[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4377-S4378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-524. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of New Hampshire relative to the collection of 
     certain kinds of information from patients in a home health 
     care setting; to the Committee on Finance.

                     House Concurrent Resolution 20

       Whereas, the quality of health care for home health agency 
     patients is highly desired, the health care provided by the 
     home health agency needs to be examined in order to ascertain 
     whether improvements are necessary, and to determine what 
     aspects to improve; and
       Whereas, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created a new 
     Medicare payment system to improve the existing payment 
     system, and must be in place by October 2000. The Health Care 
     Financing Administration (HCFA) will force home health care 
     agencies to collect and report personal and medical 
     information; and
       Whereas, this sensitive personal information will be 
     collected and used, without the consent of the patients, not 
     only to create the new Medicare payment system, but also to 
     improve quality of care, and eliminate fraud; and
       Whereas, home health care agencies participating to 
     Medicare and Medicaid are collecting patient information, and 
     data transmission from the states to HCFA has commenced; and
       Whereas, the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) 
     survey is the 19-page conduit required by HCFA to collect a 
     range of medical and personal questions from more than 9,000 
     Medicare certified home health care providers to complete in 
     order to assess more than 4,000,000 patients; and
       Whereas, patients who receive federal benefits must 
     disclose personal information including physical, mental, and 
     functional information: patients' medical history; living 
     arrangements; sensory status; medications; and emotional 
     status through behavioral and psychological profiles. Home 
     health care patients who do not collect federal benefits must 
     also disclose personal information in a scaled back version 
     of the OASIS survey; and
       Whereas, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asserts 
     that the database will be used to perform outcomes research 
     on home-care patients; and
       Whereas, the ACLU is concerned with HCFA's collection of 
     data because it cannot justify overriding the Fourth 
     Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the requirements of 
     medical ethics, and the federal regulations on research 
     involving human subjects, which asserts that any research 
     using fully identified information requires fully informed 
     consent; and
       Whereas, HCFA is unwilling to allow patients to opt out of 
     this data collection system; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 
     concurring:
       That due to HCFA's intrusion of government bureaucracy into 
     private transactions that take place outside of a federal 
     program into personal liberty and privacy, New Hampshire 
     urges Congress to block HCFA's intrusive regulations, and to 
     work to protect the personal liberty and privacy of every 
     American; and
       That copies of this resolution, signed by the speaker of 
     the house of representatives and the president of the senate, 
     be forwarded by the house clerk to the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, to the President of the 
     United States Senate, and to the governor of each state.
                                  ____

       POM-525. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the 
     Legislature of the State of Michigan relative to Medicare 
     coverage for immunosuppressive drugs; to the Committee on 
     Finance.

                       Senate Resolution No. 153

       Whereas, The medical community has made remarkable 
     advancements in the effectiveness of immunosuppressive drugs 
     that are used to prevent organ rejection in transplant 
     patients. This has contributed to the great strides that have 
     occurred in the field of organ transplantation; and
       Whereas, While these drugs are expensive, the quality of 
     life they afford and the more costly health procedures they 
     can avoid make immunosuppressive medicines a worthwhile 
     investment. In many instances, people previously disabled for 
     long periods of time are able to return to work and live a 
     full life as productive citizens; and
       Whereas, Under current law, Medicare will provide for 
     immunosuppressive drugs for up to three years following a 
     transplant. It has become apparent to those in the medical 
     community working with patients receiving kidneys, hearts, 
     and livers that this limit puts transplant recipients at risk 
     and is counterproductive. In contrast to the limited coverage 
     for the immunosuppressive drugs, for example, a patient 
     needing kidney dialysis can receive coverage for that 
     procedure indefinitely. Costs for dialysis are significantly 
     higher than for most immunosuppressive regimens. A successful 
     transplant patient is more likely to return to work than many 
     dialysis patients; and
       Whereas, Congress is presently considering measures that 
     would extend Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs. 
     This step is a most appropriate response to the needs of 
     transplant patients and a more effective long-term approach 
     to a serious health-care issue; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of 
     the United States to enact legislation to remove the time 
     limit for Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs; and 
     be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-526. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii relative to the responsible use of 
     agricultural biotechnology for the benefit of Hawaii's 
     people; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 37

       Whereas, biotechnology refers to any technique that uses 
     living organisms or parts thereof to make or modify a product 
     or plants, animals, or microorganisms for specific uses; and
       Whereas, traditional biotechnology, primarily breeding and 
     selection, has been used by humankind for thousands of years 
     for the improvement of plants, animals, and microorganisms; 
     and
       Whereas, in the last three decades scientific advances in 
     molecular biology have resulted in what is known as 
     recombinant DNA technology or ``genetic engineering'' with 
     the ability to readily move genetic material between more 
     distantly related organisms; and
       Whereas, the key components of modern biotechnology are 
     genomics, the molecular characterization of all genes and 
     gene products of a species; bioinformatics, the assembly of 
     data from genomic analysis into accessible and usable forms; 
     transformation, the introduction of single genes conferring 
     useful traits into plants, livestock, fish, tree species, 
     etc.; the identification and evaluation of useful traits in 
     breeding by the use of marker-assisted selection; 
     diagnostics, the more accurate and quicker identification of 
     disease-causing agents, or pathogens, by using new diagnostic 
     techniques based on the molecular characterization of 
     pathogens; and vaccine technology, the use of modern 
     immunology to develop recombinant DNA vaccines for improved 
     control against lethal diseases; and
       Whereas, the papaya industry in Hawaii survived the risks 
     of disease and pest infestations with transgenic seeds made 
     possible from advances in biotechnology; and
       Whereas, organisms improved, or ``transformed,'' through 
     modern biotechnology are commonly referred to as 
     ``genetically-modified'' or ``bioengineered organisms''; and
       Whereas, modern biotechnology has several advantages over 
     traditional biotechnology including the ability to transfer 
     a single, specific gene providing a useful trait to a 
     target organism, the more rapid development of varieties 
     containing new and desirable traits, the knowledge that a 
     specific gene or set of genes produce a desired trait, and 
     the availability of the entire span of genetic 
     capabilities among all organisms; and

[[Page S4378]]

       Whereas, modern biotechnology is being used to increase the 
     productivity of crops and livestock, to improve the quality 
     of life by developing new high-yielding crops that require 
     fewer inputs and conserve natural resources, to increase the 
     food supply for a rapidly increasing human population, to 
     produce more nutritious foods with longer shelf lives, and to 
     continue to provide consumers with high-quality, low-cost 
     food products; and
       Whereas, it is estimated that in 1999 about 100 million 
     acres worldwide were planted with transgenic varieties of 
     more than 20 crop species and the value of transgenic crops 
     grew from $75 million in 1995 to $1.64 billion in 1998; and
       Whereas, the National Research Council has stated that 
     bioengineered crops should provide no greater risk to the 
     environment than those crops using traditional biotechnology; 
     and
       Whereas, further advances in modern biotechnology may 
     result in crops, for example, that combat vitamin and mineral 
     deficiencies that afflict hundreds of millions of people 
     worldwide or that can be used to produce life-saving vaccines 
     and biodegradable plastics; and
       Whereas, a 1999 report of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics 
     concluded that there is compelling moral imperative to enable 
     emerging economies to evaluate the use of modern 
     biotechnology to combat hunger and poverty; and
       Whereas, a September 1999 Gallup Poll found that Americans 
     most familiar with modern biotechnology are also the most 
     supportive of its use to improve our food supply and that 
     more than three-fourths of Americans are confident in the 
     federal government to ensure the safety of the nation's food 
     supply; and
       Whereas, federal law requires that all foods and food 
     ingredients, whether produced by traditional or modern 
     biotechnology, must be extensively reviewed for safety by the 
     U.S. Food and Drug Administration and meet the provisions of 
     the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act before they can be 
     sold to consumers; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Twentieth 
     Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, 
     the Senate concurring, supports the responsible use of modern 
     biotechnology to benefit the people of Hawaii, the nation, 
     and the world, and the global environment through high-yield 
     agricultural production requiring the reduced use of farm 
     inputs and acreage; and be it further
       Resolved, that a certified copy of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States, the Vice President of the United States, the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, the members of the 
     Hawaii U.S. Congressional Delegation, the Secretary of the 
     United States Department of Agriculture, the Director of the 
     United States Food and Drug Administration, the Administrator 
     of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the 
     Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Chairperson of the 
     University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and 
     Human Resources, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the 
     American Crop Protection Association, the Western Crop 
     Protection Association, the Responsible Industry for a Sound 
     Environment, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, the Hawaii 
     Food Industry Association, the Hawaii Food Manufacturers 
     Association, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Hawaii 
     Crop Improvement Association, and the Hawaii Agriculture 
     Research Center.
                                  ____

       POM-527. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Kansas relative to amending the Constitution 
     to restrict the ability of the federal judiciary to mandate 
     any state or subdivision thereof to levy or increase taxes; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                  House Concurrent Resolution No. 5059

       Whereas, Unfunded mandates by the United States Congress 
     and the executive branch of the federal government 
     increasingly strain already tight state government budgets if 
     the states are to comply; and
       Whereas, To further compound this assault on state 
     revenues, federal district courts, with the blessing of the 
     United States Supreme Court, continue to order states to levy 
     or increase taxes to supplement their budgets to comply with 
     federal mandates; and
       Whereas, The court's actions are an intrusion into a 
     legitimate legislative debate over state spending priorities 
     and not a response to a constitutional directive; and
       Whereas, The Constitution of the United States of America 
     does not allow, nor do the states need, judicial intervention 
     requiring tax levies or increases as solutions to potentially 
     serious problems; and
       Whereas, This usurpation of legislative authority begins a 
     process that over time could threaten the fundamental concept 
     of separation of powers that is precious to the preservation 
     of the form of our government embodied by the Constitution of 
     the United States of America; and
       Whereas, Fifteen states, including Alabama, Alaska, 
     Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, 
     Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, 
     Tennessee and Utah, have petitioned the United States 
     Congress to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America that reads as follows: ``Neither the 
     Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the United States 
     shall have the power to instruct or order a state or 
     political subdivision thereof, or and official of such state 
     or political subdivision, to levy or increase taxes.'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the State of Kansas, the House of 
     Representatives concurring therein: That the Kansas 
     Legislature respectfully requests and petitions the Congress 
     of the United States to propose submission to the states for 
     their ratification an amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States of America to restrict the ability of the 
     United States Supreme Court or any inferior court of the 
     United States to mandate any state or political subdivision 
     of the state to levy or increase taxes; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of State is hereby directed to 
     send enrolled copies of this section to the President of the 
     United States; the President pro tempore of the United States 
     Senate; the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives; each member of the Kansas Congressional 
     Delegation; each member of the United States Supreme Court 
     and the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit 
     and all federal district court judges for the district of 
     Kansas; and each member of the Kansas Supreme Court and the 
     Kansas Court of Appeals and all Kansas district court judges.

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