Mikulski Bill Offers Credit for Long-Term Care

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Family Caregiver Relief Act of 2003 -- my legislation to help those who face the crushing consequences of caring for a chronically ill family member. While we stand up for America, we must also stand up for what America stands for. That means strengthening the safety net for those who need it most. That means standing up for American families.

Families are hurting. The economy is weak. Many are holding down twojobs to make ends meet, going into debt to put kids through college, or finding and paying for health insurance.

Some families are facing extraordinary challenges. They are caring for a loved one with special needs which could be a child with autism, or cerebral palsy, a parent with alzheimer's, or a spouse with multiple sclerosis. These families struggle every day to take care of their loved ones.

I want to give help to those who practice self-help. My bill would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 for family caregivers. This tax credit would help people pay for prescription drugs, home health care, specialized day care, respite care, transportation to chronic care or medical facilities, specialized therapy, including occupational, physical, or rehabilitational therapy, and other specialized services for children, including day care for children with special needs.

Family caregivers face so many stresses -- emotional, physical, and financial stresses of caregiving. They face long days, supporting a family -- while caring for a loved one with a chronic condition. A dad might have to work two jobs to meet the costs of care which places strains on marriage and relationships with other family members.

Caregivers also face high costs for medications, home health care, adult day care, physical therapy, durable medical equipment like a wheelchair, day care for children with special needs, and medical bills from care with specialists.

People who care for chronically ill family must patch together whatever care they can afford. Too often they go into debt, use their college accounts or their retirement savings or go without the care their loved ones need.

I have heard from families from around Maryland who are facing these strains, who are trying to make ends meet, and who are caring for a loved one who is chronically ill or needs assistance with activities of daily living.

The Hart family from Baltimore has a 2 year old son named Jackson who was born with severe brain abnormalities. He has the motor skill development of a 4 month old. He has daily seizures, so he needs total, round the clock care. The emotional cost of caring for a severely disabled child are incalculable and the financial costs are crushing. For the Harts, the costs include: $650 a month for day care for medically fragile children; $1,400 for a wheel chair; and, $700 for a special shower chair -- since Jackson can't sit up in the bath. My proposal would help them meet these costs by providing them with a tax credit of $2,750.

I know of a a couple in Baltimore where the wife is in the final stages of Alzheimers. She was a school teacher and once spoke 5 languages. Now, she can only say a few words. She needs 24 hour-a-day care which costs almost three thousand dollars a month. Their retirement savings are gone though this couple is only in their early sixties. My bill would only provide a tax credit of five thousand to this couple. I know that this would help this couple as they face the challenges of her final days.

My last example is a woman in Potomac, MD who is caring for her husband who has multiple sclerosis. He can no longer talk, walk, stand or feed himself. She works full time to support them and cobbles together whatever home care she can afford. She is not able to afford respite care to run errands, or take herself to the doctor. This couple made a commitment in sickness or in health.

These are just a few examples of the stresses facing thousands of American families. One in five Americans has multiple chronic conditions. About 26 million people in this country care for a family members who is chronically ill or disabled.

My legislation is supported by groups who see everyday the human cost of family caregiving, including: Autism Society of America; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; National Organization for Rare Disorders; Easter Seals; United Cerebral Palsy Associations; Arc of the United States; National Health Council; National Council on the Aging; Paralyzed Veterans of America; Family Voices; National Respite Coalition; National Family Caregivers Association; and National Alliance for Caregiving.

One of my first milestones in the Senate was the enactment of the Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act to change the cruel rules of Medicaid so that families would not have to go bankrupt before Medicaid would pay for nursing home care for a spouse. Under this law, the spouse living in the community could keep the family home, keep a car, and keep some income each month to live on. This law helped one million people. But this was only a down payment.

Not much has been done since then except the National Family Caregiver Support Program and long-term care insurance for federal employees. I was proud to sponsor and work on both of these bills on a bipartisan basis to get them signed into law.

Now it is time to help family caregivers. They are the backbone of the long term care system in this country. They must be a priority in the Federal law books and the tax code.

I thank Senators CLINTON, CORZINE, SARBANES, JOHNSON, LAUTENBERG, MURRAY, KENNEDY, LANDRIEU, DAYTON, and HARKIN for cosponsoring the Family Caregiver Relief Act.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of my bill be printed in the RECORD.