Health Care Reform Tops Lott Agenda Issue Will Be A Priority For Rest Of The Year, Senate Majority Leader Tells Idahoans

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is making health care reform his top priority for the remainder of this year’s congressional session.

“We need to do that. The president says he wants to do it,” Lott said Friday during the taping of the “Viewpoint” program at KTVB-TV’s Boise studio.

“I’ve been focusing on that. I’ve talked to the president three times in the last week about that subject.”

Lott, the Mississippi Republican newly elected to the Senate’s top post after Bob Dole’s departure to campaign for president, was in town for the Idaho Republican state convention, where he delivered the keynote speech Friday.

Lott, who favors making health insurance portable from one job to the next and easing rules for the self-employed, said even though Congress has just “two months and a week” left in its session, “We have an obligation and a responsibility to try to get some things done.”

Lott accused Democrats of preventing substantive action in Congress for the last month to sabotage Dole in his presidential aspirations.

“The Democrats in the Senate have basically just had the Senate shut down, total gridlock, because they didn’t want Bob Dole to be able to get anything accomplished.”

On health care, Lott said he favors:

Portability, or addressing the problem of workers who lose their insurance when they change jobs.

Allowing self-employed workers to deduct “a much higher percentage” of their health insurance premiums from their taxes.

“A broad experiment” in so-called medical savings accounts, “to make sure it works as we think it will.” The accounts allow workers to save money in a special account for incidental medical costs, with insurance covering only catastrophic medical problems.

“I’m putting a high emphasis on the need to see if we can get agreement on health care reform,” Lott said.

He also promised that Congress will pass legislation this year to cut the tax rate on capital gains.

“Clinton may veto it again, but that, once again, will show clearly the difference between the two parties and the two candidates for president.”

Not on Lott’s list was campaign finance reform. “I think to try to get something done that would change campaigns and the way they’re financed four months before a presidential election is not going to happen.”

He added, “I think there is somewhat of a bum rap there…First of all, it’s not as bad as we think it is, but secondly, can it be improved on? I’ve never met a system yet that you couldn’t make it do a little better.”

Lott said current campaign finance proposals in Congress are “not the right answer,” but said he didn’t know how the system should be changed. Perhaps a bipartisan group should be formed after the election to look into the issue and make recommendations, he said.

Lott was joined by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, at the taping. Other issues discussed included:

Craig said that although his forest health bill has cleared committee, it won’t come to a vote unless negotiations with Democrats over a clause in the bill are resolved. The bill allows increased logging and other measures in forests where there is a high percentage of dead or dying trees. Democrats, led by Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., are concerned about a side issue involving timber sales in Oregon, Washington and Northern California.

“If we can solve that, it could become law this year,” Craig said. “If it isn’t bipartisan, it will not fly this year.”

Craig, who joins Lott in Senate leadership with his recent election to the fourth-highest position as Republican policy chairman, said Dole’s election as president would lead to a more productive relationship between the White House and Congress.

“Idaho…will be better served because the Senate and the House and the presidency will work as a team, instead of this adversarial gridlock America doesn’t like.”

Lott portrayed his differences from Dole as “stylistic” and “generational,” but said he will continue to follow Dole’s agenda in the Senate.

He and Craig also said that although they represent the conservative wing of their party, they’ll work with moderates in the Senate. Lott said moderates supported him for majority leader and have had good working relationships with him.

“My motto has always been, the most important vote is not the last vote, it’s the next vote.”

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