[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 135 (Tuesday, October 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10449-S10451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 340--AFFIRMING THE IMPORTANCE OF A NATIONAL DAY OF 
 PRAYER AND FASTING, AND DESIGNATING NOVEMBER 27, 2002, AS A NATIONAL 
                       DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING

  Mr. SANTORUM (for himself and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                              S. Res. 340

       Whereas the President has sought the support of the 
     international community in responding to the threat of 
     terrorism, violent extremist organizations, and states that 
     permit or host organizations that are opposed to democratic 
     ideals;
       Whereas a united stance against terrorism and terrorist 
     regimes will likely lead to an increased threat to the armed 
     forces and law enforcement personnel of those states that 
     oppose these regimes of terror and that take an active role 
     in rooting out these enemy forces;

[[Page S10450]]

       Whereas Congress has aided and supported a united response 
     to acts of terrorism and violence inflicted upon the United 
     States, our allies, and peaceful individuals all over the 
     world;
       Whereas President Abraham Lincoln, at the outbreak of the 
     Civil War, proclaimed that the last Thursday in September 
     1861 should be designated as a day of humility, prayer, and 
     fasting for all people of the Nation;
       Whereas it is appropriate and fitting to seek guidance, 
     direction, and focus from God in times of conflict and in 
     periods of turmoil;
       Whereas it is through prayer, self-reflection, and fasting 
     that we can better examine those elements of our lives that 
     can benefit from God's wisdom and love;
       Whereas prayer to God and the admission of human 
     limitations and frailties begins the process of becoming both 
     stronger and closer to God;
       Whereas becoming closer to God helps provide direction, 
     purpose, and conviction in those daily actions and decisions 
     we must take;
       Whereas our Nation, tested by civil war, military 
     conflicts, and world wars, has always benefited from the 
     grace and benevolence bestowed by God; and
       Whereas dangers and threats to our Nation persist and in 
     this time of peril, it is appropriate that the people of the 
     United States, leaders and citizens alike, seek guidance, 
     strength, and resolve through prayer and fasting: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates November 27, 2002, as a day for humility, 
     prayer, and fasting for all people of the United States; and
       (2) recommends that all people of the United States--
       (A) observe this day as a day of prayer and fasting;
       (B) seek guidance from God to achieve greater understanding 
     of our own failings;
       (C) learn how we can do better in our everyday activities; 
     and
       (D) gain resolve in how to confront those challenges which 
     we must confront.
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  SENATE RESOLUTION 341--DESIGNATING THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2002, AS 
                       ``FEED AMERICA THURSDAY''

  Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
Kennedy, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. 
Wyden, Mr. Warner, Mr. Nickles, Ms. Stabenow, and Mrs. Lincoln) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 341

       Whereas Thanksgiving Day celebrates the spirit of selfless 
     giving and an appreciation for family and friends;
       Whereas the spirit of Thanksgiving Day is a virtue upon 
     which our Nation was founded;
       Whereas 33,000,000 Americans, including 13,000,000 
     children, continue to live in households that do not have an 
     adequate supply of food;
       Whereas almost 3,000,000 of those children experience 
     hunger; and
       Whereas selfless sacrifice breeds a genuine spirit of 
     Thanksgiving, both affirming and restoring fundamental 
     principles in our society: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate
       (1) designates Thursday, November 21, 2002, as ``Feed 
     America Thursday''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to sacrifice 2 
     meals on Thursday, November 21, 2002, and to donate the money 
     that they would have spent on food to a religious or 
     charitable organization of their choice for the purpose of 
     feeding the hungry.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 153--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
  THAT THERE SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AN ANNUAL NATIONAL VISITING NURSE 
                           ASSOCIATIONS WEEK

  Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                            S. Con. Res. 153

       Whereas visiting nurse associations are nonprofit home 
     health agencies that, for over 120 years, have been united in 
     their mission to provide cost-effective and compassionate 
     home and community-based health care to individuals, 
     regardless of the individuals' condition or ability to pay 
     for services;
       Whereas there are approximately 500 visiting nurse 
     associations, which employ more than 90,000 clinicians, 
     provide health care to more than 4,000,000 people each year, 
     and provide a critical safety net in communities by 
     developing a network of community support services that 
     enable individuals to live independently at home;
       Whereas visiting nurse associations have historically 
     served as primary public health care providers in their 
     communities, and are today one of the largest providers of 
     mass immunizations in the medicare program (delivering over 
     2,500,000 influenza immunizations annually);
       Whereas visiting nurse associations are often the home 
     health providers of last resort, serving the most chronic of 
     conditions (such as congestive heart failure, chronic 
     obstructive pulmonary disease, AIDS, and quadriplegia) and 
     individuals with the least ability to pay for services (more 
     than 50 percent of all medicaid home health admissions are by 
     visiting nurse associations);
       Whereas any visiting nurse association budget surplus is 
     reinvested in supporting the association's mission through 
     services, including charity care, adult day care centers, 
     wellness clinics, Meals-on-Wheels, and immunization programs;
       Whereas visiting nurse associations and other nonprofit 
     home health agencies care for the highest percentage of 
     terminally ill and bedridden patients;
       Whereas thousands of visiting nurse association volunteers 
     across the Nation devote time serving as individual agency 
     board members, raising funds, visiting patients in their 
     homes, assisting in wellness clinics, and delivering meals to 
     patients; and
       Whereas the establishment of an annual National Visiting 
     Nurse Associations Week for the second full week of every 
     February would increase public awareness of the charity-based 
     missions of visiting nurse associations and of their ability 
     to meet the needs of chronically ill and disabled individuals 
     who prefer to live at home rather than in a nursing home, and 
     would spotlight preventive health clinics, adult day care 
     programs, and other customized wellness programs that meet 
     local community need: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that there 
     should be established an annual National Visiting Nurse 
     Associations Week.
  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague from 
Wisconsin, Senator Russ Feingold, in introducing a bill to establish an 
annual National Visiting Nurse Associations Week in honor of this army 
of health care heroes who are dedicated to service in the ultimate 
caring profession.
  The Visiting Nurse Associations, VNAs, of today are founded on the 
principle that the sick, the disabled and the elderly benefit most from 
health care when it is offered in their own homes. Home care is an 
increasingly important part of our health care system today. The kinds 
of highly skilled, and often technically complex, services that the 
VNAs provide have enabled millions of our most frail and vulnerable 
patients to avoid hospitals and nursing homes and stay just where they 
want to be, in the comfort and security of their own homes.
  Visiting Nurse Associations are non-profit home health agencies that 
provide cost-effective and compassionate home and community-based 
health care to individuals, regardless of their condition or ability to 
pay for services. VNAs literally created the profession and practice of 
home health care more than one hundred years ago, at a time when there 
were no hospitals in many communities and patients were cared for at 
home by families who did the best they could. VNAs made a critical 
difference to these families, bringing professional skills into the 
home to care for the patient and support the family. They made a 
critical difference in the late 19th century, and are making a critical 
difference now as we embark upon the 21st.
  VNAs were pioneers in the public health movement, and, in the late 
1800s, VNA responsiveness meant milk banks, combating infectious 
diseases, and providing care for the poor during massive influenza 
epidemics. Today, that same responsiveness means caring for the 
dependent elderly, the chronically disabled, the terminally ill, and 
providing high-tech services previously provided in hospitals, such as 
ventilator care, blood transfusions, pain management and home 
chemotherapy.
  Health care has gone full circle. Patients are spending less time in 
the hospital. More and more procedures are being done on an outpatient 
basis, and recovery and care for patients with chronic diseases and 
conditions has increasingly been taking place in the home. Moreover, 
the number of Americans who are chronically ill or disabled in some way 
continues to grow each year. Once again, VNAs are making a critical 
difference, providing comprehensive home health services and caring 
support to patients and their families across the country.
  Through these exceptional organizations, 90,000 clinicians dedicate 
their lives to bringing health care into the homes of over four million 
Americans every year. VNAs are truly the heart of home care in this 
country today, and it is time for Congress to recognize the

[[Page S10451]]

vital services that visiting nurses provide to their patients and their 
families. I urge my colleagues to join Senator Feingold and me in 
cosponsoring this resolution establishing an annual National Visiting 
Nurse Associations' Week.

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