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For two years, members of this Committee have worked on a bipartisan basis to write this legislation. Democratic and, until now, Republican members have faithfully followed the ground rules and operating principles established by the Chairmen of the Committee and the Health Subcommittee with respect to the creation and consideration of the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act. This common understanding helped the Committee set aside partisan differences and unified member support on both sides of the aisle for this targeted bill. Such consensus on legislation affecting Medicare has been virtually non-existent in the Committee in recent years.
We strongly support the legislation as presented in the Chairman's mark. Our vote to oppose reporting of the legislation was primarily a reflection of our protest of the abandonment of a process that had served both the Committee and the issues under consideration well.
The addition of controversial amendments in the Committee undercut the process and seriously undermined the trust and goodwill that had accumulated among members around the development and advancement of this particular legislation.
We do not normally like to be put in a position where amendments are discouraged, as it undermines the free and full debate that should be the hallmark of the democratic process. However, in this case, it was well-understood to be a bipartisan directive. When this legislation was before the Committee in the 107th Congress, the Chairman had stipulated that amendments could not be offered.
Given an opportunity for full and fair debate regarding the amendments that were offered, some of us might have been able to find bipartisan agreement on these issues, as has been done on other provisions in the mark. That said, many of us are concerned about the issues raised by the beneficiary organizations that opposed the amendments. Those organizations, whose letters have been inserted elsewhere in the Record, include the AARP and the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. Testimony from the Center for Medicare Advocacy at the Health Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 810 also reflects concerns about both of the proposals that were offered as amendments.
In addition, there was an explicit prior agreement between the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee that the OASIS issue dealt with in the Johnson amendment would instead be reflected in a General Accounting Office study.
Furthermore, the Camp amendment to rollback penalties for nursing homes with serious deficiencies flies in the face of the need to increase oversight and enforcement of quality standards in the nursing homes.
Members and staff have spend countless hours meeting with various affected interest groups, the Administration, and colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee over the past two years. The Chairman's Mark consisted of policies that were broadly supported on both sides of the aisle. We hope that the legislation brought to the floor reflects that agreement.
CHARLES B. RANGEL
SANDER LEVIN
XAVIER BECERRA
MICHAEL R. MCNULTY
MAX SANDLIN
JOHN LEWIS
JIM MCDERMOTT
JOHN TANNER
PETE STARK
STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES
JERRY KLECZKA
LLOYD DOGGETT
WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON
BEN CARDIN
RICHARD E. NEAL
EARL POMEROY |
