SPEECH OF
HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, October 9, 1998
1998 Ron Paul 118:1
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity
to explain why I must oppose H.R.
1998 Ron Paul 118:2
4567 even though I support reforming the Interim
Payment System (IPS) and I certainly
support expanding the health care options
available to American veterans. However, I
cannot support this bill because this solution
to home care is inadequate and it raises taxes
on Americans instead of cutting wasteful, unconstitutional
spending to offset the bill’s increases
in expenditures.
1998 Ron Paul 118:3
I am pleased that Congress is at last taking
action to address the problems created by the
IPS. Unless the IPS is reformed, efficient
home care agencies across the country may
be forced to close. This would raise Medicare
costs, as more seniors would be forced to
enter nursing homes or forced to seek care
from a limited number of home health care
agencies. In fact, those agencies that survive
the IPS will have been granted a virtual monopoly
over the home care market. Only in
Washington could punishing efficient businesses
and creating a monopoly be sold as a
cost-cutting measure!
1998 Ron Paul 118:4
Congress does need to act to ensure that
affordable home care remains available to the
millions of senior citizens who rely on home
care. However, the proposal before us today
does not address the concerns of small providers
in states such as Texas. Instead, it increases
the reimbursement rate of home care
agencies in other states. I am also concerned
that the reimbursement formula in this bill continues
to saddle younger home health agencies
with lower rates of reimbursement than
similarly situated agencies who have been in
operation longer. Any IPS reform worthy of
support should place all health care agencies
on a level playing field for reimbursements.
1998 Ron Paul 118:5
A member of my staff has been informed by
a small home health care operator in my district
that passage of this bill would allow them
only to provide an additional eight visits per
year. This will not keep home health patients
with complex medical conditions out of nursing
homes and hospitals. Congress should implement
a real, budget-neutral home health care
reform rather than waste our time and the taxpayers’
money with the phony reform before
us today.
1998 Ron Paul 118:6
Mr. Speaker, I also support the language of
the bill expanding the health care options
available to veterans’ benefits. Ensuring the
nation’s veterans have a quality health care
system should be one of the governments’ top
priorities. In fact, I am currently working on a
plan to improve veterans’ health care by allowing
them greater access to Medical Savings
Accounts (MSAs). However, I cannot, in good
conscience, support the proposals before us
today because, for all their good intentions, it
is fatally flawed in implementation for it attempts
to offset its new spending with a tax increase.
1998 Ron Paul 118:7
Now I know many of the bill’s supporters will
claim that this is not a tax increase just an adjustment
in the qualifications for a tax benefit
or tightening a tax loophole. However, the fact
is that by raising the threshold before a taxpayer
can rollover their traditional IRA into a
Roth IRA the federal government is forcing
some people to pay higher taxes than they
otherwise would, thus they are raising taxes. It
is morally wrong for Congress to raise taxes
on one group of Americans in order to provide
benefits for another group of Americans.
1998 Ron Paul 118:8
Instead of raising taxes Congress should
“offset” these programs by cutting spending in
other areas. In particular, Congress should finance
veterans health care by reducing expenditures
wasted on global adventurism,
such as the Bosnia mission. Congress should
stop spending Americans blood and treasure
to intervene in quarrels that do not concern
the American people.
1998 Ron Paul 118:9
Similarly, Congress should seek funds for
an increased expenditure on home care by
ending federal support for institutions such as
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which
benefit wealthy bankers and powerful interests
but not the American people. At a time when
the federal government continues to grow to
historic heights and meddles in every facet of
American life I cannot believe that Congress
cannot find expenditure cuts to finance the
programs in this bill!
1998 Ron Paul 118:10
Mr. Speaker, I must also note that the only
time this Congress seems concerned with offsets
is when we are either cutting taxes or increasing
benefits to groups like veterans or
senior citizens. The problem is not a lack of
funds but a refusal of this Congress to set
proper priorities and put the needs of the
American people first.
1998 Ron Paul 118:11
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I call upon this
Congress to reject this bill and instead support
an IPS reform that is fair to all home care providers
and does not finance worthwhile
changes in Medicare by raising taxes. Instead,
Congress should offset the cost to these worthy
programs by cutting programs that do not
benefit the American people.
Notes:
1998 Ron Paul 118
The text of this chapter was inserted in CongressionalRecord in the section entitled “Extensions of Remarks” and was not spoken on the House floor.
1998 Ron Paul 118:5 options available to veterans’ benefits
probably should be options available for veterans’ benefits
1998 Ron Paul 118:5 Ensuring the nation’s veterans have a quality health care system should be one of the governments’ top priorities. is grammatically correct if Ron Paul meant it should be
one of the top priorities of either the State government or the federal government (one of the governments). More likely, Ron Paul meant
Ensuring the nation’s veterans have a quality health care system should be one of the government’s top priorities.
1998 Ron Paul 118:6 not a tax increase just an adjustment probably should have a comma after increase.
1998 Ron Paul 118:10 the cost to these worthy programs may be grammatically correct but makes better sense as
the cost of these worthy programs.
