[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9954-S9955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND 
             INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1997

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.


                           Amendment No. 5197

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is the Harkin amendment. 
There are 2 minutes equally divided. Who seeks recognition?
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, what this amendment does is it basically 
is a hold-harmless amendment. There is no contradiction between this 
amendment and the McCain amendment of last night. This amendment says 
that any increases can go to these States, but no State this year can 
get less than what it did last year. It is almost commonly held around 
here that when we make major changes in formulas, we always have a 1-
year hold harmless as a bridge. That is what this amendment does; it 
makes that bridge.
  What I am saying, basically, is that this vote on this amendment I 
have offered means that a lot of States will not be severely cut in 
their veterans health benefits this year. It holds them harmless. But 
it says to those high-growth States, like Arizona, Florida, and others, 
they can go ahead and get the increase. But there will not be big cuts 
in a lot of other States.
  I suggest that people might want to check to see what is going to 
happen to their States if the McCain amendment is adopted without this 
hold-harmless clause. I know people say we have to treat veterans 
equitably, and we do. But in a lot of the States, like Pennsylvania, 
New York, Iowa, and a lot of Northern States, our veterans are older, 
poorer, and sicker, and it costs more. That is not taken into account 
in the McCain amendment, and it is in mine.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, the Veterans' Administration Undersecretary 
for Health is doing an outstanding job in bringing modern, efficient, 
effective, and compassionate health care to our Nation's veterans. He 
testified before my subcommittee earlier this year that one of the 
barriers about which he was most concerned in attempting to change and 
improve the way the Veterans' Administration operates is the Congress. 
The Harkin amendment is precisely what the Veterans' Administration 
feared, because it would prevent the Veterans' Administration from 
making changes to see that the older and sicker veterans, wherever they 
live, get the care that they need.
  The Veterans' Administration opposes this amendment because it would 
prevent them from efficiently allocating resources to meet veterans' 
health needs in the most effective manner. I, therefore, move to table 
the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the motion 
to table.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Oregon [Mr. Hatfield] 
and the Senator from Alaska [Mr. Murkowski] are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Oregon [Mr. Hatfield] would vote ``yea.''
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 60, nays 37, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 275 Leg.]

                                YEAS--60

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond

[[Page S9955]]


     Breaux
     Brown
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Coverdell
     Craig
     DeWine
     Domenici
     Faircloth
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frahm
     Frist
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Johnston
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Nickles
     Nunn
     Pryor
     Reid
     Robb
     Roth
     Santorum
     Shelby
     Simpson
     Smith
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--37

     Baucus
     Biden
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Byrd
     Conrad
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Feingold
     Glenn
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Heflin
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murray
     Pell
     Pressler
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Simon
     Snowe
     Specter
     Wellstone

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Hatfield
     Inouye
     Murkowski
  The motion to lay on the table the amendment (No. 5197) was agreed 
to.


                           Amendment No. 5190

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on amendment No. 5190 
by the Democratic leader, Mr. Daschle. Pursuant to rule XVI, paragraph 
4, the Chair submits the question to the Senate; namely, Is the 
amendment germane subject matter of the bill? On this question, the 
yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 1 minute of debate.
  The minority leader is recognized.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, as a requirement of the 1991 Agent Orange 
Act, after a thorough analysis of all relevant scientific evidence, the 
National Academy of Sciences announced in March a link between agent 
orange exposure and the presence of spina bifida in offspring.
  My amendment would extend health care, vocational rehabilitation, and 
monetary benefits to Vietnam veterans' children born with spina bifida, 
a serious birth defect that requires lifelong medical care. It is 
completely paid for with a non-controversial savings provision.
  While this should be an honest vote on the proposal itself, some have 
chosen to cloak it in a procedural question. I ask my colleagues to 
vote against the germaneness point of order. Of all amendments we have 
debated and voted on today, this amendment is clearly a veterans' issue 
on this veterans' bill.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BOND addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. This is a perfect example of why this country has a $5 
trillion debt. On the basis of one study, one study which the author 
testified before the House we should not rely on, the minority leader 
wants to create on an appropriations bill a brand-new entitlement 
program which has not been heard in the authorizing committee, which is 
not based on sound science. If you believe sound science rather than 
emotion should be the basis of our action, then you could not support 
this proposal. But it is an effort to establish over the objections of 
the authorizing committee chairman an entitlement program on an 
appropriations bill, and it was for that reason I raised the point that 
this amendment is not germane.
  I ask that the Members support the argument that this is not germane, 
and I ask they vote no.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair submits to the Senate the question, 
Is the amendment germane? The yeas and nays have been ordered. The 
clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Oregon [Mr. Hatfield] 
and the Senator from Alaska [Mr. Murkowski] are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Oregon [Mr. Hatfield] would vote ``nay.''
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. Inouye] is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
who desire to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 62, nays 35, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 276 Leg.]

                                YEAS--62

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Baucus
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Breaux
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Byrd
     Cochran
     Conrad
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Faircloth
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Glenn
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Heflin
     Helms
     Hollings
     Jeffords
     Johnston
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murray
     Nunn
     Pell
     Pressler
     Pryor
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Shelby
     Simon
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                                NAYS--35

     Ashcroft
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brown
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cohen
     Coverdell
     Craig
     Frahm
     Frist
     Gorton
     Gramm
     Grams
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     Nickles
     Roth
     Santorum
     Simpson
     Smith
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Hatfield
     Inouye
     Murkowski
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the ayes are 62, the nays are 
35. The judgment of the Senate is that the amendment is germane.
  The question now occurs on agreeing to the Daschle amendment, No. 
5190.
  The amendment (No. 5190) was agreed to.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mrs. BOXER. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________