[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10722-S10725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. WARNER:
  S. 2506. A bill to establish a National Commission on Terrorism; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.


              national commission on terrorism legislation

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, terrorism, both domestic and 
international, will regrettably, continue to be a threat to United 
States citizens and, indeed, to humanity into the millennium. It is the 
weapon of choice for those nations, entities, and individuals bent on 
pursuing myriad aims through the cowardly, cold-blooded sacrifice of 
innocents.
  In his remarks to the opening session of the United Nations General 
Assembly yesterday, President Clinton focused on the reality of 
terrorism in the world community. ``This is a threat,'' he said, ``to 
all humankind.'' At the end of this statement, I include excerpts of 
the President's speech.
  Terrorism is one of the principal threats to global economic and 
political stability and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. 
As such, U.S. foreign and economic policies designed to foster peace 
and prosperity through stability will be weakened.
  U.S. policies, citizens and interests continue to be prime targets 
for international terrorism. The April 1998 Department of State report, 
``Patterns of

[[Page S10723]]

Global Terrorism,'' noted that approximately 33% of all terrorist 
incidents worldwide were committed against U.S. citizens or property. 
These attacks were by and large perpetrated outside of the continental 
United States.
  The Congress will soon be considering appropriations to increase the 
physical security to United States missions abroad. Of the 260 
diplomatic posts overseas, only 40 are determined to be safe against 
terrorist attack.
  While it is clear that the safety and stability of the world 
community continue to be threatened, terrorist activity and the 
perpetrators of that activity require leaders to reexamine our 
understanding of terrorism and develop policy to continue to combat the 
threat.
  The motivation to commit acts of terrorism are no longer viewed as 
those with simply political ends. No longer are these senseless acts of 
death and destruction purely the domain of those with a political 
agenda. Increasingly, terrorists are motivated by religious goals, by 
the pursuit of financial profit, by long-standing racial, ethnic or 
tribal divisions and animosities, or by a mix of all of the above.
  The age of information technology and proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction threaten to increase the potential arsenal for terror. 
In testimony before the Armed Services Committee, witnesses have 
explained, as you can well imagine, the possible devastation which 
could be inflicted through skilled use of modern technologies. What 
have been violent attacks with rudimentary car bombs, may very well 
soon be attacks of apocalyptic proportions.
  A few days ago, Representative Frank Wolf, an outstanding Member of 
the House from just across the Potomac and able member of the 
Commonwealth's delegation, presented to me this legislation to address 
the challenges of the terrorism threat. His bill has been accepted by 
the House of Representatives and will be a conference item by the 
Appropriations Committee. I present this legislation to my colleagues 
in the Senate for consideration and deliberation.
  The legislation assembles 15 distinguished experts in the field of 
terrorism, including three Congressmen and three Senators. Their goal 
will be to review and assess United States policies on terrorism, from 
basic understanding to appropriate response, and recommend changes as 
warranted. This initiative is not intended as an attack on existing 
policy, but a means to enhance our understanding of one of the 
principal threats to stability in the millennium and focus every 
available resource to eliminate the threat.
  I urge my colleagues to review this important legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that excerpts from President 
Clinton's address to the United Nations be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the excerpts where ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Remarks by the President to the Opening Session of the 53rd United 
                        Nations General Assembly

       The President. * * * We still are bedeviled by ethnic, 
     racial, religious and tribal hatreds; by the spread of 
     weapons of mass destruction; by the almost frantic effort of 
     too many states to acquire such weapons; and, despite all 
     efforts to contain it, terrorism is not fading away with the 
     end of the 20th century. It is a continuing defiance of 
     Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which 
     says, ``Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security 
     of person.''

                           *   *   *   *   *

       Obviously this is a matter of profound concern to us. In 
     the last 15 years our citizens have been targeted over and 
     over again--in Beirut, over Lockerbie, in Saudi Arabia, at 
     home in Oklahoma City by one of our own citizens, and even 
     here in New York in one of our most public buildings, and 
     most recently on August 7th in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, 
     where Americans who devoted their lives to building bridges 
     between nations, people very much like all of you, died in a 
     campaign of hatred against the United States.

                           *   *   *   *   *

       If terrorism is at the top of the American agenda--and 
     should be at the top of the world's agenda--what, then are 
     the concrete steps we can take together to protect our common 
     destiny. What are our common obligations? At least, I believe 
     they are these: to give terrorists no support, no sanctuary, 
     no financial assistance; to bring pressure on states that do; 
     to act together to step up extradition and prosecution; to 
     sign the Global Anti-Terror Conventions; to strengthen the 
     Biological Weapons and Chemical Convention; to enforce the 
     Chemical Weapons Convention; to promote stronger domestic 
     laws and control the manufacture and export of explosives; to 
     raise international standards for airport security, to combat 
     the conditions that spread violence and despair.

                           *   *   *   *   *

                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Burns, and Mrs. 
        Hutchison):
  S. 2507. A bill to stimulate increased domestic cruise ship 
opportunities for the American cruising public by temporarily reducing 
barriers for entry into the domestic cruise ship trade; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


           The United States Cruise Ship Tourism Act of 1998

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I, with Senators Thurmond, 
Burns, and Hutchison, introduce the United States Cruise Ship Tourism 
Act of 1998. The purpose of this bill is to stimulate increased 
domestic cruise vessel opportunities for the American cruising public 
by temporarily reducing barriers for entry into the domestic cruise 
ship trade.
  The oceangoing cruise ship industry offers the American cruising 
public with a multitude of itineraries in international trade. However, 
due to barriers to entry such as the Passenger Vessel Services Act, 
large cruise ship domestic trade options are limited to one oceangoing 
cruise ship in Hawaii. Also, the U.S. port calls of these international 
itineraries are heavily concentrated in Florida and Alaska due to the 
proximity of these states to neighboring countries. This means that 
America's cruising public is denied the opportunity to cruise to many 
attractive U.S. port destinations, and those ports are denied the 
economic benefits of those visits, due to these domestic cruise ship 
trade barriers to entry.
  Three separate bills addressing the domestic cruise ship trade have 
been referred to the Commerce Committee this Congress: S. 668, S. 803, 
and S. 2290. Each of these bills takes a different approach to removing 
barriers and stimulating growth in this area. Senator Hutchison, the 
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant 
Marine, held a hearing last year on this subject. I would prefer we 
take the approach proposed in S. 803, of which I am a cosponsor, but I 
understand that bill does not address the concerns of some other 
members. We have been working with representatives of all industries 
concerned with this legislation for several months in an attempt to 
reach a consensus on this issue.
  While a consensus has not yet been achieved, I believe it is time to 
take another step forward in the legislative process. My bill would 
allow the Secretary of Transportation to waive certain current 
coastwise trade restrictions on a limited basis to stimulate the 
domestic cruise ship trade. I expect some of my colleagues on the on 
the Commerce Committee may want to make additional changes to this bill 
in Committee. I look forward to working these issues out with them in 
the next week so that we may report this bill to the Senate later this 
month.
  I believe it is important for this Congress to take action on this 
issue this year. We should maximize the economic growth potential of 
the domestic cruise ship trade and the cruising opportunities for 
America's public.
                                  ____

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 2509. A bill to provide further protections for the watershed of 
the Little Sandy River as part of the Bull Run Watershed Management 
Unit, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.

                   LITTLE SANDY WATERSHED PROTECTION

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am today, along with Congressman 
Blumenauer in the U.S. House, introducing legislation to make sure that 
in the next century the children of Portland can go to their kitchen 
faucet and take a glass of drinking water that is as safe and pure as 
any that the pioneers found when they got here.
  Why protect the Little Sandy? The answer is as clear as the water in 
that stream. Essentially, what we are proposing is to finish the job 
begun two years ago with passage of the Oregon Resources and 
Conservation Act of

[[Page S10724]]

1996, which brought statutory protection to the Bull Run Watershed.
  Portland's city fathers acted in 1890 to protect Bull Run, and it is 
fitting that we continue that effort today. More than one-third of the 
Little Sandy watershed has already been logged; clearly, this drainage 
has already been pushed, and pushed hard, in terms of past timber 
harvest.
  The protection our bill would offer will not only affect clean 
drinking water, but salmon recovery as well. I am hopeful that this 
legislation will become an important part of our region's approach to 
restoring steelhead habitat.
  Finally, I want to commend the leadership of Mayor Vera Katz, 
Commissioner Erik Sten, and former Commissioner Mike Lindberg, whose 
vision for Portland's future laid the foundation for the introduction 
of this bill.
  I first introduced legislation to protect the Little Sandy when I was 
in the House. In passing the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996, 
I made a compromise with Senator Hatfield in which we would designate 
the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit as a protected area that is off 
limits to commercial timber harvest, and designate the Little Sandy as 
a study area. I am now asking the Congress to approve the addition of 
the Little Sandy study area to the Bull Run Management Unit, and to be 
subject to the management prescriptions which were established under 
the ORCA governing the Bull Run.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2509

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL PORTION OF THE LITTLE 
                   SANDY RIVER WATERSHED IN THE BULL RUN WATERSHED 
                   MANAGEMENT UNIT, OREGON.

       (a) In General.--Public law 95-200 (16 U.S.C. 482b note) is 
     amended by striking section 1 and inserting the following:

     ``SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 
                   UNIT; DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

       ``(a) Establishment.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is established, subject to valid 
     existing rights, a special resources management unit in the 
     State of Oregon comprising approximately 98,272 acres, as 
     depicted on a map dated September, 1998, and entitled `Bull 
     Run Watershed Management Unit'.
       ``(2) Map.--The map described in paragraph (1) shall be on 
     file and available for public inspection in the offices of 
     the Regional Forester-Pacific Northwest Region, Forest 
     Service, Department of Agriculture, and in the offices of the 
     State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the 
     Interior.
       ``(3) Boundary adjustments.--Minor adjustments in the 
     boundaries of the unit may be made from time to time by the 
     Secretary after consultation with the city and appropriate 
     public notice and hearings.
       ``(b) Definition of Secretary.--In this Act, the term 
     `Secretary' means--
       ``(1) with respect to land administered by the Secretary of 
     Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture; and
       ``(2) with respect to land administered by the Secretary of 
     the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior.''.
       (b) Conforming and Technical Amendments.--
       (1) Secretary.--Public Law 95-200 (16 U.S.C. 482b note) is 
     amended by striking ``Secretary of Agriculture'' each place 
     it appears (except subsection (b) of section 1, as added by 
     subsection (a), and except in the amendments made by 
     paragraph (2)) and inserting ``Secretary''.
       (A) In general.--Section 2(a) of Public Law 95-200 (16 
     U.S.C. 482b note) is amended by striking ``applicable to 
     National Forest System lands'' and inserting ``applicable to 
     National Forest System land (in the case of land administered 
     by the Secretary of Agriculture) or applicable to land under 
     the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
     Management (in the case of land administered by the Secretary 
     of the Interior)''.
       (B) Management plans.--The first sentence of section 2(c) 
     of Public Law 95-200 (16 U.S.C. 482b note) is amended--
       (i) by striking ``subsection (a) or (b)'' and inserting 
     ``subsections (a) and (b)''; and
       (ii) by striking ``, through the maintenance'' and 
     inserting ``(in the case of land administered by the 
     Secretary of Agriculture) or section 202 of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) (in the 
     case of land administered by the Secretary of the Interior), 
     through the maintenance.''.

     SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT.

       (a) Timber Harvesting Restrictions.--Section 2(b) of Public 
     Law 95-200 (16 U.S.C. 482b note) is amended by striking 
     paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
     shall prohibit the cutting of trees on Federal land in the 
     entire unit, as designated in section 1 and depicted on the 
     map referred to in that section.''.
       (b) Repeal of Management Exception.--The Oregon Resource 
     Conservation Act of 1996 (division B of Public Law 104-208) 
     is amended by striking section 606 (110 Stat. 3009-543).
       (c) Repeal of Duplicative Enactment.--Section 1026 of 
     division I of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management 
     Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333, 110 Stat. 4228) and the 
     amendments made by that section are repealed.
       (d) Water Rights.--Nothing in this section strengthens, 
     diminishes, or has any other effect on water rights held by 
     any person or entity.

     SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE.

       (a) Land Exchange.--Upon application by the city of 
     Portland, Oregon (referred to in this section as the 
     ``city''), the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into 
     negotiations with the city for the transfer of National 
     Forest System land underlying the city's Bull Run water 
     supply facilities to the city in exchange for city-owned land 
     lying within the boundaries of any unit of the National 
     Forest System in Oregon or Washington.
       (b) Time for Exchange.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
     Secretary shall expedite the negotiations, if the city 
     applies for a land exchange under subsection (a), and shall 
     complete such a land exchange not later than September 30, 
     2001.
       (c) Applicability of Other Laws.--Except as provided in 
     subsection (d), any land exchange under this section shall be 
     carried out in accordance with section 206 of the Federal 
     Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716) and 
     other applicable law.
       (d) Exception to Single State Limitation on Exchange.--The 
     requirement that Federal and non-Federal parcels of land 
     exchanged for each other must be located within the same 
     State, as specified in the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     Consolidate National Forest Lands'', approved March 20, 1922 
     (16 U.S.C. 485), and the first sentence of section 206(b) of 
     the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1716(b)), shall not apply to the land exchange authorized by 
     this section.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. LUGAR (for himself and Mr. Harkin) (by request):
  S. 2511. A bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to pay 
employees of the Food Safety and Inspection Service working in 
establishments subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the 
Poultry Products Inspection Act for overtime and holiday work performed 
by the employees; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.


           federal meat and poultry employees pay act of 1998

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation, by 
request, to modify the overtime pay for meat inspectors who are 
veterinarians. Senator Harkin, the ranking minority member of the 
Senate Agriculture Committee, has joined as a cosponsor.
  This legislation was transmitted to Congress by the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture earlier this year. As drafted, the bill would provide 
the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to pay Food Safety and 
Inspection Service employees, working in plants subject to federal meat 
or poultry inspection, for overtime and holiday work at rates 
determined by the Secretary.
  Due to an anomaly in current law, meat inspectors who are 
veterinarians receive lower pay for overtime hours than they receive 
for regular hours. These veterinarians are seeking true overtime pay of 
1\1/2\ times their hourly rate without a cap on the rate.
  While the Federal Meat Inspection Act allows the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) to provide overtime pay at rates determined by USDA, 
the Poultry Products Inspection Act does not provide this authority. 
The legislation introduced today would allow USDA to pay overtime for 
veterinarians at rates determined by USDA. Clearly an inequity exists 
for veterinarians who work overtime.
  I am pleased to introduce this legislation at the request of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture. I look forward to hearing the views of my 
colleagues about this legislation and will seek opportunities to move 
this bill through the legislative process.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a 
copy of the transmittal letter from the Secretary of Agriculture.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:


[[Page S10725]]


                                        Department of Agriculture,


                                      Office of the Secretary,

                                   Washington, DC, March 23, 1998.
     Hon. Albert Gore, Jr.,
     President of the Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: This letter transmits, for the 
     consideration of the Congress, a draft bill ``To provide the 
     Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to pay employees 
     of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) working in 
     establishments subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and 
     the Poultry Products Inspection Act for overtime and holiday 
     work performed by such employees at rates the Secretary deems 
     appropriate'' that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
     recommends be enacted.
       The proposed legislation would provide the Secretary of 
     Agriculture with the discretion to pay employees of FSIS, 
     working in establishments subject to the Federal Meat 
     Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act 
     (PPIA), for overtime and holiday work at rates determined by 
     the Secretary.
       Under current authorities, the Secretary is authorized to 
     pay employees performing inspection under the FMIA for 
     overtime work at rates the Secretary determines. However, no 
     similar authority exists for employees performing inspection 
     under the PPIA. Further, because current law caps overtime 
     rates for Federal veterinarians working in poultry 
     establishments, those at the higher steps of the Federal pay 
     scale receive an hourly overtime rate less than their hourly 
     rate of basic pay.
       The draft bill will eliminate the potential inequity 
     between FSIS veterinarians providing inspection services 
     under the FMIA and the PPIA and will provide the Secretary 
     with the authority to compensate appropriately FSIS 
     veterinarians performing inspections in meat and poultry 
     establishments.
       Enactment of the legislation would cost FSIS approximately 
     $300,000 per year to cover situations when the veterinarian 
     is on overtime but the establishment is not. The Department 
     believes that it will be able to absorb these additional 
     costs within current budgetary levels. When an establishment 
     is in an overtime status, it must reimburse USDA for the 
     overtime at rates determined by the Secretary.
       Enactment of this proposed legislation would have no 
     significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
       The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
     no objection to the presentation to Congress of this proposed 
     legislation from the standpoint of the Administration's 
     program.
       A similar letter is being sent to the Speaker of the House.
           Sincerely,
                                  Dan Glickman, Secretary.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. COCHRAN:
  S. 2508. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
impose conditions on the implementation of the interim payment system 
for home health services furnished by home health agencies under the 
Medicare Program and to modify the standards for calculating the per 
beneficiary payment limits under such payment system, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.


            homebound elderly relief opportunity act of 1998

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the ``Homebound 
Elderly Relief Opportunity Act of 1998'' (HERO). This measure addresses 
a very serious concern: the future of home care within the Medicare 
system.
  For Mississippians, home health has had a two-fold benefit: Home care 
serves to reduce costly hospitalization stays while enhancing the 
patient's quality of life through continued stay in the familiar home 
setting.
  Additionally, in a rural state like Mississippi, home health has 
enabled health care to be delivered to the immobile and elderly who are 
often miles and hours from the nearest hospital or clinic.
  Despite these obvious benefits, home health is very expensive, 
however. With Medicare and government expenditures, it is not always a 
question of ``What we should afford?'' but ``What we can afford?''
  Congress answered these questions with the Balanced Budget Act of 
1997, which has brought fiscal responsibility back to government. BBA 
97 dealt with among other issues, Medicare, and in turn home health, 
probably the fastest growing expenditure within the program. The work 
of Senator Roth and the Finance Committee has helped insure some 
stability in home health expenditures, so that a good thing does not 
quickly become a bad thing and bankrupt the trust fund. However, 
instead of saving this vital Medicare benefit, HCFA's application of 
the Balanced Budget Act to home health--through the use of the Interim 
Payment System--has threatened its very existence. In so doing, HCFA 
has ignored both equity and the elderly, particularly in rural America.
  The Senate has not completely ignored the home health crisis: Sixty-
eight of my colleagues have made statements which appear with their 
photographs on a recent industry poster proclaiming the ills of HCFA's 
interim payment system and its threat to the continuation of home 
health services.
  Five of my colleagues--Senators Grassley and Breaux; Senator Bond; 
Senator Collins; and Senator Kennedy have each introduced bills to 
adjust or eliminate IPS. Senator Bond has been the Senate champion of 
saving home health. His Senate Bill 2354, of which I am cosponsor, 
provides a direct, honest response to the HCFA-created nightmare. His 
bill would impose a moratorium on IPS from fiscal year 1998 forward 
until HCFA develops the prospective payment system, the only sure way 
to solve the home health expenditure issue in a fair manner. However, 
the Moratorium Bill's cost has been scored by CBO to be in the many 
many billions. While we must save home health, we cannot do so in a way 
that jeopardizes all of Medicare. We must find a compromise. That is 
the purpose of introducing HERO today.
  The HERO Bill is an effort to correct the essential problems with the 
interim payment system and to create a better bridge to the prospective 
payment system which we all hope will be developed and implemented 
soon. I believe it provides the best opportunity for success with 
respect to Government spending, Medicare reimbursement, and protecting 
beneficiaries.
  It establishes budget limits for Medicare home health expenditures 
for 1999-2002 with the same savings levels currently projected by the 
Congressional Budget Office under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 
provisions. If expenditure estimates exceed the budget limits, payments 
to providers will be limited to regional levels on an equitable basis. 
Finally, it insures access to home care for all qualified Medicare 
beneficiaries.
  Overall, this bill provides one last opportunity in this session for 
all home health beneficiaries to receive the Medicare benefit to which 
they are entitled and for the providers of those services to be fairly 
reimbursed. It corrects the essential flaw in the original payment 
reform which rewarded the inefficient and punished the efficient 
providers and failed to account for the variation in the types of 
patients served by home health agencies. However, this bill operates 
with budgetary and operational safeguards to insure that the home 
health benefit stays on its steady course.
  Mr. President, Congress must reform IPS immediately before even more 
reputable home health agencies are forced out of business and more 
seniors are forced to go without care or leave their homes for more 
expensive hospital or nursing home care. I urge Senators to support 
this bill.

                          ____________________