[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 80 (Monday, June 11, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6056-S6058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself and Mr. Voinovich):
  S. 1009. A bill to require the provision of information to parents 
and adults concerning bacterial meningitis and the availability of a 
vaccination with respect to such diseases; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senator 
Voinovich to offer legislation on a health issue that is very important 
to parents across the Nation.
  Bacterial meningitis affects 3,000 people across the United States 
each year. Approximately 10 to 13 percent of patients with bacterial 
meningitis die despite receiving antibiotics early in the disease. Of 
those individuals who survive, an additional 10 percent have severe 
aftereffects of the disease, including mental retardation, hearing 
loss, and loss of limbs.
  My bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, to 
develop and make available information about bacterial meningitis. In 
addition, it would make available information about the availability 
and the effectiveness of bacterial meningitis vaccinations for children 
and adults.
  To help prevent these needless deaths, the bill requires the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide this information to a 
list of institutions, including child care centers, schools, 
universities, boarding schools, summer camps, detention facilities, 
and, as determined appropriate by the Secretary any other entity that 
provides housing in a dorm-like setting. This information in turn would 
be provided to both children and adults.
  This will allow parents and others to be more informed about this 
dangerous disease and encourage them to obtain appropriate vaccines.
  I commend the Senator from Ohio for his support on this issue and 
urge other Senators to join us in this effort.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. HELMS (for himself and Mr. Thurmond):
  S. 1010. A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of 
construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of North Carolina; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. HELMS. 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. 1010

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF TIME FOR FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY 
                   COMMISSION PROJECT.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the time period specified 
     in section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) that 
     would otherwise apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
     Commission project number 11437, the Commission may, at the 
     request of the licensee for the project, and after reasonable 
     notice, in accordance with the requirements of that section 
     and the Commission's procedures under that section, extend 
     the time period during which the licensee is required to 
     commence the construction of the project for 3 consecutive 2-
     year periods.
       (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) takes effect on the 
     date of the expiration of the extension issued by the 
     Commission before the date of the enactment of this Act under 
     section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806).
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1011. A bill to provide the financial mechanisms, resource 
protections, and professional skills necessary for high quality 
stewardship of the National Park System and to recognize the importance 
of high quality outdoor recreational opportunities on federally managed 
land; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club 
once said, ``Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people 
are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; 
that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and 
reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating 
rivers, but as fountains of life.''
  As our society becomes increasingly removed from the natural world, 
this prescient statement rings ever more true.
  Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the opportunities that 
our national parks provide for us to reconnect with the magnificent 
natural heritage of our country. The number of visits to national parks 
is soaring, as is use of their diverse resources. While this is good 
news in many ways, it has created a peculiar problem.
  We are loving our parks to death.
  Today, I am joined by my colleague Senator Akaka to introduce the 
National Parks Stewardship Act of 2001. This legislation endeavors to 
address some of the most serious problems facing the national parks 
system today.
  First, the National Parks Stewardship Act ensures that activities in 
parks and on Federal lands adjacent to parks are compatible with the 
conservation and preservation of natural, cultural, and historical 
resources. This legislation also requires the proper preservation of 
historic documents, records, and artifacts, including resources in 
marine environments which may require specialized skills for their 
maintenance.
  The National Parks Stewardship Act also helps the Park Service plan 
for the future by studying visitation and demographic patterns and 
preparing for an increasingly diverse and growing population.
  Second, this legislation provides innovative financing tools to help 
fund operations and maintenance and to address the current maintenance 
backlog. Specifically, the National Parks Stewardship Act proposes a 
non-appropriated funds instrumentalities program and challenge cost 
share projects.
  In addition, the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program would be 
permanently established with the requirement that certain percentages 
of the revenues generated remain available to the park at which they 
were collected. A system of signs would also be established to let park 
visitors know how recreation fees are spent and which projects have 
been completed as a result of this program.
  Finally, the National Parks Stewardship Act establishes a pilot 
program called Professionals for Parks. This program would enable the 
Park Service to recruit prospective employees who have completed 
graduate-level administration and business management programs. 
Furthermore, this legislation creates a student loan payment program to 
entice quality employees to bring their expertise to the Park Service.
  I believe that the Park Service and our national parks are beginning 
a new era. Visits to and enjoyment of our parks will continue to 
increase, and we must enable the Park Service to keep pace with this 
trend. We must encourage sound management of our parks and the vast 
natural and cultural resources they safeguard. We must also encourage 
opportunities for new ways to fund increasing operations and 
maintenance costs. Finally, we must encourage our national parks to 
represent a growing and increasingly diverse population. The National 
Stewardship Act starts us along that path.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Collins):

[[Page S6057]]

  S. 1012. A bill to ensure that children at highest risk for asthma, 
vision, hearing, and other health problems are identified and treated; 
to the Committee on Finance.
 Mr. DURDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Healthy Children Learn Act with my colleague from Maine, Senator 
Collins. This legislation is focused on eliminating some bureaucratic 
barriers that make it more difficult for schools to provide their 
students with health care services, if they so choose.
  Many schools have found that the health of a child can significantly 
affect his or her ability to learn. To enhance children's learning 
ability and to increase the well-being of their students, these schools 
sometimes choose to provide health care service including health care 
screenings.
  One example of a disease that significantly affects children's 
education is asthma. Asthma is the single greatest reason for school 
absenteeism today. Over five million children in America suffer from 
asthma. 49 percent of children with asthma missed school in the last 
year and 48 percent of children with asthma are limited in sports and 
recreation. Lack of physical activity in turn can lead to childhood 
obesity with its concomitant health care problems.
  ``America is in the middle of an asthma epidemic--an epidemic that is 
getting worse, not better.'' So says the PEW Environmental Health 
Commission in its most recent report on asthma. The prevalence of 
asthma continues to rise at astounding rates, in every region of the 
country and across all demographic groups, whether measured by age, 
race or sex.
  My home State of Illinois has some of the highest rates of childhood 
asthma in the country. Unfortunately, Chicago has the highest childhood 
asthma-related death rate in the Nation. Over 60 percent of childhood 
admissions to the emergency room in Chicago are for asthma. This 
disease exacts a very significant toll on children in my State.
  For the next 15 minutes, imagine breathing through a tiny straw the 
size of a coffee stirrer, never getting enough air. Now imagine 
suffering through the process three to six times a day. This is asthma. 
Can a child really concentrate on learning, when he or she is gasping 
for air?
  Due to the very high rates of asthma in Chicago and the effects it 
has on absenteeism and children's ability to learn when at school, the 
Chicago Public Schools, (CPS), have instituted a new asthma screening 
program. At the beginning of this program, they estimated that at least 
40,000 undiagnosed or under-diagnosed cases of asthma existed among 
their students. The school system developed an asthma manual to provide 
a standard plan of care for all students with asthma. They provided 
citywide nurse training so as to develop a uniform, high standard for 
approaching students with asthma and their parents and high-quality 
education about the environmental triggers for asthma and how to lessen 
them, together with education on how to use asthma inhalers. In 1999, 
they identified 12,374 cases of asthma. CPS continues to monitor and 
evaluate this program. They have also partnered with other 
organizations such as the American Red Cross Asthma Program, the 
University of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health 
Asthma Programs. CPS has also developed parent tutoring programs and 
has linked asthmatic children with primary health care providers for 
appropriate follow-up.
  All of these efforts are extremely important but they are resource 
intensive. While the majority of the children in the Chicago Public 
Schools system are eligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health 
Insurance Program, the payment rules for Medicaid make it more 
difficult for CPS to get reimbursed for health screenings. These 
barriers should be removed. Schools that make the extra effort to 
provide their students health care services should be adequately 
reimbursed. When they provide Medicaid-eligible children with Medicaid-
covered services, they should receive appropriate reimbursement for 
those services. Likewise for the S-CHIP program reimbursement should be 
available for covered services for children enrolled or eligible for 
the program.
  This legislation goes further and provides for a $10 million grant 
program for school districts such as CPS to apply for funds for asthma 
screening for those children who are not eligible for either S-CHIP or 
Medicaid. The grants would be targeted to those districts that have the 
highest prevalence or deaths associated with asthma. The legislation 
addresses a barrier to children receiving vital health screenings in 
schools.
  CPS has also found that children's ability to learn is affected by 
impaired vision and hearing. Children with vision deficits are far more 
likely to fail academically. In 1998, CPS found that children who were 
retained failed their school-based vision screening at a rate 50 
percent higher than children who were not failing. Likewise, children 
who have difficulty hearing struggle with language development, social 
processes and communication. This can seriously impair all aspects of 
the educational process. For example, children in Grade 1 with a 25 
decibel hearing loss have a reading and grade equivalence of 2.0 
compared to children without such a loss who on average score 2.3 on 
the same test. Through these programs, CPS has provided over 5,000 free 
eye exams, and 4,000 free pairs of glasses have been dispensed. They 
currently are reimbursed less than 40 percent of the cost of the vision 
and hearing screenings.
  To address some of these funding shortfalls, this legislation creates 
a $10 million grant program for vision and hearing screening and 
clarifies Medicaid payment rules so that schools can be reimbursed when 
they provide a Medicaid covered service to a Medicaid child.
  No child should have his or her education threatened by the lack of 
effective screening to diagnose these health problems. In each case, 
treatments or corrective devices are available to help children and we 
should see to it that the children receive them where necessary. The 
Healthy Children Learn Act will help children get the health care 
services they need so that they can get the educational opportunities 
they deserve.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself and Mr. Lott) (by request):
  S.J. Res. 16. A joint resolution approving the extension of 
nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce 
legislation that would implement a long-awaited bilateral trade 
agreement with Vietnam. This agreement marks another step in the long 
road toward normalizing relations between our two nations. When we pass 
this and other important trade legislation, we send the signal that we, 
as a Nation, are committed to engaging with countries around the globe 
by using our mutual interests as a foundation for working through our 
differences. By fully implementing this agreement, Vietnam will also 
send a clear message that it is interested in continuing, and 
completing, a process of reform and modernization of its economy and 
institutions.
  The Clinton administration signed the bilateral agreement with 
Vietnam on July 13, 2000, after nearly four years of meticulous 
negotiations. Under terms of the agreement, Vietnam will reduce tariffs 
on approximately 250 products, about four-fifths of which are 
agricultural products. My own State of South Dakota will be among the 
beneficiaries of Vietnam's market opening commitments. As the second-
largest producer of sunflower seeds, our farmers will no doubt benefit 
from the slash in duty on this product from the current level of 30 
percent to 10 percent. Exporters of soybeans, furthermore, will see the 
rates drop by half, to only 5 percent.
  In addition to the significant reduction in tariffs on agricultural 
and industrial products, the agreement opens Vietnam to American 
financial, banking and telecommunications services. While the agreement 
does not make Vietnam a member of the World Trade Organization, WTO, a 
number of its provisions bring Vietnam one step closer to compliance 
with WTO accords. Specifically, Vietnam has committed to abide by WTO 
standards regarding customs procedures, import licensing requirements 
and phytosanitary measures. In addition, Vietnam has also agreed to 
follow WTO agreements on

[[Page S6058]]

intellectual property rights, which protect American copyrights, 
patents and trademarks. The same can be said for regulations involving 
American investment there. Hopefully, passage of this bilateral 
agreement will add momentum to Vietnam's bid for full membership in the 
global trading body.
  The United States, in return, has promised to grant Vietnam normal 
trade relations, NTR. The practical effect of this action would be that 
products imported from Vietnam would now be subject to the same level 
of tariffs as products from almost every other country in the world. 
Vietnamese companies would no longer face significant tariff barriers 
to our market. The agreement does include, however, a safeguard 
provision to prevent a surge in Vietnamese imports from injuring our 
own domestic industries.
  The implementing resolution introduced today would fulfill our 
obligation to grant Vietnam normal trade relations. Under this 
legislation, however, Vietnam's trading status would still be subject 
to annual Congressional review. The legislation is in no way a 
permanent extension of such treatment. This is due to the so-called 
Jackson-Vanik provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, which allow for an 
annual review by Congress of an extension of normal trade relations to 
any non-market economy country, such as Vietnam.
  Specifically, the Jackson-Vanik amendment mandates that a non-market 
economy country's access to American markets is conditioned on their 
completion of a bilateral commercial agreement with the United States 
and their policies on freedom of emigration. According to the statute, 
a non-market economy country like Vietnam must sign an agreement with 
the United States extending nondiscriminatory treatment to our 
products. In other words, they must grant normal trade relations to the 
United States. Access to our markets is further contingent on their 
policies on freedom of emigration. If the President determines that 
such policies meet certain standards, or that a waiver of the Jackson-
Vanik provisions would, in fact, encourage further liberalization of 
their emigration policies, only then can the United States grant these 
countries normal trade relations.
  President Clinton first waived Jackson-Vanik provisions with respect 
to Vietnam in 1998 on the basis that such action would promote further 
liberalization of its emigration policies. The waiver has been extended 
every year since then. But since Vietnam does not currently have a 
bilateral agreement with the United States, and therefore does not 
receive normal trade relations, the waiver simply allows for the U.S. 
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, OPIC, and the U.S. Export-
Import Bank to support U.S. businesses exporting to and/or operating 
there. The legislation I am introducing today would grant normal trade 
relations to Vietnam, meeting the second requirement of Jackson-Vanik, 
and therefore allow the market opening agreement to take effect.
  The Presidential waiver of Vietnam's treatment under Jackson-Vanik 
has never been disapproved by Congress. In fact, support for the waiver 
has grown substantially in both chambers. Last year, for instance, 330 
members of the House voted in favor of the waiver's extension and a 
bill disapproving the President's waiver was voted down by 94 Senators. 
I am confident that such action indicates strong support by Members of 
Congress for passage of this agreement.
  I am encouraged that President Bush has sent the agreement to 
Congress for final approval. Indeed, last month, I signed a letter 
urging him to do so as soon as possible. This is an important 
agreement, and today we are taking the first step towards swift Senate 
consideration.

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