Rockefeller Introduces Public Option Amendment To Finance Committee Bill

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico /Talk Radio News Service

The biggest debate on the fifth day of markup of the America’s Healthy future Act focused heavily on the “public option.” Liberal Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa.) introduced his amendment to Senate Finance Comittee Chairman Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) mark providing for a “public option,” or what he calls the “Consumer Choice Health Plan.”

The debate began with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) criticizing Rockefeller's amendment, calling it a “Trojan horse for a single payer program [that] would lead to Washington controlling health care and monitoring prices."

Rockefeller kept a stern attitude on his amendment stating that, “It would not be a government takeover." However, the West Virginia Democrat refused to answer questions put to him by Hatch.

Heavy debate ensued on non-profit insurance programs from Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and how well they have worked in his state, and how poorly the US as a whole compares to other nations. Conrad made a compelling argument for the “Mutual” based system with non-profit companies that would attempt to provide for universal healthcare coverage.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) further argued that Medicare rates would be fixed during the first two years under Rockefeller's amendment - Rockefeller proudly held up two fingers. After the two years though, explained Bingaman, rates would be further negotiated, which would essentially adjust prices to fit in line with private companies.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) compared the health care plan to universities, saying that "There’s both a private university and public university...there should be a choice."

Democrats agreed that Rockefeller’s amendment would build competition within the open market, while Republicans contended that it will bring price adjustments along with a government-run, single payer takeover of the entire healthcare system.

“This is a slippery slope to go down… it will lead to a government-run single payer option,” said Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.).

Markup is scheduled to continue late Tuesday night and will reconvene Wednesday morning.

Six energy challenges await next Congress

While Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, acknowledges that recent energy legislation has led to reductions in imported oil and emissions, the Senator contends that the achievements are relatively modest compared to the steps that need to be taken to secure the United States' energy future and provide environmental protection. To meet the remaining needs, Bingaman listed six challenges that the new Congress will need to confront: deploying clean energy technology, improving energy efficiency, maintaining adequate supplies of conventional fuels, increasing energy innovation, making energy markets more transparent, and maintaining a balance between energy and environmental policies.

Regarding the establishment of clean energy technologies, Bingaman described the need for improvement in the electricity sector. "A national renewable electricity standard will enhance the diversity of our domestic electricity generation and it will position the United States to regain the world technology lead in these areas and start preparing our electricity sector for the inevitable requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

In order to address the challenge of improving energy efficiency, the U.S. would need to take an approach that would include the transportation, building, and industrial sectors. According to Bingaman, efficiency could be improved in these sectors by providing incentives for consumers to purchase more fuel efficient cars, adopting modern energy saving building codes, and reducing the industrial sector's energy intensity.

The Senator pressed for the importance of maintaining an adequate supply of conventional energy, noting that while the goal of energy policy is to move away from the use of fossil fuels, the transition will take time and policy needs to be in place to secure energy supplies in the meantime.

Bingaman said that an increase in energy innovation could be achieved by providing more funding for research. "Our investments in these areas have been totally inadequate for the past decade. We need to boost these levels substantially...One of our challenges in the next congress and for the new administration is to see how we can set up an entity that focuses on protoyping transformative energy technologies that fall between the institutional cracks in the system."

In regard to the fifth challenge, BIngaman discussed how the fluctuation in energy prices essentially happens outside the view of the public. "We clearly need better data and better oversight of these new market players and forces if we want energy markets to function effectively in the future," said Bingaman.

He concluded by noting that in environmental terms there is a need for an immediate energy revolution and for the creation of a regulatory regime to spearhead the effort to balance energy policy and environmental policy.

Energy independence a hard goal

The Energy Daily and Covanta Energy hosted a media breakfast with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to discuss the congressional outlook on energy. At the forefront of discussions was the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium. The OCS Moratorium was put in place by Congress in 1981 to protect America's coasts from threats of oil and gas developments as well as to prevent leasing of coastal waters for fossil fuel development.

According to Bingaman, any ideas of changing the Moratorium would run into significant opposition and pointed out that President George Bush has not asked for a change either. When asked if the OCS Moratorium is shaping up to be an election issues, Bingaman said that the longer the topic was debated, the better it would be understood. Bingaman also noted that both presidential candidates Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have "kept the issue boiling" and not voted on it. Bingaman also said he was against the federal government ceding authority of the OCS to coastal states. He said that around $100 billion of the OCS revenue would go to coastal states and this in unfavorable in a time when the federal government needs its reserves. According to Bingaman, the OCS has always been a federal resource. Bingaman was quick to admit that leaders of coastal states would not agree with his stand.

Bingaman commended Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens for taking on the issue of energy and developing an alternative energy plan. According to Pickens' testimony before Congress last week, America needs to switch to local energy resources within the next 10 years to stop foreign oil dependence. Using Department of Energy estimates, Pickens said the U.S. should be capable of producing 22 percent of its electrical energy needs using wind-powered electricity. Bingaman said that he was in favor of using wind energy, as Pickens has been advocating. However, Bingaman admitted that, "100 percent energy independence is a hard goal."