Frank Lautenberg: “I want to commend our friend and colleague from North Dakota for being aware of what is potentially taking place here.…”

“I want to commend our friend and colleague from North Dakota for being aware of what is potentially taking place here. Mr. President, this is a small example of the kind of document that you might have that has all kinds of bad goodies in here. One of the things that you have to do around here is to make certain that everybody is on the alert to the fact that some things get into these bills without being discussed, without being formally introduced. It has a way of sneaking in there. There is an osmosis process in which they fall down from the sky and get in there. This is one that is really kind of sky-high. I express very serious concerns about the provision in this bill, that it will allow, as the Senator from North Dakota said, in this case Texas, but any State--to have private companies determine the eligibility for low-income benefits like Medicaid, WIC and food stamps. Mr. President, this is a budget reconciliation bill, not a Government management reform bill. In my view, the privatization provision does not belong in fast-track legislation--fast track, that means to get it through here as quickly as you can--that is designed primarily to implement the budget resolution. This provision has no real impact on the deficit except to potentially make it worse in the years ahead, and it would represent a significant policy change with broad-ranging implications. I also note that this provision is outside of the bipartisan budget agreement.”