On the recordFebruary 23, 2010
as I stated earlier today, I had worked to put together a bipartisan package with my colleague, Finance Committee Chairman Baucus, to address some time-sensitive matters that need to be considered. I was under the impression that the Senate Democratic leadership genuinely wanted to work on a bipartisan basis but, unfortunately, I was mistaken. Although the majority leader was deeply involved in the development of our bipartisan bill, as soon as it was released he announced that he would not take it up, and he arbitrarily decided to replace it with a bill he plans to jam through the Senate. I addressed my concerns earlier about the removal of the tax extender provisions. Now I want to discuss another significant change between the bipartisan package Chairman Baucus and I put together and the Senate Democratic leadership's bill that we will be voting on this week. A package of expired and expiring Medicare health provisions has been removed without any explanation. These bipartisan provisions are essential to the health and well-being of Medicare beneficiaries. They have been routinely supported by both sides and passed repeatedly in recent years. So where does that leave us? We are now less than a week away from the end of February, and Medicare beneficiaries around the country will suffer from the Senate Democratic leader's decision to remove these provisions without any explanation.
