WASHINGTON — On the Senate floor Monday evening, Senator Jeff Sessions decried the Medicare “Doc Fix” that is soon to be considered by the Senate, saying House conservatives who voted for the measure were misled by promises it would be paid for by offsets elsewhere.
“Not only are we continuing to allow the debt to explode,” Sen. Sessions said during his speech, “but we aren’t really being honest with our constituents about it. Before they cast their votes, House members were told this bill ‘pays for all new future spending’ and that it ‘offsets all new spending.’ But this is inaccurate. It’s not true. It adds to the deficit every single year. So we’re going to offer an amendment so that this bill lives up to the promises of the sponsors. A good amendment, a PAYGO amendment… would put us on a path that says you have to pay for this new expenditure.”
In 1997 Congress decided to reign in the growth of Medicare costs by passing a measure called the “Sustainable Growth Rate” in the Balanced Budget Act that required payments to physicians from Medicare to grow no faster than the rate of the economy. Congress has overridden these growth checks with “Doc Fixes” 17 times since they were instituted, but has offset the costs approximately 98% of the time. The fix passed by the House two weeks ago offsets less than half of the costs with cuts elsewhere.
A Taxpayer Calculator feature by Fox News estimates the “Doc Fix” will cost each taxpayer an average of $500.
The vote in the House split the Alabama delegation, with two members, Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL5) and Gary Palmer (R-AL6) voting against it and the rest voting in favor.
The bill was primarily crafted by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH8) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA12), and received praise from President Obama who called it the way Congress is “supposed to work” during a speech in Birmingham.
In his remarks Monday, Sen. Sessions called on Republicans to remember the pledge they made to their constituents when they passed a balanced budget plan before recessing for the two-week long Easter break.
“But what is the first bill we take up since adopting the balanced budget goal?” Sessions asked. “We’re taking up a bill to dig us $174 billion deeper in debt the first 10 years. The first major legislative accomplishment of our new Congress is going to be adding almost $200 billion to the debt over 10 years and then perhaps $500 billion, or half a trillion, over 20 years. I don’t see how we can look our constituents in the eye and say we’re producing a balanced budget when if this bill passes we don’t have a balanced budget.”
GOP members of Congress, Sessions explained, should be about more than talking points, they should be about action.
“So this is legislation—we’re not voting on talking points. And without change, it is a massive debt increase that puts a balanced budget even further out of reach.”
“Mr. President,” Sen. Sessions said as he addressed Senate President pro tempore Orrin Hatch (R-UT), “it means a lot to me that we as a Congress establish credibility with those we serve. And one of the parts of doing that is to be honest.”
The deadline to approve the “Doc Fix” is midnight Wednesday, before doctors providing care to Medicare patients will see cuts in reimbursement rates.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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