Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) on Thursday during a hearing said that this year they will seek a vote on a bill (S 2063) they introduced last September to address problems with the long-term financial stability of Medicare and other entitlement programs, CQ Today reports (Clarke, CQ Today, 1/24).

The legislation would establish a bipartisan, 16-member task force composed of lawmakers and Bush administration officials that would make recommendations to address the issue by Dec. 9. The task force would include 14 lawmakers; the secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, who would chair the committee; and a second administration official selected by the president. Under the bill, lawmakers would have to introduce the recommendations as legislation, and both the House and Senate would have to consider the legislation after they reconvene in January 2009 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/19/07).

During the hearing, Conrad said, "I just want to alert my colleagues that I am not going to allow this year to go by without giving our colleagues a chance to vote on whether we advance this proposal." Gregg said, "We have shown over time, unfortunately, that as a political culture we cannot address this issue by simply putting ideas on the table because everyone shoots at the ideas."

According to CQ Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have not offered "much enthusiasm" for the bill (CQ Today, 1/24).

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