[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11959-S11961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATOR PRESSLER'S SERVICE AS CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON 
      COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE 104TH CONGRESS

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise to talk about a friend and long-time 
colleague, Senator Larry Pressler from South Dakota. Not only does 
Senator Pressler serve South Dakotans' by fighting for the traditional 
way of life South Dakotans want and deserve, he serves the people of 
his State and all Americans as Chairman of the Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Mr. President, by any measure 
the Senate Commerce Committee has been one of the most productive in 
the Senate and, indeed, in either body, during the 104th Congress.
  I say this with the greatest sincerity. I know it is true because I 
have the pleasure of working side-by-side with Senator Pressler on the 
Commerce Committee. As a committee member, I have watched him work 
tirelessly on behalf of all Americans on some of the most far-reaching 
and challenging issues this Congress has faced.
  Let me say a bit about the vast responsibilities the senior Senator 
from south Dakota has as chairman of the Commerce Committee. On a daily 
basis, Chairman Pressler labors on matters ranging from promoting the 
United States as an international tourism destination to shaping the 
dynamic course of a modernized national communications policy; from 
intervening on behalf of ranchers into questionable meatpacking 
concentration practices to working to make the skies as safe as 
possible for the travelling public.
  These are just a few examples of the chairman's vast 
responsibilities. The list goes on. His job is no small task and in my 
humble opinion, Senator Pressler is a superb chairman.
  As I think about significant national events we faced during the 
104th Congress, the safety of our Nation's skies comes to mind. Two 
recent air tragedies, first in the Florida Everglades, and more 
recently, off the coast of New York, have focused the Nation on 
aviation safety. Long before he was chairman of the committee with 
jurisdiction over aviation, Senator Pressler worked aggressively to 
achieve safer skies for the travelling public.
  As chairman, Senator Pressler made aviation safety one of the main 
priorities of his committee, holding various aviation safety hearings 
and leading Congress on working to improve air safety.
  Much of his work on aviation safety and security should soon become 
law as part of compromise legislation he introduced reauthorizing the 
Federal Aviation Administration. Senator Pressler served as chairman of 
the joint House/Senate Conference Committee that produced the 
compromise FAA reform and reauthorization bill that will soon be on its 
way to the White House for the President's signature.
  Among its provisions, the bill makes it easier for family members to 
get accurate information and counseling after a loved one has perished 
in a plane crash. The bill also calls for the immediate installation of 
explosive detection technology to beef-up security at our Nation's most 
vulnerable airports. This is why I chose Senator Pressler to represent 
the Senate on Vice President's Gore's Commission on Air Safety and 
Security. He has the kind of experience in aviation matters that the 
Gore Commission needs.
  As he does time and time again, Senator Pressler also delivered for 
South Dakota in this legislation. Under his leadership, the bill 
reauthorizes the Essential Air Service program at a level of $50 
million per year. Mr. President, that doubles the size of this program 
so vitally important to South Dakota's, and this Nation's, smallest air 
ports. Senator Pressler's hard work ensures people living in our small 
communities will remain linked to the national air transportation 
network.
  The bill also creates a new funding formula for the Airport 
Improvement Program. AIP is the program by which airports across the 
country, from the largest to the smallest, receive assistance in 
maintaining their core facilities such as runways and terminals. Once 
again fighting for the people of South Dakota, Chairman Pressler saw to 
it that the new AIP program guarantees that if overall airport funding 
is significantly reduced, smaller airports will not be 
disproportionately disadvantaged. Also of importance to smaller 
airports, the bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a 
rural air service study, including an examination of why air fares are 
so high in small air service markets and provides increased flexibility 
to small airports working on multi-year airport construction projects.
  If we look at aviation in the context of global commerce, Senator 
Pressler has used his chairmanship to pry open air service markets for 
U.S. carriers worldwide. The German open skies aviation agreement, 
which Pressler helped secure earlier this year, is just one example. 
These agreements are good for our national economy, good for the 
airline industry and good for the consumer. Under Pressler's 
stewardship, we are making more progress

[[Page S11960]]

than ever before on securing international aviation agreements.
  When most people hear the name Pressler, they think of 
telecommunications. He is, after all, credited with achieving the most 
massive overhaul of our Nation's telecommunications policy since the 
1930's. Already, people are using new telecommunications products made 
possible through the deregulation of the industry. Through Chairman 
Pressler's efforts, we are now ready to take America's 
telecommunications industry into the 21st century.
  Pressler's telecommunications law translates into new, more 
affordable communications options for our homes, hospitals, schools, 
farms and even highway infrastructure. Under the Pressler 
Telecommunications Act, phone service providers, cable companies, local 
television broadcasters, and other companies will compete to bring us 
entertainment, telephone service, news and information. Once fully 
implemented, this will mean lower prices for a wide range of 
communication products.
  Mr. President, this new law certainly will benefit all Americans. 
However, in drafting the law, Senator Pressler once again championed 
the needs of those in rural parts of the country--those who 
historically have benefited least from advances in communications 
technologies. Thanks to Senator Pressler, South Dakotans will enjoy a 
wide range of new services.
  Take, for example, telemedicine. Telecommunications can connect the 
world's finest physicians to the most remote areas of the country. It 
means equality. It means people living in sparsely populated or rural 
areas will enjoy the latest medical information via computer and 
satellite.
  On the farm, access to information on weather, market conditions, new 
crops and the latest scientific advances is vital to successful farming 
operations. The Pressler Telecommunications Act will help bring this 
information to farmers and ranchers more quickly and efficiently than 
ever before, and at affordable rates.
  Thanks to Senator Pressler, students in the classrooms of South 
Dakota will more rapidly see expanding opportunities in distance 
learning. These students will be able to receive foreign language, 
science and advanced mathematics instruction from teachers miles away. 
Electronic library support will increase, allowing more readers to 
reserve or renew books by phone or computer. All this will allow 
schools to better manage scarce resources.
  Mr. President, the Pressler Telecommunication Act is one of, if not 
the most significant legislative accomplishment of this Congress. It is 
extremely important consumer oriented legislation. It is the most 
sweeping and revolutionary piece of legislation authored by a South 
Dakota Senator since the framing of America's Interstate Highway System 
was initiated by the venerable Senator Karl Mundt.
  A second major piece of consumer oriented legislation also came from 
Senator Pressler's Commerce Committee--a product liability reform bill 
aimed at curtailing frivolous lawsuits. This legislation is good for 
businesses both small and large. At the same time, Chairman Pressler 
was committed to the proposition that the Commerce Committee write a 
reform bill that also would benefit consumers.
  In 1995, the Commerce Committee reported legislation that would do so 
in a number of ways. First, it would mean more jobs. Second, it would 
lower the cost of goods. Third, it would mean a greater selection of 
goods from which to choose. Fourth, it would encourage testing to make 
goods safer. Finally, it would help to maintain and, in some cases, 
improve the quality of products available to consumers.
  While the Commerce Committee had held 23 days of hearings on product 
liability reform and reported seven product liability reform bills 
since 1981, under Senator Pressler's chairmanship, the full Senate 
passed a bill for the very first time in its history. Chairman Pressler 
then led the Senate delegation into a conference that crafted a 
compromise bill that ultimately looked very much like the legislation 
originally reported from Pressler's committee.
  In another first, both Houses of Congress passed this product 
liability reform legislation and sent it to the White House for 
signature. Sadly, in a display of raw, election year political game 
playing, the President vetoed this important bill. I know Chairman 
Pressler's committee will again produce meaningful product liability 
reform legislation in the next Congress.
  As Chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator Pressler also has been 
a leader in efforts to reduce the size of government. Late last year, 
the President signed into law the ICC Termination Act of 1995. Senator 
Pressler introduced the bill in the Senate. As a result of his efforts, 
an entire Federal agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, closed 
its doors forever on December 31, 1995.

  The ICC Termination Act also eliminated scores of outdated, 
unnecessary, and burdensome regulatory requirements and restrictions 
hampering surface transportation industries. At the same time, Senator 
Pressler ensured the law also was designed to ensure continued 
protections for shippers against industry abuse--protections vitally 
important to shippers in places like his home State of South Dakota. A 
balance between regulatory relief and continued oversight was achieved.
  The law also created a Rail-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. 
The council is designed to advise the new Board and Congress on issues 
of importance to small shippers and small railroads, issues such as 
rail car supply, rates, competition, and procedures for addressing 
claims.
  Mr. President, earlier this year, in response to the disturbing trend 
under which America slipped out of first place as the world's most 
visited country, Senator Pressler wrote legislation to put the United 
States back on the map as the world's No. 1 tourism destination. His 
bill, the Tourism Organization Act of 1996, passed the Senate and he 
worked tirelessly to craft a compromise bill that later passed in the 
House.
  The Pressler tourism bill is now heading to the White House for the 
President's signature. Some may overlook the significance of the travel 
and tourism industry, but it employs more than 6.3 million people and 
is the second largest employer in America. Senator Pressler knows how 
vital this industry is to all Americans.
  I have mentioned just a few of the different hats this chairman has 
worn during the 104th Congress. There are many, many more. Chairman 
Pressler toiled hard at the helm of a committee that also produced a 
great deal of vital, although not headline grabbing, legislation. His 
committee developed legislation needed to allow the Coast Guard to 
continue its functions vital to the security and safety of this Nation. 
It crafted what many are calling the most important environmental 
legislation to come out of the 104th Congress in the form of the 
Sustainable Fisheries Act. Senator Pressler's Commerce Committee 
furthered its environmental agenda by producing the Antarctic Science, 
Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996. Each of these bills is of major 
consequence. All of these measures are on their way to the President 
for signature.
  Mr. President, I note with a certain amount of personal pride that 
Congress also acted on a bill I introduced, S. 1505, the Accountable 
Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996. This legislation also 
originated in the Commerce Committee. It reauthorizes appropriations 
for natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs, but it 
does much more.
  S. 1505 is designed to make changes in existing law that reduce the 
risks and enhance environmental protection associated with pipeline 
transportation. I introduced this bill last December. Since that time, 
Chairman Pressler and I have worked with a broad constituency 
interested in the legislation. Together, we worked out a consensus 
amendment to the bill that was unanimously approved by the Commerce 
Committee in June.
  S. 1505, as passed by the House and Senate, applies a simple, 
flexible, commonsense risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis to new 
pipeline safety standards. It moves pipeline safety away from 
prescriptive, command-and-control approaches and focuses future 
standards on actions that address assessed safety risks. I am proud of 
the bill this Congress sent to the President for signature into law. I 
thank Chairman Pressler for all his good efforts in getting this 
important job done.

[[Page S11961]]

  Mr. President, under Senator Pressler's leadership the Commerce 
Committee also produced, and the Congress has now passed and sent to 
the President, reauthorization legislation for the National 
Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Trade Commission. The NTSB 
is one of our Government's most important agencies. Its mission is to 
determine the probable cause of transportation accidents and to promote 
transportation safety. The NTSB is world renown for its timely and 
expert determinations of accident causation and for issuing realistic 
and feasible safety recommendations. The FTC is charged with the dual 
mission of consumer protection and antitrust enforcement. Both agencies 
are critically important to the safety and well being of American 
consumers. Both will continue their important work thanks to Chairman 
Pressler's efforts.
  Finally, Mr. President, I want to make brief mention of two other 
bills. Chairman Pressler has worked over the last 2 years to achieve a 
consensus on a National Space Policy Act and authorization legislation 
for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, both of which 
were also introduced by Senator Pressler. The Space Policy Act embodies 
authorizations for NASA programs such as Mission to Planet Earth and 
the space station and enjoys broad bipartisan support in both Houses of 
Congress. The NOAA authorization legislation is another bill vital to 
the public safety. Among other things, NOAA is charged with forecasting 
and warning against impending destructive natural events such as 
hurricanes, thunderstorms, and tornados.
  Mr. President, I commend Commerce Committee chairman, Senator Larry 
Pressler. He is a shining example of how to get things done in the 
Senate. Just look at the record. Chairman Pressler has left his 
distinguished mark on some of the most important pieces of legislation 
this Congress produced.
  I conclude by also congratulating the members, members on both sides 
of the aisle, of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation for an exceptional legislative record in this Congress. 
Without a doubt this was one of the most active and productive of all 
Senate committees.

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