[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S13868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 3448

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to H.R. 3448, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3448) to improve the ability of the United 
     States to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism 
     and other public health emergencies.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to proceeding to the 
measure at this time?
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. I shall not object. I thank my colleague from West 
Virginia for his patience and tolerance, and also my colleague from 
Nevada for his assistance in moving this forward, as well as Senator 
Daschle and Senator Lott. And I congratulate Senator Frist and Senator 
Kennedy for the work they have done in putting together this bipartisan 
Bioterrorism Preparedness Act.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to proceeding to this 
measure at this time?
  Without objection, the Senate will proceed to the measure.
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say also that the Senator from West 
Virginia and I worked very hard on homeland security, which featured a 
lot of these matters in this legislation that will quickly be approved. 
And it was real money. This is not; this is an authorization. I am glad 
we are going to get this, but it would have been better had we done 
Senator Byrd's bill and mine.
  Mr. President, I understand Senators Frist, Kennedy, and Gregg have a 
substitute amendment at the desk, which is the text of S. 1765. I ask 
unanimous consent that the amendment be considered and agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that the bill, as amended, 
be read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object. I do not know 
what this bill is about.
  Mr. REID. Did the Senator from West Virginia hear my statement I just 
made?
  Mr. BYRD. I could hardly hear anything, as a matter of fact.
  Mr. REID. What I did say, I say to Senator Byrd, is that this is the 
authorization on which Senators Kennedy and Frist have worked. And I 
did say that the legislation you offered--with me being second in 
charge of that legislation--was real money, appropriated money, which 
would have done these things that this only authorizes. I am glad this 
is going to be authorized, but it is too bad we are not here 
celebrating real money for the people.
  Mr. BYRD. I object to this bill. I object to this being considered at 
this time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my consent to 
lay this bill down be vitiated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I will just state to my friend and 
colleague from West Virginia, he is very much my friend, and I know he 
has a Defense appropriations speech, and I look forward to hearing his 
comments on that, and then I look forward to working with him to kind 
of show him some of the provisions on which Senators Frist, Kennedy, 
and Gregg, and others have worked. I believe there are 75 or more 
cosponsors on this bill. I think it is a good bill, a bipartisan bill, 
strongly supported by both sides.
  I will work with my colleague from West Virginia to acquaint him with 
that. I hope and expect we can pass it a little later this afternoon.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Dayton). Under the previous order, the 
Senator from West Virginia is recognized.

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