[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 107 (Friday, August 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
                  RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, what is the regular order?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The regular order is the Senate is 
considering H.R. 4606.


                         Privilege of the Floor

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, for the purposes 
of floor consideration of H.R. 4606, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, 
that William Cordess, Ellen Murray, Ron Yucas, and Antonio Clinkscales 
be given floor privileges. They are temporarily detailed to the 
committee staff.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we are now on the Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education and related agencies appropriations bill for 
fiscal year 1995 that is now before the Senate.
  So I ask Senators who have amendments, after the opening statements 
of me and Senator Specter, to be ready to offer their amendments so 
that we might finish at a reasonable hour yet today.

  This bill before us totals $252.8 billion for both discretionary and 
mandatory spending. This bill is $6.647 billion below the 
appropriations for fiscal 1994.
  So this is in keeping with the budget caps and the reductions for the 
5-year period. That amount includes $182.9 billion for mandatory 
programs, a decrease of 4.9 percent from last year's level. It also 
includes $69.976 billion in discretionary budget authority.
  The recommendations before the Senate is at its 602(b) outlay 
ceiling, so any amendments that Members want to offer today will have 
to be fully offset.
  As the Senators know, this year has been particularly challenging for 
this subcommittee. As I said last year, the President presented us with 
a size 12 budget, but we received an allocation to accommodate only a 
size 9 shoe. This year, our feet got bigger, and our shoe smaller.
  Our problem began with last year's reconciliation bill which 
essentially froze discretionary outlays for 5 years. That freeze 
presented special problems for our subcommittee, which includes nearly 
all of the President's people-first investments--for education reform, 
job retraining, and children's programs--and 40 percent of the 
President's entire investment package, far greater than any other 
subcommittee. And more than all this subcommittee's increases were 
devoted to those investments. In fact, the President's original budget 
called for $2.6 billion in increase for his investments, which is 
greater than the overall net increase in outlays for this subcommittee.
  Our situation got worse with the allocation process. A combination of 
CBO's rescoring of the President's budget and the Exon-Grassley 
amendment to the budget resolution forced $3.6 billion in cuts to the 
President's overall budget. The end result of the President's appeal 
was that our subcommittee suffered a cut in its allocation nearly equal 
to the Defense Subcommittee, even through defense is nearly three times 
larger than ours.
  As with every year, this subcommittee and staff faced additional 
pressures from the numerous requests by other Senators for increases in 
their particular programs. This year, staff received more than 1,000 
requests from 96 individuals Senators.
  I also want to say that I am grateful to the President and his staff 
for helping us to find additional sources of budget authority and 
outlays for this subcommittee to help meet at least most of the 
requests and the needed investment package in our subcommittee.
  Our bill provides 43 percent of the increases the President requested 
for his investment programs, including:
  A total of $1.296 billion for dislocated workers assistance, $120 
million for one-stop career centers, $1.08 billion for Job Corps, and 
$200 million evenly divided between the Departments of Labor and 
Education for the school-to-work initiative;
  A total of $3.544 billion for Head Start, a $220 million increase 
over last year; and $634 million for Ryan White, a $54 million 
increase, and the President's request for immunizations;
  A total of $11.33 billion for NIH, a $395 million increase over last 
year; and
  A total of $7.7 billion for the President's education investments, 
including $428 million for Goals 2000, and $6.7 billion for title I.
  In addition, the subcommittee has provided $1.385 billion for the 
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. That is $160 million more 
than the House figure, and $655 million more than the President's 
request. In addition, we have included $1.475 billion in advance 
funding for fiscal 1996, and $600 million in an emergency fund. I want 
to specially thank Senator Specter for all his efforts to increase 
funding over the House level for this important program.
  Also, the subcommittee has provided $100 million for a new program 
providing construction and repair grants to disadvantaged urban and 
rural school districts. Neither the administration request nor the 
House bill included funds for this activity.
  I believe that this is going to be a very important program that we 
are starting to help rebuild, and renovate schools in disadvantaged 
areas. It will provide jobs for people to work, and I think it will be 
one of the best welfare programs we have ever had because not only will 
it put people to work, but it will put them to work renovating, 
rebuilding, and building schools in urban and rural areas, 
disadvantaged areas.
  Like last year, the subcommittee has included a number of provisions 
to reduce administrative costs, reduce duplication, and promote 
consolidation of programs within our jurisdiction.
  In response to the recommendations of the Vice President's National 
Performance Review, this subcommittee eliminated 25 existing programs 
or programs that were created by the House in this year's 
appropriations bill.
  Our bill freezes program management accounts for most departments, 
including the Department of Education, the Administration on Aging, 
HRSA [Health Resources Services Administration], and Administration on 
Children and Families. In addition, our bill cuts below the fiscal 1994 
levels, the administrative accounts for several other offices, 
including the Office of the Secretary at HHS, the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, AHCPR, SAMHSA Program Management, and the 
Assistant Secretary for Health.
  Limits have been placed on employee bonuses for all agencies, 
requiring that no more than 1 percent of all salary and benefit funds 
can be used for employee bonuses. Furthermore, we have capped the 
number of employees in a single agency who can receive cash awards.
  So I wanted to bring that especially to Senators' attention. I know 
we always have amendments that say we will take money out of salaries 
and expenses and we will put them into a program that we like. Again, I 
want to repeat for emphasis sake that in most of the management 
accounts we have frozen them or we have cut them below last year's 
level, and we put the limit on how much bonuses can be given out.
  So I ask Senators to please take that into account if they have such 
amendments in mind.
  Following up on several hearings our subcommittee held this year on 
waste, fraud and abuse, our bill takes several steps to implement the 
recommendations from those hearings. Specifically, the bill provides 
for--
  An increase of $7.2 million for payment safeguards to eliminate 
overcharges to the Medicare Program. Historically, payment safeguards 
have been documented to save $14 for every $1 invested.
  A pilot demonstration of an information system designed to help 
investigators detect potential Medicaid fraud. Such automated systems 
are an effective tool in combating health care fraud.
  A requirement that prevents payment of workmen's compensation 
benefits to convicted felons. This requirement expands on the 
restrictions we imposed last year that eliminated workmen's 
compensation benefits for those who defrauded that program;
  Increased monitoring by the Social Security Administration to 
identify and suspend SSI benefits to recipients who do not comply with 
drug or alcohol treatment requirements; certification from Government 
contractors that they will not knowingly claim costs that have been 
previously judged unallowable. Additionally, should a contractor be 
convicted of filing such a fraudulent claim, the conviction will be a 
felony punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.
  So, Mr. President, there are many highlights, but I will not take the 
time to discuss them again. I want to yield to Senator Specter for any 
comments he would like to make and say that we are indebted to Senator 
Specter for his advice and assistance throughout this long process. His 
counsel is reflected throughout this bill and report, and I am grateful 
to him and his staff.
  Following his comments, we will be open for any statements or 
amendments Members wish to make. Any amendments that are offered will, 
of course, require appropriate offsets.
  As in previous years, $500,000 of the funds appropriated for targeted 
training grants under OSHA's compliance assistance activity is to be 
used to award demonstration grants for people employed in the logging 
industry. People in this hazardous industry have and will continue to 
benefit from continued efforts under the pilot worker safety program.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a statement clarifying 
several provisions in the committee report, Senate Report 103-294, 
accompanying this legislation, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  Senate Report 103-318 Clarification

       On page 85, under the section dealing with the National 
     Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the language 
     concerning ``Infertility and Contraceptive Research'' should 
     be moved to the section dealing with the National Institute 
     of Child Health and Human Development.

  Mr. HARKIN. I yield the floor.
  Mr. SPECTER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lieberman). The Senator from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Specter] is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, at the outset, I compliment the chairman, 
Senator Harkin, his staff, and my staff, on an extraordinary job of 
accommodating many, many conflicting interests.
  The appropriations bill on discretionary accounts amounts to slightly 
less than $70 billion. While that may sound like a great sum of money--
and it is--accommodating the appropriations process for labor, health, 
human services, and education is an enormous task.
  I will supplement what Senator Harkin has said by way of brief 
summary, because there is an interest in moving ahead to complete this 
bill today, if we can.
  With respect to the issue of health and human services, we have added 
to the National Institutes of Health almost $400 million, bringing that 
account to $11.3 billion. That is the account which has been 
consistently increased, notwithstanding frequent requests by the 
Presidents, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, to have a cut in 
that account. This is my 14th year in the Senate, my 14th year in 
service on this subcommittee, and there has been consistent attention 
to that account, notwithstanding the cuts in the budget generally. I 
believe that has served America, really, and the world, tremendously.
  We have seen advances in technology. We have seen advances in gene 
research. So now there are marvelous breakthroughs on cystic fibrosis, 
cholesterol, Alzheimer's disease, and enormous progress on AIDS and 
cancer, and technical developments with mechanisms like the MRI, of 
which I personally was a major beneficiary last year.
  I think that is an enormous achievement where there will be 
additional funds for research on many lines--AIDS, breast cancer, 
prostate cancer. There have been specific additional increases in 
funding on screening for breast and cervical cancer, an increase of 
almost $22 million; increases in funds for Ryan White and other AIDS 
services. So that on the medical side, as the Congress is looking at 
comprehensive health reform, this subcommittee has been hard at work on 
providing very important funding for very important matters.
  With respect to education, again, there has been priority treatment 
here with additional funding for Head Start for youngsters, some $220 
million extra, now totaling in excess of $3.5 billion a year, on the 
recognition that early education is so important. Even Start has had an 
increase in funding. We have had an increase in student financial 
assistance on the basic recognition that education is so vital for our 
society as we move into the 21st century.
  With respect to mine safety and health, there has been an increase in 
funding for black lung, provisions for dislocated workers, Job Corps, 
school-to-work programs; and I think that we have taken a very hard 
look at the priorities and have come up with a bill which is as 
carefully crafted as possible. I think it meets the objectives and 
priorities of the sums of money involved.
  LIHEAP--Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program--has been of 
tremendous concern as those funds have been decreased. It is a matter 
of enormous importance in Iowa, Pennsylvania, the New England States--
all over the country. There has been a considerable addition in LIHEAP 
in this bill.

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