Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I rise to make a point of order on the amendment.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman will state her point of order.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the Rehberg amendment because it violates clause 3(j)(3) of House Resolution 5 by proposing a net increase in budget authority in the bill. According to a cost estimate received from the Congressional Budget Office, the Rehberg amendment would increase net budget authority in the bill by $2 billion in fiscal year 2012 and a total of $5.5 billion over 10 years. Let me repeat that. That is adding $5.5 billion to the deficit. And I have, in my hand here, the CBO estimate of the budgetary effects of amendment 575 to H.R. 1, a CBO document.

The House rules package, adopted at the beginning of this Congress in House Resolution 5, includes the following rule in section 3(j)(3): "It shall not be in order to consider an amendment to a general appropriations bill proposing a net increase in budget authority in the bill."

According to the CBO estimate, the Rehberg amendment does, in fact, produce a net increase in budget authority and is, therefore, not in order.

The majority have raised a point of order on all other amendments that violate this rule in section 3(j)(3) because they increase net budget authority; yet on this amendment by Mr. Rehberg, that is not the case. It would seem that on the question of health care, the majority is not abiding by its own rules to reduce the deficit.

I ask a ruling from the Chair.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a comment on the point of order.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized.

Ms. DeLAURO. The chairman has argued--with all due respect to the chairman--that the amendment does not violate clause 10 of rule XXI. But that is not the point of order that I raised. The point of order was section 3(j)(3) of H. Res. 5, and I will repeat what that says.

"It shall not be in order to consider an amendment to a general appropriations bill proposing a net increase in budget authority in the bill." This clearly, clearly proposes an increase. And we have the documentation from CBO.

So I am asking that this amendment be ruled out of order.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 30 minutes.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes.

The American people want us to work together to address their top priorities--creating jobs, turning the economy around, and reducing the deficit. The Republican majority told the American people, Vote for me, that's what we are going to do. This is a classic case of bait and switch.

Their first order of business was to repeal health care reform, the results of which would add to unemployment, add to the deficit, and delay the economic recovery. And today, by denying funds for the implementation of health care, they are at it again.

This amendment would take away the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act and put the insurance companies back in charge, a further demonstration of the majority's special interest priorities and an hypocrisy on job creation and deficit reduction.

Repealing health care will destroy jobs in the health professions. It will slow growth by 250,000 to 400,000 jobs a year. It will increase medical spending and add nearly $2,000 to the average family insurance premium. And according to CBO, repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit in the first 10 years and $1 trillion in the second 10 years. And let me repeat that. This amendment adds billions and ultimately trillions of dollars to the deficit, and it starts next year with $2.2 billion.

While my colleague will say that for the rest of this year that that isn't the case, one needs to just look at what the CBO says overall on the $5.5 billion in deficits that this would create. This is not what they promised the American people.

This amendment will allow insurers to charge women 48 percent more than men for exactly the same coverage. It allows insurance companies to once again discriminate against Americans with preexisting conditions, even children with preexisting conditions. Women may again be denied coverage because they survived breast cancer or because they were a victim of domestic violence or because they had a c-section. It will deny up to 4 million small businesses $40 billion in tax credits.

This amendment will increase drug costs for seniors. It will take away the 50 percent discount on brand name drugs for those who have found themselves in the doughnut hole. It will increase, also, seniors' health care costs, making lifesaving preventive services like mammograms, colonoscopies, wellness visits, blood pressure screenings, and diabetes screenings more expensive. This amendment will cost money and it will cost lives.

In Connecticut 191,000 children with preexisting conditions benefit from the health care reform law. More than 540,000 seniors with Medicare coverage no longer have out-of-pocket expenses for recommended preventive services, and up to 15,400 small businesses in my district alone will benefit from these tax credits.

If this amendment passes, what will happen to children with preexisting conditions, to seniors in the doughnut hole, to small business owners trying to help their employees find quality health insurance?

I urge my colleagues to vote against this irresponsible amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.

To the prior gentleman, I would just say you didn't listen to the people of this country; you sold them a bill of goods. You told them you were going to create jobs, you were going to reduce the deficit, and you were going to turn the economy around. You have done none of this. You have been here 6 weeks, 8 weeks; and you have not done anything. And with this amendment you will, indeed, by the CBO numbers, increase the deficit as soon as next year by over $2 billion.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, let me just reiterate again: This amendment would not create jobs; it would not do anything to reduce the deficit. In fact, by the CBO numbers, it would increase net budget authority in the bill by $2 billion next year, a total of $5.5 billion over the next several years. It increases the deficit. Let's keep hitting it on that point.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

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Ms. DeLAURO. The Rehberg amendment would increase net budget authority in the bill by $2 billion in fiscal year 2012--that's next year--for a total of $5.5 billion over the next several years.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

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Ms. DeLAURO. The Rehberg amendment increases net budget authority in the bill by $2 billion next year, a total of $5.5 billion over 10 years. It increases the deficit, and it puts the American people back in the hands of the insurance companies. Again, it's a classic bait and switch.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).

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Ms. DeLAURO. CBO: Repeal of the health care bill would add $230 billion to the deficit in the first 10 years. The Rehberg amendment would add $2 billion in 2012, a total of $5.5 billion over the next several years.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

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Ms. DeLAURO. The Rehberg amendment increases the deficit by $2 billion in 2012, $5.5 billion over the next several years, and does nothing to create a single job.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

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Ms. DeLAURO. The Rehberg amendment would increase the deficit by $2 billion next year, a total of $5.5 billion over the next several years, and that is the estimate of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It increases the deficit and does not create any jobs.

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

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Ms. DeLAURO. I remind the gentleman from Georgia that the taxpayers pay for Congress' health insurance as well. And any children that we have are covered under our health insurance. We are in a rarified air in that regard. We have health insurance, as Mr. Miller pointed out. We go to the head of the line if there is anything wrong with us. That is not the case for millions of people in this Nation. And that's what the other side of the aisle would like to continue, that millions of people will not have the same kind of health care that we in the United States Congress have.

With that, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

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Ms. DeLAURO. I yield myself 30 seconds.

Let me just repeat, to be absolutely clear, about what this amendment does.

It does not create jobs. It adds to the deficit $2 billion next year, $5.5 billion over the next several years. It does nothing to bring the deficit down. It increases the deficit, and it puts the American people back in the hands of insurance companies.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

The Acting CHAIR. Does the gentlewoman continue to reserve her point of order?

Ms. DeLAURO. I do, yes.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. DeLAURO. Very briefly, I yield myself 30 seconds.

This amendment--this amendment--will add to the deficit in the next year--next year--$3.5 billion, and over the next several years $5.6 billion. It will not create a job and once again would put the American people back in the hands of the insurance companies without the ability to be able to get the kind of health insurance that they require to deal with any illness that may befall them.

With that, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. What we need to be doing is to focus on jobs to grow the economy and to reduce the deficit. This amendment does none of the above. Essentially what it does, it takes us back into the hands of insurance companies when they had free rein to raise rates, to reject claims and deny coverage to families and businesses who would have no recourse. It protects their CEO bonuses and their corporate profits.

We need to be about the business of creating jobs. This amendment does nothing to do that and increases the deficit. It should be absolutely clear to everyone here and everywhere else what this amendment does.

Mr. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the amendment because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes legislation on an appropriation bill and therefore violates clause 2 of rule XXI. The rule states in pertinent part: ``An amendment to a general appropriation bill shall not be in order if changing existing law.'' It waives existing law.

I ask for a ruling from the Chair.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, once again, as to what we are doing here, this amendment just mirrors the prior amendment of which we had a discussion. We keep saying it over and over again: Your inability to come here, as you promised, to create jobs for the American people, to lower the deficit for them, and to turn the economy around has failed.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chairman, the American people want us to focus our time and attention on creating jobs. They want us to turn the economy around. They want us to reduce the deficit. The total of the two amendments that have just come before this body would increase the deficit, increase it, the first one by $5.5 billion over the next several years, and this one at about $5.3 billion over the next 5 years.

That's not what you told them you were going to do. You told them you were going to create jobs and roll back the deficit. What you are doing here is putting the American people in the hands of the insurance companies again to make their decisions about health care. And we have health care in this body. Millions in this Nation do not.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill, which doesn't create jobs, doesn't turn the economy around, and adds to the deficit.

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