Chairman's Press
Enzi Disappointed that Democrat Leadership Rejects Bipartisanship
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said that reaching a bipartisan agreement is critical to enacting successful health care reform legislation. "It worries and disappoints me to hear the Democrat Majority Leader urge his Chairmento stop working toward a bipartisan agreement on health care reform," Enzi said. "The failedstimulus model of the Democrats writing a bill, picking off two or thre… Continue Reading
07.08.09
Kennedy Bill Would Force Millions to Lose Health Care Plans, New CBO Analysis Shows
Washington, D.C. - In a public meeting with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said its new analysis shows that millions of Americans would lose the employer-based health insurance they have now if the Kennedy bill becomes law."The Kennedy bill breaks the Democrats' promise that if you like the care you have, you can keep it. CBO's new analysis confirms - the Kennedy plan will force millions of Americans to lose their cu… Continue Reading
07.07.09
Strike Two – Latest Kennedy Health Bill Leaves 34 Million without Coverage, Costs $645 Billion
Washington, D.C. - According to the latest estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the new draft of the Kennedy health care bill will cost approximately $645 billion and leave 34 million Americans without health insurance."No matter how they spin it, the Kennedy bill still costs too much and leaves 34 million Americans without health care coverage. This bill doesn't come close to achieving our goal of reducing health care costs and helping everyone get the care they need," said Senat… Continue Reading
06.29.09
Enzi & Hatch Request Bipartisan Hearing to Investigate Firing of National and Community Service Corporation Inspector General White House Yet to Substantiate Basis for Termination
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senior Member of the HELP Committee, today requested that HELP Committee Chairman Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) hold a hearing to examine President Obama's removal of the Inspector General (IG) of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), Gerald Walpin. "As you know, a number of news reports have noted that the IG'… Continue Reading
06.24.09
Democrats Reject Proposal to Limit Size of Bloated Washington Bureaucracies
Washington, D.C. - In a party-line vote, Democrats on the Senate Health, Education,Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today rejected a Coburn amendment to limit the ofgovernment by setting up a "cap and trade" system for the Department of Health and HumanServices. The proposal would require that every new employee hired at HHS under the Kennedy health care bill be offset by another bureaucrat. "At some point, we need to stop growing the of government," said Senator MikeEnzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking… Continue Reading
06.23.09
Democrats’ Prescription for Health Care Reform: More Pork!
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today voiced his strong opposition to an $80 billion pork barrel spending slush fund included in the $1.3 trillion Kennedy health care bill currently before the HELP Committee."The Kennedy bill leaves millions of Americans without health insurance, but it's chockfull of earmarks and pork barrel spending," said Enzi, the Senate's only accountant. "This bill cost… Continue Reading
06.23.09
Democrats Block Efforts to Cut Wasteful Spending, Expand Health Care Coverage to Low-Income Americans
Washington, D.C. - In a series of party-line votes, Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today rejected a number of common sense proposals to cut wasteful spending in the Kennedy health care bill and ensure that funds go to help low-income Americans get the care they need. "Common sense tells us not spend $80 billion on farmers' markets and jungle gyms when this bill leaves tens of millions of Americans uninsured. Americans need health insurance and our… Continue Reading
06.22.09
Enzi: No Washington Bureaucrat Should Deny or Delay Care for You and Your Family
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today proposed changes to theKennedy health care bill that would protect patients by specifically prohibiting Washingtonbureaucrats from denying or limiting access to health care services. "The Kennedy bill would give Washington bureaucrats the power to deny you and yourfamily the care you need," Enzi said. "This partisan bill contains no provisions to protect … Continue Reading
06.22.09
GAO Report Provides Suggestions For Strengthening Job Corps Programs Report finds that while Job Corps provides critical career skills, more can be done to help retain and recruit young women
(Washington, D.C.) - The Department of Labor's (DOL) Job Corps training program, while meeting its goals for young, disadvantaged males, is struggling to meet its goals for young women according to Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today. The report found that Job Corps has taken some steps to improve the recruitment of young women but that more can be done, including providing more appealing career training options and additional support services for young women. "It's una… Continue Reading
06.19.09
Democrats Refuse to Block Washington Bureaucrats from Denying, Delaying Care under Kennedy Bill
Washington, D.C. - Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions(HELP) Committee, today rejected an offer from Republicans to protect patients by specificallyprohibiting Washington bureaucrats from denying or limiting access to health care services."I'm very disappointed that Democrats would not accept our reasonable offer to protect patients from health care rationing," said Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of theHELP Committee. "No Washington bureaucrat should be abl… Continue Reading
06.18.09
What’s Missing in the Kennedy Bill? Critical Reforms to Make Health Care More Affordable, Bring Down High Cost of Medical Lawsuits
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today offered an amendment to correct the Kennedy health bill's glaring failure to reduce medical lawsuits, which drive up health care costs and force doctors to order wasteful tests and treatments to cover liabilities. "Lawsuit reform is a critical piece of the health care reform puzzle," Enzi said."Frivolous lawsuits drive up health care costs and put patient… Continue Reading
06.18.09
Enzi, Republicans Fight to Reduce Spending in Kennedy Health Bill
Washington, D.C. - As the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions(HELP) Committee enters its second day considering the Kennedy health care bill, U.S.Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, is leadingRepublican efforts to reduce the bill's out-of-control spending. "Republicans stand ready to write a health care reform bill that matches what thePresident said this week - Americans who like the care they have must be able to keepit, and the bill must and will be def… Continue Reading
06.17.09
Enzi Finds Plenty of Room for Improvement in Bill that Costs $1 Trillion, Leaves 36 million Uninsured
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said he would use the Committee process to highlight and correct the numerous flaws in the Kennedy health care bill, which preliminary analysis shows will cost more than $1 trillion, leave about 36-37 million Americans without coverage, and force 10 million more to lose their current health insurance."The misguided policies in the bill will cause approxim… Continue Reading
06.17.09
Enzi: Careful, Deliberate Finance Committee Process a Sharp Contrast to HELP Committee’s Mad Rush on Health Care
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, today said that the HELP Committee should look to the careful, deliberate process of the Finance Committee as a model for a bipartisan approach to health care reform."The HELP Committee is moving too fast to do an adequate job on health care reform," Enzi said. "I hope we don't become victims of arbitrary deadlines when we … Continue Reading
06.17.09
Health Care Markup, Day 1: Republicans Sharpen Focus on Kennedy Bill Costing Too Much, Covering Too Few
Washington, D.C. - In the first day of the Senate Health, Education, Labor andPensions (HELP) Committee's consideration of the Kennedy health care bill, U.S.Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, ledRepublicans in focusing on the Kennedy bill's high costs and failure to cover tens ofmillions of Americans. "This bill costs too much, covers too few and will cause 10 million Americans tolose the health insurance they currently enjoy," said Enzi, the Senate's only account… Continue Reading
06.17.09
GREGG AND ENZI: INCOMPLETE DEMOCRATIC HEALTH CARE BILL WILL COST TRILLIONS AND LEAVE MILLIONS UNINSURED
WSHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), ranking members of the Senate Budget Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, respectively, today issued the following statements regarding the true cost and impact of the incomplete Democratic health reform proposal currently being marked up by the Senate HELP Committee. On Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a preliminary analysis estimating that this unfin… Continue Reading
06.17.09
HELP Committee Rushing to Mark-up a Bill the White House Calls an “Incomplete, Older Proposal”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today begins consideration of the Kennedy bill, which preliminary analysis shows will cost over $1 trillion, leave tens of millions without coverage, and cause millions more to lose their health insurance. "Why are we rushing to act on this bill? Asking the Committee to consider a bill before they've even finished writing it is putting the cart before the horse. We need to take the time to get this right, not barrel through the n… Continue Reading
06.16.09
CBO: Stakeholders’ Pledged Savings Cannot Be Measured
Washington, D.C. -U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today reacted to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) assessment that savings pledged by health care groups who met with President Obama at the White House last month simply are not "scorable," in most instances. Based on the CBO's review, most of the industry's savings cannot be estimated, and what CBO could score fell far short of $2 trillion. "What was or… Continue Reading
06.16.09
GOP to President: Kennedy-Dodd Bill Doesn’t Meet Your Goals HELP Committee Republicans Ask President to Help Write Truly Bipartisan Bill
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, in his address to the American Medical Association, President Obama said, "Health care reform must be and will be deficit neutral in the next decade." In light of the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Kennedy-Dodd health care bill, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today led HELP Committee Republicans in writing a letter to President Obama expressing their desire to work… Continue Reading
06.16.09
Enzi & Hatch Push HHS for Analysis of Kennedy-Dodd Health Bill Senators Ask HHS to Provide Technical Analysis of Health Care Legislation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Member of the Finance Committee, and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senior Member of HELP and Finance Committees, today said they were disappointed that Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has failed to provide timely, written technical assistance on the Kennedy-Dodd bill. Enzi and Hatch again said that the HELP Committee needs official,… Continue Reading
