Don Nickles: “I think that is fine. I think that is great, because I happen to believe in State control of insurance instead of the…”

“I think that is fine. I think that is great, because I happen to believe in State control of insurance instead of the Federal Government. States are trying to comply. They are in the process of complying. The State of Oklahoma can probably hire five employees for less than $93,000 each, as we would be doing under this piece of legislation. So, again, for the information of our colleagues, my amendment would strike out the provision that would add $16 million for HCFA for the hiring of an additional 65 employees. I do not think that is necessary. They have over 4,000 employees today. They certainly can borrow, they can use, they can have temporary employees. They do not need 65 permanent employees. We also do not need to be taking money away from the Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, a permanent entitlement provision, to pay for this measure.”