The Public Record
If I may respond briefly to my good friend and colleague and member of the Labor Committee as well, some clarification on the Harris Trust. I have spoken earlier to it and I will not reiterate. I certainly agree, ERISA is complicated. It…
I certainly hope the argument I make will not be viewed as just another tired, old argument, because I believe it is not a question of whether we raise the minimum wage--I think most in this Chamber would believe the minimum wage should be…
it has been exactly 2 full months since the Senate unanimously passed the Health Insurance Reform Act 100 to nothing. However, because Republicans and Democrats have been unable to reach agreement on one outstanding issue--the size and…
when I assumed the chairmanship of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee last year, one of my top priorities was to bring to fruition a comprehensive reform of our many job training programs. My colleague in that effort on the…
the Senate today will adopt legislation condemning Iran's persecution of the Baha'i community. We have taken similar action in the past, and I regret that our continued vigilance on this matter is required. We choose today to adopt this…
Yesterday three Swiss Red Cross relief workers were killed in Burundi. I want to express my condolences to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the families of the deceased. The ICRC staff were attacked as they returned from a…
I rise to discuss, again, legislation that has been before us, which is support for the Teamwork for Employees and Management Act, the TEAM Act. During the past couple of days, we have had some lengthy debate on this legislation, as well…
I find it hard to think that the people of South Dakota would not be very supportive of the ability to have employers and employees form teams in which they can talk about conditions in their own company. These teams clearly will enhance…
as I stand here today with my colleagues discussing a new plan to balance the budget, I can guess what many Americans are probably thinking: ``Here they go again.'' The budget has been the catalyst driving our agenda for more than a year…
Congress intends that association plans may continue to do business as they always have, except that they must meet the same insurance reform standards as other health plans under the bill.
These words are meant to broadly preclude the use of any of the categories insurance companies have historically used to deny people coverage based on health status and related factors-- that reasonably could lead a health plan to believe…
This provision is meant to prohibit insurers or employers from excluding employees in a group from coverage or charging them higher premiums based on their health status and other related factors that could lead to higher health costs…
The bill establishes standards regarding portability, renewability, and pre-existing conditions, but does not otherwise disturb the association plan world. States will still regulate and certify insured plans, and the Secretary of Labor…
No. Health purchasing cooperatives are purely voluntary. Subtitle D is intended to create special benefits for cooperatives that meet the standards in the bill. Congress does not intend that these provisions in any way affect the legal…
No. The bill does not require groups to form or join a purchasing cooperative. Nor does the legislation preclude any other type of groups purchasing arrangements from existing.
I would like to express appreciation to the Senator from Utah, who gave such a very thoughtful opening statement, I think, by example, showing concretely why the provisions of this bill are important. I know that the majority leader, the…
Congress has spent significant time during the past 4 years debating comprehensive health care reform and major reforms to the Medicaid and Medicare Programs. While we have filled pages of newspapers and the Congressional Record and…
may I respond for a moment to the Senator from Minnesota, who is a valued member of the Labor and Human Resources Committee? When he mentioned the rate increase possibly coming if we do not cap any of the premiums, I would just say also…
Americans deserve the security of knowing that they will not lose their health care coverage if they get sick or lose their job or if they can change jobs. Currently, our system does not provide this security, and as a result many of our…
if I may, I, too, am very sympathetic to the issue that Senator Jeffords is addressing. I think we all recognize--I believe the figures are almost 1,500 Americans at least that would benefit from this legislation. It is more than just the…
I recognize it is just a sense-of-the- Senate resolution. But it is about 6 pages, and it is a fairly extensive direction for the next Congress. While there would be certainly a great deal of support for health care coverage for pregnant…
today, we have before us significant legislation which, if it becomes law, will restructure the principal institutions used to conduct America's foreign policy. The process leading to this point may have been less bipartisan and less open…
We have visited and revisited this issue many times. We struggled with the House of Representatives over this issue for 3 frustrating, unproductive months, and we could not resolve it. We finally agreed to let the matter be resolved in the…
I intend to vote in favor of this conference report despite some serious reservations about several of the provisions. First, I question whether this bill, on the whole, moves us in the right direction. The laws of nature dictate that…
I feel confident that Senators on both sides of the aisle want to reach an agreement on a substantial, constructive farm bill. Nothing is more important, and it is prime legislation. I feel sure that I can speak on behalf of Senators on my…
Politicians like Nancy Kassebaum
