Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3128 - Deficit Reduction Amendments of 1985

(House)
(Rostenkowski (D) Illinois)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 3128 in its present form and opposes the rule, which does not permit amendments to be offered that would:

(1) delete the provision which would extend permanently the additional eight-cents tax on tobacco;

(2) eliminate all the provisions resulting in spending increases including: the program expansions contained in Title III of H.R. 3128 regarding Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the gutting of present procedures which hold states financially liable for erroneous payments in AFDG, extension and expansion of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, extension of medicare coverage of occupational therapy services, expansion of medicare coverage for vision care, expansion of medicaid coverage for pregnant women, increasing medicare payment rates for hospice care, and the new costly and unnecessary appeal system for medicare part B appeals.

(3) eliminate provisions overturning several Medicare and Medicaid regulations. Regulations promulgated in final by the Administration which would be overturned by H.R. 3290 already have: frozen average payments for inpatient hospital care under Medicare's Prospective Payment System, frozen Medicare payments to teaching hospitals for costs of direct medical education, frozen Medicare payments on rented and purchased durable medical equipment, and restricted the types of services provided by States under Medicaid's Home- and Community-Based Services program and limited reimbursable costs incurred by States for these services.

Unless the rule is defeated, and unless these provisions are removed, the President's senior advisors could not recommend his approval of the bill.