Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, this will be the last vote tonight. The Senate will go into morning business at 9:30 and be back on the bill at 10 o'clock tomorrow. We expect the first vote to be at approximately noon tomorrow.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of our time and ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, just a couple comments on the underlying amendment. I am always kind of amazed with the philosophy of saying, well, millions of people are not protected, as if the States have not been doing a good job. It is as if saying to the States: We don't care what you have done, it is not good enough. Senator Kennedy has decided you haven't done good enough. HCFA should be running your health care plans. States need not apply. States, don't bother. We know better. The Federal Government knows better. HCFA, the Health Care Financing Administration, basically should be running your health care plans. We don't care what you have done, States. We don't care if 42 States have already passed a health care bill of rights or 50 States already have consumer grievance procedures or 47 States already have a ban on gag clauses. We are going to pass things that supersede what you have done. We know what is best. The Health Care Financing Administration has done a crummy job, frankly, in administering rules dealing with home health care. We have home health care problems all across the country. A lot of it is because of HCFA. Or HCFA is getting information out to Medicare--which we passed in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. They are supposed to give seniors information. They have not done it. Yet we are going to transfer the entire regulatory authority of all the health insurance plans of America over to this governmental agency? To a bunch of bureaucrats thinking they can do a better job than all the States? I do not think so. If people are somewhat familiar with the labyrinth of regulations dealing with insurance plans, if we pass the Kennedy bill, as now proposed, the amendment that is before us, this is the kind of regulatory scheme we are going to have. You talk about duplication, you talk about confusion, you talk about almost an impossibility if the State has a plan--wait a minute, do we comply with Federal regulations dealing with the bill of rights or do we comply with the State, or do we comply with the State ban on gag clauses or ours? Somebody says, well, if there is confusion, we will have HCFA decide. HCFA will decide, the Government will decide, the Federal Government will decide. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. In addition, I would like to let my colleagues know there is $5 billion worth of new taxes in this amendment that is before us. If you want to increase taxes by another $5 billion, vote in favor of the Kennedy amendment. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. I am happy to yield.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am glad my colleague is sitting down. We might need Dr. Frist on the floor.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I need off the bill.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, for the information of our colleagues, we are going to be voting on this amendment probably in another 10 minutes. I urge my colleagues to vote no for all the reasons that have been so amply discussed by my colleague, Senator Hagel, just a moment ago, and Senator Collins earlier, Senator Gramm, Senator Enzi, and others. They are exactly right. We should not have ``one size fits all'' or ``Government knows best.'' There are a couple other reasons why they should vote against the Kennedy amendment. It is a big tax increase. I look at page 14, section (H) and there is a tax increase, a tax increase that boils down to about $3.5 billion over the next 10 years. Section (I) on page 14 is a tax increase that is $1.2 billion over 10 years. Section (J), page 16, another tax increase of $288 million over 10 years. If you add all that together, this amendment we will be voting on increases taxes by $5 billion. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. I thank my friend and colleague from Vermont. I compliment him for his outstanding leadership.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet for a hearing on ``ESEA: Drug Free Schools'' during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 13, 1999, at 9:30.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 13, for purposes of conducting a subcommittee hearing which is schedules to begin at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on issues relating to. S. 1330, a bill to give the city of Mesquite, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market value certain parcels of public land in the city, and S. 1329, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to Nye County, Nevada, and for other purposes.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet for a hearing re judicial nominations, during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 13, 1999, at 2:00 p.m., in SD226.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. I object.

Mr. NICKLES. I object.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield 1 minute to the Senator from Missouri, Senator Bond.

Mr. NICKLES. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, may we have order in the Senate.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. NICKLES. I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Arkansas.

Mr. NICKLES. I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, just to correct my colleague from Rhode Island, he said the cost of the Kennedy bill is about $2 a month. That is not correct. That is not in CBO's report. CBO says most of the provisions would take full effect within the first 3 years, not 5 years; not 1 percent, but a total of 6.1 percent. That is S. 6. That is what we are debating. That is what we are amending. We are saying that costs shouldn't increase by more than 1 percent. The Congressional Budget Office says the total costs would be $8 billion in lost Social Security taxes and total lost wages would be $64 billion. That is not a McDonald's hamburger. That is $64 billion in lost wages, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is not a Republican insurance study. That was the Congressional Budget Office that said people would lose $64 billion in lost wages. They also said as a result of the Kennedy amendment that people would drop insurance entirely; would reduce the generosity of health benefit packages; they would increase cost sharing by beneficiaries. I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.