Click here to watch Upton’s Floor statement on temporary SGR fix
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bipartisan two-year budget agreement that will prevent a government shutdown in January and return the congressional budget process to regular order. Building on the earlier efforts of House Republicans, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (H.J.Res. 59) replaces the across-the-board sequester cuts to defense and non-defense programs, while still reducing the deficit by more than $20 billion and putting the nation on the path to a balanced budget. The agreement includes new deficit-reduction provisions and shields Michigan families and businesses from higher taxes. Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, praised the agreement for breaking through the partisan gridlock and allowing the Congress to focus on long-term fiscal solutions, including comprehensive tax reform. H.J.Res. 59 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 332 to 94 and is expected to be considered by the U.S. Senate next week.
“Not much is ever perfect, but this bipartisan budget agreement is a welcome step to begin the herculean task of tackling our nation’s debt in a bipartisan way,” said Upton. “The sequester was put into place to force the House and Senate to reach an agreement after years of not considering a budget. This agreement keeps feet to the fire for spending caps and allows the appropriators to do their work without a meat-axe approach.”
The agreement sets overall discretionary spending for the current fiscal year at $1.012 trillion and FY 2015 at $1.014, for a total of $63 billion in sequester relief. The sequester relief is fully offset by savings elsewhere in the budget.
Upton spoke on the House Floor this afternoon in support of a bipartisan provision to the budget bill, which seeks to address the expiration of the current reimbursement rate for physicians treating Medicare patients. Without action, doctors would face a 20.1 percent cut in reimbursements come January 1, 2014.
“It’s important that seniors do not find a lump of coal in their stockings for Christmas. This fully offset package represents access to healthcare for 40 million seniors. It would give seniors the peace of mind of knowing that their trusted physician will be there when they need them most by securing stable payments for doctors.”
For nearly three years as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, Upton has helped lead the bipartisan effort in Congress to permanently repeal Medicare’s fundamentally flawed payment model that is used to reimburse our nation’s doctors. Since its enactment as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the current payment system – known as the Sustainable Growth Rate or simply the SGR – has been a source of continued concern for physicians who serve Medicare beneficiaries and for the beneficiaries themselves.
Earlier this year, Upton’s Energy and Commerce Committee voted 51 to 0 on H.R. 2810, which would repeal the SGR and replace it with a system that promotes the highest quality of care.
Today’s provision provides a three-month window as Congress continues its work on a more complete, permanent solution.
