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quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you. mr. president. first of all i'd ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: and i would ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise this afternoon to speak of a subject that is on the minds of so many americans. it's also the subject of a lot of attention at work here in washington, and that issue is health care. i don't, and i won't try today to cover every aspect of it and to cover all of the details that are being debated here in washington. but i rise to begin a series of speeches that i and others will be giving on this topic. and i don't need, i don't think, to recite the challenge we face,

that people of pennsylvania face and the people of america face when it comes to health care. i do believe there is some consensus not only here in washington but around the country about what we have to do. a, that we have to take action. and as we take action, that we are very clear in what we tell people and what is in the legislation. that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it. if you don't like what you have or you don't have any health care, we're going to put a bill in front of the american people -- in front of the senate and house, and then legislation in front of the american people which will allow that kind of choice. so i believe there is consensus about that. there is consensus about some fundamental keys to reform. one is the question of cost reduction. that we can't get through this process and not get a handle on costs especially for the future. number two, i think there's at great consensus about choice,

preserving the kind of choice that people have now and in fact enhancing the choice that people have in their health care decisions. thirdly, to ensure quality health care for all americans. the nature of that issue is that we can build on our current system, but that we have too many people, as many as almost 50 million, who are uninsured. there are a lot of people to thank here in washington for the work that's been done already. i know we're a long way off. we've got a lot more to do. weeks and weeks of work still ahead of us. but a few bare mention. obviously the president of the united states -- president obama -- has made this a central issue of his presidency and has worked very hard and has continued to make this a priority. we want to commend his leadership on this. it's essential. we cannot move this legislation without his help. senator kennedy, who has worked on this issue for more than four decades, i guess, now. tremendous leadership and

inspiration, whether he's here physically or whether he's not, he's providing that, has provided that for the american people for a generation on health care. senator baucus, head of the finance committee, has worked not just months, but years on this, but especially in the last year, in the last six months, working very hard to get it right on that essential committee. and senator dodd stepping in to the health, education, labor, pensions committee leadership because senator kennedy hasn't always been able to be here because of his own health challenges. and i also want to commend the bipartisan spirit that i think is evident on both sides of the aisle. people want to get this done, and they want to get it done in a bipartisan manner. what i will speak about today is an aspect of this challenge which i think is not getting enough attention and enough focus and, therefore, may not get enough resolution in the legislation. and that is the issue of what happens to our children,

especially children who are poor or those with disabilities, those with special needs? and i believe the theme, not just the theme and not just the goal, but the ironclad promise that we should make when we talk about reforming health care and getting legislation passed, the ironclad promise should be as follows: no child worse off. no child in america worse off at the end of this process, especially poor children and he especially those who have special needs, those with a disability. we have, despite all of the great work -- and i could cite you a long list of people to thank for children's health insurance. the legislation was passed in the 1990's and the reauthorization. great news, 600 million kids covered plus four more who will be covered. so almost 10 million -- almost

11 million actually. more than 10 million american children covered by that. that's wonderful. we got that done this year. here's's the problem, still 5 million more not covered. i rise today to speak about coverage and to focus on those children. here's what i believe when it comes to children in our society. i believe that every child born in america is born with a light inside them. for some children, that light will be -- the reach of it will be boundless. it will be scintillating. you won't be able to see it, it will be so bright, because of that child's potential or because of his or her circumstances. but their potential and, therefore, the light within them is boundless. for some other children, that light will be a little more limited because of circumstance or because of other limitations that they have. no matter what the situation

that child is in, no matter how brightly or not so brightly that light is shining, we have to make sure that we're there for them, especially, especially when it comes to health care. so i believe that that light has to continue to shine. and one of the reasons that i am so grateful for the work that's been done already is that in our committee, we've made children a priority. health, education, labor, pensions committee has not only produced a bill already, it's from one side of the aisle, the democratic side, we're working with our republican colleagues now. but the affordable health choices act is now on the table for debate, and we're working on it today and hours and hours yesterday and today. and we'll continue that with our republican colleagues. there are a number of provisions in there for children that speak directly to this concern that i have. and senator dodd has shown tremendous leadership on this issue of helping our children

through this legislation. but i really believe that we have to focus the attention of the country on the challenge, and that's why i've introduced senate resolution 170 and i'd ask consent that the entire resolution be made a part of the record as part of my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: thank you. this is cosponsored by senators dodd, rockefeller, brown, whitehouse and sanders. i'll highlight some of the features of it. first of all, it starts with a recognition that the medicaid program is a cornerstone of the nation's health insurance infrastructure. it notes in the resolution that medicaid covers a quarter of all children in the country -- one quarter -- and half of all poor children. it notes as well that medicaid has been shown to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care and provides coverage for

two out of every five african-american american and children. it provides benefits for infants and young children. it has care coordination benefits to support at-risk children and its administrative spending -- medicaid's administrative spending is lower than that through heist insurance. here's the end -- through private insurance. here's the end of the resolution. i'm summarizing here. it is the intent of this resolution to say that the nation's health care system shall benefit all children -- all children -- and that no child shall be worse off at the end of this debate. and low-income children should not be moved into a health care exchange system that could disrupt and diminish their benefits. that senate resolution 170. i believe it's critically important to emphasize this idea that no child should be worse

off as a result of health care reform. not a single child. and in particular, those who have special needs or who happen to be poor. we know from our research that children are not small adults. they have different challenges. they have developmental and health care needs that are very different from adults. and the thaepblgs that they have, the problems that they encounter can be exacerbated if children face economic challenges or have any kind of special needs. these needs must be met. and if they are not met, the whole trajectory, the future of that child will be changed for the worst worse. let me say this -- will be changed for the worse. let me say this in conclusion, mr. president. we have seen throughout our history that there are some people who cannot do something on their own, that they need the

help of a program, they need the help of a government. and thank goodness we've made a determination a long time ago that our health care system is part of that equation. when i think about health care, when we think about the maker of children, no matter what income level their family happens to be under, especially if they're poor or have special needs, and you think about the love of a mother with the kind of love that a mother provides to a child, there's so many things that one mother can provide for her child. she can help with that child's education. she can provide nurturing and care and love to make sure that that child develops in the way that we would hope. and she can even help somewhat on that child's health care. but no matter how much a mother loves her child, no matter how skilled she is, no matter how dedicated she is to the welfare *f her child, and no matter how

much she loves that child, she cannot -- cannot -- provide the kind of protections that health insurance provides and the kind of medical attention that a good hospital, a good doctor, a good health care professional can provide. so we have a choice here. we can have health reform legislation and everyone will pat each other on the back and we'll all be happy we got it done. that would be wonderful. but if we get this bill passed and we've fallen short with regard to our children, especially those who are poor and have special needs, i think we will have failed not only those children, of course, but we will have failed the obligation that we have to make sure that every child comes through this with the kind of protections and the kind of help that they should have a right to expect. and that that mother can have a

sense that this country, this government has made a full commitment. not a partial commitment, but a full commitment to children. so let us, as we go forward, remember the lost that a mother has for her child and the limitations, no matter how much that mother loves that child on what she's able to do, that we must help her with in this debate. and let us not forget, and let us make sure that the legislation that we passed on health care reform has as one of its ironclad promises no child worse off. mr. president, i yield the floor and would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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