Tom Coburn: “Every amendment I have has something to do with this bill. They are all germane, not meant to delay. I am happy to vote…”

“Every amendment I have has something to do with this bill. They are all germane, not meant to delay. I am happy to vote for cloture right now to prove that I don't want to delay this bill. What I am going to ask is unanimous consent for the regular order and discuss my amendment No. 4034, after which I will ask for a vote. Then if the leadership wants to stack votes, I am fine with that. This is a simple amendment. I know the chairman is critical of it because he thinks it is false in terms of its intent. During our budget debate, I plan on adding $2 billion to Indian health care. I also plan on making us make the tough decisions on where we take it from. We don't have extra money, so it is about priorities, about keeping commitments. I will be offering that when we get to the budget to make sure there is an extra $2 billion for Native American care, and then we will decide whether we think that is a priority as we vote on the budget and on the appropriations bills. This is a straightforward amendment. This allows tribal members to get insurance. If they want to use the IHS service, great. But if they have to wait in line to wait in line to get care, maybe they can go somewhere else. Then we are keeping our commitment. If they know that the care for a certain type of disease is terrible at IHS, they can go where it is better.”