Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008

Mr. President, I rise also to speak about a very important topic, and that is the need to enact legislation to help unemployed Americans amid the current economic downturn. Yesterday, we passed an unprecedented package of support for the financial markets. There are many Americans who are suffering as grievously as our financial markets and those who work in the financial markets. There are an estimated 800,000 unemployed workers who will begin to run out of emergency unemployment compensation because jobs are too scarce in the current economic climate. We cannot turn our back on these 800,000 Americans. We need to help them. In June, I was pleased by the inclusion of 13 weeks of emergency unemployment compensation to all States in the war supplemental spending bill. This help was critical and something I had advocated for a very long time.

Too many individuals in our States who have been unemployed are still looking for work, but they can't find it and they are running out of benefits. The labor market continues to deteriorate. This impact is becoming magnified as a result of the continued unravelling of the financial marketplace. We are seeing--in fact, one of the reasons we acted last evening--credit markets seize up. We are seeing auto sales lots not able to finance the acquisition of cars and buyers not able to buy automobiles. We are seeing a host of problems that manifest themselves in GDP statistics, unemployment statistics, and in the lives of ordinary Americans it is manifested in the stark reality of no work and a family to support. We have experienced the eighth straight month of job declines. Unemployment has soared to a 5-year high of 6.1 percent; 16 States now have an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent or greater. New national unemployment numbers for September will be released tomorrow morning. It is expected that these numbers will continue the downward trend, given the sustained notices of plant closings, mass layoffs, and cutbacks for small businesses trying to survive in this environment. In my State of Rhode Island, the situation is more bleak: 8.5 percent are jobless right now. It is the second highest level in the Nation, a jump of over 3.4 percent in the course of the last year alone. We are hemorrhaging jobs in Rhode Island. It is the highest unemployment rate in Rhode Island since November 1992.

In addition to this evaporation of jobs is the acceleration of prices. Gasoline, food, and health care costs are all accelerating. Families are caught in a tremendous squeeze. That is why I am pleased to have introduced bipartisan legislation, which has been cosponsored

by more than 20 of my colleagues, including the chairman of the Senate HELP Committee and the Finance Committee, Senators Kennedy and Baucus, to extend unemployment insurance benefits so people can pay their bills while they look for work. This measure provides 7 weeks of federally funded unemployment insurance for individuals who have exhausted their benefits, and it provides 13 additional weeks of benefits to unemployed workers in States that have been hit particularly hard by this economic downturn, States that have unemployment rates above 6 percent. Right now 17 States would qualify for this high unemployment figure.

The bill also includes a provision to help qualifying States, such as Rhode Island, replenish their unemployment insurance trust funds which help cover a portion of unemployment insurance benefits. The Senate stimulus package that failed last week included these same provisions to extend unemployment insurance. We need to take aggressive steps to help these families who are struggling to make ends meet. I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this legislation.

I was prepared to ask consent to pass this legislation, S. 3507, today, but I understand there is an objection by the minority. Passage of this legislation is vital. Since it appears there will be a lameduck session after the election, I will work with my colleagues to bring this legislation, if possible, to that lameduck session to get it passed. We have to help these Americans.

In summary, if we could afford to authorize $700 billion last evening to assist financial forces to unclog credit markets, to begin to provide support for the economy, then we certainly can afford to help individuals who are looking for work and can't find it and are desperate. It is only right. I hope we can do that when we return.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation with Senator Bingaman and Senator Kohl to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare identification cards.

Government agencies and private businesses have begun to recognize the danger of displaying Social Security numbers. A person's Social Security number can unlock a treasure trove of personal and financial information.

If your Social Security number falls into the wrong hands, you are at risk of becoming a victim of identify theft and fraud. In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission reported that more than 8 million Americans were victims of identity theft in the prior year.

Thirty-one states have enacted laws that limit how public and private entities use and display Social Security numbers. Social Security numbers are being removed from driver's licenses, and most private health insurance cards no longer display your Social Security number.

Federal agencies are taking steps to reduce the threat of identify theft. Last year, the Office of Management and Budget called on federal agencies to establish plans to eliminate unnecessary collection and use of Social Security numbers and to explore alternatives to Social Security numbers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs no longer displays Social Security numbers on new veteran identification cards. And the Office of Personnel Management has directed health insurers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program to eliminate Social Security numbers from insurance cards.

Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is lagging behind other agencies.

The same Social Security number that the Social Security Administration believes is so sensitive that it should not be carried in your wallet is found on the Medicare cards that 44 million beneficiaries carry with them at all times to access health care services. CMS expressly instructs Medicare beneficiaries to carry their Medicare card in their wallet or purse as proof of insurance, making their Social Security numbers readily available to any thief.

In 2005, I offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Labor-HHS- Education appropriations bill to require CMS to report to Congress on what steps would be necessary for them to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards.

CMS issued the report in 2006, but it has not yet begun to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards.

Earlier this year, the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration took CMS to task for its inaction. The Inspector General's report confirmed that displaying Social Security numbers on Medicare cards places millions of people at risk for identity theft and concluded that ``immediate action is needed to address this significant vulnerability.''

The bill that I am introducing today, the Social Security Number Protection Act of 2008, establishes a reasonable timetable for CMS to begin removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and a date certain by which CMS would be required to complete the process.

Not later than three years after enactment, CMS would be prohibited from displaying Social Security numbers on newly issued Medicare cards. CMS would be prohibited from displaying the number on existing cards no later than five years after enactment.

In addition to Medicare cards, the bill would prohibit CMS from displaying Social Security numbers on all written and electronic communications to Medicare beneficiaries, beginning no later than three years of enactment, except in cases where their display is essential for the operation of the Medicare program.

Removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and communications to Medicare beneficiaries is long overdue. Medicare beneficiaries should not be placed at greater risk of identity theft than people with private health insurance. If other federal agencies can remove Social Security numbers, so can CMS.

I am pleased that Consumers Union, the Medicare Rights Center, and the Center for Medicare Advocacy have endorsed this bill.

This is an issue we should all be able to unite behind. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and work with me to enact it next year. Medicare beneficiaries deserve to be protected from criminals who seek to steal their identities in order to defraud them.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am doing my part to end the growing crisis of high school dropouts. I am introducing the Fast Track to College Act, a bill to increase high school graduation rates and improve access to college through the expansion of dual enrollment programs and early college high schools. Such programs allow young people to earn up to 2 years of college credit, including an associate's degree, while also earning their high school diploma.

As we work to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, we must find solutions to the growing dropout crisis facing our Nation's high schools and provide opportunities for young people to pursue higher education. Recent reports have illustrated the enormous challenge: the national graduation rate is only 70 percent and is significantly lower in many large urban school districts. For example, my home State of Wisconsin has a relatively high graduation rate of 86 percent, but that rate drops to only 46 percent in the urban schools in Milwaukee. Such an achievement gap cannot continue.

For America to remain a leader in today's increasingly global economy, we must ensure that all young people obtain not only a high school diploma, but a postsecondary education as well. High dropout rates and low college attendance rates hurt individuals, families, and society. Young people who drop out of high school are at increased risk for unemployment and incarceration, and they are more likely to depend on public assistance for healthcare, housing and other basic needs. Conversely, adults with a bachelor's degree will earn two thirds more than a high school graduate over the course of their working lives and are much less likely to experience unemployment or rely on social programs.

For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to support this bill, which provides competitive grant funding for dual enrollment programs that allow low-income students to earn college credit and a high school diploma at the same time. The Gates Foundation has been funding and evaluating such programs for several years now, and they have found that these programs work. Students can be motivated by a challenging curriculum and the tangible rewards of achievement, including free college credit and exposure to career opportunities. These programs have shown incredible promise as a tool for increasing attendance, graduation, and college enrollment rates, particularly among low-income high school students. Dual enrollment puts students on the fast track to college and increases the odds that they will not only graduate, but go on to continue their education and secure higher-paying jobs.

Specifically, this bill authorizes $100,000,000 for competitive 6- year grants to schools, with priority given to schools that serve low- income students. The funding will help defray the costs of tuition, textbooks, transportation, and other associated costs for students in early college high school and other dual enrollment programs. The bill also includes an evaluation component so we can measure the program's effectiveness.

I believe this investment in our schools will help solve the dropout crisis and secure America's future by ensuring that all young people can compete in today's global economy. Further, I believe that all children, regardless of income or other factors, deserve equal opportunities to fulfill their potential, and it is both morally and fiscally responsible for this Congress to invest in high-quality educational programs that help them reach that potential.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I join my colleague, Senator Lincoln of Arkansas, to introduce the Medicare Home Infusion Coverage Act, which will help us improve care and reduce costs. Today we know that the average Medicare beneficiary must shoulder nearly half their health care costs. At the same time Medicare faces serious fiscal challenges. Currently, the Part A, hospital, Trust Fund faces insolvency in 2019, when expenditures will exceed projected contributions and require additional taxpayer support to maintain the care our seniors and so many disabled Americans require.

There is another way, and that is to reform care delivery to emphasize high quality, lower cost care. Today the many serious conditions--including some cancers and drug-resistant infections-- require the use of infusion therapy. Such treatment involves the administration of medication directly into the bloodstream via a needle or catheter. Specialized equipment, supplies, and professional services (such as sterile drug compounding, care coordination, and patient education and monitoring) are part of such therapy. The course of infusion treatment often lasts for several hours per day over a six-to- eight week period.

The unfortunate fact is that Medicare patients requiring infusion therapy must either bear that cost themselves, or endure hospitalization in order to receive coverage. Though Medicare pays for infusion drugs, it does not pay for the services, equipment, and supplies necessary to safely provide infusion therapy in the home. Not surprisingly, even though home infusion therapy may cost as little as $100 a day, too few seniors can bear that cost.

The result is that patients are hospitalized needlessly, driving costs of treatment as much as 10-20 times higher than treatment in the home. That is wasteful to Medicare and may even place the patient at risk. That is because unnecessary hospitalization places individuals at risk of acquiring a health care-acquired infection--one which is frequently drug resistant and can be life-threatening.

Private health plans have long understood that home infusion therapy is not only less costly, but safer as well. Thus private coverage for home infusion therapy is common. Private plans also recognize that patients benefit from avoiding hospitalization. At home they have familiar, comfortable surroundings, and family conveniently at hand--no small concerns when fighting a serious illness.

It is clear we must change the status quo, and achieve safer, most cost-effective treatment. By extending coverage of infusion therapy to the home, we will correct this unintended and unnecessary gap in Medicare coverage.

I hope my colleagues will join us in support of this legislation so we may further the goals of improving patient safety and reducing our escalating health care costs.

Mr. President, last night we passed an economic stabilization plan that is intended to protect business, pensions, and jobs. I know from my State of Ohio, all too often I get plant shutdown notifications and applications for shutdown assistance, for worker retraining, for all kinds of responses to economic problems. What we did last night was particularly important because of potential lost jobs. With that bill we are trying to prevent an economic crisis.

Last week, Republican Members of this body, unfortunately, set the stage for another economic crisis. They set the stage for a crisis when they blocked a bill to extend unemployment insurance for millions of Americans and their families. Congress must extend this insurance for Americans. We have a bill to do that. I urge my colleagues to support