Transportation, Housing And Urban Development, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 - Conference Report - Resumed

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I wish to begin my part of this colloquy with Senator Bayh and Senator Collins by thanking my colleague from Indiana. I also thank my colleague from Maine because both senators have said from the very beginning of this discussion that the bottom line for millions of working families, for single moms, for folks who are walking on an economic tightrope across the country, they are going to see this issue through the prism of what it means for them in terms of their premiums and their costs.

Over these many months, Senator Bayh and Senator Collins and I have been toiling to put together some bipartisan ideas. We have filed these ideas as a package of amendments, submitted them to the majority leader, Senator Reid, and the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Baucus, and we just wanted to take a few minutes today to talk in particular about why it is so essential that there be a bipartisan effort put together for additional steps to contain costs.

Senator Bayh is absolutely right in describing the Congressional Budget Office analysis. Certainly, many people were fearful the CBO report would come out and say that on day one after enactment premiums would rise into the stratosphere as a result of the legislation. Fortunately, that was not the case in the report for most people.

We also believe there is a whole lot more that can be done. So we have said, Democrats and Republicans are going to try to prosecute that case. What it comes down to is ensuring that, in the text of this legislation, there is more choice and more competition.

The reality is, ever since the 1940s, the days of the wage and price control decisions that have done so much to shape today's health care system, most Americans have not had real choice in the health care marketplace and have not been able to enjoy the fruits of a competitive system. Most Americans have little or no choice. Most Americans don't get a chance to benefit when they shop wisely.

As Senator Bayh noted--and as Senator Collins and I have noted over the last few days--that is something we ought to change. It is certainly not a partisan idea. Senator Reid and Senator Baucus, to their credit, have agreed with me that there ought to be more choice for those folks who have what, in effect, are hardship exemptions under this legislation. There are people, for example, who spend more than 8 percent of their income on health who aren't eligible for subsidies, who have these hardship exemptions; and Senator Reid, Senator Baucus, and I have agreed they ought to be able to take any help they are getting from their employer in the form of a voucher and go into the marketplace. These people should be able to put into their pockets any savings that come about because they have shopped wisely.

But as Senator Bayh has noted, we have an opportunity to go further. If an employer in the exchange decides, on a voluntary basis, that their workers should have a choice, under the proposal advanced by the Senator from Indiana, the Senator from Maine, and myself, they would be able to do it.

It is the voluntary nature of our idea that Senator Bayh has outlined, an approach that gives more options to both employers and employees, that caused our proposal to win an endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business.

I ask unanimous consent at this time to have printed in the Record that letter from the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD

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Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I will make one last comment and then we will be happy to have our colleague from Maine join us in this bipartisan colloquy.

As we go forward with this legislation, I hope we will do more to look at the exchanges, which are the new marketplace for American health care. We haven't had that kind of approach since decades ago when we had a discussion about a system that, for all practical purposes, tethered people to one choice that was a judgment by an employer and insurance company. I wish to make sure, in the days ahead, that as many people as possible can keep exactly what they have today. That is something the President feels strongly about. That is something every Member of the Senate feels strongly about. I also want employers and employees to be able to say they are going to have a broader range of choices than they do now.

I think that can be done in a way that does not destabilize employer-based coverage. In fact, I believe it will strengthen employer-based coverage. I think that is one of the reasons the National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed our proposal.

We have a lot of work to do. I think there is a lot of good faith among Senators on both sides to get this done. I have always felt that on issues such as this, when you are talking about one-sixth of the American economy, you ought to try to find as much common ground as you possibly can. The three of us have come together behind a new set of amendments that does find some bipartisan common ground, around principles the President has embraced--choice and competition.

At this point, I yield whatever time she desires to our friend from Maine, who is a wonderful partner in this, along with Senator Bayh. Americans are looking for commonsense ideas above all else. That is what we have sought to do in this proposal.

I yield to my friend from Maine.

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Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, to close, briefly, I thank my colleagues. I don't want to make this a bouquet-tossing contest, but to have Senator Bayh and Senator Collins--they are as good of partners as it can possibly get.

At the end of the day, Americans are going to watch this bill, they are going to watch it next year during the open enrollment season when millions are signing up for their coverage, and they are going to be looking to see if we did everything possible to hold down their premiums. Holding down their premiums--there is a variety of ways to go about it, but there is no better tool than to bring the principles of the marketplace, the principles that are used in every other part of American life--choice and competition--for the challenge ahead.

With the help of Senator Collins and Senator Bayh, we are going to prosecute that case. We are going to do it in a bipartisan way.

I thank my colleagues. I yield the floor.

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