Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives leadership unveiled its Medicare prescription drug plan. I voted against that bill because it fails to provide the help that America’s seniors need. It is not a guaranteed benefit, it relies solely on the private health insurance market, it has large gaps in coverage, and it prohibits government from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of medicines.

The House bill also sets Medicare on a dangerous path toward privatization. As part of this scheme, the bill creates a new, separate entity, outside the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to administer the drug benefit and establish "competition" between fee-for-service Medicare and private insurers. This so-called "competition" would transform Medicare from a defined-benefit to a defined-contribution program, and ultimately end Medicare as we know it.

The "competition" section of the bill grants the new agency’s administrator broad authority to waive civil service protections, including those relating to hiring and pay. All employees of the new agency would be covered by the personnel policies of a political appointee, rather than federal law. Furthermore, the bill caps the number of staff in the new agency. Employees will no doubt become overburdened by an increasing workload, and an arbitrary cap on workers will require management to turn to the private sector for help, even if it is not in the taxpayers’ interest to do so.

Our nation’s civil servants are the backbone of the federal government. But this administration seems intent on eliminating the important protections that have served to maintain the quality of federal services and the quality of life for federal employees, retirees, and their families.

These proposed changes do not serve our seniors, they do not serve our federal employees, and they do not serve the American taxpayer.

The bill passed by the Senate would not privatize traditional Medicare. Now that the House and Senate-passed bills are in conference, I will continue to fight against the privatization of Medicare, and for a guaranteed Medicare prescription drug benefit for all seniors and key protections for our federal workforce.