[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S304-S309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE OTHER IMPORTANT WORK THIS CONGRESS MUST DO: AN AGENDA TO HELP 
                       AMERICA'S WORKING FAMILIES

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, for 3 full days now, this Senate has been 
sitting as a court of impeachment. We are only the second Senate in the 
history of our nation to sit in judgment of a President, and the first 
Senate ever to consider impeaching an elected President.
  Deciding, ultimately, whether to overturn a free and democratic 
election is almost certainly the most awesome responsibility any of us 
will ever be called in our public lives to fulfill.
  But it is not the only responsibility before this Senate, Mr. 
President. On many other urgent issues--from improving our children's 
schools, to passing HMO reform, to saving Social Security--the American 
people are waiting for us to act. They've been waiting--frankly, for 
too long. So today, on behalf of my fellow Democratic Senators, I am 
introducing our first bills of the 106th Congress.
  Our proposals target the real needs of America's families and 
communities. They are relevant, not revolutionary. If they seem 
familiar, it's because most of what is in them we first introduced in 
the last Congress. But they did not pass, despite the support of the 
American people and, in some cases, by a bipartisan majority of 
Senators. We offer them again in this Congress because the need for 
them has not diminished. In fact, it has grown.


                    SENATE DEMOCRATS' FIRST 5 BILLS

  Our first bill is S. 6, the Patients' Bill of Rights. Democratic 
Senators spoke about this bill so often last year, trying to persuade 
our Republican colleagues to permit a vote on it, that I think we may 
all know it inside and out. In a nutshell, our Patients' Bill of Rights 
is based on a fundamental premise that insurance company accountants 
have no business practicing medicine. Decisions about medical care 
should be made by doctors and patients. Period.
  The Patients Bill of Rights guarantees HMO patients the right to go 
to an emergency room, and see a medical specialist, when they need to.
  It guarantees doctors the right to tell patients all their treatment 
options, not merely the cheapest ones. If you're being treated for an 
illness, or you're pregnant, the Patients' Bill of Rights allows you 
stay with your own doctor, even if your employer changes health plans. 
It guarantees parents the right to take their child to a pediatric 
specialist if they need one.
  And it holds HMOs accountable for their decisions. If an HMO refuses 
to cover a prescription or procedure, our bill allows patients to 
appeal that decision to an independent third-party.
  And, if a patient suffers serious harm as a result of insurance 
company's decision to delay or deny needed care, the Patients' Bill of 
Rights guarantees them the right to sue their insurer--the same way 
every other industry can be sued for its bad decisions.
  We're pleased that our Republican colleagues say HMO reform will be a 
priority for them this year as well. That's progress. The plan they 
offered last year covered only 1 in 3 privately insured Americans and 
contained other major holes as well. We hope their new proposal will 
correct those problems. We also hope the Republican leadership will 
allow an open, honest debate on this issue. That would be further 
progress. If we can have that debate, we can pass a real Patients' Bill 
of Rights this year.
  Our second bill, S. 7, is the Public Schools Excellence Act.
  There are more children in America's public schools this year than 
ever before in our nation's history. These record enrollments are 
already causing serious teacher shortages. One way some schools are 
trying to deal with the shortages is by lowering standards for new 
teachers.
  Over the next 10 years, continued enrollment increases and teacher 
retirements will require America's public schools to hire more than 2 
million new teachers. If we don't act now, the need for new teachers 
will put ever more pressure on communities to lower their teaching 
standards.
  Enacting a proposal by Senator Murray, we made a historic commitment 
last year to help local communities hire 100,000 new teachers so they 
could reduce class size to an average of 18 students in first 3 grades, 
and give young children the personal attention and solid academic 
foundation they need.
  This year, we are proposing a new partnership to increase both the 
quantity and quality of America's teachers. It is based on a proposal 
by Senator Kennedy. We'll help local communities attract qualified new 
teachers by offering college scholarships to students and to 
professionals who want to switch careers. We'll also help them provide 
these new teachers with the intensive support they need--but too often 
do not get--during the first few years on the job. At the same time, 
we'll help communities keep good teachers who are already in the 
classroom, by providing them with the training they need to strengthen 
their skills, or learn new skills--like how to use computers in the 
classroom.
  But even the best teachers can't teach, and students can't learn, in 
classrooms that are unsafe or crammed beyond capacity. That is why, as 
part of our education bill, we are also re-introducing our plan to help 
local communities repair and replace crumbling and overcrowded schools.
  We all know the figures: According to the GAO, 14 million children in 
this country attend schools that require major renovations; and 7 
million children attend schools with serious safety code violations 
such as asbestos, radon, and lead-based paint. Millions more children 
attend schools that hold far more students than they were designed for.
  Our bill provides communities with reduced-rate bonds that will 
enable them to cut school construction and repair costs to local 
taxpayers by as much as 50 percent. Senators Lautenberg, Robb, 
Feinstein, and Harkin have all helped put this proposal together.
  More than 90 percent of America's children attend public schools. By 
strengthening their schools, we can give our children the skills to 
prosper in tomorrow's economy. But we also need to help families the 
tools to succeed in today's economy. That is the focus of Democrats' 
third bill, S. 8, the Income Security Enhancement Act.
  For 20 years, beginning in the early 1970s, 80 percent of America's 
families didn't get a raise; their incomes stayed flat--even when they 
took on second or even third jobs. Fortunately, that's over. Since 
1993, the average family income has gone up nearly $2,000 per year.
  One way we can keep that trend moving in the right direction is by 
increasing the minimum wage by $1 over the next years--to $6.15 per 
hour. We know from experience that raising the minimum wage doesn't 
hurt the economy. It doesn't kill jobs. What it does is help families, 
and reinforce our belief as a society in the dignity of work. We hope 
our Republican colleagues will join us in supporting this modest 
increase for

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some of the hardest workers in our nation.
  We are also hoping they will join us in supporting a true marriage 
penalty tax cut.
  Last year, Republicans proposed a flat $1,400 tax credit to married 
couples filing jointly. For most middle-class couples, the tax cut we 
are proposing is a better proposal. Under our plan, two-income couples 
filing jointly could deduct 20 percent of whichever of their 2 incomes 
is lower. For example, a couple earning $35,000--split $20,000 and 
$15,000--would get a $3,000 tax cut. A couple earning $50,000--$25,000 
each--would get a $5,000 tax cut.

  Another difference between our marriage penalty tax cut and the one 
Republicans proposed last year is that our tax cut is factored into the 
Earned Income Tax Credit, so couples--like so many of the couples in my 
state of South Dakota--couples earning less than $30,000--can still 
receive it, even if they have no income tax liability.
  We also need to close the pay gap between men and women.
  In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, making it 
illegal for employers to pay women less than men for the same job. 
Thirty-six years later, women in this country still earn, on average, 
$9,000 a year less than men. Over a lifetime, the average American 
woman loses $420,000 in wages and benefits because of this pay gap.
  Today, when women provide more than half the income in two-thirds of 
America's families, and all the income in 2 out of every 5 families, 
this continued pay gap is just anti-woman. It's anti-family. Our bill 
will help narrow the gap by strengthening enforcement of the Equal Pay 
Act, toughening penalties for employers who break the law; and 
increasing the remedies available to women who suffer wage 
discrimination.
  Increasing the minimum wage. Cutting the marriage penalty tax. 
Closing the pay gap. All of these things will help increase families' 
economic security today. We also need to help people plan for a secure 
economic future. That's the other half of our family-income package.
  I talk to people all the time who tell me they're worried they won't 
have the ``luxury'' of retirement. Democrats believe we don't have the 
luxury of ignoring the coming retirement crisis. We need to deal with 
the serious issue of retirement security--in this Congress.
  It is not OK that fewer than half of all American workers have 
pensions. That is why we are re-introducing our proposal to 
significantly increase the number of workers with pensions, and 
strengthen pension security. Our bill makes it easier and cheaper for 
small businesses to offer pension plans. It also strengthens auditing 
and other security measures designed to protect pension funds from 
misuse and mismanagement--so the pensions workers earn are actually 
there when they retire.
  In addition, our bill changes some of the old rules about pensions to 
match the new reality of the way Americans work. Most people now switch 
jobs many times in their careers. That makes it hard for them to build 
up a significant pension. Our proposal makes it easier for workers to 
take their pensions with them when they change jobs. It also reduces 
from 5 to 3 years the time it takes to become ``vested'' in a 401(k) 
plan; and it allows workers who don't have pension coverage to build 
their own retirement savings through direct contributions from their 
paycheck into an IRA.
  The other thing this Congress must do to increase Americans' 
retirement security is protect Social Security.
  We don't need a detailed Democratic plan to save Social Security, or 
a detailed Republican plan. We need a detailed American plan to save 
Social Security. And we're ready and willing to work with our 
Republican colleagues to produce one. But until a plan is signed into 
law, we all need to keep our commitment to save Social Security first.
  Some people are suggesting that we can walk away from that commitment 
now because the surplus projections are bigger today than we expected. 
They want to change the rules and make it easier to spend the surplus.
  Let me be very clear: Senate Democrats will do everything in our 
power to prevent this from happening--until we fix Social Security. It 
doesn't matter how large the projected surplus is. We didn't go through 
all the hard work of balancing the budget just so Congress could once 
again start spending money we don't have and driving up the deficit.
  We don't have a Social Security crisis today. But we could create a 
crisis for the future if we start spending the surplus now, before we 
know how much it will cost to keep Social Security solvent once the 
Baby Boomers start to retire.
  Instead of making it easier to raid Social Security, let's work 
together in this Congress to save it. If our predecessors could summon 
the political will 60 years ago, during the worst economic times in our 
history, to create Social Security, surely we can summon the will, 
during the best economic times in a generation, to preserve it.
  We also need to increase the personal security of America's families.
  This year, for the sixth year in a row, crime is down in America. 
That's the longest period of decline in 25 years. Our fourth bill, S. 
9, the Safe Schools, Safe Streets and Secure Borders Act of 1999, 
builds on the juvenile crime bill introduced by Senator Leahy in the 
105th Congress. It will help reduce crime even further by targeting 
violent crime in our schools. Reforming the juvenile justice system. 
Combating gang violence. Cracking down on the sale and use of illegal 
drugs. Giving police and prosecutors more tools and resources to fight 
street crime, international crime and terrorism. And strengthening the 
rights of crime victims.
  In 1994, we made a commitment to put 100,000 new police officers on 
the street in communities all across America. Our new crime bill builds 
on that commitment by enabling communities to hire an additional 25,000 
police officers through the COPS program.
  It also expands Senator Biden's Violence Against Women Act--providing 
more money for more police officers, more support for prosecutors, more 
prevention programs, and more shelters and other services for victims 
of domestic and sexual violence.
  It strengthens federal laws against hate crimes.
  And it sets a national drunk-driving standard of .08 percent blood 
alcohol.
  The final bill in our leadership package is S. 10, the Health 
Protection and Assistance for Older Americans Act.
  Democrats have always made protecting Medicare and older Americans a 
top priority. Six weeks from now, this Congress will receive a report 
from the Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. Senate 
Democrats will consider the Commission's proposals carefully.
  But there are 3 proposals we should all be able to agree on now--even 
before we see the Commission's report--to improve the health and lives 
of older Americans and their families.
  The first proposal addresses a serious health care gap in our 
country--we refer to it as the ``Medicare buy-in'' proposal, which 
Senator Moynihan introduced in the 105th Congress. It contains 3 parts. 
First, it allows people between ages of 55 and 65, and their spouses, 
to buy into Medicare when their employer downsizes, or their plant 
shuts down.
  Second, it allows people between 62 and 65 who don't have access to 
group coverage to buy into Medicare. Participants don't have to be 
retired to be eligible. Some might work for small firms that don't 
offer benefits, or be self-employed or work part-time in a job that 
doesn't provide health benefits.
  Both of these new coverage options are largely self-financing. The 
people ``buying in'' will pay premiums, just as they would for private 
health insurance.
  The third part of our proposal is designed to help retirees whose 
promised health benefits are canceled. It allows these retirees to buy 
into their former employers' company health plan until they turn 65--a 
much more affordable option than buying private individual insurance.
  We know what people between 55 and 65 are twice as likely as someone 
just 10 years younger to experience heart disease, cancer and other 
major health problems. They have less access to health care coverage. 
They're at greater risk of losing their coverage. And, they're the 
fastest-growing age group in our Nation. By the year 2010, the number 
of Americans between 55 and 65

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will increase by 60 percent. Let's close this critical gap in our 
health care system now, before it gets worse.
  I also want to tell my colleagues that--although it is not part of 
our package today--Democrats will be working on a proposal to expand 
basic Medicare coverage to include prescription drugs. There is no 
reason that seniors should have to choose between buying medicine and 
buying groceries.
  We will also be making reauthorization of the Older Americans Act a 
top priority for this Congress. That is the second part of our seniors 
package.
  The Older Americans Act provides ``Meals on Wheels,'' counseling and 
other vital support services that allow older Americans to maintain 
their dignity and independence. Authorization for it expired in 1995. 
Older Americans deserve better. Democrats will be seeking not only 
appropriate funding, but improvements as well, and Senator Mikulski 
will help lead that effort.
  The third proposal in our seniors package will help individuals and 
their families cope with the financial and emotional strains of long-
term care. The centerpiece of this proposal is a new $1,000 tax credit. 
We'll also help communities create ``one-stop'' centers that provide 
counseling and support, including respite care, to family care givers. 
And, we will create a model long-term care insurance program that will 
be open to federal employees and retirees and their families. We'll use 
the negotiated-savings power of the federal government to provide long 
term care insurance at 15-20 percent below market prices.
  That is our leadership package, Senate Democrats' first 5 priorities 
for the 106th Congress. Pass a real Patients' Bill of Right. Strengthen 
our children's schools. Increase family incomes. Make our schools and 
neighborhoods safer. And help older Americans and their families by 
strengthening Medicare, supporting programs that help seniors maintain 
their independence, and helping individuals and their families with the 
financial and emotional costs of long-term care.


                          OTHER TOP PRIORITIES

  Senate Democrats are also introducing 5 other bills today. They, too, 
are very important priorities for our caucus--and our Nation.
  S. 16 is the Congressional Election Campaign Spending Limit and 
Reform Act. We must end the money chase in politics. It's out of 
control, and it's destroying people's faith in government, and the 
ability of government to function. We all know that.
  This bill sets voluntary spending limits for Senate candidates--
including limits on candidates' personal spending --in exchange for 
substantially reduced TV costs. It also bans ``soft money'' 
contributions to national parties, curbs the use of so-called ``issue 
ads'' and ``independent expenditures,'' and strengthens laws against 
foreign campaign contributions.
  S. 17, the Child Care ACCESS Act, introduced by Senator Dodd, gives 
working parents more safe, affordable child care choices. It includes 
subsidies and tax credits to help low- and middle-income parents pay 
for child care, and tax incentives for companies that offer child care 
for their workers. It also helps states improve pay for child care 
teachers, and makes other changes that will improve the quality of 
child care. In addition, it creates more and better after-school 
programs, so children aren't home alone. And, it provides a new tax 
credit for ``stay at home parents.''
  Full-day child care can cost anywhere from $4,000 a year to $10,000--
as much as tuition at a public university. By passing this bill, we can 
ease some of the financial strain on working families and make sure 
America's children are safe and well-cared for while their parents are 
at work.
  S. 18, introduced by Senator Harkin, is the SAFER Meat and Poultry 
Act. America has the safest food supply in the world. We need to make 
sure it stays that way. This bill will help by giving USDA the 
authority to order mandatory recalls of unsafe meat and poultry 
products instead of relying on voluntary recalls. It also authorizes 
USDA to levy fines for food violations. The bottom line: it gives USDA 
the tools it needs to make sure the meat and poultry we buy at the 
grocery store and eat at restaurants is free of e-coli, salmonella and 
other harmful bacteria.
  In the coming months, Senate Democrats will also be proposing 
additional new safeguards to ensure that the produce and processed 
foods Americans eat also meet the highest safety standards.
  S. 19 is our Agricultural Safety Net and Market Competitiveness Act 
of 1999. It is the product of many senators' efforts to bring to rural 
America some of the same prosperity the rest of America is enjoying.
  America's family farmers are currently experiencing their worst 
economic crisis in at least a decade--and possibly since the Great 
Depression. This crisis is undermining the economic and social fabric 
of rural communities all across America. But the implications effect 
all consumers, regardless of where they live.
  Our bill will help family farmers and rural communities get through 
this crisis by restoring the agricultural safety net, and by more 
aggressively enforcing laws against anti-competitive business practices 
in meatpacking and other agriculture industries. It will also reduce 
the chances of future farm crises by helping producers tap new markets 
for their products at home, and by ensuring that American farmers have 
fair access to foreign markets.
  Our final bill, S. 20, the Brownfields and Environmental Cleanup Act 
of 1999, is being introduced by Senator Lautenberg. It encourages 
people to buy and redevelop the tens of thousands of contaminated 
former industrial sites in communities across the country. 
Specifically, it provides grants through EPA to help local communities 
evaluate and clean up contaminated industrial sites. It also provides 
relief from potential Superfund liability to owners and potential 
owners who had no hand in causing the contamination. By taking these 
steps, we can reduce public health risks and help create new jobs and 
opportunities were they are badly needed.
  We do not claim to have all the right answers. But in these 
proposals, we believe we have at least identified the rights issues. 
It's clear these are the issues working families want this Congress to 
deal with. They've told us so time and time again.
  Tonight in his State of the Union address, the President will outline 
his agenda for the coming year. We welcome his ideas. We also welcome 
the ideas of our Republican colleagues. We are ready to work with the 
White House and with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the 
spirit of consensus and teamwork to do the work the American people 
expect us to do.
  Last month, there was a dinner in Washington honoring the political 
leaders who negotiated the ``Good Friday Agreement,'' the historic 
Northern Ireland peace accord. These are people who have found a way 
somehow to overcome ancient hatreds and create a new government based 
on peace and justice. Their new government is still very fragile, and 
it faces many challenges. But the people at this dinner were convinced 
they would succeed. As one woman put it, ``There's no turning back. For 
once, we're doing what Americans do. We believe in ourselves.''
  We must believe in ourselves. No generation of Americans has ever 
said ``we can't meet the great challenges of our time.'' No Congress 
has ever said that. And this Congress must not say it, either. Let us 
agree to work together to help America's families. Let us believe in 
ourselves.
  I yield the floor.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I'm proud to join my colleagues in 
introducing the Democratic agenda for the 106th Congress. I am so proud 
that the people of Maryland have returned me to the United States 
Senate for a third term. I promised to continue fighting for their 
agenda.
  That agenda means keeping a robust economy. It means fighting for a 
safety net for seniors. Maryland's agenda means getting behind our kids 
and our families. It means fighting for safe streets and a safer world. 
It means that we have to continue to invest in science and technology. 
The legislation we are introducing today will help us achieve these 
goals. It is a Democratic agenda--and it's Maryland's agenda. I would 
like to highlight a few initiatives that are particularly important.
  Our agenda strengthens the safety net for seniors. I believe that 
when we say ``honor your mother and your father,'' it is not only a 
good commandment to live by but it is good public

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policy to govern by. What does that mean? First of all, it means 
helping Americans with long term care.
  Since my first days in Congress, I have been fighting to help people 
afford the costs of long-term care. Ten years ago, I introduced 
legislation to change the cruel rules that forced elderly couples to go 
bankrupt before they could get any help in paying for nursing home 
care. Because of my legislation, the American Association of Retired 
Persons tells me that we've kept over six hundred thousand people out 
of poverty and stopped liens on family farms.
  The Democratic agenda will make it easier for families to provide 
long term care. The agenda also includes my bill to provide long-term 
care insurance to federal employees and retirees. This provision is a 
down-payment on extending long-term care insurance to everyone. It will 
create a model for other employers to use in providing long-term care 
insurance for their workers.
  The Democratic agenda also includes measures to expand access to 
Medicare for individuals aged 55 to 64, and, importantly, calls for 
reauthorizing the Older Americans Act, an effort I helped lead in the 
last Congress. Although we did not complete action on the 
reauthorization last year, I hope my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle will recognize how critical the OAA programs are to American 
seniors. In 1994, the last year OAA was authorized, it provided health 
and welfare information to 3 million seniors, served 240 million meals 
to low- and moderate-income seniors, and provided more than 800,000 
seniors with critical transportation to and from doctor visits and 
other needed services.
  We also recognize that we must get behind our kids and families. We 
know that our children are our most important resource. Our Democratic 
agenda puts these words into action. We put the Public Schools 
Excellence Act at the top of our agenda. That bill will improve 
achievement by helping communities lower class sizes and help teachers 
get the training they need for the twenty-first century.
  We're also helping communities create structured after school 
initiatives. The Democratic agenda will enable one million children to 
participate in safe and constructive after school programs. We'll do 
this by helping schools and community groups set up after school 
programs that provide academic enrichment, tutoring, recreation or 
other beneficial activities.
  But we know that we've also got to get behind our families by making 
sure they have high-quality, affordable health care. The Democratic 
Patients' Bill of Rights will do just that. It will provide consumers 
of HMO health care enforceable patient protections. Democrats believe 
that health care decisions need to be made in the consultation room, 
not the board room.
  This legislation will provide 161 million Americans with critical 
protections for their health care. It will ensure the right to 
treatment that is medically necessary by the most appropriate health 
care provider, using best practices. It will provide continuity of care 
and patients will have the right to hold their health plans accountable 
for medical decisions even if it means taking the company to court. 
Right now, we don't have managed care--we have manacled care, and the 
Democratic Patients' Bill of Rights will help make sure we put patients 
ahead of profits.
  We're also fighting for a safe world for our children to grow up in. 
The Democratic crime initiative focuses on prevention, police and 
punishment. It continues to put more cops on the streets. It helps 
schools stay free of drugs and violence. And it gives law enforcement 
more tools to fight international drug pushers and terrorists--who 
threaten the safety of our world.
  We will also focus on ensuring our nation's food supply is safe for 
consumption. S. 18, The SAFER Meat and Poultry Act, will be a top 
initiative in the coming Congress. Every person should have confidence 
that food is fit to eat and imported food is as safe as food produced 
domestically. Our food supply has gone global. We need global food 
safety. Too frequently, Americans suffer food borne illness and even 
death due to the contamination of imported foods. Just last year, 
infected raspberries were found in my home state, in Montgomery County.
  I introduced the Safety of Imported Food Act 1998 and will work with 
the Democratic leadership to implement safe, effective, and common-
sense improvements to our food inspection process, and authorize 
enforcement tools needed to revolutionize the process and ensure 
compliance with safety laws.
  The Democratic agenda seeks to strengthen our economy by increasing 
the economic security of working Americans. It does this by increasing 
the minimum wage and by decreasing taxes that unfairly target working 
families--like the marriage penalty.
  Mr. President, the Democratic agenda is the American agenda. It will 
help us meet the day to day needs of the American people--and it will 
also help prepare our nation for the twenty-first century.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Crapo). The Senator from Massachusetts is 
recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, will the floor manager be kind enough to 
yield 10 minutes?
  Mr. DURBIN. I would be happy to yield 10 minutes to the Senator from 
Massachusetts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized 
for 10 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, first of all, I wish to join our 
colleagues in commending our leader for an excellent presentation on 
the unfinished agenda of the past Congress, as these are really the 
opening moments of the Congress in terms of dealing with our 
legislative agenda. It is entirely appropriate that our leaders speak 
to what we hope will be accomplished during this Congress. Tonight we 
will listen to the President of the United States meet his 
responsibilities under the Constitution, addressing the State of the 
Union. In the next day or so we will hear from the Democratic leader in 
the House of Representatives, Mr. Gephardt, who will outline an agenda 
for the country as well.
  I must at this time say how impressed I am with the outlines of this 
very thoughtful proposal, a real challenge for the Congress as we begin 
our important legislative undertakings.
  We currently have extraordinary economic prosperity in the United 
States. It is the excellent leadership of President Clinton, Vice 
President Gore, and the Administration that has put us into a position 
to have the strongest economy we have had in any recent period of time, 
with both economic growth and price stability. That is reflected in 
enhanced hopes and dreams for working families all across this country.
  There are those who have not participated in that economic expansion 
as much as others, however. We hear the concerns expressed by our 
Democratic leader, and we will also hear the President tonight speak 
about how we can make our society a fairer and a more just society and 
how we can enhance the opportunity to reach out to those who are 
struggling hard, playing by the rules, trying to provide for their 
families, who also ought to be able to enjoy the kind of prosperity 
that we are experiencing.
  The Democratic leader outlined a number of different areas with which 
working families in the United States are most concerned. Sure, we have 
many--about 75, 78 percent--of our working families that have some kind 
of health insurance, even though those numbers are gradually dropping 
and have been dropping quite precipitously in the last 3 or 4 years. 
But we want to make sure that those working families are going to be 
able to have health care decisions made by their doctors and by their 
nurses and not by the insurance companies.
  That is why I joined with our Democratic leader in strong support of 
the Patients' Bill of Rights, a proposal that is effectively supported 
by every major medical society, every patient organization, and every 
nursing organization in the country.
  We have asked and invited our Republican friends and colleagues to 
join with us. We have tried to point out the inadequacies of their 
particular proposal in the fact that it only covers a third of the 
Americans who are covered by any kind of health insurance, leaving two-
thirds of the members of the American family out. But we have been 
unable to get them to join with us. The professional health community 
says the way to go is with the health care

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bill of rights as introduced by the Democratic leader.
  Mr. President, the Democratic leader and the President outline 
another major concern that working families have, and that is the 
quality of education for their children. Sure, there is primary 
responsibility for education at the local level, and there is a State 
interest, but it should also be a matter of national priority. We are 
looking for partnerships. We are looking for ways of being able to work 
together.
  This particular proposal which the Democratic leader has outlined, 
has recognized what the General Accounting Office recognized over 2 
years ago, and that is that the cost to repair public schools in the 
United States of America, if they were all to be repaired, would be 
$110 billion. The President and the Democratic Party stand for trying 
to help and assist local communities to provide for that reconstruction 
and, importantly, the modernization of the schools, to work in 
partnership with the States--not only in terms of the construction but 
also to make sure we are going to have a qualified teacher in every 
classroom, that the classrooms, particularly in the early grades, are 
going to be smaller, and that there are going to be the afterschool 
programs to help keep children out of trouble and to help and assist 
children who may be falling further behind to be able to enhance their 
academic achievements and accomplishments. That makes a great deal of 
sense, Mr. President.
  These particular proposals will be advanced for debate and discussion 
in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We are looking forward 
to that. We are doing the country's business in working in partnership 
with States and local communities.
  There is also urgency, in terms of ensuring that the parents of 
working families are going to be secure, in dealing with Social 
Security. We will hear an outline this evening. The President was good 
enough to invite Democrats and Republicans to come to the White House 
and to sit down with him to try to find some common ground. We will 
hear tonight that he is still strongly committed to trying to work this 
out in a bipartisan, nonpartisan way. It is the only way that that can 
be managed. And that is going to be very important. It will be a top 
priority for our seniors, our children, and our working families.
  As the leader has pointed out, there will be an additional program to 
try to help and assist with many of the needs of the children of this 
country. That is going to be in legislation which he has outlined here 
today and which many of us have been interested in in terms of the 
early start programs, the pre-K programs. We talked to the Nation and 
made a commitment with the Governors some years ago that every child 
was going to be ready for school. We have to continue with that 
commitment. We want every child to be ready for school. We want tough 
standards at schools. We want to make sure that graduation is more than 
just an attendance program--that it means children have learned in 
these schools. I believe we are going to hear about excellent programs 
this evening and we have the Public Schools Excellence Act's inclusion 
in education.

  The list goes on for the elderly, including the continuation of the 
Older Americans Act, the Early Medicare Access Act, and Medicare 
coverage of prescription drugs. I hope we are going to be able, in this 
Congress, to address the issue of prescription drugs, which is of 
urgency for so many of our elderly and citizens with disabilities. It 
is such a burden--we find many of our citizens have to make a choice 
between the prescriptions that they need and a good meal.
  Finally, I want to just mention the sense of hope that we have, many 
of us, as we look forward to this Congress. Just last week at the White 
House, the President indicated his strong support for legislation which 
has been introduced by Senator Jeffords from Vermont, Senator Roth from 
Delaware, and cosponsored by myself and Senator Moynihan, with regard 
to ensuring that those individuals, some 54 million Americans who have 
some disability, are going to be able to work without losing the 
benefits that they need.
  The disabled want to work. They can work. But we have a system, under 
Medicaid, which discourages them from working by providing financial 
penalties and the denial of services if they go out and work. We have 
crafted an effective program that will encourage those disabled to 
participate in our workforce and in our workplace. They have been 
excluded for far too long. This legislation starts off as one of the 
principal pieces of bipartisan legislation, which augurs well, if we 
are going to be serious about dealing with serious issues. I am very 
hopeful that this will be one of the first pieces of legislation that 
will pass. It will make a great deal of difference, not just to the 
disabled but to all Americans, because who can say today that by this 
evening they are not going to face some kind of challenge and be faced 
with some kind of disability as well?
  Mr. President, I am hopeful that we will be able to make progress on 
this agenda. I commend our Democratic leader for advancing it. I think 
it is one which demands action, and I look forward to working with our 
colleagues to see what can be achieved in this Congress for improving 
the quality of life for working families in this Congress.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of my 
prepared remarks be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

       Today, Democrats introduce legislation to carry out our 
     priorities in the Senate and create greater opportunities for 
     working families, strengthen our schools, and ensure that 
     citizens are cared for properly in their later years.
       We must complete our unfinished business of the last 
     Congress--the Patients' Bill of Rights, high standards for 
     schools, saving Social Security, and raising the minimum 
     wage.
       But we also have new ideas for the new century to help move 
     our country forward more effectively.
       First, we must improve the quality of health care for all 
     Americans.
       Today, we renew the battle in Congress to enact a strong 
     Patients' Bill of Rights to protect American families from 
     abuses by HMOs and managed care health plans that too often 
     put profits over patients' needs.
       Our Patients' Bill of Rights will protect families against 
     arbitrary decisions that can rob average citizens of their 
     savings and their peace of mind, and often their health and 
     their very lives. Doctors and patients should make medical 
     decisions, not insurance company accountants. For the 
     millions of Americans who rely on health insurance to protect 
     them and their loved ones when serious illness strikes, the 
     Patients' Bill of Rights is truly a matter of life and death.
       Soon, I also intend to offer legislation to deal with an 
     increasingly urgent problem. Elderly and disabled Americans 
     on Medicare spend a disproportionate share of their income on 
     prescription drugs. The elderly make up 12 percent of the 
     population, but account for one-third of all prescription 
     drug purchases. The lack of insurance coverage for these 
     expenses is the most serious gap in Medicare today. Virtually 
     all employer plans offer this coverage, but Medicare does 
     not. The elderly are practically the last group who pay full 
     retail prices for drugs. And the price tag is growing by an 
     astonishing 16 percent each year.
       The time has come to address this glaring problem, and I 
     intend to introduce legislation soon to do so.
       Today, we also renew the battle for the Early Medicare 
     Access Act. I commend Senator Moynihan for his strong 
     leadership on this issue. More than 3 million Americans aged 
     55 to 64 have no health insurance today. In the past year, 
     the number of the uninsured in this age group increased at a 
     faster rate than any other segment of the population. They 
     are too young for Medicare, and unable to afford private 
     coverage.
       In response to this need, our proposal will enable many 
     uninsured Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 to purchase 
     coverage under Medicare.
       In addition to addressing America's health care needs, we 
     must continue our campaign to improve the quality of public 
     schools and help children meet high educational standards.
       A high school degree must be more than just a certificate 
     of attendance. It must be a certificate of achievement.
       We made progress last year in improving the quality of 
     education, but we are still far from where we need to be. 
     There are serious problems in the nation's schools, and they 
     deserve serious solutions. We are introducing the Public 
     Schools Excellence Act of 1999 to meet the pressing 
     educational needs of communities and schools across the 
     country. Our comprehensive bill addresses four key challenges 
     facing public schools.
       First, it will help communities rebuild, modernize and 
     reduce overcrowding in more than 5,000 local public schools.
       Second, it will reduce class size by building on the down 
     payment in last year's budget agreement to hire more 
     teachers. Our legislation authorizes a six-year effort to 
     help local schools meet the goal of hiring 100,000 new, 
     qualified teachers, especially for the lower grades.

[[Page S309]]

       Third, our bill will ensure that there is a well-trained 
     teacher in every classroom in America. Such teachers are 
     essential for student achievement. Our bill will invest $1.2 
     billion next year to provide scholarships to recruit 
     outstanding new teachers and to enable current teachers to 
     improve their skills through mentoring programs and other 
     professional development.
       Fourth, our proposal will expand the nation's after-school 
     programs. Every day, over 5 million children are left home 
     alone after school. Hundreds of thousands of families are on 
     waiting lists. By investing in after-school programs, we keep 
     children away from drugs, off the streets, and out of 
     trouble, and provide a wholesome learning environment in the 
     afternoons.
       Improving education is clearly one of our highest national 
     priorities. But in order for all children to achieve their 
     full potential, we must make significant investments in 
     children long before they ever walk through schoolhouse 
     doors.
       Ten years ago, the nation's governors said their number one 
     educational goal was that by the year 2000, all children 
     should enter school ``ready to learn.'' Unfortunately, we 
     will not reach this goal by 2000. One of my priorities in the 
     new Congress is to renew this battle. We are already fighting 
     hard for smaller classes, better teachers, and more modern 
     school facilities, but we can't neglect to invest in 
     education at the very earliest ages.
       The next priority is save Social Security. Few issues 
     facing Congress today will have greater long term impact on 
     the lives of more Americans than strengthening Social 
     Security for future generations. For two-thirds of 
     America's senior citizens, Social Security retirement 
     benefits provide more than half their annual income. 
     Without Social Security, half the nation's elderly would 
     be living in poverty.
       But it is much more than a retirement program. Thirty 
     percent of its benefits support disabled persons of all ages 
     and their families, and the surviving dependents of 
     breadwinners who have died prematurely. In 1996, Social 
     Security benefits kept over one million children out of 
     poverty as well.
       Radical change is unnecessary and unwise. We face a Social 
     Security problem, not a Social Security crisis. The program 
     can be made healthy without dismantling it in the process. It 
     now has enough resources to fully fund current benefits for 
     more then 30 years. If we plan for the future by addressing 
     this problem now, the long-run revenue shortfall can be 
     eliminated with relatively minor adjustments to the system.
       Some have suggested that the only way to save Social 
     Security is to privatize a major part of it. Nothing could be 
     further from the truth. In reality, diverting a portion of 
     the payroll taxes from Social Security into private 
     retirement accounts would only make the future Social 
     Security shortfall far greater and would necessitate sharp 
     cuts to the very benefits that senior citizens rely on.
       Private accounts, subject to the ups and downs of the stock 
     market, are fine as a supplement to Social Security. But, 
     they are no substitute for Social Security. The guaranteed 
     benefits which Social Security currently provides are the 
     best foundation on which to build for a secure retirement.
       More than half of the long-run shortfall can be closed by 
     merely broadening the types of investments made by the trust 
     fund, just as state and municipal public pension funds have 
     done routinely for years. The remainder of the shortfall can 
     be eliminated by several other minor adjustments to the 
     program--without reducing benefit levels.
       The overwhelming majority of today's workers would be 
     unaffected by these changes. Current and future beneficiaries 
     would be fully protected, and the guarantee of a secure 
     retirement for America's workers would be preserved through 
     the 21st century.
       Another Democratic priority for this year is a much-needed 
     increase in the minimum wage. Today, far too many workers 
     work full time, and yet cannot make ends meet. Minimum wage 
     workers who work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year earn just 
     $10,700-$2,900 below the poverty level for a family of three.
       Under the leadership of President Clinton, America has 
     enjoyed 6 years of extraordinary economic growth. 
     Unemployment is at its lowest level in a generation. 
     Inflation is the lowest in 40 years. But for too many fellow 
     citizens, it is someone else's boom. Twelve million working 
     Americans are still earning poverty-level wages.
       That is why we say now is the time to raise the minimum 
     wage. The bill we introduce today will increase the level by 
     a dollar--50 cents this years and 50 cents next year--and 
     bring the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour by September 2000.
       We know who minimum wage workers are. They clean our office 
     buildings. They are teachers aides in classrooms. They care 
     for the chronically ill and the elderly. They are child care 
     workers. They are aides in nursing homes. They sell groceries 
     at the supermarket, and serve coffee at local shops.
       In good conscience, as we celebrate the nation's continuing 
     prosperity, we should not consign the millions of Americans 
     who have these jobs to continuing poverty. We must raise the 
     minimum wage, and we must raise it now.
       Finally, I look forward to early action by the Senate on 
     the landmark, bipartisan disability legislation that Senator 
     Jeffords, Senator Roth, Senator Moynihan, and I announced 
     last week. Over 75 percent of Americans with disabilities are 
     unemployed. Most want to work--to enjoy the same fruits of 
     their labor and fulfillment of their talents as everyone else 
     in our society.
       Our proposal makes this possible. It allows disabled 
     Americans to take jobs without losing the Medicare and other 
     benefits that are their lifeline. It also provides valuable 
     job training and rehabilitation assistance that will give 
     persons with disabilities the skills they need to have and 
     hold a job.
       These are important initiatives for the American future--
     for children, for working families, for the elderly, and for 
     the disabled. These are the kinds of issues that the Senate 
     should already be taking up. It is time to bring the 
     impeachment trial to a fair and quick conclusion, so that we 
     can deal more effectively with these challenges that are of 
     much higher concern to working families.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 minutes 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.

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