Date: 2012-12-12
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my friend. Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker. I do believe that the budget agreement that was reached was a small but positive step forward. and I plan to talk about that a little later today. but what I want to talk about right now is the abuse of process that has taken place in the last 8 hours and the changing of the terms of that agreement. During that agreement. the Democrats from the House and others put forward a proposal that said. as we deal with the budget issues. we should also deal with what we call the doe fix. making sure that doctors are fully reimbursed to help Medicare patients. but that we should also help folks who are about to lose their unemployment compensation. That is what we said. and we put it on paper and offered it. We said. if we do a doc fix for 3 months. we should do a UI extension for 3 months. and if we do a doc fix for a year. we should deal with the UI issue for a year. but that was not part of the budget negotiation even though we wanted it to be. Chairman RYAN acknowledged that yesterday as did Senator MURRAY. They said we wouldnt deal with either of those two issuesthe doe fix or the UIas part of the budget agreement but that we would deal with them outside of that agreement. Yet the ink was barely dry. Mr. Speaker. on that agreement before the House Republicans and the Speaker of the House put forward a rule that injected the doc fix. which we support. into the budget agreement. so it is all going to be one whole thing. They did that to take care of a real issue of the doc fix. but what did they leave out? They left out an extension of unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans who are going to lose that important support 3 days after Christmas. They left that out of that lastminute procedure. Now. as Mr. LEVIN said. he and I went to the Rules Committee last night and said. All right. If we are going to fix the SGR issue. lets deal with the unemployment compensation issue. and we presented an amendment. I have it in my hand3 months. We said we would pay for it. and we paid for it. Mr. WOODALL. in a way that has been agreed to on a bipartisan basis. which is in the ag bill negotiations. in the farm bill negotiations. We have already agreed on a bipartisan and on a bicameral basis to get rid of these excessive direct paymentssubsidiesthat go to agribusiness. We had agreed on that already. As of now. we have agreed on it. Lets use $6 billion of that savings to make sure that 1.3 million Americans arent left out in the cold. So I would say to my friend Mr. WOODALL: If you want to make this a bipartisan agreement. all you have to do is vote for it. and if you want to vote for it. you have got to give this House an opportunity to vote for it. Yet. while we are going to get a chance to vote on the doc fix and on the budget agreement. the Rules Committee and the Speaker of the House have told the American people you wont allow a vote to help 1.3 million Americans who are going to be left out in the cold. It is not just them and their struggling families. but the Congressional Budget Office that tells us that their surrounding communities are going to be hurt. too. Why? They wont be able to make the rent payments. They wont be able to go out to the local stores around Christmastime and the holiday season to buy gifts. That hurts local merchants. small businesses. In fact. the Congressional Budget Office tells us that we will have 200.000 fewer of those jobsprivate sector jobsas a result of not extending unemployment insurance. So. Mr. Speaker. it is absolutely unconscionable and shameful. after we have reached an agreement in which we had wanted to include a fixed SGR and UI in the agreement but it was decided not to. that we would have this lastminute thing parachuted on and would leave the 1.3 million Americans out in the cold. That is shameful. You should allow a vote. and if you vote against the previous question. we will have a chance to do our job and vote on that.