Health care debate forges on in Congress

By U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe
(R-Maine)
    We’re in the throes of an historic undertaking as the Senate Finance Committee began marking up legislation to address one of the most significant domestic issues of our time – reforming our nation’s health care system to ensure health security for all Americans. Although too much has been made about the fact that — even though our bipartisan group of six on the Finance Committee, the only such effort in any committee in either the House or the Senate, met for more than 100 hours and logged countless hours more debating and negotiating the complex provision of health reform over the last three months — no Republicans, myself included, have supported Chairman Baucus’s mark, it is vital that we recognize the start of our Committee’s mark up is just the beginning of an extensive and arduous legislative process … not the end.
    Indeed, for all who have asked why it has taken months to arrive at this juncture, it’s because the American people rightly expect and are entitled to an extensive, detailed process that places thoughtful deliberation ahead of arbitrary deadlines – given the sheer magnitude of this labyrinthine task. In that light, the mark which we are debating is a solid starting point – but we are far from the finish line. There are many miles in this journey – with more than 500 amendments that have enormous implications on policy and financing. Let us recall, in 1964-65 it took a year and a half to pass Medicare to cover 20 million seniors, so we simply cannot address one-sixth of our economy, and a matter of such personal and financial significance to every American, on a legislative fast track.
    The reality that crafting the right approach is arduous in no way obviates our responsibility to make it happen. Everyone has differing opinions on how to tackle this historic challenge. Yet, virtually every person I’ve encountered – throughout Maine and America — understands unequivocally, even if they have health insurance, that the current system is broken … and that this is not a solution in search of a problem.
    While our bipartisan group of six negotiations resulted in a legislative proposal with many promising provisions – landmark insurance market reforms, a reduction by 29 million in the number of uninsured, and a drastic reduction in health spending and financing all from within the health sector – a number of issues remain which demand careful measured thought and improvement. In fact, from the outset of this process, I have consistently said that I needed to see the final legislative language … and the completed budget analysis from the Congressional Budget Office — before we move to any final vote. The fact is words matter and so do the numbers. For this reason, I voted for an amendment that would require that final legislative language and a cost estimate be publicly available on the Finance Committee’s Web site for at least 72 hours before the Committee votes on the bill.
    This amendment represents a common sense, practical, pragmatic, good government approach to understanding the totality and the collective impact of what we do. We want to be sure that we are absolutely confident in the integrity of the product that we are going to be voting on in the final analysis. Despite bipartisan support for the amendment, it failed within the committee, but the reality that crafting the right approach is arduous in no way obviates our responsibility to make it happen.
    The bottom line is that while everyone has different opinions on how to meet this historic challenge, it is vital we take the time in this markup to ensure this committee gets it right so we can set the appropriate stage for the upcoming debate on the Senate floor. Given the gravity of this undertaking … there should be no question this undertaking commands a painstaking process and the requisite time for full consideration of the spectrum of alternatives and improvements … and to ensure the numbers “add up” within the final product – as we are the only committee of jurisdiction with respect to financing a package. The implications of this legislation are simply too broad and monumental to do otherwise.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues on this landmark endeavor to strengthen America’s health security today, and for the generations to come.