Senate Opening

The Senate Convened.

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Nelson-NE: (9:33 AM)

·         Congratulated Rabbi Fellman for leading the Senate in prayer this morning.

 
Senator McConnell: (9:39 AM)

·         Spoke on the economic stimulus package passed by the House.

o    SUMMARY "We have better ideas to address the housing crisis which is where this problem originated. But in order to pass these and other commonsense amendments we will need support from our friends on the other side of the aisle. Fixing our economy requires innovative ideas, commonsense solutions and bipartisan cooperation. It's clear from last night's vote in the House the only thing bipartisan about this bill is the opposition to it. It simply doesn't meet the standard set by President Obama and welcomed by Republicans in Congress. Republicans stand ready to work with our friends across the aisle to create truly bipartisan legislation to actually stimulate the economy and create jobs."

 
Senator Baucus: (9:49 AM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Many Senators thought this should be another entitlement program for children. On the other hand, some Senators thought, no, this should not be an entitlement program, it should be a block grant program. That was the compromise, that states get big chunks of money to be matched by payments by states to provide health insurance for the working poor; that is, for kids and families just above the income levels set for Medicaid. It's worked very well. It's very, very important, and I am very happy, frankly, and am proud of the effort that was begun by the Senators I mentioned back in 1997."

 
Senator Hatch: (10:03 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Hatch Amendment #80 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "It may sound odd to call someone who can drive, vote, or serve in the military a 'child,' but it is the most natural thing in the world to say that when those very same individuals were in the womb, they were children. And under this HHS regulation, states have had the option of providing HHS coverage to children before, as well as after birth. My amendment would codify that regulation to continue helping states protect the health of children."

o    SUMMARY "My amendment also clarifies that states may provide mothers with postpartum services for 60 days after they give birth. Mothers have health needs before and after they give birth, and their children have health needs before and after they are born. My amendment ensures that the CHIP program continues to meet those very important needs. I urge my colleagues not to put the health of children at greater risk by side-tracking my amendment."

 
Senator Boxer: (10:07 AM)

·         Spoke against the Hatch Amendment #80 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I would just say that it appears to me that this amendment is a diversionary amendment from this very important bill to expand and improve the health of our children including the health of our moms who are pregnant, to a debate about when does life begin. Let's fight about abortion. And you know what? We'll have many opportunities to have that argument. And when we have that argument over Roe v. Wade, I think pro-choice will prevail, but this is not the place to have that argument."

 
Senator Hatch: (10:12 AM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "This amendment, by definition, has nothing to do with abortion since women who seek help covering their unborn children's health are not women seeking abortion. They are separate, and Senators should not try to mix them. This is not an issue about abortion. This is an issue about living, unborn children, and her or his mother."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

Colloquy (Senators Boxer and Hatch).

·         Spoke on the Hatch Amendment #80 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

 
Senator Boxer: (10:23 AM)

o    SUMMARY "My friend from Utah says he wants an honest debate, and then he says, and I'm quoting him, not word for word, he says, pregnant women aren't covered in this bill. That's a dishonest debate. States have the option to cover pregnant women, just as under the Bush regulation they had the option to cover the unborn child."

o    SUMMARY "It is an issue we all address in our own way using our own logic, our religion, our moral values, and we come to a conclusion. Don't inject it into this bill. I really hope we reject this. Because this is now the second abortion-related amendment my Republican friends have offered in as many days. If that's what they think this election was about, I think they're missing something. People want our kids to have health care."

 
Senator Hatch: (10:33 AM)

o    SUMMARY "In the worldview, the radicals who support abortion, they don't believe the unborn child is in existence or lives. They don't want to give recognition to the unborn child. That's their right if they want to feel that way, I think it's ridiculous, unspiritual, it's ignoring life itself, but to make that part of this debate is the wrong thing to do. We're trying to protect children. The distinguished Senator from California said, well, all women are going to be protected by this bill. That is not true. Only if a state gives an option. We want to make sure the state, if it wants to, gives an option to not just the woman, but to the unborn child."

 
Senator Boxer: (10:38 AM)

o    SUMMARY "Because this bill says, and I will reiterate this as long as I have to, that every single poor pregnant woman in America today is eligible for health care during her pregnancy from the first day to the last day. And then, of course, a poor child would continue to get that health care. So anything else and anyone else who says that isn't true, simply hasn't read the bill."

 
Senator Hatch: (10:44 AM)

o    SUMMARY "Let us not pit mothers against their children. This is not an either/or situation. Let's protect both mothers and their unborn children. That's what this bill is about. This bill is about children. We have brought mothers into it and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The gentlelady and I simply disagree."

 
Senator Boxer: (10:47 AM)

o    SUMMARY "Don't say that those of us who vote against this amendment are separating women and children. It is the total opposite. For whatever reason, under that old regulation, the child was mentioned and not the woman. That defies science. That defies reality. You treat the woman and the child she is carrying."

 
Senator Bunning: (10:53 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Bunning Amendment #74 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "My amendment is fairly simple. It simply removes this exemption for New York and New Jersey, so they have to play by the same rules that all other 48 states play by. If they go above 300% of poverty, they get their Medicaid matching rate, but not the higher SCHIP rate. As I said, I think 300% is too high, and if I were writing the bill, I certainly wouldn't allow states to get any federal money if they were covering families over 300% of poverty. However, that's not the bill before us. So my amendment just tries to equalize the playing field between the 50 states and be a little more fiscally responsible with taxpayers' dollars."

o    SUMMARY "My amendment takes the savings from reimbursing New York and New Jersey at the Medicaid matching rate and directs that money to more outreach and enrollment dollars, so we can get everybody that's eligible for SCHIP enrolled."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Hatch: (10:57 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Bunning Amendment #74 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I rise in support of that Bunning Amendment. He's right. Why on earth should states be rewarded by getting the higher CHIP match rate for covering kids over $300% of poverty. That's $63,000 for a family of four."

 
Senator Johnson: (10:59 AM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I rise to express my support for CHIP reauthorization and to urge my colleagues to approve CHIP and cover an additional 4.1 million kids. I voted to create this program in 1997 and have watched with great satisfaction as the number of uninsured children go down about 11,000 kids every month. As a result, the kids have every chance to do the best in school and live long, happy, productive lives. This is a great achievement but we have more work to do."

 
Senator Dorgan: (11:27 AM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "This isn't difficult in terms of how it works. It is not difficult in terms of the value system here. Can you name two of the things that we do on the Floor of the Senate that are more important than preserving the health of our children or treating a sick child who has no other options to get treatment, or go to a doctor, go to a health clinic? Name something more important than that for your children, or for the children you love. This is not difficult, and we shouldn't make it difficult."

 
Senator Grassley: (11:30 AM)

·         Spoke on the Hedge Fund Transparency Act.

o    SUMMARY "Like the previous version, it clarifies current law to remove any doubt that the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to require hedge funds to register. Simply to register, so the government knows who they are and what they're doing. It removes the loophole previously used by hedge funds to escape the definition of 'investment company' under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under this legislation, hedge funds that want to avoid the stringent requirements of the Investment Company Act will only be exempt if, one, they file basic disclosure forms, and two, cooperate with requests for information from the Securities and Exchange Commission."

 
Senator Levin: (11:42 AM)

·         Spoke on the Hedge Fund Transparency Act.

o    SUMMARY "So because of their ownership, their size, and their reach and their clientele and the high-risk nature of their investments, the failure of hedge funds today can imperil not only their direct investors, but also the financial institutions that own them, that lent them money or did business with them. From there, the effects can ripple through the markets and impact the entire economy. It is time for Congress to step into the breach and establish clear authority for federal regulation and oversight of hedge funds."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Wicker: (11:44 AM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) and the Wicker Amendment.

o    SUMMARY "The SCHIP legislation the Senate is considering this week purports to provide more health insurance for our nation's poorest and neediest of children in states like Mississippi. Instead of spending taxpayer dollars on our poorest children, those who need health insurance the most, the bill we are considering today gives taxpayer-funded health insurance to middle-class families and wealthy states. The SCHIP bill we will be voting on today does nothing to ensure that all American children under 200% of the poverty level have health insurance."

o    SUMMARY "Our amendment would prohibit states from receiving funds to cover individuals above 200% of poverty level until we can guarantee that 90%, not 100%, but 90%, of the poorest children nationwide are covered. The result of our amendment would be that the more affluent states would simply have to wait if they want to cover middle-class children, if they want to cover families making as much as $88,000 per year or more. They would have to wait until the poorest of the poor children in Mississippi and Arkansas, in North Carolina, in North Dakota, and Nebraska and Iowa are covered."

 
Senator Pryor: (11:54 AM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I rise today in full support of renewing and improving the Children's Health Insurance Program. In Arkansas we know this program is our Kids First Part-B. In my state and throughout the country, the program insures low-income uninsured children get the doctors visits and the medicine they need when they're sick. This program was been highly effective and I believe the bill before us will build upon that success...this body will have an important vote to cast this week. We'll determine who will see a doctor and who will not."

 
Senator Baucus: (12:00 PM)

·         Spoke against the Wicker Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "It's not really a good idea. It does try to attempt to address something called crowd-out, which has been in debate here for a long time. And, frankly, I think this crowd-out debate is really missing the mark here. We're not keeping our eye on the ball. The ball really is how do we get more kids covered under Children's Health Insurance Program."

 
Senator Enzi: (12:05 PM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) and the "Kids First Act."

o    SUMMARY "Some states currently spend SCHIP money on adults when this money was meant for children. The 'Kids First Act' takes the money spent on adults and uses it to insure children. The 'Kids First Act' requires that all states phase out non-pregnant adults, including parents, and not allow the addition of any new non-pregnant adults to the program. American children are the top priority and the primary focus of that bill. I support that bill. The bill maintains existing law which ensures that scarce resources go to covering American citizens first."

o    SUMMARY "The bill before us today is a very partisan bill that fails to focus on low-income American kids first. H.R. 2 would encourage middle-class families to drop their existing health insurance plans and instead get on the taxpayer dime. That's just not right. We need to put low-income kids first. Under H.R. 2, 2.4 million children will lose their private health insurance coverage and be forced to enroll in the government-run programs where they may not have access to the physician and other health care services that they need. The bill will also make it easier for both legal and illegal aliens to get covered under SCHIP."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Menendez: (12:36 PM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) and the Bunning Amendment.

o    SUMMARY "New Jersey needs to cover children up to 350% because New Jersey's families face higher living cost and they get less return on their federal dollar. Let me talk about that. I hear my colleagues bemoaning the fact that my state allegedly wants some sort of special treatment. That because we want to provide health benefits to children, we are somehow taking advantage of the federal government. And that is simply ridiculous. Let me put it in perspective. For every dollar a New Jersey taxpayer pays in federal dollars towards the federal government, our state only gets back 65 cents."

o    SUMMARY "I'm simply baffled and I find it embarrassing that some in Washington, those who have some of the best health care coverage in the world, would propose to jeopardize coverage to some of America's neediest families. And in this economy, in this recession, we cannot allow our children to be the silent victims. It is morally wrong to jeopardize the health care of these children...I hope my colleagues, as other amendments have been rejected, will once again reject this amendment."

 
Senator Reid: (12:47 PM)

·         The Senate will proceed to consider Eric Holder's nomination to head the Justice Department on Monday afternoon.

 
Senator Nelson-FL: (12:52 PM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "We are reauthorizing this and we are enhancing it. It makes good commonsense, it clearly makes good economic sense, and in America, where we want to give the very best of every opportunity for our children, it fulfills that dream and that desire as well. And for these reasons, it's hard for me to believe that anyone would vote against the reauthorization of this program."

 
Senator Lincoln: (1:09 PM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I rise today to speak in support of a piece of legislation that is long overdue. The reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. And for those of us that have children that are young, in school, bringing home all kinds of unbelievable colds and sniffles and all the other things, we realize that our children today need health care, and how wonderful it is that as a nation we have gathered together to put together a comprehensive package that will help increase the number of children that can be covered."

o    SUMMARY "As we move forward, I want to encourage my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation in the same bipartisan spirit that was demonstrated when it was created 12 years ago. We are not here to create a work of art, Mr. President. We are here to create a work in progress. And after 12 years we have come to understand the importance of what has changed in our communities, what has changed in our economy, what has changed among our working families to meet the needs that exist in today's world."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Kyl: (1:38 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Bunning Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "It's going to be very hard, I think, for some people to go home to their constituents who say why didn't you support the Bunning Amendment. Why should I have to pay money for somebody making $88,000 in New York City or New York state to cover these higher-income kids? The Bunning Amendment is a modest attempt to get the program to be back closer to its original intent, slightly less expensive, generate some funds to get the low-income kids and have more equity among states. I can't think of an amendment that would more reasonably try to deal with all of these problems, and I do urge my colleagues just for a moment here, let's put politics aside."

 
Senator Baucus: (1:39 PM)

·         Spoke against the Bunning Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Basically, the Bunning Amendment is the fourth amendment that would put a cap on eligibility. Yesterday, the Senate rejected a Cornyn Amendment with a cap at 200% of poverty, a Roberts Amendment with a cap of $65,000, and a Murkowski Amendment with a cap of 300% of poverty. All of these amendments, including the Bunning Amendment have the same flaw; that is, they would raise the possibility of kicking kids off of Children's Health Insurance Program."

 
Senator Grassley: (1:44 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Bunning Amendment and the Grassley Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I know the Senators from states of New York and New Jersey will argue that $63,000 is low income in their states. I know that they will talk about Binghamton, Buffalo, or Rochester in the state of New York. The underlying bill says that all states can cover above 300% of the federal poverty level. I think that should be limited as it was in the second bill that was a bipartisan bill passing the Senate in 2007. But if we're going to allow states to cover above 300%, all states should be treated equally."

o    SUMMARY "This amendment that I'm going to soon lay before the Senate is a bill that I believe is the best bipartisan compromise we could put together to cover as many low-income children as possible. This amendment is that 2007 bill that told states they couldn't cover children above 300% of poverty level in the Children's Health Insurance Program."

 
Senator Hatch: (1:53 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Grassley Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I strongly support this amendment of the distinguished Senator from Iowa. Essentially, what we are doing here is striking the Baucus Bill being considered on the Floor and replacing it with the CHIP Bill which, thank you, passed overwhelmingly in this body there 2007."

o    SUMMARY "This amendment eliminates the earmark to allow New York to cover children up to 400% of poverty. That's $84,800 for a family of four. By the time they get additional waivers, some estimate that families could be getting over $100,000 a year and still qualify for the CHIP program. What does at that do? That takes money from the 6 million kids we can't cover, that we don't have enough money to cover. It's crazy, and yet, that's what this bill does."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

Colloquy (Senators Durbin and Hatch).

·         Spoke on the Grassley and Hatch Amendments to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

 
Senator Durbin: (2:02 PM)

o    SUMMARY "Is the Senator arguing that we should not provide care to pregnant, legal immigrant women?"

 
Senator Hatch: (2:02 PM)

o    SUMMARY "Certainly not. As the Senator knows, they get the care whether it is through CHIP or otherwise. I have to tell you that care was supposed to be provided by the sponsoring families for five years."

 
Senator Durbin: (2:02 PM)

o    SUMMARY "If a person here legally, though not being a citizen, is a legal immigrant mother, is it not true that her child born here will be a legal citizen?"

 
Senator Hatch: (2:03 PM)

o    SUMMARY "Yes, it is true. And they would be covered by CHIP."

o    SUMMARY "I'm not against any children getting help. A lot of these children get help through our system of health care, but I'm talking about a CHIP bill that cannot take care of our current citizen children, but would be able to after five years to take care of non-citizen children and I have no problem with that. Because the families who bring them in said they would take care of them for five years, or at least we're told they should have to take care of them."

 
Senator Reid: (2:11 PM)

·         Propounded a UC that the Senate move into Executive Session at 3:15 PM on Monday to consider the nomination of Eric Holder. There will be 3 hours of debate equally divided and controlled, and at 6:15 PM the Senate will proceed to vote on the related nomination (without objection).

 
Senator Baucus: (2:12 PM)

·         Propounded a UC that at 3:10 PM the Senate proceed to a serious of votes, the Coburn Amendment #47, Bunning Amendment #74, and Hatch Amendment #80 (without objection).

 
Senator Durbin:(2:20 PM)

·         Spoke on the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "If you really do respect families and family values, if you really do respect life and children, why would you deny basic health insurance to these children? They are the children of legal residents of the United States, people paying their taxes who want the best for their kids like we all do. And that's why this is so important. We've come at this in the last couple days in ten different directions. It's still the bottom line. The bottom line is if you value these kids, if you want them to be healthy, if you want to give them a fighting chance for a good life, so they can be happy and healthy and good citizens of the United States, don't deny them this health care."

 
Senator Baucus: (2:29 PM)

·         Spoke against the Grassley Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Just a basic reminder, the effect of the Grassley Amendment is to deny health insurance to about three-quarters of a million people compared with the underlying bill. I don't think we want to deny the working kids of the working poor who really do need health insurance, especially during these very difficult economic times."

 
Senator Lautenberg: (2:35 PM)

·         Spoke against the Bunning Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Children in New Jersey are depending on the members of this institution to oppose the Bunning Amendment. Two years ago, on a bipartisan vote, the Senate rejected a similar amendment that was offered by the Senator from Kentucky. It's an assault that he continues with, and I ask my colleagues to reject this amendment once again. Do it now and do it with emphasis because we've got to stop this state picking on when there are states and moments of far greater need."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Baucus: (2:51 PM)

·         Spoke against the Coburn Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I just strongly urge Senators not to support this amendment. The practical effect of this amendment is to significantly discourage health insurance for poor kids, kids who belong to working poor families. I urge the amendment be defeated."

·         Spoke on the Grassley Amendment to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I think I overstated, after my staff read the full amendment, the number of kids that the Grassley Amendment would cover compared with current law. I mentioned earlier, the current law covers about 6 million children, and the bill before us will add approximately 4 more million. And I stated that the amendment offered by Senator Grassley from Iowa would have the effect of reducing coverage by about 3/4 of a million people. It looks like I overstated that figure. We checked with C.B.O.  and we don't know what the right figure is. C.B.O. does not know. So while I probably overstated the figure, it's probably less than 750,000 kids."

 
Senator Bunning: (3:12 PM)

·         Propounded a UC that the Bunning Amendment #74 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) be amended (without objection).

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

The vote result was 36-62.

The Coburn Amendment #47 to the Children's Health Insurance Program Improvements Act (H.R. 2) is not agreed to.

The vote results will be posted here within one hour.  

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

The vote result was 54-44.

The motion to table the Bunning Amendment #74 to the Children's Health Insurance Program Improvements Act (H.R. 2) is agreed to.

The vote results will be posted here within one hour. 

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

The vote result was 39-59.

The Hatch Amendment #80 to the Children's Health Insurance Program Improvements Act (H.R. 2) is not agreed to.

The vote results will be posted here within one hour.

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator DeMint: (4:18 PM)

·         Spoke on the DeMint Amendment #85 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The purpose of this amendment is to help American taxpayers pay for their children's health care to the same degree that we are forcing them to help pay for the health care of non-citizen children in this underlying bill. Specifically, it would provide all eligible American families with an above-the-line federal income tax deduction for each child comparable to the average federal share of the benefit provided to any non-citizen child under the SCHIP legislation."

 
Senator Coburn: (4:32 PM)

·         Spoke on the Coburn Amendment #86 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The most important thing it does is it provides liberty and freedom and equal access to every child in this country. They're going to say that this won't work, but you notice that there's not going to be a point of order filed against this because this bill doesn't cost any money. It saves money. It doesn't cost a penny. It will not cost us and will cover so many more children. So my question to my colleagues as we wrap-up the SCHIP bill is do you want to do it right? Do you want to do it better. You want to cover all the kids, or do you want to play the political gamesmanship and partisanship and say, yeah, I care about the kids, but I couldn't go to do the smart thing, the commonsense thing and something with ordered priority and common sense, saying, gosh if we could provide better coverage with less money, why didn't we do that?"

o    SUMMARY "Most of the amendments that I offer, they won't debate them. They won't say why this isn't a good idea. The American taxpayer ought to think, here's a great opportunity to see us save a ton of money and do something socially very good. Cover innocent children with quality health care that they haven't had access to today with no increase in cost. And, yet, we're going to see a vote and they're going to say no. And then we're going to know if you really care about kids and whether you really care about access for kids."

 
Senator Burr: (4:42 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Coburn Amendment #86 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "I know we've had votes on amendments for the last two days and we routinely come down here and it's pretty much a party line vote, although I learned earlier in this debate that when one Republican votes for it out of committee, it's now bipartisan. I'm not sure that's the definition that President Obama had of bipartisanship when he gave a wonderful inauguration speech on these stairs. But given that one did, it is now bipartisan."

o    SUMMARY "This amendment is about the next generation. It's about the most at-risk children in this country. It's about a real option and a real choice where that population has full coverage, sees any doctor, enters any medical delivery point in the system, saves $144 billion over what we'd have to spend under the current method. It doesn't eliminate SCHIP. As a matter of fact, we reauthorized SCHIP for two additional years while the Secretary is able to put together the architecture for this product to be in the marketplace. This is a real opportunity for this body to change the direction and, more importantly, to fulfill the promise that it has made over and over and over on this Senate Floor, that what we're doing is to make sure that every child in America has coverage."

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Grassley: (4:50 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Coburn Amendment #86 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "We're talking about a Coburn Amendment that follows the pattern of Part-D Medicare. And it works, and it's financially a protection for the taxpayers' dollars. If the federal and state governments work together to create a healthier market, the private sector will be more efficient in covering kids. That's the Part-D Model. That's the model that we have before us in the Coburn Amendment."

·         Spoke on the Grassley-Hatch Amendment #83 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The Chairman is still inaccurate, from my point of view, in some characterizations of the Grassley-Hatch Amendment. The Chairman states that my amendment would cover fewer individuals because it does not include the legal immigrant provision. I'd like to draw all of my colleagues' attention, particularly Senator Baucus' attention, to the footnote 'f' of the Congressional Budget Office production on the underlying bill. Food note 'f' states, 'the Medicaid and SCHIP figures and the Medicaid SCHIP totals may include some legal immigrant children and pregnant women who receive health insurance provided through state-funded programs.' In other words, Madam President, the so-called new enrollments of legal immigrants are actually individuals who are currently insured with state or local funds."

 
Senator Baucus: (4:56 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "It is a search for the truth and C.B.O. has not given us the right number, so it is hard to know exactly what the effect will be. But it would just seem to me somewhat logically that the inclusion of legal immigrants would mean probably more people covered, even though some may be covered other ways."

By voice vote, the Grassley Amendment #83 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) was not agreed to.  
Senator Grassley: (4:59 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Grassley Amendment #71 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The second option the Majority could have taken was to do a short-term extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program while we work on a broader health care reform. That is what this amendment does. It is a six-quarter extension of the SCHIP program through the end of the next fiscal year."

 
Senator Baucus: (5:02 PM)

·         Spoke against the Grassley Amendment #71 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, very simply, I do not agree with this amendment. Why? Because here we are, it's about 5:00, we're on the verge of passing a 4 1/2 year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance and we're on the two-yard line, about ready to put this ball across the goal, to score a touchdown and get this passed, whereas, this amendment sets us back several yards, quite a few yards."

By voice vote, the Grassley Amendment #71 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2) was not agreed to.

SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2)

 
Senator Coburn: (6:39 PM)

·         Spoke on the Coburn Amendment #49 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The purpose of this amendment is to restore fiscal discipline by making the Medicaid and SCHIP programs more accountable and efficient and limit earmark expansions until the programs are working, at least within the range of what other government programs work."

o    SUMMARY "So what this amendment does, it doesn't affect existing SCHIP programs or states that wish to expand eligibility for families making up to 300%. What it says is until Medicaid and SCHIP payment levels reach 3.5%, the average of other federal agencies, we shouldn't give New York a special earmark for people making 400%. It's a matter of commonsense."

·         Spoke on the Coburn Amendment #50 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "It's about being prudent with the taxpayers' money. It's about us doing what we are expected to do. It's about us controlling improper payments. This amendment would require that the final rule implementing the payment error rate measurement requirements under Section 601-B shall not be made later than six months after the date of enactment of this act."

·         Spoke on the Coburn Amendment #47 to the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "The purpose of this amendment is to make sure that children don't lose their private insurance and that uninsured children can get access to private health insurance. This amendment would require a premium assistance approach for new Medicaid or SCHIP expansions under this act. It would cut bureaucratic red tape for states to use a premium assistance approach...all this amendment does is give parents that right to make individual decisions about what's best for their children, about what doctor they will have for their children. Don't forget, most people in SCHIP programs don't get a real choice about who's going to take care of their children. They have a very limited choice. What this amendment does is ensures that a large portion of them can actually choose the doctor that they want for their child."

 
Senator Shaheen: (7:02 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

o    SUMMARY "Today more than 76,000 children in New Hampshire have health coverage either through Medicaid or through our Children's Health Insurance Program. But I know we can do better. Because all children need regular checkups. All children need access to medicine. All children deserve a shot at preventing disease later in life. And all families need to know that they can provide for their kids without going into insurmountable debt. I'm pleased that the Senate is considering this very important legislation so early in the 111th Congress. I believe it reflects our commitment to the children of this country and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation."

 
Senator Tester: (7:07 PM)

·         Spoke on the Jobs Bill.

o    SUMMARY "Input costs are high, commodity prices are low, this is a recipe for financial failure. So what do we do? The first thing that we need to do is pass a good jobs bill and we need to do it now rather than continuing to lurch from bailout to bailout. We need a good jobs bill that will put people to work right now and begin to rebuild our economy from the ground up by investing in infrastructure."

o    SUMMARY "I'm proud to give a voice to family farmers and ranchers. I want Washington, D.C. to start seeing the world through the eyes of rural America. The wealthy special interests have had the run of this place for all too long and have run this economy into the ditch. I was pleased to hear the Senate Minority Leader state last week he intends to cooperate to pass the jobs bill and other vital legislation. Working together always results in a better work product. I'm disappointed that others have decided to play politics at a time when so many American workers are struggling and families are worried about how to make ends meet."

·         Performed wrap up.

·         Tomorrow --

·         The Senate will convene at 9:30 AM and resume consideration of the SCHIP Bill (H.R. 2).

·         Votes are expected throughout the day.

The Senate stands adjourned until 9:30 AM tomorrow.