[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7870-S7872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, 
           AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1988

                                 ______
                                 

                        ALLARD AMENDMENT NO. 947

  Mr. ALLARD proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 21, line 16, insert before the period at the end 
     the following: ``: Provided further, That of the total amount 
     made available under this heading, $290,000,000 shall be made 
     available for tenant-based assistance in accordance with 
     section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937''.
                                 ______
                                 

                        GRAHAM AMENDMENT NO. 948

  Mr. GRAHAM proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 85, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:

     SEC. 423. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING CATASTROPHIC NATURAL 
                   DISASTERS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) catastrophic natural disasters are occurring with great 
     frequency, a trend that is likely to continue for several 
     decades according to prominent scientists:
       (2) estimated damage to homes, buildings, and other 
     structures from catastrophic natural disasters has totaled 
     well over $100,000,000,000 during the last decade, not 
     including the indirect costs of the disasters such as lost 
     productivity and economic decline;
       (3) the lack of adequate planning for catastrophic natural 
     disasters, coupled with inadequate private insurance, has led 
     to increasing reliance on the Federal Government to provide 
     disaster relief, including the appropriation of 
     $40,000,000,000 in supplemental funding since 1989;
       (4) in the foreseeable future, a strong likelihood exists 
     that the United States will experience a megacatastrophe, the 
     impact of which would cause widespread economic disruption 
     for homeowners and businesses and enormous cost to the 
     Federal Government; and
       (5) the Federal Government has failed to anticipate 
     catastrophic natural disasters and take comprehensive action 
     to reduce their impact.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that Congress should consider legislation that embodies the 
     following principles;
       (1) Persons who live in areas at risk of natural disaster 
     should assume a practical level of personal responsibility 
     for the risks through private insurance.
       (2) The insurance industry, in partnership with the Federal 
     Government and other private sector entities, should 
     establish new mechanisms for the spreading of the risk of 
     catastrophes that minimize the involvement and liability of 
     the Federal Government.
       (3) A partnership should be formed between the private 
     sector and government at all levels to encourage better 
     disaster preparation and respond quickly to the physical and 
     financial impacts of catastrophic natural disasters.

[[Page S7871]]

                                 ______
                                 

               WELLSTONE (AND MIKULSKI) AMENDMENT NO. 949

  Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself and Ms. Mikulski) proposed an amendment to 
the bill, S. 1034, supra; as follows:

       On page 85, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:
       Sec. 423. It is the sense of the Senate that Congress 
     should appropriate for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
     discretionary activities in each of fiscal years 1999 through 
     2002 an amount equal to the amount required by the Department 
     in such fiscal year for such activities.
                                 ______
                                 

                       WELLSTONE AMENDMENT NO 950

  Mr. WELLSTONE proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       (A) Not later than 60 days after enactment of this act, the 
     Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs shall hold one or more 
     hearings to consider legislation which would add the 
     following diseases at the end of Section 1112(c)(2) of title 
     38, United States Code: Lung cancer, bone cancer, skin 
     cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, posterior subcapsular 
     cataracts, non-malignant thyroid nodular disease, ovarian 
     cancer, parathyroid adenome, tumors of the brain and central 
     nervous system, and rectal cancer.
       (B) Not later than 30 days after enactment of this act, the 
     Congressional Budget Office shall provide to the Senate 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Senate Appropriations 
     Committee an estimate of the cost of the provision contained 
     in (A).
                                 ______
                                 

                MIKULSKI (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 951

  Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Mr. Daschle, and Mr. Bond) proposed an 
amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as follows:

       On page 16, line 21, strike ``$10,693,000,000'' and insert 
     in lieu thereof ``$10,653,000,000.''
       On page 17, line 7, strike ``$1,150,000,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$1,110,000,000''.
       On page 33, after line 23, insert the following new 
     heading:


             ``EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES

       ``For grants to Empowerment Zones and Enterprise 
     Communities, to be designated by the Secretary of Housing and 
     Urban Development, to continue efforts to simulate economic 
     opportunity in America's distressed communities, $25,000,000, 
     to remain available until expended.''.
       On page 53 line 22, strike ``$400,500,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$420,500,000''.
       On page 55, line 14, insert after the colon the following: 
     ``:Provided further, That $20,000,000 shall be available for 
     the America Reads Initiative''.
       On page 67, line 9, strike ``$202,146,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$207,146,000''.
       On page 67, line 9, insert the following before the period: 
     ``:Provided further, That for purposes of pre-disaster 
     mitigation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 5131 (b) and (c) and 42 
     U.S.C. 5196 (e) and (i), $5,000,000 of the funds made 
     available under this heading shall be available until 
     expended for project grants for State and local 
     governments''.
       On page 72, line 1, strike ``$2,513,200,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$2,503,200,000.''
                                 ______
                                 

                 D'AMATO (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 952

  Mr. D'AMATO (for himself, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. 
Lautenberg) proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 16, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:
       Sec. 108. (a) Not later than 4 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
     to Congress a report on the allocation of health care 
     resources by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under the 
     Veterans Integrated Service Network system and the Veterans 
     Equitable Resource Allocation System. The report shall 
     address the following:
       (1) The manner in which health care resources (including 
     personnel and funds) are allocated under the Veterans 
     Integrated Service Network system and the Veterans Equitable 
     Resource Allocation system.
       (2) Whether or not the allocation of health care resources 
     under the systems takes into account the disproportionate 
     number of veterans with special needs who reside in the 
     northeastern United States.
       (3) The effect of the allocation of health care resources 
     under the systems on the quality of health care services 
     provided by the Secretary to veterans who reside in the 
     northeastern United States.
       (4) The effect of the allocation of health care resources 
     under the systems on the access of health care services 
     provided by the Secretary to veterans who reside in the 
     northeastern United States.
       (b) Not later than 4 months after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Comptroller General shall also submit to 
     Congress a report on the effect of the reform of the 
     eligibility of veterans for health care services under title 
     I of Public Law 104-262 (110 Stat. 3178), and the amendments 
     made by that title, on the quality of and access to health 
     care provided by the Secretary to veterans who reside in the 
     northeastern United States.
                                 ______
                                 

                    BUMPERS AMENDMENTS NOS. 953-955

  Mr. BUMPERS proposed three amendments to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

                           Amendment No. 953

       At the appropriate place in the bill, insert the following 
     new sections:

     SEC.     . ANNUAL REPORT ON LIFE CYCLE COSTS AND SPACE LAUNCH 
                   REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) For each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2013, the 
     Administrator, along with the President's submission to the 
     Congress of the annual budget request for the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall submit a report 
     that contains--
       (1) a life cycle capital development and operations plan 
     with a year-by-estimate of the United States' share of the 
     projected expenses for development, construction, operation, 
     enhancement, and decommissioning and disassembly of the Space 
     Station; and
       (2) an updated space launch manifest for the Space Station 
     program and the estimated marginal and average launch costs 
     for the Space Station program for the fiscal year involved 
     and all succeeding fiscal years.

     SEC.     . FUNDING CAPS.

       (a) The President's cumulative budget submissions for Space 
     Station capitol development and operations for the fiscal 
     year 1994 through the fiscal year during which the Space 
     Station achieves full operational capability may not exceed 
     $17,400,000,000, exclusive of launch costs.
       (b) After achieving full operational capability and 
     continuing through its decommissioning, the President's 
     annual budget submission to Congress for the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration shall contain an amount 
     for the operation of, and any enhancement to, the Space 
     Station which shall in no case exceed $1,300,000,000 for that 
     fiscal year, exclusive of launch costs.
       (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       (a) the capitol development program of the Space Station 
     includes, but is not limited to, the research and development 
     activities associated with the space and ground systems and 
     collateral equipment of the Space Station, and all direct 
     expenses for space flight, control, data communications, 
     assembly and operations planning, construction of facilities, 
     training, development of science equipment and payloads, and 
     research and program management activities associated with 
     the construction and operations of the Space Station and its 
     supporting elements and services until the facility is 
     equipped and powered as planned, and declared fully 
     operational;
       (2) operation of the Space Station includes, but is not 
     limited to, all direct research and development; space 
     flight, control and data communications; construction of 
     facilities; training; development of science equipment and 
     payloads, scientific experiments; and research and program 
     management activities associated with the operations of the 
     Space Station; and the U.S.-Russia cooperative MIR program;
       (3) enhancement of the Space Station includes all direct 
     research and development; space flight, control and data 
     communications; construction of facilities; and research and 
     program management activities associated with the acquisition 
     of additional Space Station elements and ground support 
     facilities;
       (4) direct expenses include, but are not limited to, the 
     marginal costs of transportation and tracking and data 
     services, launch facilities, payload processing facilities, 
     simulator facilities, and all other enabling facilities 
     including their collateral equipment, and all laboratory and 
     technical services provided by NASA Centers to support space 
     station development and scientific research; and
       (5) full operation capability means the facility is fully 
     assembled on-orbit with the power, configuration and 
     capabilities described in the system design review of March 
     24, 1994.
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 954

       At the appropriate place in the bill, add the following new 
     section:
       Sec. XXX. Of the funds provided to the National Aeronautics 
     and Space Administration in this bill, the Administrator 
     shall by November 1, 1998, make available no less than 
     $400,000 for a study by the National Research Council, with 
     an interim report to be completed by June 1, 1998, that 
     evaluates, in terms of the potential impact on the Space 
     Station's assembly schedule, budget, and capabilities, the 
     engineering challenges posed by extravehicular activity (EVA) 
     requirements, U.S. and non-U.S. space launch requirements, 
     the potential need to upgrade or replace equipment and 
     components after assembly complete, and the requirement to 
     decommission and disassemble the facility.
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 955

       At the appropriate place, add the following new section:
       Sec.   . Section 214(l)(1)(D) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)(1)(D)) (as added by section 
     220 of the

[[Page S7872]]

     Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 
     and redesignated as subsection (l) by section 671(a)(3)(A) of 
     the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 
     Act of 1996) is amended by inserting before the period at the 
     end the following: '', except that, in the case of a request 
     by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the alien shall not be 
     required to practice medicine in a geographic area designated 
     by the Secretary.''
                                 ______
                                 

                         BOND AMENDMENT NO. 956

  Mr. BOND proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 63, lines 4 and 5, strike ``allocated to the 
     purposes of the Safe Drinking Water Act'' and insert 
     ``allocated for the purposes of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
     and title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 
     respectively,''.
       On page 63, line 18, before the period, add the following 
     proviso: ``: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law, the Administrator is authorized to 
     make a grant of $4,326,000 under Title II of the Federal 
     Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, from funds 
     appropriated in prior years under section 205 of the Act for 
     the State of Florida and available due to deobligation, to 
     the appropriate instrumentality for wastewater treatment 
     works in Monroe County, Florida''.
       On page 64, line 18, before the period, add the following 
     proviso: ``: Provided, That notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, no funds other than those appropriated 
     under this heading, shall be used for or by the Council on 
     Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality''.
       On page 65, line 13, after the semicolon, insert ``or'', 
     and on line 17, strike ``; or beaches''.
                                 ______
                                 

                      FAIRCLOTH AMENDMENT NO. 957

  Mr. BOND (for Mr. Faircloth) proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 
1034, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert:
       None of the funds made available by Title I of this Act may 
     be used to provide a locality payment differential which 
     would have the effect of causing a pay increase to any 
     employee that was removed as a Director of a VA Hospital and 
     transferred to another hospital as a result of the Inspector 
     General's conclusion that the employee engaged in verbal 
     sexual harassment and abusive behavior toward female 
     employees.
                                 ______
                                 

                        GORTON AMENDMENT NO. 958

  Mr. BOND (for Mr. Gorton) proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, 
supra; as follows:

       On page 51 after line 11, insert the following:

     SEC. 216. INDIAN HOUSING REFORM.

       Upon a finding by the Secretary that any person has 
     substantially, significantly, or materially violated the 
     requirements of any activity under the Native American 
     Housing Block Grants Program under title I of the Native 
     American Self-Determination Act of 1996 or any associated 
     activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing 
     and Urban Development, the Secretary shall bar that person 
     from any such participation in programs under that title 
     thereafter and shall require reimbursement for any losses or 
     costs associated with these violations.
                                 ______
                                 

                        SHELBY AMENDMENT NO. 959

  Mr. BOND (for Mr. Shelby) proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1034, 
supra; as follows:

       On page 70, line 18, strike out ``1999.'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``1999: Provided, That of the amount 
     appropriated or otherwise made available by this heading, 
     $1,000,000 may be available for the Neutral Buoyancy 
     Simulator program.''.
                                 ______
                                 

                 BOND (AND MUKULSKI) AMENDMENT NO. 960

  Mr. BOND (for himself and Ms. Mikulski) proposed an amendment to the 
bill, S. 1034, supra; as follows:

       On page 16, line 21, strike $10,693,000,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$10,159,000''.
       On page 16, line 23, strike ``$9,200,000'' and insert 
     ``$8,666,000''.
       On page 23, line 6, insert ``and contract expertise'' after 
     ``technical assistance''.
       On page 23, line 24, strike ``and 1995'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``1995, and 1997''.
       On page 27, line 17, insert ``for'' after ``charge''.
       On page 27, line 22, insert ``or moderate income family'' 
     after ``family''.
       On page 27, line 24, strike ``payment'' and insert 
     ``prepayment''.
       On page 28, line 1, insert ``of'' after the first ``the''.
       On page 28, line 8, insert ``if'' after ``and''.
       On page 28, line 13, insert ``from'' after ``move''.
       On page 28, line 14, strike ``of'' and insert ``or''.
       On page 28, line 22, strike ``223'' and insert ``220''.
       On page 35, line 10, insert before the period, the 
     following: ``: Provided further, That any unobligated 
     balances available or recaptures in, or which become 
     available in the Emergency Shelter Grants Program account, 
     Supportive Housing Program account, Supplemental Assistance 
     for Facilities to Assist the Homeless account, Shelter Plus 
     Care account, Innovative Homeless Initiatives Demonstration 
     Program account and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (SRO) 
     account, shall be transferred to and merged with the amounts 
     in this account and shall be used for purposes under this 
     account''.
       On page 45, after line 18, insert the following:
       ``(d) Public and Assisted Housing Rents, Income Adjustments 
     and Preferences.
       ``(1) Section 402(a) of The Balanced Budget Downpayment 
     Act, I is amended by striking ``fiscal year 1997'' and insert 
     in lieu thereof ``fiscal year 1998''.
       ``(2) Section 402(f) of The Balanced Budget Downpayment 
     Act, I is amended by striking ``fiscal years 1996 and 1997'' 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``fiscal years 1997 and 1998''.
       On page 47, beginning on line 24, strike out ``Account 
     Transition'' and all that follows through line 7 on page 48, 
     and redesignate the sections accordingly.
       On page 51, line 11, insert before the period ``or 
     demolition''.


                         ``home program formula

       ``Sec. 217. The first sentence of section 217(b)(3) of the 
     Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act is amended 
     by striking ``only those jurisdictions that are allocated an 
     amount of $500,000 or greater shall receive an allocation'' 
     and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ``jurisdictions 
     that are allocated an amount of $500,000 or more, and 
     participating jurisdictions (other than consortia that fail 
     to renew the membership of all of their member jurisdictions) 
     that are allocated an amount less than $500,000, shall 
     receive an allocation''.

                          ____________________