meant to defeat this bill or diminish its chances of being signed by the President. To the contrary, my amendment will strengthen this bill and help more people obtain affordable health insurance--all without the overdose of Government control the American people already rejected. My amendment will include an increase in the deduction of health insurance premiums paid by the self-employed and provides deductions for long-term care expenses so that families have real incentives to plan for their later years. It also provides for tax-exempt high-risk pools, and allows for tax-free accelerated death benefits. In addition, this amendment makes medical savings accounts available to all Americans. Medical savings accounts are not a new concept and have enjoyed bipartisan support. My view is that medical savings accounts are another choice for Americans. They may not be right for everyone. They may appeal to many others. They are included in this amendment as another option. Choice, after all, is one of the greatest virtues of American health care. These are all provisions to help make insurance more affordable thereby increasing the number of people who are insured. Madam President, this Congress has worked very hard to keep the promises we made to the American people when they gave us a majority. This bill represents relatively noncontroversial needed change--change we have promised for a long time. We owe it to the millions of Americans who need our help to do today what we should have done several years ago. Passage of this bill will not only improve our health care system, it could very well restore the faith of the American public that the work for the Congress is not just a series of political stalemates. Even in an election year, we can work on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation that will improve the lives of so many Americans. Let me indicate that the distinguished Senator from Maine, Senator Cohen, will discuss his part of this amendment, proposals to clamp down on health care fraud and abuse. Senator Cohen has been working on it for a number of years, and they save about $3 billion. They are a very important part of this overall amendment. I will just say, as I said earlier, this is a very important piece of legislation. It is a bill that should be passed. It is a bill that can be signed into law. There is no hidden agenda, no surprises, no smoke, and no mirrors. This is a serious work product that we have promised to the American people for a long time. It seems to me we can get this done yet today. The House has passed a different version. We will go to conference. In my view, we can come up with a very reasonable proposal that I think President Clinton will sign. We have offered what we believe will be an amendment to strengthen this bill. I happen to believe the medical savings account is another addition that will strengthen this bill. I know there is some objection to it. But all this is done without an overdose of Government control which the American people rejected just a few years ago. For all the reasons I can think of, I urge the adoption of this amendment without anything being stricken from it. I hope at 3:45 the motion to strike will be defeated, and then we can determine if we can vote on the Dole-Roth amendment or should there be other amendments. Maybe the Senator from Washington has other amendments or maybe other people. We can then dispose of those amendments. I yield the floor, and I thank the Chair.

Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I think we have partial agreement here so we can move ahead. I want to associate myself with most of the remarks, probably all of the remarks made by my colleague from Texas. We do not want to have to refight that battle again. I think he raised some excellent points. I hope in part they have been addressed in the so- called Dole-Roth amendment, that I think does improve this bill substantially. But I ask unanimous consent that during the consideration of S. 1028, the health insurance reform bill, and following opening statements and adoption of the managers' amendment as original text, the majority leader or his designee be recognized to offer his amendment concerning tax provisions and medical savings accounts. I further ask that during the pendency of the Dole amendment, Senator Kassebaum be authorized to move to strike the medical savings account provision, there be 2 hours equally divided in the usual form on the motion to strike, and that no amendments be in order to the Dole amendment or the language proposed be stricken prior to the vote on or in relation to the motion to strike.

Mr. DOLE. I will be happy to yield to the Senator.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, today I am introducing a joint resolution which salutes and congratulates Polish people around the world on the occasion of the 205th anniversary of the Polish Constitution. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Simon, Abraham, Moseley-Braun, Murkowski, Mikulski, Helms, Roth, Santorum, and Lugar. This resolution is being introduced today in the House by Congressman Jack Quinn of New York and a number of bipartisan cosponsors. Poland is one of America's oldest and closest friends. Many of its sons and daughters have crossed the ocean to our shores over the past 200 years. Indeed, from the very birth of our great nation we have benefited from the talent and dedication of the Polish people. When we fought for our independence, Thaddeus Kosciuszko--a native son of Poland--fought alongside General Washington. Today, memorials to Kosciuszko's courage, military skill, and genuine friendship, can be found in our Capital and in many cities across the United States. Following the War of Independence, Kosciuszko carried back to Poland the American concept of constitutional democracy. Poland's 1791 Constitution was the first constitution in Central and Eastern Europe to secure individual and religious freedom for all persons. It also formed a government much like ours, composed of distinct legislative, executive, and judicial powers. I would like to quote from the Polish Constitution which declares, ``All power in civil society should be derived from the will of the people.'' Tragically, this Constitution was only in effect for less than 2 years. However, its principles endured for 2 centuries. And over the last 5 years--since the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact--Poland has finally realized the promise of freedom and democracy held in the 1791 Constitution. So, on May 3, 1996, when the citizens of Poland celebrate the 205th anniversary of the adoption of Poland's first Constitution, we want them to know that the United States Congress shares in their celebration. No doubt, all across our 50 States, Polish-Americans will be celebrating and taking pride in their rich heritage. This joint resolution salutes and congratulates all Polish people, wherever they may now reside, on this great and historic occasion. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after all the amendments are disposed of this evening, the vote occur on final passage of S. 1028, as amended, on Tuesday at a time to be determined by the majority leader after consultation of the Democratic leader. Let me indicate why I am doing that. Senator Mack's father passed away. He would like to make the final passage vote, unless there is some objection.

Mr. DOLE. Oh, yes. I think there is only one additional vote. I believe this will be the last vote.

Mr. DOLE. Yes.

Mr. DOLE. We can stack three or four votes back to back, accept the rest of them, and have final passage.

Mr. DOLE. How much time will the Senator from Pennsylvania take?

Mr. DOLE. Let us say an hour from now.

Mr. DOLE. I am satisfied with that. I think it is a good idea.

Mr. DOLE. I now make that request.

Mr. DOLE. Yes. Amendment No. 3682 (Purpose: To reauthorize and expand the healthy start program to target areas in need and to implement community driven strategies to reduce infant mortality)

Mr. DOLE. How many from the Senator from Massachusetts?

Mr. DOLE. So that will be two votes?

Mr. DOLE. En bloc?

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I urge that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. DOLE. I wanted to get consent that votes occur in the order in which they were debated, with 1 minute of debate after the first vote to be equally divided for explanation; that all votes after the first vote be reduced to 10 minutes in length. I think that is satisfactory to the managers.

Mr. DOLE. Let me encourage my colleagues, if there is an opportunity to work these out on either side, we hope we can do that and not require a rollcall vote. If you are going to work out your amendment and it is accepted without rollcall votes, I will look very kindly on those amendments. I will be a conferee.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, today I am introducing a joint resolution which salutes and congratulates Polish people around the world on the occasion of the 205th anniversary of the Polish Constitution. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Simon, Abraham, Moseley-Braun, Murkowski, Mikulski, Helms, Roth, Santorum, and Lugar. This resolution is being introduced today in the House by Congressman Jack Quinn of New York and a number of bipartisan cosponsors. Poland is one of America's oldest and closest friends. Many of its sons and daughters have crossed the ocean to our shores over the past 200 years. Indeed, from the very birth of our great nation we have benefited from the talent and dedication of the Polish people. When we fought for our independence, Thaddeus Kosciuszko--a native son of Poland--fought alongside General Washington. Today, memorials to Kosciuszko's courage, military skill, and genuine friendship, can be found in our Capital and in many cities across the United States. Following the War of Independence, Kosciuszko carried back to Poland the American concept of constitutional democracy. Poland's 1791 Constitution was the first constitution in Central and Eastern Europe to secure individual and religious freedom for all persons. It also formed a government much like ours, composed of distinct legislative, executive, and judicial powers. I would like to quote from the Polish Constitution which declares, ``All power in civil society should be derived from the will of the people.'' Tragically, this Constitution was only in effect for less than 2 years. However, its principles endured for 2 centuries. And over the last 5 years--since the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact--Poland has finally realized the promise of freedom and democracy held in the 1791 Constitution. So, on May 3, 1996, when the citizens of Poland celebrate the 205th anniversary of the adoption of Poland's first Constitution, we want them to know that the United States Congress shares in their celebration. No doubt, all across our 50 States, Polish-Americans will be celebrating and taking pride in their rich heritage. This joint resolution salutes and congratulates all Polish people, wherever they may now reside, on this great and historic occasion. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we will immediately begin consideration of Calendar No. 205, S. 1028, the Health Insurance Reform Act of 1996. Amendments are expected to be offered. Rollcall votes can be anticipated throughout the day and into the late evening. We want to finish this bill today. We had hoped to start it last evening. It is also possible that the Senate could resume immigration legislation if agreement can be reached with respect to relevant amendments. That is probably unlikely. Then, on next Monday, or tomorrow, we hope to start the debate on term limits. We will be announcing more on that later. But we do hope to complete action on the Health Insurance Reform Act of 1996 today or tomorrow. So we will be making an announcement about votes on tomorrow later today.