Pete Domenici: “this amendment, I regret to say, should be defeated. It creates a new overbudget trust fund for medical research. It is…”

“this amendment, I regret to say, should be defeated. It creates a new overbudget trust fund for medical research. It is based on estimates. The biggest argument against it is if we save more money in Medicare than we expect under the budget agreement, it ought to go to Medicare. It ought not go to be used in an appropriated account. Essentially, this says, if we save more money than was agreed upon by the White House and the Congress in Medicare, the extra money goes to a trust fund for NIH. I believe it ought to stay right where it is and be used by the Finance Committee for Medicare and other purposes. I make a point of order that the amendment is not germane.”