Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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Wednesday, February 19, 2003 |
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Collins cosponsors bill that will ban most partial birth abortions By
MAC COLLINS [Last] week, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was introduced for consideration in the House of Representatives. I was proud to offer my support as an original cosponsor of this important legislation which would ban the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion. Partial-birth abortion is the brutal termination of the life of a living baby before it takes its first breath outside the womb. The bill would prohibit the performance of a partial-birth abortion with the only exception being if this abortion method is necessary to save the life of a mother; a situation which, according to the Surgeon General, is never the reason this procedure is performed. Throughout my years in Congress, I have opposed partial birth abortion, and I have voted in four separate Congresses to ban this procedure. President Clinton vetoed these bills in the 104th and 105th Congresses. While the House voted to override these vetoes, the Senate did not have the necessary votes to do likewise. Unlike his predecessor, President Bush is a strong opponent of partial birth abortion. With President Bush's leadership and a Republican-led Senate, it is my hope that we will finally outlaw the gruesome practice this year. On Thursday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed legislation which included a provision to increase reimbursement for physicians who serve our seniors under the Medicare program (H.J. Res. 2). This legislation also included an important provision to address the reimbursement needs of hospitals in rural and small urban areas under Medicare. Over the past year, I have heard from many doctors throughout Georgia, regarding the challenges they face under the Medicare program. Because of an error in the formula used to calculate physician payments, Medicare payments to physicians fell by more than 5 percent in 2002. This measure will provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the ability to fix this error, which if left uncorrected has the real potential to adversely affect the quality of health care available to our seniors. Over the past year, I have consistently supported efforts to correct the error in calculating physician payments. In fact, earlier this year, I also cosponsored legislation (H.J. Res. 3) which would have protected physicians from further payment cuts. In addition to meeting the reimbursement needs of our physicians, this legislation also includes a provision to ensure our hospitals in rural and small urban areas will have the funds needed to treat the Medicare patients coming through their doors. In addition to these important Medicare funding issues, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to fashion a modern Medicare program which is better able to meet the needs of our seniors. On Thursday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003 (H.R. 4). This important legislation would reflect the President's and Congress' proposals to move more Americans off government dependence toward individual financial freedom. Specifically, H.R. 4 reauthorizes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and builds on the success of the 1996 welfare law. Prior to passage of that landmark law, many mistakenly forecasted that welfare reform would place more people in poverty. Instead, welfare rolls were cut by more than half and more than 9 million recipients left the welfare rolls and began collecting paychecks. Today, more Americans are on the road to self-sufficiency. This legislation would build on this success by increasing the number of welfare recipients who must be employed. On Wednesday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act (H.R.395) by a vote of 418-7. This legislation seeks to curtail telemarketing calls by allowing consumers to register on a national "do not call" list. H.R. 395 would authorize the creation national "do not call" database. This legislation will allow consumers to register, free of charge, either online or through a toll-free number in a database of restricted phone numbers which telemarketers would be required to purchase from the FTC. Telemarketers would be prohibited from calling these registered consumers and would be required to update their lists every three months. Consumer registration would be good for five years or until the consumer changed phone numbers or moved. Telemarketers who called numbers included in the database would be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per call. H.R.395 has been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee for further consideration.
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