January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E15 

THE SENIORS’ HEALTH CARE 

FREEDOM ACT 

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Seniors’ Health Care Freedom Act. 

This act protects seniors’ fundamental right to 

make their own health care decisions by repealing federal laws that interfere with seniors’ 

ability to form private contracts for medical 

services. This bill also repeals laws which 

force seniors into the Medicare program 

against their will. When Medicare was first established, seniors were promised that the program would be voluntary. In fact, the original 

Medicare legislation explicitly protected a senior’s right to seek out other forms of medical 

insurance. However, the Balanced Budget Act 

of 1997 prohibits any physician who forms a 

private contract with a senior from filing any 

Medicare reimbursement claims for two years. 

As a practical matter, this means that seniors 

cannot form private contracts for health care 

services. 

Seniors may wish to use their own resources to pay for procedures or treatments 

not covered by Medicare, or to simply avoid 

the bureaucracy and uncertainly that comes 

when seniors must wait for the judgment of a 

Center from Medicare and Medicaid Services 

(CMS) bureaucrat before finding out if a desired treatment is covered. 

Seniors’ right to control their own health 

care is also being denied due to the Social 

Security Administration’s refusal to give seniors who object to enrolling Medicare Part A 

Social Security benefits. This not only distorts 

the intent of the creators of the Medicare system; it also violates the promise represented 

by Social Security. Americans pay taxes into 

the Social Security Trust Fund their whole 

working lives and are promised that Social Security will be there for them when they retire. 

Yet, today, seniors are told that they cannot 

receive these benefits unless they agree to 

join an additional government program! 

At a time when the fiscal solvency of Medicare is questionable, to say the least, it seems 

foolish to waste scarce Medicare funds on 

those who would prefer to do without Medicare. Allowing seniors who neither want nor 

need to participate in the program to refrain 

from doing so will also strengthen the Medicare program for those seniors who do wish to 

participate in it. Of course, my bill does not 

take away Medicare benefits from any senior. 

It simply allows each senior to choose voluntarily whether or not to accept Medicare benefits or to use his own resources to obtain 

health care. 

Forcing seniors into government programs 

and restricting their ability to seek medical 

care free from government interference infringes on the freedom of seniors to control 

their own resources and make their own 

health care decisions. A woman who was 

forced into Medicare against her wishes 

summed it up best in a letter to my office, 

‘‘. . . I should be able to choose the medical 

arrangements I prefer without suffering the 

penalty that is being imposed.’’ I urge my colleagues to protect the right of seniors to make 

the medical arrangements that best suit their 

own needs by cosponsoring the Seniors’ 

Health Care Freedom Act. 

THE CREATING OPPORTUNITIES 

TO MOTIVATE MASS-TRANSIT 

UTILIZATION TO ENCOURAGE 

RIDERSHIP 

HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, as our economy 

continues to struggle, an immediate and costeffective way to offer relief to consumers is to 

provide incentives for mass transit use. According to a study published by the American 

Public Transportation Association (APTA), 

public transportation use in the U.S. saves an 

annual 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. Factoring in the current average gasoline price of 

$1.65 per gallon, public transit saves consumers more than $2 billion in gas costs per 

year. 

Greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles also pose a severe threat to our environment, as emissions from our transportation 

sector account for nearly a third of all U.S. 

emissions. Public transit, however, reduces 

CO2 emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. This is equivalent to the electricity used 

by nearly five million homes. If we want to get 

serious about emissions reductions, we must 

get serious about investing in public transit. 

Current law allows businesses, governments, non-profits and employees to purchase 

tax-free transit benefits. However. there is no 

tax incentive for employers to directly subsidize their workers’ transportation costs. The 

bipartisan Creating Opportunities to Motivate 

Mass-transit Utilization To Encourage Ridership (COMMUTER) Act of 2008 offers employers a 50 percent tax credit for all transit benefits provided to employees, up to $115 per 

employee per month. Under the COMMUTER 

Act, employees could receive up to $1,380 in 

free mass transit funds each year, with the 

employer receiving $690 in tax credits per employee. As family budgets continue to tighten, 

an extra $1,400 to $2,800 could help ease the 

burdens of health care and education or help 

bolster retirement savings. 

A study recently conducted by 

BusinessWeek Research Services estimates 

that 53 percent of employees in Chicago, San 

Francisco and New York would take public 

transportation if their employer provided access to current transit benefits. Out of the respondents, 60 percent said their company 

does not provide tax-free commuter benefits. 

I believe we must work to provide long-term 

solutions to our energy crisis, such as passing 

long-term tax incentives for research and development of renewable and alternative energy, fuels and vehicles; eliminating the socalled boutique fuels and offering the nation 

one clean burning fuel; financing energy development projects in China, central Asia and 

the Gulf to meet Chinese energy needs apart 

from oil; and increasing fuel economy standards. 

But our economy, environment and national 

security cannot wait ten, twenty or thirty years 

for the entire restructuring of our energy policy—we need to take action now. I am proud 

to offer the COMMUTER Act with Representatives DAN LIPINSKI (D–IL) JUDY BIGGERT (R–IL) 

and PETER ROSKAM (R–IL) and to help provide 

that immediate relief. I hope Congress will act 

swifly and in a bipartisan manner to pass this 

important legislation. 

RECOGNIZING TEKLA HAMPUS OF 

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 

HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. 

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Tekla 

Hampus of Hernando County, Florida. Tekla 

has done something that all of us strive to do, 

but that very few of us will ever accomplish, 

celebrate her 102nd birthday. 

Tekla Hampus was born September 24, 

1906 in Stockholm, Sweden. After she finished 

school in Stockholm, Tekla married but was 

widowed in 1979. She and her husband had 

two children, one of whom is now deceased. 

Tekla is proud of her one grandchild, two 

great-grandchildren and three great-great 

grandchildren. 

As someone who has lived for more than a 

century, Tekla is proudest of the births of her 

children and grandchildren. She has many 

fond memories of family outings with her parents and their picnics together back home in 

Europe. 

Following her move to Hernando County in 

1968 to be closer to her children, Tekla today 

gets pleasure from visits with her son and enjoys the cost of living in Hernando County. 

Madam Speaker, I ask that you join me in 

honoring Tekla Hampus for reaching her 

102nd birthday. I hope we all have the good 

fortune to live as long as her. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO NANCY RUSSELL 

HON. DAVID WU OF OREGON

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember a courageous and pioneering Oregonian who we lost on September 19, 2008, 

Nancy Russell. Her love of the outdoors and 

of Oregon history led her to co-found an organization that assisted in obtaining Federal protection for the Columbia River Gorge— 

‘‘Friends of the Columbia River Gorge.’’ 

Madam Speaker, and my fellow colleagues, 

if you have never seen the Columbia River 

Gorge, let me explain to you: It is Oregon’s 

Grand Canyon, our Yellowstone, the crown 

jewel of Oregon’s natural heritage, a spectacular and unique 80-mile-long, 4,000-feet-deep 

sea level cut through the Cascade Mountain 

Range. The Gorge is home to more than 800 

species of wildflowers, six endangered and 

threatened animal species, and more than 40 

other sensitive species. 

As a self-taught wildflower expert, Nancy 

shared her love of wildflowers by developing 

the Wildflower Walkers program for the Portland Garden Club, which helped others understand and love the Gorge the way Nancy did. 

In the late 1970s, development in the Portland area was threatening to spill into the 

Gorge, and a group of prominent conservationists recruited Nancy to lead the effort for 

Federal protection. In the face of pressure 

from opponents of scenic area designation, 

and even bumper stickers that read ‘‘Save the 

Gorge from Nancy Russell,’’ she and her fellow supporters persevered in 1986, when 


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