To ensure that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has continued authority to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of the Medicaid program and SCHIP and to reduce inappropriate spending under those programs.

SA 4159. Mr. ALLARD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 70, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2009 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2008 and 2010 through 2013; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike paragraph (1) of section 306(e) and insert the following:

(1) Rules or administrative actions.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for a bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that includes provisions regarding the final rule published on May 29, 2007, on pages 29748 through 29836 of volume 72, Federal Register (relating to parts 433, 447, and 457 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations) or any other rule or other administrative action that would affect the Medicaid program or SCHIP in a similar manner, or place restrictions on coverage of or payment for graduate medical education, rehabilitation services, or school-based administration, school-based transportation, or optional case management services under title XIX of the Social Security Act, or includes provisions regarding administrative guidance issued in August 2007 affecting SCHIP or any other administrative action that would affect SCHIP in a similar manner, so long as no provision in such bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion or conference report shall be construed as prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from promulgating or implementing any rule, action, or guidance designed to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of the Medicaid program or SCHIP or reduce inappropriate spending under such programs, by the amounts provided in that legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the total of the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the total of the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.