[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 120 (Thursday, September 22, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S10392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the Senate does continue to make steady 
progress on the business of the American people. We are hard at work 
funding the basic obligations of Government.
  Today, we passed the Military Construction Appropriations Act. The 
Military Construction appropriations bill funds the entire Department 
of Veterans Affairs along with the construction of all five branches.
  It provides for cancer research and funding for our VA hospitals, 
along with covering the cost of our treasured national monuments. I 
congratulate Senators Hutchison and Feinstein for accomplishing 
consideration and passage of that bill in a single day. It took the 
cooperation of a lot of Members and proves that we can go quickly 
through the appropriations process. Again, I thank both of them.
  This morning we also passed with near unanimous support the 
Agriculture appropriations bill. I thank Senator Bennett and Senator 
Kohl for their tremendous work and leadership on this important bill. 
The Agriculture bill targets spending on the needs of rural America, 
while also maintaining funding for essential food assistance programs. 
The bill is particularly important to farmers in States all across the 
country, but in particular I want to comment on my home State.
  It provides $2 million for Appalachian Horticultural Research, a 
collaborative project between the USDA and the University of Tennessee 
to help trees fight and resist disease; about $955,000 for research 
into the best way to protect soil and water quality on farms which can 
suffer from heavy erosion; nearly $40 billion for the very successful 
Boll Weevil Eradication Program which will help cotton farmers continue 
to combat this destructive pest.
  These programs, along with major funding for USDA's rural development 
programs and housing services, are helping farm areas around the 
country continue to feed America and, indeed, continue to help feed the 
world.
  Last week we also passed a third appropriations bill, the Commerce-
Justice-Science bill. In addition to funding basic Government business, 
it includes significant Katrina-related measures. More than 350,000 
families have been made homeless by the Katrina disaster. The CJS bill 
provides Federal housing assistance of up to $600 per family per month 
for up to 6 months to get these families back on their feet. I commend 
my colleagues for remaining focused on the appropriations process so 
that we can also meet our responsibilities to the victims of Katrina. 
We have extraordinary challenges before us, and we are working hard to 
deliver meaningful relief in the gulf region in a fiscally responsible 
way.
  We moved quickly in the initial days to allocate appropriate funding. 
We also lifted the burden of student loans for those displaced from 
colleges and universities. We made sure that FEMA had funding to cover 
their national flood insurance obligations, and we passed legislation 
to get the Federal courts back on track in the regions affected. Since 
then, we passed aggressive tax relief to encourage charitable giving 
and to help hurricane victims rebuild their homes, restore their 
possessions, find housing, and find jobs. All of this is only the first 
step. There will be more. Helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina 
recover and rebuild is a monumental undertaking, an undertaking this 
body is focused on. We understand the absolutely critical importance of 
doing this in a fiscally responsible way, with full accountability and 
full transparency. This is America. America is up to the challenge. The 
Senate will continue to do its work moving forward in this regard.

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