[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 25, 2003)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D291-D293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                            Tuesday, March 25, 2003

[[Page D291]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S4333-S4395
Measures Introduced: Ten bills and two resolutions were introduced, as 
follows: S. 698-707, S. Res. 97, and S. Con. Res. 29.
  Pages S4375-76
Measures Reported:
  S. 15, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the 
payment of compensation for certain individuals with injuries resulting 
from the administration of smallpox countermeasures, to provide 
protections and countermeasures against chemical, radiological, or 
nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the 
United States, and to improve immunization rates by increasing the 
distribution of vaccines and improving and clarifying the vaccine 
injury compensation program, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute.
Page S4375
Congressional Budget Resolution: Senate resumed consideration of S. 
Con. Res. 23, setting forth the congressional budget for the United 
States Government for fiscal year 2004 and including the appropriate 
budgetary levels for fiscal year 2003 and for fiscal years 2005 through 
2013, taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto:
Adopted:
  By 96 yeas to 1 nay (Vote No. 80), Frist (for Specter) Amendment No. 
401, to increase discretionary health spending for fiscal year 2004 by 
$2,800,000,000 and make an offsetting reduction in overall 
administrative expenses.
Page S4334
  Levin Amendment No. 372, to end the abusive use of offshore tax 
havens (ending tax advantages for corporate inversions and closing the 
Bermuda reinsurance loophole) and use half of the resulting revenues of 
$4.7 billion over ten years to reduce the deficit and half to restore 
funding for education, with the education increases to be split evenly 
between IDEA, school construction and modernization, and after-school 
programs.
Pages S4337-39
  Reid Amendment No. 341, to increase new budget authority and outlays 
for National Defense (050) in order to permit phased-in concurrent 
receipt of retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for 
veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 60 percent or 
higher.
Pages S4339-40
  Gregg Amendment No. 414, to provide $2 billion for education block 
grants to states to be allocated to local educational agencies for any 
of the purposes of the No Child Left Behind Act, Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, or Vocational Education Programs by 
reducing spending on other government programs by a commensurate 
amount.
Page S4343
  Nickles (for Campbell/Murkowski) Amendment No. 416, to make certain 
additional funds available for Native American health prevention and 
treatment programs.
Pages S4347-48
  By 51 yeas to 48 nays (Vote No. 93), Breaux Amendment No. 420, to 
redirect $396 billion into a reserve fund to strengthen the Social 
Security trust funds over the long term.
Page S4356
  Feingold Amendment No. 422, to extend the pay-as-you-go requirement. 
                                                         Pages S4357-58
  Murray Amendment No. 421, to increase funding to implement the No 
Child Left Behind Act in 2004.
Page S4358
  Dorgan Amendment No. 395, to increase budget authority and outlays in 
Function 450 (Community and Regional Development) and Function 500 
(Education, Training, Employment, and Social Security) to establish a 
New Homestead Venture Capital Fund to make equity and near equity 
investments in start-up and expanding businesses located in high out-
migration rural counties and to repay up to 50% of college loans (up to 
$10,000) for recent graduates who live and work in such counties for 
five years, respectively; and to express the sense of the Senate that 
any economic stimulus or other revenue measure passed by Congress in 
the future should include tax incentives designed to address the 
devastating problem of chronic out-migration from rural communities in 
America's Heartland.
Pages S4358-59
  Kennedy Amendment No. 357, to increase the funds provided to expand 
coverage for the uninsured from the $50 billion currently included in 
the budget resolution to the $88 billion recommended in the President's 
budget and offset the cost by reducing the unreconciled portion of the 
tax cut.
Pages S4360-61

[[Page D292]]


  Lugar Amendment No. 400, to increase spending in the foreign affairs 
account.
Pages S4363-65
  Schumer Amendment No. 285, to express the sense of the Senate that 
economic stimulus legislation enacted pursuant to the instructions 
contained in this concurrent resolution on the budget should include 
provisions to make higher education affordable.
Pages S4367-68
  By 51 yeas to 48 nays (Vote No. 102), Cantwell Amendment No. 382, to 
restore funding for programs under the Workforce Investment Act of 
1998.
Page S4369
  DeWine Amendment No. 354, to express the sense of the Senate 
concerning funding for children's graduate medical education. 
                                                             Page S4369
  DeWine Amendment No. 355, to express the sense of the Senate that the 
programs authorized under the Crime Identification Technology Act of 
1998 to improve the justice system will be fully funded at the levels 
authorized for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2007.
Page S4370
  Nickles (for Hatch/Levin) Amendment No. 427, to express the sense of 
the Senate that of the functional totals in this resolution assume that 
up to $20,000,000 from funds designated, but not obligated, for travel 
and administrative expenses, from drug interdiction activities should 
be used for drug addiction treatment programs that utilize substances 
that block the craving for heroin and that are newly approved for such 
use by the Food and Drug Administration.
Pages S4370-71
Rejected:
  By 46 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 81), Daschle (for Lincoln) Amendment 
No. 324, to allow full access to Tricare for National Guard and Reserve 
personnel and their families on a continual basis, offset with 
reductions to the tax cut.
Pages S4335-36
  By 46 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 82), Baucus Amendment No. 348, to 
ensure that a prescription drug benefit is available to all Medicare 
beneficiaries on an equal basis, including those who choose to remain 
in the current fee-for-service program.
Page S4336
  By 43 yeas to 56 nays (Vote No. 83), Conrad Amendment 411, in the 
nature of a substitute.
Page S4337
  By 46 yeas to 52 nays (Vote No. 84), Byrd Amendment No. 412, to 
foster greater debate in the Senate and to prevent further increases in 
the deficit by striking the reconciliation instructions to the 
Committee on Finance.
Page S4341
  By 48 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 85), Kennedy Amendment No. 315, to 
ensure that the budget includes funds to extend temporary unemployment 
compensation benefits, provides benefits to the million long-term 
unemployed Americans, and provides benefits to part-time and low-wage 
workers.
Page S4343
  By 48 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 86), Dodd Amendment No. 415, to 
increase funding for after-school programs to the levels promised by 
the No Child Left Behind Act to serve 1.6 million more children in FY 
2004 and to increase funding for Head Start to serve 80 percent of 
eligible 3- and 4-year-olds and increase the number of infants and 
toddlers served and for deficit reduction.
Pages S4346-47
  By 48 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 87), Daschle Amendment No. 361, to 
fulfill the U.S. commitment to provide health care to American Indians 
and Alaska Natives.
Page S4347
  By 47 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 88), Leahy Amendment No. 318, to 
increase the level of funding in fiscal year 2004 for first responders 
by $3,000,000,000 (to a total of $6,500,000,000) to support their 
efforts to protect homeland security and prevent and respond to acts of 
terrorism, and to reduce tax reductions for taxpayers with annual 
incomes greater than $300,000, and provide an additional $3,000,000,000 
for deficit reduction.
Page S4349
  By 49 yeas to 49 nays (Vote No. 89), Harkin Amendment No. 396, to 
help rural health care providers and hospitals receive a fair 
reimbursement for services under Medicare by reducing tax cuts to the 
wealthiest income brackets.
Pages S4350-51
  By 49 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 90), Bingaman Amendment No. 417, to 
increase Mandatory Child Care Spending by $4.6 billion over five years 
and $9.1 billion over ten years by reducing the tax cut.
Page S4352
  By 48 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 91), Dodd Amendment No. 419, to 
increase the budget authority for Federal ``FIRE Act'' grants and to 
express the sense of the Senate that from the total funding provided 
for Federal ``FIRE Act'' grants, not less than $1,000,000,000 per year 
will be used for grants to local governments to hire additional 
firefighters and not less than $750,000,000 per year for the purchase 
of firefighting equipment and training, and to provide for a reduction 
in the deficit.
Page S4353
  By 49 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 92), Clinton Amendment No. 418, to 
raise the caps and provide direct first responder funding to localities 
and for high threat areas through the Department of Homeland Security's 
Office of Domestic Preparedness in 2003 and 2004, to restore funding 
for the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Act 
(''Byrne Grant'' program) and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant 
Program, and to reduce the

[[Page D293]]

deficit, by reducing the size of newly proposed tax cuts.
Page S4355
  By 48 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 94), Bunning Amendment No. 413, to 
repeal a 1993 tax increase on Social Security benefits.
Page S4357
  By 42 yeas to 57 nays (Vote No. 95), Carper Amendment No. 330, in the 
nature of a substitute.
Page S4357
  By 47 yeas to 52 nays (Vote No. 96), Corzine Amendment No. 423, to 
provide increased funding for environmental protection and natural 
resources conservation.
Page S4360
  By 43 yeas to 56 nays (Vote No. 97), Lautenberg Amendment No. 408, to 
require polluters to pay for the cleanup of toxic waste sites by 
reinstating the original Superfund taxes.
Page S4362
  By 49 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 98), Clinton/Bingaman Amendment No. 
424, to restore funding for vocational education to the fiscal year 
2003 level for fiscal years 2004 through 2013.
Page S4363
  By 46 yeas to 53 nays (Vote No. 99), Harkin Amendment No. 425, to 
restore education funding.
Page S4366
  By 37 yeas to 62 nays (Vote No. 100), Kerry Amendment No. 397, to 
provide for a $150 billion revenue stimulus for fiscal years 2003 and 
2004 without adding to the long-term debt.
Page S4367
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  By 49 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 101), 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 the Bayh Amendment No. 426, to express the 
sense of the Senate on low income programs and the income tax on 
certain Social Security benefits. Subsequently, a point of order that 
the amendment was in violation of section 305(b)(2) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was sustained, and the amendment thus 
fell.
Page S4368
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the resolution at 11:30 a.m., on Wednesday, March 26, 
2003.
Page S4394
Appointments:
  United States-China Economic Security Review Commission: The Chair, 
on behalf of the President pro tempore, pursuant to Public Law 106-398, 
as amended by Public Law 108-7, in accordance with the qualifications 
specified under section 1237(E) of Public Law 106-398, and upon the 
recommendation of the Democratic Leader, in consultation with the 
ranking members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the 
Senate Committee on Finance, appointed the following individuals to the 
United States-China Economic Security Review Commission: C. Richard 
D'Amato of Maryland, for a term expiring December 31, 2005; Patrick A. 
Mulloy of Virginia, for a term expiring December 31, 2004; and William 
A. Reinsch of Maryland, for a term expiring December 31, 2003. 
                                                             Page S4394
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  Confirmed on Monday, March 24, 2003:
  Gregory A. White, to be United States Attorney for the Northern 
District of Ohio for the term of four years.
  Thomas Dyson Hurlburt, Jr., to be United States Marshal for the 
Middle District of Florida for the term of four years.
  Christina Pharo, to be United States Marshal for the Southern 
District of Florida for the term of four years.
  Dennis Arthur Williamson, to be United States Marshal for the 
Northern District of Florida for the term of four years.
  Richard Zenos Winget, to be United States Marshal for the District of 
Nevada for the term of four years.
Page S4331 (Record of 3-24-03)
Executive Communications:
  Page S4375
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S4376-78
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
  Pages S4378-4382
Additional Statements:
  Pages S4374-75
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S4382-94
Record Vote: Twenty-three record votes were taken today. (Total--102) 
    Pages S4334-37, S4341, S4343, S4346-47, S4349-53, S4355-57, S4360, 
                                                     S4362-63, S4366-69
Adjournment: Senate met at 9:30 a.m., and adjourned at 6:28 p.m., until 
10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, March 26, 2003. (For Senate's program, see 
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S4394.)