[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D661-D664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                             Tuesday, June 24, 1997

[[Page D661]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S6105-S6288
Measures Introduced: Six bills were introduced, as follows: S. 950-955.
                                                             Page S6186
Measures Reported: Reports were made as follows:
  Special Report entitled ``Printing Pictures of Missing Children on 
Senate Mail''. (S. Rept. No. 105-34)
  S. 955, making appropriations for foreign operations, export 
financing, related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
1998. (S. Rept. No. 105-35)
  Special Report entitled ``Developments in Aging: 1996, Volume 1''. 
(S. Rept. No. 105-36)
Pages S6185-86
Measures Passed:
   Charitable Donation Antitrust Immunity: Senate passed H.R. 1902, to 
immunize donations made in the form of charitable gift annuities and 
charitable remainder trusts from the antitrust laws and State laws 
similar to the antitrust laws, clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                             Page S6287
Budget Reconciliation: Senate continued consideration of S. 947, to 
provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 104(a) of the concurrent 
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1998, taking action on 
amendments proposed thereto, as follows:
  Page S6105-82
Adopted:
  Roth/Moynihan Amendment No. 431, of a technical nature.
Page S6120
  Roth/Moynihan Amendment No. 434, to provide for an income-related 
reduction in the subsidy provided to individuals under part B of title 
XVIII of the Social Security Act, and to provide for a demonstration 
project on an income-related part B deductible.
Page S6132
  Kennedy Amendment No. 440, to means-test Senatorial health benefits 
in the same way as the bill means-tests Medicare part B premiums and 
deductibles. (Upon division, this provision of the amendment was agreed 
to.)
Pages S6132-33
  Hutchison Amendment No. 446, to require States to verify that 
prisoners are not receiving food stamp benefits.
Pages S6147-48
  Wellstone/Domenici Amendment No. 449, to provide for full mental 
health parity with respect to health plans purchased through the use of 
amounts provided under a block grant to States.
Pages S6150-51
  Domenici (for Lieberman) Amendment No. 452, to require medicaid 
managed care plans to provide certain comparative information to 
enrollees.
Pages S6156-57
  Domenici (for Feinstein) Amendment No. 453, to require managed care 
organizations to provide annual data to enrollees regarding non-health 
expenditures.
Pages S6156-57
  Domenici (for Craig/Bingaman) Amendment No. 454, to provide for a 
study and report analyzing the short term and long term benefits and 
costs to the medicare system of coverage of medical nutrition therapy 
services by registered dietitians under part B of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act.
Pages S6156-57
  Domenici (for Harkin/McCain) Amendment No. 457, to reduce health care 
fraud, waste, and abuse.
Pages S6167-68
Rejected:
  Kennedy/Wellstone Amendment No. 429, to strike the provision relating 
to the imposition of a copayment for part B home health services. (By 
59 yeas to 41 nays (Vote No. 111), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                                  Pages S6105, S6107-13
  Kennedy Amendment No. 440, to strike income-relating of the Medicare 
part B premiums and deductibles. (By 70 yeas to 30 nays (Vote No. 113), 
Senate agreed to a motion to table this division of the amendment.) 
                                                         Pages S6132-42
Pending:
  Harkin Amendment No. 428, to reduce health care fraud, waste, and 
abuse.
Pages S6105, S6132
  Gramm Amendment No. 444, to provide waiver authority for penalties 
relating to failure to satisfy minimum participation rate.
Page S6145
  Reed Amendment No. 445, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                         Pages S6145-47

[[Page D662]]


  Hutchison Amendment No. 447, to modify the reductions for 
disproportionate share hospital payments.
                                                             Page S6148
  Chafee/Rockefeller/Jeffords Amendment No. 448, to clarify the 
standard benefits package and the cost-sharing requirements for the 
children's health initiative.
                                                         Pages S6148-50
  Durbin/Wellstone Amendment No. 450, to provide food stamp benefits to 
child immigrants.
                                                         Pages S6151-52
  D'Amato/Harkin Amendment No. 451, to improve health care quality and 
reduce health care costs by establishing a National Fund for Health 
Research.
                                                         Pages S6152-56
  Domenici (for Murkowski) Amendment No. 455, to confirm Title IV, 
Energy Title, to the provisions of the bill, with respect to the use of 
underutilized Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities.
                                                         Pages S6157-65
  Domenici (for Abraham/Levin) Amendment No. 456, to extend the 
moratorium regarding HealthSource Saginaw until December 31, 2002. 
                                                         Pages S6165-67
  Domenici (for Helms) Amendment No. 458, to provide for inclusion of 
Stanly County, North Carolina in a large urban area under the Medicare 
program.
                                                             Page S6168
  Domenici (for Helms) Amendment No. 459, to provide for inclusion of 
Stanly County, North Carolina in a large urban area under the Medicare 
program.
                                                             Page S6168
  Domenici (for McCain/Wyden) Amendment No. 460, to provide for the 
continuation of certain State-wide medicaid waivers.
                                                         Pages S6168-69
  Domenici (for McCain) Amendment No. 461, to provide for the treatment 
of certain Amerasian immigrants as refugees.
                                                             Page S6169
  Domenici (for Jeffords) Amendment No. 462, to require the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services to provide medicare beneficiaries with 
notice of the medicare cost-sharing assistance available under the 
medicaid program for specified low-income medicare beneficiaries. 
                                                             Page S6169
  Domenici (for Jeffords) Amendment No. 463, to provide for the 
evaluation and quality assurance of the children's health insurance 
initiative.
                                                             Page S6169
  Domenici (for Brownback) Amendment No. 464, to establish procedures 
to ensure a balanced Federal budget by fiscal year 2002. 
                                                         Pages S6169-70
  Domenici (for Allard) Amendment No. 465, to expand medical savings 
accounts to families with uninsured children.
                                                         Pages S6170-71
  Domenici (for Chafee) Amendment No. 466, to extend the authority of 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to collect fees through September 30, 
2002.
                                                           Pagess S6171
  Domenici (for Grassley) Amendment No. 467, to preserve religious 
choice in long-term care.
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Kyl) Amendment No. 468, to allow medicare beneficiaries 
to enter into private contracts for services.
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Specter) Amendment No. 469, to extend premium 
protection for low-income medicare beneficiaries under the medicaid 
program.
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Specter) Amendment No. 470, to strike the limitations 
on DSH payments to institutions for mental diseases under the medicaid 
program.
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Specter) Amendment No. 471, to strike the limitations 
on Indirect Graduate Medical Education payments to teaching hospitals. 
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Burns) Amendment No. 472, to provide that information 
contained in the National Directory of New Hires be deleted after 6 
months.
                                                             Page S6171
  Domenici (for Hutchinson) Amendment No. 473, to clarify the number of 
individuals that may be treated as engaged in work for purposes of the 
mandatory work requirement for TANF block grants.
                                                         Pages S6171-72
  Domenici (for McCain) Amendment No. 474, to provide for the extension 
and expansion of spectrum auction authority and to provide for the 
flexible use of electromagnetic spectrum.
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg Amendment No. 475, to ensure that certain legal immigrants 
who become disabled are eligible for disability benefits.
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg (for Kerrey) Amendment No. 476, to enhance taxpayer value 
in auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission. 
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg (for Durbin) Amendment No. 477, to provide food stamp 
benefits to child immigrants.
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg (for Rockefeller) Amendment No. 478, to require balance 
billing protections for individuals enrolled in fee-for-service plans 
under the Medicare Choice program under part C of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act.
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg (for Dodd) Amendment No. 479, to provide for medicaid 
eligibility of disabled children who lose SSI benefits.
                                                             Page S6172
  Lautenberg (for Murray) Amendment No. 480, to clarify the family 
violence option under the temporary assistance to needy families 
program.
                                                         Pages S6172-73
  Lautenberg (for Dodd) Amendment No. 481, to amend the provision with 
regard to transfer cases.
                                                             Page S6173
  Lautenberg (for Levin) Amendment No. 482, to allow vocational 
educational training to be counted

[[Page D663]]

as a work activity under the temporary assistance for needy families 
program for 24 months.
                                                             Page S6173
  Lautenberg (for Wyden) Amendment No. 483, to provide for the 
continuation of certain State-wide medicaid waivers.
                                                             Page S6173
  Lautenberg (for Harkin) Amendment No. 484, to make community action 
agencies, community development corporations and other non-profit 
organization eligible for welfare-to-work grants.
                                                             Page S6173
  Lautenberg (for Feinstein) Amendment No. 485, to provide that the 
hospital length of stay with respect to an individual shall be 
determined by the attending physician.
                                                         Pages S6173-74
  Lautenberg (for Feinstein) Amendment No. 486, to provide additional 
funding for State emergency health services furnished to undocumented 
aliens.
                                                             Page S6174
  Lautenberg (for Feinstein) Amendment No. 487, to provide for the 
application of disproportionate share hospital-specific payment 
adjustments with respect to California.
                                                             Page S6174
  Lautenberg (for Wellstone) Amendment No. 488, to provide for 
actuarially sufficient reimbursement rates for providers.
                                                             Page S6174
  Lautenberg (for Mikulski) Amendment No. 489, to reinstate the 
requirements for provider payment rates.
                                                             Page S6174
  Lautenberg (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 490, to improve the provisions 
relating to the Higher Education Act of 1965.
                                                         Pages S6174-75
  Lautenberg (for Baucus) Amendment No. 491, to prohibit cost-sharing 
for children in families with incomes that are less than 150 percent of 
the poverty line.
                                                             Page S6175
  Lautenberg (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 492, to ensure the provision 
of appropriate benefits for uninsured children with special needs. 
                                                             Page S6175
  Lautenberg (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 493, to exempt severely 
disabled aliens from the ban on receipt of supplemental security 
income.
                                                         Pages S6175-76
  Lautenberg (for Conrad) Amendment No. 494, to provide for medicaid 
eligibility of disabled children who lose SSI benefits.
                                                             Page S6176
  Lautenberg (for Conrad) Amendment No. 495, to establish a process to 
permit a nurse aide petition to have his or her name removed from the 
nurse aide registry under certain circumstances.
                                                             Page S6176
  Lautenberg (for Kerrey) Amendment No. 496, to strike the limitation 
on the coverage of abortions.
                                                             Page S6176
  Lautenberg (for Kohl) Amendment No. 497, to clarify that risk 
solvency standards established for managed care entities under the 
medicaid program shall not preempt any State standards that are more 
stringent.
                                                             Page S6176
  Lautenberg (for Harkin) Amendment No. 498, to allow funds provided 
under the welfare-to-work grant program to be used for the microloan 
demonstration program under the Small Business Act.
                                                             Page S6176
  Domenici Amendment No. 499, to provide SSI eligibility for disabled 
legal aliens.
                                                         Pages S6176-77
  Domenici (for Chafee/Rockefeller) Amendment No. 500, to require that 
any benefits package offered under the block grant option for the 
children's health initiative includes hearing and vision services. 
                                                             Page S6177
  Domenici (for Chafee/Rockefeller) Amendment No. 501, to require that 
any benefits package offered under the block grant option for the 
children's health initiative includes hearing and vision services. 
                                                         Pages S6177-78
  Roth (for D'Amato) Amendment No. 502, to establish a Medicare anti-
duplication provision.
                                                         Pages S6178-80
  Lautenberg (for Rockefeller) Modified Amendment No. 503, to extend 
premium protection for low-income medicare beneficiaries under the 
medicaid program.
                                                     Pages S6180, S6181
  Lautenberg (for Kennedy) Amendment No. 504, to immediately transfer 
to part B certain home health benefits.
                                                         Pages S6180-82
  Roth (for Lott) Amendment No. 505 (to Amendment No. 448), to improve 
the children's health initiative.
                                                             Page S6182
  Roth Amendment No. 506, to make technical corrections and revisions. 
                                                             Page S6181
  Roth (for Lott) Amendment No. 507 (to Amendment No. 501), in the 
nature of a substitute.
                                                             Page S6181
  Roth (for Lott) Amendment No. 508 (to Amendment No. 500), in the 
nature of a substitute.
                                                             Page S6181
  Roth (for Lott) Amendment No. 509 (to Amendment No. 492), in the 
nature of a substitute.
                                                             Page S6181
  Lautenberg (for Rockefeller) Amendment No. 510, to require that any 
benefits package offered under the block grant option for the 
children's health initiative includes hearing and vision services. 
                                                             Page S6181
  Roth Amendment No. 511, to provide a substitute for the children's 
health insurance initiatives.
                                                             Page S6181
  Chafee Amendment No. 512 (to Amendment No. 511), to clarify the 
standard benefits package and the cost-sharing requirement for the 
children's health initiative.
                                                         Pages S6182-83
  Roth (for Lott) Amendment No. 513 (to Amendment No. 510), in the 
nature of a substitute.
                                                             Page S6183

[[Page D664]]


  Roth (for DeWine) Amendment No. 427, to continue full-time-equivalent 
resident reimbursement for an additional one year under medicare for 
direct graduate medical education for residents enrolled in combined 
approved primary care medical residency training programs.
                                                             Page S6182
  Motion to waive a point of order that Section 5822 of the bill 
violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget Act. 
                                                             Page S6178
  Motion to waive section 310(d) of the Congressional Budget Act with 
respect to consideration of Reed Amendment No. 445, listed above. 
                                                             Page S6146
  Motion to waive section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act 
with respect to consideration of D'Amato Amendment No. 451, listed 
above.
                                                             Page S6155
                                                             Withdrawn:
  Gregg Modified Amendment No. 426, to provide for terms and conditions 
of imposing Medicare premiums.
                                                         Pages S6105-06
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 62 yeas to 38 nays (Vote No. 112), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, Senate agreed to 
a motion to waive section 313(b)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 with respect to consideration of Section 5611 of the bill, 
providing for an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare from age 
65 to 67.
                                                         Pages S6113-32
  By 37 yeas to 63 nays (Vote No. 114), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive section 310(d) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 with respect to consideration of division 1 of Kennedy 
Amendment No. 440, to delay the effective date of income-relating of 
the Medicare part B premiums and deductibles. Subsequently, a point of 
order that this division of the amendment was in violation of the 
Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell. 
                                                         Pages S6132-44
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the bill and amendments/motions pending thereto, on 
Wednesday, June 25, 1997, with votes to occur thereon.
                                                         Pages S6287-88
Messages From the House:
  Page S6185
Measures Referred:
  Page S6185
Measures Placed on Calendar:
  Page S6185
Communications:
  Page S6185
Executive Reports of Committees:
  Page S6186
Statements on Introduced Bills:
  Pages S6186-90
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S6190-91
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S6191-S6284
Notices of Hearings:
  Page S6284
Authority for Committees:
  Page S6284
Additional Statements:
  Pages S6284-87
Record Votes: Four record votes were taken today. (Total--114) 
                                      Pages S6113, S6132, S6142, S6144.
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m., and adjourned at 10:54 p.m., 
until 9:20 a.m., on Wednesday, June 25, 1997. (For Senate's program, 
see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S6288.)