Medical Assistance. Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.) offered an amendment to another amendment to the drug patents bill to increase Medicaid and social service funding by $9 billion.
Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) raised a point of order against Rockefeller’s amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to Rockefeller’s amendment, and Reid’s motion was agreed to on July 25, 2002 by a vote of 75 to 24 (Roll Call 190). We have assigned pluses to the nays.