Legislative Update

Date: October 9, 2001
From: Jeff Kincheloe, NAHC Legislative Affairs

Seventy-one Senators joined in a letter sent to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee calling for elimination of the 15% cut scheduled for October 1, 2002. The letter was initiated by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA), Kit Bond (R-MO), and Russ Feingold (D-WI).

After the National Association for Home Care (NAHC) reported that the letter would go out with close to 60 Senators as cosigners, Sen. Collins was persuaded to hold off sending the letter by other Senators who wished to sign on. Many Senators signed on to the letter after the September 11 tragedy, demonstrating that elimination of the 15% cut is still an important priority. Sen. Collins plans to send copies of the letter to other Congressional leaders and Bush Administration officials.

Congratulations to the many NAHC members who succeeded in getting their Senators on board! With the recent tragedy and shortened Congressional schedule, it is unclear at this time whether the Committee will take up the issue this year or wait until next year. This letter will help persuade the Senate Finance Committee to approve legislation authorizing elimination of the 15% cut, whether this year or next. Elimination of the cut is a necessary next step after the home care community's earlier victory in obtaining an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 Congressional budget resolution setting aside funds for this purpose.

Please thank those Senators who signed on to the letter and continue efforts to educate those who did not about the urgency of eliminating the 15%. Some Finance Committee members were reluctant to sign on to a joint letter, preferring instead to contact the Chair and Ranking Member directly. Home care advocates in their states should request that these Senators follow through by writing, e-mailing, or speaking directly with the Chair and Ranking Member about making elimination of the 15% cut a priority. NAHC members in Montana and Iowa, who are represented by the Chair and Ranking Member respectively, have a special role to play in calling for their leadership to make this long-sought goal of the home care community a reality.

You can access the sign on letter here. Below is a list of U.S. Senators by state, with a check mark () by those who signed on to the letter and an asterisk (*) if they are on the Finance Committee.

Alabama Richard C Shelby (R) Jeff Sessions (R) Alaska Ted Stevens (R) Frank Murkowski (R)* Arizona John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R)* Arkansas Tim Hutchinson (R) Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D)* California Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) Wayne Allard (R) Connecticut Christopher Dodd (D) Joseph Lieberman (D) Delaware Joseph Biden, Jr. (D) Thomas Carper (D) Florida Bob Graham (D)* Bill Nelson (D) Georgia Max Cleland (D) Zell Miller (D) Hawaii Daniel Inouye (D) Daniel Akaka (D) Idaho Larry Craig (R) Michael Crapo (R) Illinois Richard Durbin (D) Peter Fitzgerald (R) Indiana Richard Lugar (R) Evan Bayh (D) Iowa Charles Grassley (R)* Tom Harkin (D) Kansas Sam Brownback (R) Pat Roberts (R) Kentucky Mitch McConnell (R) Jim Bunning (R)

Louisiana John Breaux (D)* Mary Landrieu (D) Maine Olympia Snowe (R)* Susan Collins (R) Maryland Paul Sarbanes (D) Barbara Mikulski (D) Massachusetts Edward Kennedy (D) John Kerry (D)* Michigan Carl Levin (D) Debbie Stabenow (D) Minnesota Paul Wellstone (D) Mark Dayton (D) Mississippi Thad Cochran (R) Trent Lott (R)* Missouri Christopher (Kit) Bond (R) Jean Carnahan (D) Montana Max Baucus (D)* Conrad Burns (R) Nebraska Chuck Hagel (R) Ben Nelson (D) Nevada Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) New Hampshire Robert (Bob) Smith (R) Judd Gregg (R) New Jersey Robert Torricelli (D)* Jon Corzine (D) New Mexico Pete Domenici (R) Jeff Bingaman (D)* New York Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) North Carolina Jesse Helms (R) John Edwards (D) North Dakota Kent Conrad (D)* Byron Dorgan (D)

Ohio Mike DeWine (R) George Voinovich (R) Oklahoma Don Nickles (R)* James Inhofe (R) Oregon Ron Wyden (D) Gordon Smith (R) Pennsylvania Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) Rhode Island Jack Reed (D) Lincoln Chafee (R) South Carolina Strom Thurmond (R) Ernest Hollings (D) South Dakota Thomas Daschle (D)* Tim Johnson (D) Tennessee Fred Thompson (R)* William Frist (R) Texas Phil Gramm (R)* Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) Utah Orrin Hatch (R)* Robert Bennett (R) Vermont Patrick Leahy (D) James Jeffords (I)* Virginia John Warner (R) George Allen (R) Washington Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) West Virginia Robert Byrd (D) John Rockefeller (D)* Wisconsin Herbert Kohl (D) Russell Feingold (D) Wyoming Craig Thomas (R)* Mike Enzi (R)

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