Sander Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan). (Mr. NOLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEVIN. It is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Pelosi), our very distinguished leader.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I will place into the Record the following letters from American Health Insurance Plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the California Medical Association, from AFSCME, and also from the Alliance for Retired Americans. These are just a few of the examples of letters and communications from opponents. You know, you can just boil this down to a few words. The Republicans are so intent on manipulating everything so that they think they can strengthen themselves for November that they put a poison pill into a bipartisan product, a product that we worked months to perfect. So there is no shame. March is irrelevant; November seems to be everything. This bill cannot become law. This is an effort simply of a political nature. I very much urge you, at this last minute, rethink what you are doing. It is so transparent. It is so transparent. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. March 11, 2014. Hon. John Boehner, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader, House of Representatives Washington, DC. Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi: On behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), we are writing to express our strong opposition to repealing or delaying the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate as part of the Medicare physician payment reform bill. Our members believe it is critically important to modernize the Medicare physician payment system to promote improvements in quality, value, and patient outcomes. However, we have deep concerns about packaging the Medicare physician payment bill with legislation that would sever the link between the ACA's individual mandate and its market reforms. The experience of states that attempted this in the 1990s demonstrates that removing this important linkage will result in more uninsured Americans, higher costs, and reduced choices for individuals and families. To avoid these outcomes, we are asking Congress to reject efforts to repeal or delay the individual mandate in the debate on Medicare physician payment reform. Thank you for considering our views on these important issues. Sincerely, Karen Ignagni, President and CEO, America's Health Insurance Plans. Scott P. Serota, President and CEO, BlueCross BlueShield Association.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan Senate legislation on unemployment insurance is a major step forward for millions of job- seeking Americans. It has been 76 days since the Federal unemployment insurance expired for 1.3 million job-seeking Americans. During that time, an additional 700,000 people have seen their lifeline cut off, hindering their efforts to get work and hurting our economy. When you add it up, as a result of failure to act, $3 billion has been taken out of the economy in January and February alone. Upon passage in the Senate, I urge Republicans in the House to follow this bipartisan path to assist the long-term unemployed who have been without Federal assistance since December 28. They and their families' needs are urgent. It is the responsibility of this, the people's House, to act on behalf of the people, the millions of long-term unemployed looking for work.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this important resolution supporting the people of Ukraine and condemning the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence by Russia. Unified, bipartisan American support is needed now more than ever as the Ukrainian people and their freedom are under threat from Russian aggression. Last week, the House spoke with one voice and took a critical step in support of Ukraine by passing a loan guarantee bill. This resolution is another positive step. Mr. Putin's military incursion into Crimea is a blatant violation of Russian obligations under a number of multilateral agreements. It demands a strong response, and the administration and Congress have responded accordingly. In addition to condemning Russia's military occupation to Crimea, this resolution supports the Obama administration's efforts to provide U.S. and international financial assistance to Ukraine. It also supports the administration's work with our European allies to impose targeted financial, travel, and trade sanctions on Russian officials and institutions responsible for violations of international law. The Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, which I cochair, has always operated in a spirit of bipartisanship with much success. This has been especially true since the crisis in Ukraine began, because supporting fundamental human rights and democracy in Ukraine and opposing illegal efforts by one country to dominate another, all of this should not be partisan issues. In closing, I urge the House to once again speak with one voice in support of Ukraine and pass this resolution.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time. I respect very much the specific impetus for this bill. Unfortunately, though, there have been no hearings on this legislation, and it was not marked up in committee. I would like to provide information on current law, on the scope of this legislation, and its potential consequences on our health care system. This is why I do not support this bill in its present form. First, it is important to note that the Affordable Care Act contains a religious exemption incorporating one that has been in the Internal Revenue code since 1965. This provision permits an exemption to members of religion that join together to provide mutual aid as a community-- for example, the Amish and Mennonite faiths--or participate in a health care sharing ministry, which is akin to insurance. These groups do not participate in government-funded social services, including Medicare or Social Security. This is a longstanding, well-defined, easy to implement exemption, and it was carried over to the ACA. The ACA's minimum essential coverage requirement was challenged in Federal court under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court rejected the challenge, concluding that ACA did not impose a substantial burden on plaintiffs' religious exercise, despite claims that the plaintiffs ``believe in trusting in God to protect them from illness or injury'' and did not ``want to be forced to buy health insurance coverage.'' Second, a requirement to purchase minimum health insurance is not a burden on one's exercise of their religious beliefs in the medical treatment they seek. The ACA does not preclude coverage for spiritual healing or prayer treatments. Indeed, the Church of Christ, Scientist explains on their Web site that under current law: Various U.S. Federal, State, and private health insurance plans provide for the reimbursement of Christian Science nursing care and practitioner treatment. Christian Scientists participate in Medicare, and Medicare covers some Christian Science services. It is the breadth of the language in the bill and the potential unintended consequences implementing it on a national basis that concerns me. The language provides an exemption if a person files a sworn statement to the IRS that their ``sincerely held religious beliefs'' would cause them to object to the ``medical health care'' that would be covered under ACA's minimum essential health care requirement. There is no indication as to how the IRS could implement this provision and, as a result, the exemption could essentially be available to anyone opposed to the ACA. While the bill states that individuals receiving ``voluntary'' medical care would lose their exemption, the IRS has no way to monitor individuals' use of voluntary medical care and to enforce this provision. Under the legislation, individuals receiving ``involuntary'' care-- such as emergency care--would be allowed to remain exempt from the coverage requirement, passing the cost of such care on to hospitals and other taxpayers. Because the bill does not define the ``sincerely held religious beliefs'' an individual would need to cite to avoid purchasing coverage, the IRS would be forced to determine which Americans' beliefs met the standard. Yet just 2 weeks ago, the House considered and passed H.R. 2531, the Protecting Taxpayers from Intrusive IRS Requests Act, that specifically prevented the IRS from asking taxpayers about their religious, political, or social beliefs. I regret that normal order has not been followed on H.R. 1814 so that these concerns could be surfaced and further information on the broad and problematic consequences of H.R. 1814 considered. For example, today, the American Academy of Pediatrics just expressed their concerns about the impact of H.R. 1814 on children. The American Civil Liberties Union also opposes the legislation, and the CBO just indicated today that the bill would increase the deficit by $1.5 billion over 10 years and increase the uninsured by about 500,000 each year. Current religious exemptions in the Tax Code are circumscribed and well-defined. This bill would create a broad and difficult to determine exemption in the individual responsibility requirement and force the IRS to take on an inappropriate role. Congress should take a more careful approach to this issue. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill, as has been discussed, encourages veteran employment and the growth of midsize businesses. For post-9/11 veterans, the unemployment rate has continued to decline. However, the rate of unemployment is still higher than the national average. For February 2014, the unemployment rate for veterans from this period was 9.2 percent higher than the national average of 5.3. I am so happy that the Republicans, at this moment, are trying to help the ACA work for veterans, for businesses, and for all Americans. I hope we will join in supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, it is a special privilege to yield as much time as she shall consume to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Gabbard), a veteran who I think is going to relate her own experience.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I will be very brief because I think the bill speaks for itself, and those who have spoken on its behalf have spoken so eloquently on behalf, especially of the veterans of this country. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I shall consume and rise in support of the bill. Well, first of all, let me mention that this bill followed regular order. It was brought up in our committee, it was discussed, and it was passed unanimously; and I think that is a plus and, I think, is a good precedent. Let me also say that this is an important issue, and it was one responded to by Treasury in its regulation. I think there has been a lot of misshaping as to what the regulation process is all about, and there have been times when we essentially have wanted to stop the regulatory process. I think that has been a serious mistake. It is sometimes used for a purpose, I think, unrelated to the substance of the issue. In this case, as I said, Treasury listened to the concerns that were expressed--and I think important concerns--and issued their final regulation; and essentially, what we are now doing is to say that what Treasury has decided in its regulation is correct. I think there is no concern about it being changed. However, this legislation says: let's put it in the books as legislation. And I think so be it because it is so important for this Congress to join the administration in recognizing that volunteer first responders are absolutely critical to the safety and security of communities across the country. I think it is sometimes not fully understood that 70 percent of all firefighters across the country are volunteers, and for the communities aided by volunteer first responders, the services donated annually by these volunteers are estimated to be worth more than $140 billion. So I rise in support of this legislation, as I said, and I want to emphasize that it was raised in regular order. It was brought before our committee. It was discussed within our committee. We took a vote. It was unanimous. Treasury had responded appropriately to the concerns expressed by us. So I now think we should give a further imprimatur to this legislation and support it, I hope, unanimously. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleague how many further requests for time he has, and I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I just want to close by stating--it can be done very briefly--the importance of this legislation. I think we have heard eloquent testimony to it, and I hope we can proceed on a bipartisan basis, as has been true before. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in fervent support of this legislation. This bills comes at a clearly crucial time. The people of Ukraine need to be able to preserve their Nation. We need to help. The people of Ukraine fought for their long-desired independence. We need to help them keep it. In my capacity as cochair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, I have had many chances to dialogue with the Ukrainian American community and members of the current Ukraine Parliament. They have outlined in detail their determination to maintain and sustain one Ukraine against Russian aggression and any other force. The President has taken strong steps to support that endeavor. We today should join together in unison with the President, and with, I believe, the overwhelming majority of the American people.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Paul Tait on the occasion of his retirement from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) after 42 years of dedicated service. Paul attained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He came to SEMCOG in 1972, and was named Executive Director of that organization in 1998. Under Paul's leadership, SEMCOG has used data and information to help make decisions resulting in literally billions of dollars in road, transit, and water infrastructure investment. As important as data and information are to regional planning, local government actions are also critical. Paul recognized this and worked to give all communities--large and small--a voice in the process. In a speech at the National Defense Executive Reserve Conference in 1957, President Eisenhower, who of course had served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, made this remarkable assertion: ``Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.'' He went on to say that while there are indeed some immutable truths, most of what we confront in our daily lives changes over time. President Eisenhower's basic point was that we shouldn't put too much faith in static plans, but rather invest in planning that assumes that conditions will change. Eisenhower's admonition is relevant because, for more than four decades, SEMCOG has been the regional planning partnership in Southeast Michigan. Over that time, our area has seen an astonishing amount of change. SEMCOG's task has been to recognize the changing circumstances and needs in our area--whether it's land use, transportation, air quality, water infrastructure, or economic development--and help our communities shape a regional public policy that is responsive and dynamic. Paul has played a key role in SEMCOG's work and effectiveness. Among his many other accomplishments, Paul is the devoted husband of Chris. They have four children and six grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Paul Tait for his leadership at SEMCOG and his commitment to the citizens of Southeast Michigan.