Jeanne Shaheen

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 21, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``H1N1 Flu: Monitoring the Nation's Response.''

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 21, 2009, at 10 a.m. in SD-430.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 21, at 9:45 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Hagan for yet another reason why health care reform is going to make a difference for Americans. This morning, the freshman Senators have again talked about why we must pass health care reform. We have heard nine very important reasons why health care can make a difference for American families. We heard from Senator Warner that health care reform is going to be critical to States as they look at the rising costs of Medicaid in their budgets and how to get those health care costs under control. We heard from Senator Merkley why health care reform is critical to help small businesses as they are trying to cover their employees and deal with the costs as they get out of this recession. We heard from Senator Begich about why health care reform is critical as we are looking at economic recovery. Health care costs are 18 percent of this economy, one-sixth of this economy, and we cannot allow those costs to continue to grow at this rate and expect we are going to be able to recover robustly from this recession. We heard from you, Mr. President, about why health care reform is going to improve prevention and wellness. The goal is to make us a healthier population, and health care reform can help spur that. We heard from Senator Bennet about why health care reform is going to help people who already have health insurance, to make that health insurance better provide for families who need it. We heard from Senator Burris about why health care reform is going to be critical to making health insurance companies compete for business and, therefore, better accommodate the health issues families have. We heard from Senator Udall about why health care reform is going to make a difference for rural areas, places such as the north country of New Hampshire where we have too many people who have to spend too much and go too far for their health care. We heard from Senator Hagan about the importance of health insurance reform and health care reform to address things such as preexisting conditions. I talked about the fact that health care reform can both lower costs and improve quality for Americans. Those are nine critical reasons why health care reform is going to be important to help American families, American businesses, the American economy. The time to act is now. Hopefully, we can act in a bipartisan way. But we must act to make a difference for this country and for families. Mr. President, I yield back the remaining time in morning business. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Burris for pointing out that we need health care reform to get competition in our health care industry. I yield 6 minutes to the Senator from North Carolina, Mrs. Hagan.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank Senator Bennet very much for yet another reason we must pass health care reform. Now I wish to yield 6 minutes to Senator Burris from Illinois.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank Senator Udall very much for giving us another reason health care reform is going to be good for our families and for America. Now I wish to yield 6 minutes to the Senator from Colorado, Mr. Bennet.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I thank very much Senator Kaufman for giving us one more reason why we need to address health care reform. I now yield 6 minutes of my time to Senator Udall of New Mexico.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Yes, 1 minute.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I say to Senator Begich, thank you very much and thank you for pointing out how important health care reform is to our economy. I now yield time to Senator Kaufman from Delaware.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I thank very much Senator Merkley for pointing out what a difference health care reform can make for small businesses. I will now yield 6 minutes to the Senator from Alaska, Mr. Begich.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank the Senator from Virginia for his comments. As he said, our health care system is on an unsustainable path. Now is the time to fix it. Health care has not been working for families, for workers, for businesses, and for the Nation's economy. Today we are actually going to talk about some of the good news we know we can accomplish with health care reform. We are going to talk about what health care reform can do to help those families, workers, and the economy. It is our opportunity to control costs for Americans and to improve quality. Let me be clear: We can control cost and improve quality at the same time. When we do this, we have to remember to keep patients at the center of the debate. The truth is, in so many cases the health care industry can do more for less. Usually I like to tell a story about what is going on with my constituents. It helps us keep people at the center of the debate. Today I want to talk about some of the innovative health quality initiatives happening in New Hampshire. We all know hospital readmissions are a costly problem in the country. We have an exciting program going on in Manchester, the State's largest city, at the Elliot Senior Health Center. They recognized what was happening with readmissions. They recognized that hospital discharges can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming for seniors and that providing a little extra attention to help those seniors as they are transitioning out of the hospital can help keep them from being readmitted. They developed a program they call the TRACE Program. TRACE provides seniors with a health coach who helps patients with the tools and support to take a more active role in managing their medical care. The support those patients receive improves their understanding not only of their own health care, of the health care system in general, it helps keep them out of the hospital. Senator Collins and I have introduced a bill that would help do this systemwide called the Medicare Transitional Care Act. It builds on successful programs such as the one at the Elliot Senior Health Center. Our legislation would improve the quality of care, reduce hospital readmissions, and lower costs. Research shows we can save $5,000 per Medicare beneficiary if we enact this kind of a program systemwide to deal with hospital readmissions. I am happy the key provisions of this idea are included in the Finance Committee bill. It will give us an idea of how this is going to work systemwide. It is one example of what we can do to improve the quality of care while we control cost. There is another initiative we have been working on. I know all of us have been forced to wait in a crowded emergency room sometimes. Emergency room overcrowding is a problem that has become all too common. It is a symptom of what is going on in our health care system. Frequent users of health care services are a small but very costly portion of our population. They contribute to overcrowding in emergency rooms, and they raise costs for everyone. These individuals often have multiple chronic conditions. Sometimes they have mental illness. Sometimes they are faced with issues such as poverty and homelessness. They are among our most vulnerable but most frequent users of emergency rooms because they have nowhere else to go. In one study, one individual used the emergency room 115 times in 1 year. This was in Camden, NJ. Another patient accumulated $3.5 million in hospital charges over 5 years. These are charges for which the American taxpayer paid the bill. Our health care system is not adequately dealing with frequent users of emergency rooms. The good news is, we can change this. Through increased outreach and coordination, we can reduce utilization. We can save costs. Research shows that after 2 years of participation in a program that provides this kind of coordinated care for people who use emergency rooms, usage of emergency rooms was cut by over half. This translates into significant savings for the taxpayer. It is the kind of reform we must continue to look at if we are going to change the health care system and make it work for taxpayers, for businesses, and for families. These are only a few examples of how health reform can benefit Americans. We can improve the quality of care available to people, and we can control health care costs at the same time. I believe we can do this. Now is the time to pass meaningful health reform for the citizens of New Hampshire and for all Americans so we can achieve these changes in our system. I now yield the floor to Senator Merkley for 6 minutes.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, as you well know, being one of the freshmen Senators, along with me and a number of others of us, we have been coming to the floor for the past several weeks to talk about the need to address health care reform. We are here again this morning for the next hour to talk about why this is so imperative. I am going to yield my time, about 5 minutes initially to Senator Warner, who has another engagement and needs to be off. So at this point I yield 5 minutes to Senator Warner.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor for the third time in the last couple of weeks to urge passage of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. This will help the almost 2 million Americans who are in danger of losing their benefits. I am proud to join Senator Jack Reed, and I thank him for his leadership in trying to get this done and working out legislation that can be supported by hopefully most of the Members of this Senate. For nearly 2 weeks, we have been working to pass an extension to help struggling families across the country. The Senate bill we have introduced is a good bill, as Senator Reed has said. It extends unemployment benefits for up to 14 weeks in all 50 States and by an additional 6 weeks in States with the highest unemployment rates. The extensions are targeted: only unemployed workers who have already exhausted their benefits are eligible. That means that almost all jobless workers who use this extension will have been out of work for a year or longer. That is a very long time. Unemployment insurance was created to provide workers with an income while they look for another job, but with unemployment almost 10 percent nationally, it has gotten harder to find work, not easier. The number of long-term unemployed--those without a job for 27 weeks or more--rose to 5.4 million in September. In my home State of New Hampshire, the number of long-term unemployed has more than tripled in the past year. So now we have reached a perfect storm with unemployment. There are more than six people for every job opening, and nearly 2 million Americans are about to run out of all benefits, the benefits they need to pay the rent, to pay their mortgage, to buy food, to pay for gas, to continue to look for a job. The Presiding Officer and I both know that unemployment is spent on necessities and it is spent immediately. So when we extend benefits, we are not just helping the workers who have lost their jobs; we are helping small businesses that provide the goods and services unemployed workers need. In fact, economists say that dollar for dollar, extending unemployment benefits is one of the most cost-effective actions we can take to stimulate the economy. So now, as this economy is trying to recover, as people are struggling to find work, it makes perfect sense that we would extend unemployment benefits for those people who need them. The American people are calling for the Senate to act, but some of our Members just aren't listening, and they have held up an extension for almost 2 weeks. They don't seem to want to move forward under any circumstances. My office is getting calls every day from people in New Hampshire and across the country, and they want to know why the Senate isn't acting quickly to pass an extension. Unfortunately, some Senators seem to be holding up the process to win political points, to delay our entire legislative agenda. They are playing politics while 7,000 workers a day run out of benefits, the benefits they need to put food on the table, to pay their bills, to keep our economy going. This is not the time to play politics. This extension will help millions of Americans. It will help Americans in Democratic States, in Republican States, in Independent States, in purple States and red States and blue States. It is important for us to pass this extension to help those Americans to stimulate our economy by getting money back into the hands of people who will spend it immediately. I, again, urge all those Senators who have been standing in the way to stop playing politics and to pass this critical extension. I yield the floor.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on October 15, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2009, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a subcommittee hearing entitled ``U.S. International Broadcasting into the War Zones: Iraq and Afghanistan.''

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2009, at 10 a.m., to hold a subcommittee hearing entitled ``Drought, Flooding, and Refugees: Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change in the World's Most Vulnerable Nations.''

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on October 15, 2009, at 10 a.m., in the SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2009, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Domestic Partner Benefits: Fair Policy and Good Business for the Federal Government.''

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet, during the session of the Senate, to conduct a hearing entitled ``What Women Want: Equal Benefits for Equal Premiums'' on October 15, 2009. The hearing will commence at 10:30 a.m. in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2009, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, it is with deep sympathy and a heavy heart that I express my condolences to the family of SGT Joshua Kirk who was killed on October 3 in Afghanistan. Joshua was serving his second tour of duty as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The American people will forever be grateful for his ultimate sacrifice. Sergeant Kirk enlisted in the Army in the spring of 2005, joining the 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO. He was originally from Thomaston, ME and attended Southern Maine Community College, where he met his wife Megan of Exeter, NH, and earned a degree in construction technology. Joshua believed deeply in his mission and in the cause of freedom for which he and seven of his fellow soldiers sacrificed their lives together. Words will not assuage the anguish each of these soldier's family will feel, nor the sense of loss at Fort Carson when these brave men failed to return home, but we hope that one day these families will take solace in what President Lincoln described as ``the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.'' Our Nation can never fully repay the sacrifice Sergeant Kirk and his family have made. Through his service, he helped preserve the safety and security of the American people. It now falls to all of us to take up this responsibility and ensure that the cause Sergeant Kirk gave his life for is won for his wife and young daughter. I ask my colleagues to join me and all Americans in honoring the life of SGT Joshua Kirk. Staff Sergeant Kurt R. Curtiss

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. This bill will extend at least 14 weeks of unemployment benefits to workers across the country who will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. This the second time I have come to the floor to urge those who are holding up this critical legislation to stop blocking its passage. This week we learned that Wall Street firms are expected to pay out a record $140 billion in compensation. While the economy seems to have turned around for Wall Street executives, it sure hasn't turned around for millions of American workers who still can't find a job. If we can bail out the big banks that got us into this financial mess, shouldn't this Senate be able to act quickly to help the people hit hardest by this recession--unemployed workers? Apparently not, because there are Members of this Senate who are playing partisan political games and delaying an extension of unemployment benefits. This needs to stop. Today, more 5 million workers have been unemployed for 6 months or longer. Through no fault of their own, millions of Americans cannot find work because there are now more than 6 unemployed workers for each job opening. Until the job market improves, we have a responsibility to help these workers keep food on the table and pay the mortgage. Not only is this the right thing to do for families, it is the right investment to make in our economy. An effective stimulus is timely, targeted and temporary, and that's how this extension is designed. This extension is temporary. It is targeted at those who have been unemployed for more than 59 weeks and have exhausted their benefits. And no one can question that it is timely. Unemployment compensation is money that gets spent immediately on necessities. People who are out of work need this money to help pay rent and mortgages, buy food, and pay for gas. So when we extend unemployment benefits, we are not just helping workers who have lost their jobs, we are helping small businesses across the country by boosting demand for their products and services. In fact, economists say that dollar-for-dollar, extending unemployment benefits is one of the most cost effective actions we can take to stimulate the economy. Temporary extensions of unemployment benefits are an especially effective stimulus when the long-term unemployment rate is high, and, unfortunately, that is the situation today. Nationally, the number of long-term unemployed--those jobless for 27 weeks or more--rose to 5.4 million in September. In my home State, New Hampshire, the number of long-term unemployed has more than tripled in the past year. I do not understand why any Senator would delay an extension of unemployment compensation that will help workers and small businesses in every single State. People are counting on us to act now. American workers who have exhausted unemployment benefits cannot wait another week to pay the rent or buy groceries. I urge my colleagues to stop the games and pass this critical extension without further delay. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. SHAHEEN

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak as in morning business.