[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1598-S1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE SENATE AND LOOKING AHEAD

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before wrapping up, I will look back, very

[[Page S1599]]

briefly--which I tend to do right before we go into a recess--and also 
look forward, very briefly.
  Let me summarize the last 3 weeks as being gratifyingly productive. I 
say that because last Thursday, by a vote of 72 to 26, the Senate 
passed the Class Action Fairness Act. The process was bipartisan 
throughout. It was a great legislative victory for the Senate and, 
subsequently, for the House of Representatives, which passed the bill 
today. Soon the President will sign this very important issue that 
addresses lawsuit abuses.
  Senator Grassley, who was the lead sponsor of the bill, had been 
working on class action reform for over a decade. Last week, we finally 
delivered. I commend my colleagues for their fairness and their 
cooperation.
  I applaud also Senator Arlen Specter, who has not been with us the 
last couple of days, but I talked to him a few minutes ago, and he is 
doing very well. I applaud him for his leadership because it was 
through his committee, the Judiciary Committee, that class action was 
first addressed and brought to the floor, again, with a bipartisan 
vote, and ultimately passed. I thank Senator Specter for his tremendous 
leadership.
  Building on the momentum of the class action bill, we passed the 
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act today, not too long ago, with 
a vote of 98 to 0. I once again thank Senator Olympia Snowe, who was 
the lead sponsor of that legislation and has been one of its leading 
champions for many years. It was a bipartisan piece of legislation, 
obviously, with a vote of 98 to 0.

  On the other side of the aisle, Senator Kennedy, and on our side of 
the aisle, Senator Gregg and Senator Mike Enzi--all of them have been 
thanked over the course of the day. I thank them. And I thank the 
Democratic leader, as well, Senator Reid, for facilitating passage of 
this important piece of legislation.
  When this bill becomes the law of the land, it will prevent health 
insurers from what can be very tempting for an unscrupulous health 
insurer, and that would be to reach down and grab information that is 
important to a patient but that information could be used against the 
patient.
  It will prevent insurers from charging higher premiums based on the 
results of genetic testing. It will also prohibit employers from 
potentially using genetic information when considering hiring or firing 
somebody or considering job promotions.
  This bill, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, is a model 
of how again we can lead today on tomorrow's problems. As the science 
advances, genetic tests will be used with increasing frequency, and the 
likelihood, without this bill, would be for abuse of this genetic 
information. It is hugely powerful for the patient, but if misused, 
detrimental to the patient. This legislation addresses that potential 
problem right up front and prevents that from happening.
  Over the last 3 weeks, we also confirmed the last of the President's 
Cabinet nominees. We approved Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State, 
Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, Samuel Bodman to lead the Energy 
Department, and Michael Chertoff as head of the Department of Homeland 
Security.
  Earlier today, the President announced his selection of John 
Negroponte to serve as the Director of National Intelligence. We had 
the opportunity last night to have a presentation, an exchange of 
information, with Ambassador Negroponte, who is serving us so well 
today in Iraq.
  Ambassador Negroponte, as Director of National Intelligence, will be 
responsible for revamping and integrating America's 15 intelligence-
gathering services. As the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and the United 
Nations, he has proven his ability to manage complicated organizations 
and tackle the difficult challenges we face today under intense 
pressure.
  He understands the needs of policymakers, and he understands how the 
executive branch works. I look forward to his swift confirmation. I 
look forward, personally, to working with Ambassador Negroponte in the 
weeks and months ahead. I hope we will be able to consider his 
confirmation process in the very near future.
  The Senate has spoken out on some of the most important issues of the 
day as well: the Iraqi elections, the Palestinian elections, the 
assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
  When we return from our short recess--and, again, most people will be 
going back to their States in order to be with their constituents over 
the next week--we will continue keeping our eye on events at home as 
well as abroad. We will return after our recess to look at issues such 
as bankruptcy, which we will address as soon as we come back. We will 
address the supplemental the President has delivered to us. And, of 
course, we will be addressing the budget as well.
  As I promised when we began the 109th Congress, it is our job to 
deliver meaningful solutions on the challenges that are ahead.
  It is our duty and our privilege to keep America moving forward.

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