[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1361-S1362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND A LOOK AHEAD

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will take just a few moments at the 
beginning of today to comment on last week and a brief look ahead.
  Last Thursday, the Senate achieved its first legislative victory, a 
bipartisan victory of the 109th session. By a vote of 72 to 26, the 
Senate passed the Class Action Fairness Act. The process was that we 
worked together across the aisle from beginning to end. The bill was 
introduced with 32 cosponsors, 24 Republicans and 8 Democrats. It came 
out of the Judiciary Committee on a strong bipartisan vote. Every vote 
on every amendment was bipartisan, and the vote on final passage was 
strongly bipartisan as well.
  I stress the bipartisanship because in the 109th Congress we have a 
lot to do, and it is going to demand that we continue to work together 
in that same spirit. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
for their fairness and cooperation. We have delivered to the American 
people a significant victory in the battle for fairness in the courts.
  The class action bill does protect plaintiffs' rights while reining 
in the rampant abuse within the system itself. The consumer bill of 
rights protects plaintiffs from predatory lawyers and guarantees that 
they receive just compensation. The legislation restores justice to our 
court system by ending that practice of forum shopping, where we had 
nationwide cases that genuinely impact interstate commerce being moved 
to the Federal courts where they belong.
  It took a while to have this success last week. Senator Grassley, who 
was

[[Page S1362]]

the lead sponsor on the bill, has been working on this for over a 
decade, and versions of this bill passed through the Judiciary 
Committee in each of the last two Congresses. In 2003, it came within 
one vote of passage. Finally, because of the continuing work of both 
sides of the aisle, people came together to recognize the intent was 
right, the legislation at different points could be improved, it was 
improved, and then we had relatively quick passage of it. The House 
will be addressing the bill shortly. Then hopefully we can have a bill 
to the President of the United States to be signed into law for the 
benefit of the American people.
  Also, at the beginning of last week, on Monday, we passed a 
resolution commending the Iraqi people on their January 30 elections. 
As we saw over the weekend, those elections were finalized and, in 
terms of the final reports, again, it is a great victory for freedom 
and liberty throughout the world. It was an extraordinary event, and it 
was fitting that we came together on this floor to celebrate and 
commend the process and the results in those elections.
  It was in the midst of terrorist blasts and terrorist threats that 8 
million Iraqi voters streamed to over 5,000 polling stations to express 
that influence, that power and dignity that comes with voting. The 
various pictures that we all saw of families bringing their sons and 
daughters so that they could witness this moment in history is 
something that captures us all.
  As I mentioned, over the weekend the votes were tallied of the 8.5 
million people voting. For the first time in decades the Iraqi people 
have been able to speak and to speak freely--and they were heard, as we 
saw with the outcome. It is a transformation that is fundamental. It is 
a fundamental transformation of power from the people, instead of over 
the people. This has renewed a sense of momentum and optimism and hope.

  The process, as we see, continues to unfold with negotiations going 
on as to who will be part of the Presidential Council. Again, looking 
from afar, from where we sit it is very encouraging to see the various 
coalitions working with each other, Shiites working with the Sunnis and 
working with other minority parties, all working together to fashion 
this government. It is an exciting time for the Iraqi people and all 
who watch.
  Jumping ahead, today we will, as I mentioned in my opening statement, 
vote on the nomination of Judge Michael Chertoff to lead the Department 
of Homeland Security. We have heard much about the judge, both in 
committee and then on the floor yesterday, and we will over the course 
of today. He has a long and distinguished career in public service and 
law enforcement. In the mid-1980s he was an assistant U.S. attorney 
alongside Rudy Giuliani. He aggressively prosecuted mob and political 
corruption cases. He then went on to become New Jersey's U.S. attorney, 
where he oversaw high-profile and politically sensitive prosecutions in 
Jersey City, actually prosecuting the mayor of Jersey City, Mayor 
Gerald McCann, New York chief judge Sol Wachtler, and the kidnappers 
and killers of Exxon oil executive Sidney Reso. Fearless and scrupulous 
as a prosecutor, he became known not only for his legal brilliance but 
also for his skills as a manager and leader.
  We all saw that take real meaning after 9/11. For the 20 hours after 
that worst ever attack on American soil, Judge Chertoff was central in 
directing our response. It was through his work as Chief of the Justice 
Department's Criminal Division that they traced the 9/11 killers back 
to al-Qaida, a central focus. We are indebted for all these things to 
his strong and unwavering leadership.
  For the next 2 years Judge Chertoff was the key figure shaping our 
antiterrorism policies. His experience working directly with law 
enforcement, his expertise in homeland security policy, and his proven 
ability to lead in times of national crisis make him overwhelmingly 
qualified to direct our Homeland Security Department.
  He earned unanimous approval in committee last week, with one member 
voting ``present.'' I am confident that today Judge Chertoff, who has 
already been confirmed by this body three times, will receive 
overwhelming, strong bipartisan support. He is an outstanding candidate 
and we all look forward to working with him in his new capacity.
  Another matter of security, a different type of security, which I 
hope we will be addressing this week--I mentioned it also a little 
earlier--is the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act. This is the security of 
information about us that can be used to give us health care security. 
It is a bill that many of us on the floor have been working on 
aggressively over the last 7, 8 years. The bill, the Genetic 
Nondiscrimination Act, is just that. The bill is designed to protect 
Americans from having valuable genetic health information abused or 
misused by others--for example, being used against them to get health 
insurance coverage or being used in some way to discriminate 
against them for a future job. This whole field of genetic testing and 
genetic information has blossomed, in part because of a wonderful 
public-private project that was over about a 10-year period called the 
Human Genome Project. This explosion of information has introduced 
these genetic tests that can have--and it is early, they are early--but 
they do have the potential for having great predictive value regarding 
what disease or illness you might have later in life, and would allow 
you to prevent that, to take preventive measures if that is the case.

  Right now, scientists tell us most Americans have about a half dozen 
potentially harmful genetic mutations. That is a statement that will 
change a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, as we learn 
more and more about it, but the point of this bill is that people run 
the risk of losing their jobs or not being promoted or not being able 
to get an insurance policy based on getting this test which could be of 
so much benefit to them. We need to prevent it, and we need to do it 
now, instead of waiting until it becomes a huge problem in the future.
  One study in 2003 found that 40 percent of people at risk for colon 
cancer refused to participate in a screening exam, many citing the fear 
that the results might in some way cause them to lose their health 
insurance. That means they don't get this test. If they don't get the 
test, they lose the potential benefit to their own health and health 
security in the future. The knowledge of genetic risk has the power to 
save lives. As we look at tests that are early, and they are just being 
proven--the tests for heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, a host 
of other diseases--there is great hope in these genetic tests becoming 
a powerful tool. The legislation we are considering this week is 
intended to make sure genetic testing is used as a tool to help and not 
hurt. I hope we will be able to pass that bill so that medical science 
does deliver a meaningful solution and keeps America moving forward.
  I yield the floor.

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