ACTION

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-3625
May 15, 1998
No. FC 25-A

Archer Announces Committee Action on
H.R. 3828, the "Veterans Medicare Access Improvement
Act of 1998," and H.R. 3809, the "Drug Free Borders
Act of 1998"

    Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that on Thursday, May 14, 1998, the Committee ordered favorably reported H.R. 3828, the "Veterans Medicare Access Improvement Act of 1998," as amended, by a recorded vote of 31-1, and H.R. 3809, the "Drug Free Borders Act of 1998," as amended, by a recorded vote of 29-0, with one voting present.

DESCRIPTION OF H.R. 3828 AS APPROVED:

    H.R. 3828 would establish a Medicare subvention program and demonstration project to provide that the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) may receive Medicare reimbursement for health care services provided to certain Medicare-eligible veterans.

    Subvention is the term given to proposals that would permit the VA to receive Medicare reimbursements for care provided to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries at VA medical facilities.

H.R. 3828, as approved, would:

• Create a Medicare subvention program for Category A veterans (low income/service-connected disabled) who are geographically remote from VA medical centers.

• Limit Category A subvention to three sites for the first three years. If the Category A subvention meets certain criteria, then the subvention program may be offered on a national basis.

• Provide that Medicare payments for the Category A be capped at $50 million in the first year, $75 million in the second year, and $100 million in the third.

• Create a Medicare subvention program for Category C veterans (all other veterans) who are geographically remote from VA medical centers.

• Limit Category C subvention to three sites for three years.

• Provide that Medicare payments for Category C will be capped at $50 million per year for three years.

• Require VA to maintain its current level of services to Medicare-eligible veterans.

• Provide that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs must monitor expenditure levels during the project in relation to expenditures that would have been made but for subvention.

• Authorize reimbursement at 95 percent of otherwise applicable Medicare+Choice rates, excluding certain payments for Graduate Medical Education and Disproportionate Share Hospitals, and some payments for hospital-capital costs.

DESCRIPTION OF H.R. 3809 AS APPROVED:

H.R. 3809, as approved, would:

• Increase the authorization for the U.S. Customs Service for: (1) drug enforcement and other noncommercial operation to $964,587,584 for fiscal year 1999 and $1,072,928,328 for fiscal year 2000; (2) commercial operations to $970,838,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $999,963,000 for fiscal year 2000; and (3) air interdiction program to $98,488,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $101,443,000 for fiscal year 2000.

• Authorize $90,244,000 for equipment which would include vehicle and container inspection systems, mobile truck x-rays, upgrades to fixed-site truck x-rays, pallet x-rays, busters, contraband detection kits, ultrasonic container inspection units, automated targeting systems, rapid tire deflator systems, portable Treasury Enforcement Communications Systems terminals, remote surveillance camera systems, weigh-in-motion sensors, vehicle counters, spotter camera systems, inbound commercial truck transponders, narcotics vapor and particle detectors, license plate reader automatic targeting software, and a demonstration site for a high-energy relocatable rail car inspection system.

• Authorize $117,664,584 for fiscal year 1999 and $184,110,928 for fiscal year 2000 for a net increase of 1,745 Customs inspectors, special agents, intelligence analysts, and canine enforcement officers to help in the fight in the war on drugs and to better protect the United States borders from illegal contraband.

• Increase the amount of overtime pay a Customs officer may earn each fiscal year by excluding premium pay earned by Customs officers from the computation of the $30,000 overtime pay fiscal year cap.

• Correct night pay differential so that Customs officers are paid at a rate of 15 percent premium pay for any hour worked between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight and at a rate of 20 percent of a Customs officer's base pay for any hour worked between the hours of 12:00 midnight at 6:00 a.m. The bill would create a shift in which all hours worked are paid at a rate of 20 percent over the Custom officer's base rate between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 8:00 a.m.

• Authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer up to 5 percent of Customs officers to a new duty station to ensure the integrity of the Customs Service. The Secretary of the Treasury would be able to transfer Customs officers to temporary duty assignments for not more than 90 days to address interdiction needs. This provision would become effective on October 1, 1999.

• Provide that if the Commissioner of Customs determines that any portion of a collective bargaining agreement is having an adverse impact on the interdiction of drugs, the parties would be required to meet to eliminate the provision causing the adverse impact. If after 90 days, no resolution has been reached, the Commissioner of Customs would be able to implement the Customs Service's last offer. At that time, either party would be able to pursue the impasse to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. The bill would also allow the Commissioner of Customs the ability to immediately implement Custom's proposed changes without waiting 90 days if the Commissioner of Customs determines that exigent circumstances warrant such immediate action.