[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12239-S12240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             LOOKING AHEAD

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I think the Senator from West Virginia, 
Senator Rockefeller, made a very strong plea for giving the President 
fast track. I find it interesting that those who support fast track say 
those who do not, in this case, oppose trade. I think the truth is 
there are those who support fast track on any given occasion, and there 
are some who oppose it on every given occasion. I find myself in the 
middle of the road here, where I have given fast-track authority to 
Presidents when I felt it was in the best interests of our country, of 
our working people, and of our environment. That is usually when trade 
is being is being negotiated with countries that have decent labor 
standards, decent prevailing wages, and decent environmental standards.
  So on that topic, I think it is simplistic to say that either you are 
for trade or against it. I think we are all for trade. I think the 
question is, is it fair to America? Will it result in good-paying jobs 
or will it put the squeeze on jobs? And should we give up our authority 
here in the Senate and the House, should we give that up regardless of 
whether it is a President of my own party or another party? Or should 
we hold on to that authority so we can, in fact, stand up for American 
values and American workers and American interests?
  As we reach the end of this session of Congress, I would like to 
comment on a couple of the issues that we have taken up in the Senate 
and look ahead for some issues I hope we will take up when we return. 
As one of the two Senators from the largest State in the Union, every 
single thing that we do here and every single thing we fail to do here 
has a major impact on my State. It has 33 million people, more seniors 
than any other State, more young people than any other State, more 
workers than any other State, more women than any other State, more 
infants than any other State. So whatever issue we turn to here impacts 
my people enormously.

  I share pride in knowing that I was able to work with a majority of 
my colleagues to bring a balanced budget, but one with a heart, to the 
U.S. Senate and to the President's desk for signature. The march toward 
fiscal responsibility in this country was actually started when 
President Clinton took the oath of office. I remember that day because 
we were filled with promise and hope that we could finally tackle some 
of our problems. And we did.
  I might say it was a tough year for Democrats, because we didn't get 
any bipartisan help in that budget. But that budget in 1993 was the 
budget that led us to fiscal responsibility. It took us down that 
fiscally responsible track. I remember, because I am on the Budget 
Committee, hearing the comments of my Republican friends at that time 
that this budget was a disaster, that President Clinton's policy would 
lead to unemployment, recession, depression--everything bad that you 
could think of. We persevered and we believed in what we were doing, 
and I am happy to say that this year we finished the job with our 
Republican friends. Gone are the days of Government shutdowns, because 
the American people spoke out in that last shutdown and said: You were 
sent here to do your job. We want fiscal responsibility but we are not 
going to have our budget balance on the backs of our grandmothers and 
grandfathers, our children, the most vulnerable people. We are not 
going to balance the budget while hurting education and the 
environment. So the budget agreement took all that into consideration. 
I think we all have a lot to be proud of.
  As we moved forward on the fiscal responsibility front, unfortunately 
I saw us move backward in a number of areas. I want to touch on those.
  In 1973, Roe versus Wade was decided. It is the law of the land. Yet 
this Congress is constantly trying to roll the clock back to the days 
when women were in deep trouble in this country because abortion was 
illegal. We know that there is not the will to have a vote to outlaw 
abortion because the votes are not there, and the American people would 
be stunned if a woman's right to choose was completely denied. So what 
the opponents of a woman's right to choose have done is to chip away at 
that right. And there are many women in this Nation who have their 
choice imperiled. Who are these women? Women in the military, women in 
the Federal work force, poor women in America--all women in America, 
because fewer and fewer hospitals are teaching doctors how to perform 
safe, legal abortion.
  I don't know why we have to keep turning back the clock to the days 
when women were in trouble in this country. Why don't we move on? I 
have a bill that would codify Roe versus Wade. I am looking forward to 
talking more about that next year. It seems like there is a group that 
wants to reopen that battle all the time. They want to reopen the 
battle over Medicare. They want to fight us on issues that already were 
fought in the 1950's. That's when Dwight David Eisenhower said the 
National Government ought to have a role in education. In the 1960's, 
that's when President Johnson said Medicare is important. In the 
1970's, that's when President Nixon said we need an Environmental 
Protection Agency.
  I think America does better when we move forward. So I am hoping when 
we get back here we will complete some unfinished business. First of 
all, we should fill up all the judgeships that are languishing. Justice 
delayed is justice denied. We have very fine people waiting to be 
confirmed by this U.S. Senate. I am very pleased that we did pass a 
number through, but there are a number left to go. I am very pleased 
Senator Lott has worked with Senator Daschle and we will have a vote on 
Margaret Morrow. But we need to do it. We must also confirm the 
nomination of Bill Lann Lee to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil 
Rights. We cannot allow this important position to remain unfilled 
while such a superb nominee is ready, willing, and able to assume to 
the job.
  We also need the IRS reform that Senator Bob Kerrey spoke about so 
eloquently. And we need passage of campaign finance reform, the McCain-
Feingold bill.

  Let's place some national standards on our HMO's and ensure that all 
Americans enrolled in managed care plans receive quality treatment and 
are always treated fairly by insurance companies.
  We need to pass the transportation bill, not just for 6 months, but 
for 6 years. Our people need highways built. They need transportation 
systems that work. We owe it to them.
  We must make stopping gun violence a national priority. Junk guns 
have no place on our streets. And we must ensure that all handguns in 
America are sold with a safety lock. Taking this step would save 
hundreds of lives every year.
  Let's make a national priority of health research. That is what the 
people want. They want a cure for Alzheimer's, AIDS, breast cancer, 
prostate cancer, scleroderma, ovarian cancer--these are the things they 
so worry about with their families today. Let's make a priority of 
health research.
  He is our leader on doubling the National Institutes of Health. He 
has teamed up with Senator Connie Mack on this. It is time that we do 
this. The American people need it.
  We need some minimum standards for day care. Senator Durbin was on 
the floor today eloquently speaking about the needs of those infants 
and those toddlers and how the brain develops. By age 3, 90 percent of 
the brain is developed. Yet, we have no national standards for child 
care in this Nation.
  So I think it is time that we looked at certain issues. We say 
children are our priority. Let's pass the Children's Environmental 
Protection Act and protect them from pollution. We have seen a 30-
percent increase in brain tumors among our young children in the last 
10 years.
  We need national standards for education. We had a good compromise in 
the U.S. Senate, and the House would not accept it. What are we afraid 
of? Why wouldn't we want our parents to have a chance to see whether 
their children are reading at the proper

[[Page S12240]]

level, doing math at the proper level? If we really care about our 
children, let's put some responsibility on the teachers, and this is 
one way I think we ought to do it.
  Superfund reform. We have toxic waste dumps all over this country. We 
need to clean them up. The law needs to be refined. Too much money goes 
to attorneys and not enough to clean up the mess. The polluter has to 
pay. We can't allow the taxpayers to pick up the tab. We need to move 
forward.
  In closing, I want to say this. We are going to be celebrating 
Veterans Day on November 11. It is a special, special day. It also 
happens to be my birthday, and I am very proud to share it with the 
veterans.
  Year in and year out, we hear about how many of the homeless in our 
streets are veterans. Mr. President, how can we, as the United States 
of America, celebrate Veterans Day knowing that so many of our vets 
have been turned aside?
  I hope we will move on that and on the gulf war syndrome. We cannot 
turn our back on veterans who served our Nation in wartime and came 
back sick.
  We did it in Vietnam when our veterans were exposed to agent orange. 
We did it again with gulf war syndrome. We ought to hold our heads up 
as a nation this Veterans Day.
  I really look forward to coming back here and righting some of these 
wrongs. Senator Rockefeller has a great bill. It says if you are a gulf 
war veteran and suffer from a disease, you don't have to prove anything 
except you were in that war theater and you are now disabled in order 
to qualify for disability benefits. It seems to me if we stand for 
anything around here, it ought to be standing by our veterans when they 
are sick and when they are homeless.
  So I leave here with a good feeling about a lot of what we did and a 
little bit of regret about some other things I didn't agree with. But I 
am excited as I think about coming back here, because I think you heard 
me describe that there are a number of issues we ought to address that 
will make life better for all of our people in the context of a 
balanced budget that has a heart.
  Thank you very much, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair. I have sought recognition to discuss 
briefly two matters: First, the pending fast-track issue and, second, 
the pendency of our judicial confirmations.

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