[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 116 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8850-S8851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS-CONSENT AGREEMENT--S. 1061

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in 
order to offer two amendments to S. 1061, even though the bill is not 
pending, and that those two amendments be laid aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1078

(Purpose: To repeal the tobacco industry settlement credit contained in 
              the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as amended)

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin], for himself and Ms. 
     Collins, proposes an amendment numbered 1078.

  The amendment is as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec.   . Repeal of Tobacco Industry Settlement Credit.--
     Subsection (k) of section

[[Page S8851]]

     9302 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as added by section 
     1604(f)(3) of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, is repealed.


                           Amendment No. 1085

(Purpose: To provide for the conduct of a study and a report on efforts 
                 to improve organ and tissue donation)

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin], for himself, Mr. 
     Levin, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Breaux, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 1085.

  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 49, after line 26, add the following:
       Sec.   . (a) Study.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, in consultation with the General Accounting Office, 
     shall conduct a comprehensive study concerning efforts to 
     improve organ and tissue procurement at hospitals. Under such 
     study, the Secretary shall survey at least 5 percent of the 
     hospitals who have entered into agreements with an organ 
     procurement organization required under the Public Health 
     Service Act and the hospital's designated organ procurement 
     organizations to examine--
       (1) the differences in protocols for the identification of 
     potential organ and tissue donors;
       (2) whether each hospital, and the designated organ 
     procurement organization of the hospital, have a system in 
     place for such identification of donors; and
       (3) protocols for outreach to the relatives of potential 
     organ or tissue donors.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress a report concerning the study 
     conducted under subsection (a), that shall include 
     recommendations on hospital best practices--
       (1) that result in the most efficient and comprehensive 
     identification of organ and tissue donors; and
       (2) for communicating with the relatives of potential organ 
     and tissue donors.

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent those amendments 
be laid aside for debate at a later time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1086

 (Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate that hospitals that have 
  significant donor potential shall take reasonable steps to assure a 
 skilled and sensitive request for organ donation to eligible families)

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Levin, I would like 
to, on the same bill, S. 1061, offer an amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin], for himself, Mr. 
     Levin, Mr. Thurmond, and Mr. Inouye, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 1086.

  The amendment is as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:
       Sec.   . (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) over 53,000 Americans are currently awaiting organ 
     transplants;
       (2) in 1996, 3,916 people on the transplant waiting list 
     died because no organs became available for such people;
       (3) the number of organ donors has grown slowly over the 
     past several years, even though there is significant 
     unrealized donor potential;
       (4) a Gallup survey indicated that 85 percent of the 
     American public supports organ donation, and 69 percent 
     describe themselves as likely to donate their organs upon 
     death;
       (5) most potential donors are cared for in hospitals with 
     greater than 350 beds, trauma services, and medical school 
     affiliations;
       (6) a recent Harvard study showed that hospitals frequently 
     fail to offer donation services to the families of medically 
     eligible potential organ donors;
       (7) staff and administration in large hospitals often are 
     not aware of the current level of donor potential in their 
     institution or the current level of donation effectiveness of 
     the institution;
       (8) under titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq; 1396 et seq.), hospitals that 
     participate in the medicare or medicaid program are required 
     to have in place policies to offer eligible families the 
     option of organ and tissue donation; and
       (9) many hospitals have not yet incorporated systematic 
     protocols for offering donation to eligible families in a 
     skilled and sensitive way.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that hospitals that have organ or tissue donor potential take 
     prompt steps to ensure that a skilled and sensitive request 
     for organ or tissue donation is provided to eligible families 
     by--
       (1) working with the designated organ procurement 
     organization or other suitable agency to assess donor 
     potential and performance in their institutions;
       (2) establishing protocols for organ donation that 
     incorporate best-demonstrated practices;
       (3) providing education to hospital staff to ensure 
     adequate skills related to organ and tissue donation;
       (4) establishing teams of skilled hospital staff to respond 
     to potential organ donor situations, ensure optimal 
     communication with the patient's surviving family, and 
     achieve smooth coordination of activities with the designated 
     organ procurement organization; and
       (5) monitoring organ donation effectiveness through quality 
     assurance mechanisms.

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
be laid aside for later debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________