[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 93 (Friday, June 29, 2001)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D661-D662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                              Friday, June 29, 2001

[[Page D661]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed Patients' Bill of Rights.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S7127-7291
Measures Introduced: Twenty bills and eight resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 1138-1157,
S. Res. 118-123, and S. Con. Res. 57-58.                 
  Pages S7193-94
Measures Reported:
  H.R. 2217, making appropriations for the Department of the Interior 
and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 107-36) 
                                                             Page S7193
Measures Passed:
  Patients' Bill of Rights: By 59 yeas to 36 nays (Vote No. 220), 
Senate passed S. 1052, to amend the Public Health Service Act and the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to protect consumers in 
managed care plans and other health coverage, after taking action on 
the following amendments proposed thereto:               
  Pages S7127-85
Adopted:
  By a unanimous vote of 98 yeas (Vote No. 208), Santorum Amendment No. 
814, to protect infants who are born alive.              
Pages S7127-28
  By a unanimous vote of 98 yeas (Vote No. 209), DeWine Modified 
Amendment No. 842, to limit class actions to a single plan. 
                                                  Pages S7127, S7128-29
  By a unanimous vote of 98 yeas (Vote No. 213), Thompson Modified 
Amendment No. 819, to require the exhaustion of administrative remedies 
before a claimant goes to court.                  
Pages S7127, S7132-33
  Nickles Amendment No. 850, to apply the patient protection standards 
to Federal health benefits programs.              
Pages S7128, S7142-45
  Ensign Modified Amendment No. 849, to provide for genetic 
nondiscrimination.                         
Pages S7128, S7135, S7161-62
  Thompson Amendment No. 853, to clarify the law which applies in a 
State cause of action.                               
Pages S7160, S7162
  Warner Further Modified Amendment No. 833, to limit the amount of 
attorneys' fees in a cause of action brought under this Act. 
                                           Pages S7127, S7155-57, S7162
  Reid (for Kennedy/Gregg) Amendment No. 860, to make technical and 
conforming amendments.                                       
Page S7185
Rejected:
  Nickles Amendment No. 846, to apply the bill to plans maintained 
pursuant to collective bargaining agreements beginning on the general 
effective date. (By 54 yeas to 44 nays (Vote No. 211), Senate tabled 
the amendment.)                                          
Pages S7130-31
  Ensign Amendment No. 848, to provide that health care professionals 
who provide pro bono medical services to medically undeserved or 
indigent individuals are immune from liability. (By 52 yeas
to 46 nays (Vote No. 212), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                           Pages S7128, S7131-32, S7135
  Allard Amendment No. 821, to exempt small employers from causes of 
action under the Act. (By 55 yeas to 43 nays (Vote No. 215), Senate 
tabled the amendment.)                         
Pages S7138-42, S7145-46
  Craig Amendment No. 851, to express the sense of the Senate regarding 
making medical savings accounts available to all Americans. (By 53 yeas 
to 45 nays (Vote No. 216), Senate tabled the amendment.) 
                                                         Pages S7146-49
  Santorum Modified Amendment No. 841, to dedicate 75 percent of any 
awards of civil monetary penalties allowed under this Act to a Federal 
trust fund to finance refundable tax credits for uninsured individuals 
and families. (By 50 yeas to 46 nays (Vote No. 217), Senate tabled the 
amendment.)                                              
Pages S7149-54
  By 42 yeas to 54 nays (Vote No. 218), Kyl Amendment No. 854, to 
permit choices in costs and damages.           
Pages S7164-67, S7172-73

[[Page D662]]


  By 36 yeas to 59 nays (Vote No. 219), Frist/Beaux Amendment No. 856, 
in the nature of a substitute.                    
Pages S7167-72, S7173
Withdrawn:
  Brownback Amendment No. 847, to prohibit human germline gene 
modification.                              
Pages S7128, S7131, S7133-35
  Reid Amendment No. 852, to limit the amount of attorneys' fees in a 
cause of action brought under this Act.           
Pages S7157-60, S7162
  Carper Amendment No. 855, to disallow punitive damages.    
Page S7163
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 46 yeas to 52 nays (Vote No. 210), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected the motion to waive the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 with 
respect to consideration of Grassley Amendment No. 845, to strike 
provisions relating to customs user fees and Medicare payment delay. 
Subsequently, a point of order that the amendment was in violation of 
section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was sustained, 
and the amendment thus fell.                      
Pages S7127, S7129-30
  By 57 yeas to 41 nays (Vote No. 214), Senate sustained a point of 
order that Smith (OR) Modified Motion to Commit to the Committee on 
Finance with instructions to report the bill back to the Senate with an 
amendment, is a motion that affects revenues on a bill originating in 
the Senate, and not in the House of Representatives as prescribed by 
the United States Constitution; therefore, the motion is not in order 
under the Constitution.                           
Pages S7136-38, S7145
  107th Congress Reorganization: Senate agreed to S. Res. 120, relative 
to the organization of the Senate during the remainder of the 107th 
Congress.                                         
  Pages S7258, S7285-87
  Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Senate agreed to S. 
Res. 123, amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to change the name 
of the Committee on Small Business to the ``Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship''.                              
  Pages S7261, S7287
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  Neal A. McCaleb, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary of the 
Interior.
  4 Air Force nominations in the rank of general.
  7 Army nominations in the rank of general.
  1 Marine Corps nomination in the rank of general.
  2 Navy nominations in the rank of admiral.
  Routine lists in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy. 
                                                             Page S7291
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Henrietta Holsman Fore, of Nevada, to be Director of the Mint for a 
term of five years.
  Marion Blakey, of Mississippi, to be Chairman of the National 
Transportation Safety Board for a term of two years.
  Marion Blakey, of Mississippi, to be a Member of the National 
Transportation Safety Board for a term expiring December 31, 2005.
  Jim Nicholson, of Colorado, to be Ambassador to the Holy See.
  Charlotte L. Beers, of Texas, to be Under Secretary of State for 
Public Diplomacy.
  Dennis L. Schornack, of Michigan, to be Commissioner on the part of 
the United States on the International Joint Commission, United States 
and Canada.
  Randal Quarles, of Utah, to be United States Executive Director of 
the International Monetary Fund for a term of two years.
  Carol D'Amico, of Indiana, to be Assistant Secretary for Vocational 
and Adult Education, Department of Education.
  Judith Elizabeth Ayres, of California, to be an Assistant 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  George McDade Staples, of Kentucky, to be Ambassador to the Republic 
of Cameroon, and to serve concurrently and without additional 
compensation as Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
  1 Navy nomination in the rank of admiral.
  Routine lists in the Army, Navy.                       
Pages S7289-91
Executive Communications:                                
  Pages S7191-93
Statements on Introduced Bills:                       
  Pages S7195-S7252
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S7194-95
Amendments Submitted:                                    
  Pages S7262-83
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S7190-91
Notices of Hearings:                                         
  Page S7283
Privilege of the Floor:                                      
  Page S7284
Record Votes: Thirteen record votes were taken today. (Total--220) 
                    Page S7128-33, S7145-46, S7149, S7154, S7173, S7185
Adjournment: Senate met at 9 a.m., and pursuant to the provisions of H. 
Con. Res. 176, adjourned at 8:59 p.m., until 12 noon, on Monday, July 
9, 2001. (For Senate's program, see the remarks of the Majority Leader 
in today's Record on page S7289.)