American College of Cardiology

Election Results…With the 2002 midterm elections decided, the 108th Congress will be comprised of 204 Democrats, 229 Republicans, one independent and one vacancy. Republican lawmakers in the 108th Congress are likely to use their increased majority to change the national debate on health care and enact market-based reforms. In the most recent legislative session, the House passed a Medicare reform package that included a prescription drug benefit administered by the private sector and provider "giveback" provisions as well as expanding Medicare to cover cholesterol screening. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has stated that adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare will be a top priority for the GOP-controlled Congress. A Republican-controlled Congress is also likely to support President Bush's proposal to provide tax credits to the uninsured to help cover the cost of private health insurance, a plan that many newly elected representatives touted on the campaign trail. Bush has also asked lawmakers to address patients' rights legislation; to do so, the Republican Congress could revive a patients' rights bill passed in the House in August 2001 that was never reconciled with the Senate's version. Once Congress passes the fiscal year 2003 spending legislation, it will fulfill its commitment to double the NIH budget over five years. Consequently, the rapid increases in medical research funding will return to a more sustainable pace.

Republicans won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, picking up two additional seats which result in a slim majority. The makeup of the 108th Senate includes 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one independent. Despite gaining the majority in the Senate, Republicans are far from the 60 votes they would need to break a filibuster, meaning they will have to reach out to moderate lawmakers to advance their agenda. A Republican majority in the Senate could mean shifts in legislative agenda as the leadership on committees that have jurisdiction over health policy, including the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Finance committees, switch to GOP lawmakers. In addition, there could be movement on previously stalled issues, including a Medicare prescription drug benefit. While their counterparts in the House earlier this year passed Medicare reform legislation that included a prescription drug benefit, the Senate was unable to reach a compromise on the issue, rejecting four separate proposals this summer. Several challengers for Senate seats used incumbents' failure to act on the issue during their campaign. In all likelihood, Republicans will use their power to press for market-based health care reforms. Specifically, they are likely to consider a Medicare prescription drug benefit that focuses on low-income beneficiaries and is administered by private insurers rather than the government. In addition, legislation to provide tax credits to help the uninsured purchase health coverage and to place caps on damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits could make some headway.

2002 Contributions…The ACC PAC has contributed to the following federal candidates in 2002:

U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-9th FL)
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-7th MO)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th OH)
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-16th MI)
Rep.-elect Rahm Emanuel (D-5th IL)
Rep.-elect Tom Feeney (R-24th FL)
Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-6th CT)
Rep. John Mica (R-7th FL)
State Sen. John M. Nutting (D-2nd ME)
Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R- 16th PA)
Rep. John Shadegg (R-4th AZ)
Rep. W. J. Tauzin (R-3rd LA)
Rep. Bill Thomas (R-21st CA)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-15th FL)

U.S. Senate
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Rep. John Cooksey (R-LA, ran for Senate)
Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK)
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Physician/Congressman… In 2002, voters selected two obstetricians to become members of the 108th Congress. Rep.-elect Phil Gingrey (R-11th GA) defeated millionaire Roger Kahn 52 percent to 48 percent. As reported in Roll Call, Gingrey plans to focus his efforts on improving education, taxes, homeland security and defense issues.
He has requested a seat on the Energy and Commerce committee, a committee that oversees issues important to ACC. Gingrey has spent the past 26 years practicing obstetrics and gynecology.

Rep.-elect Michael Burgess (R-26th TX) defeated his democratic opponent, businessman Paul LeBon in the general election. After his victory, Burgess told Roll Call of his ambitions to serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and eventually, to become a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Burgess has been an obstetrician in private practice for over 20 years.

Lessons Learned… In their most recent newsletter, Impact, the Public Affairs Council sites four lessons to be learned from the 2002 elections:

1. Republicans were successful because they stuck to the "war on terrorism and appeared to know what they were doing.
2. You cannot compare the son's experience fighting terrorism with the father's experience in the Persian Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War had a beginning and an end, which made Americans feel safe to worry about the economy. The war on terrorism is likely to go on for a generation or two.
3. In an ongoing war, we want elected officials who demonstrate a sense of stability, a calming influence and a confident manner. The President and his party are learning to exhibit these traits.
4. Character does count in politics. Many Americans size up a candidate to see whether he or she is a person of integrity.