[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4623-S4624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         STYMIEING LEGISLATION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, on the first cloture vote dealing with 
prescription drugs, I think probably I have said enough to indicate my 
displeasure and disappointment with what has happened this week, for 
our inability to proceed on something that is so basic to the security 
of this Nation, the Intelligence authorization bill, which deals with 
our espionage efforts, our ability to collect intelligence from around 
the world. That was stopped on a strict party-line vote because the 
Vice President didn't want that. So that is enough said on that.
  On the prescription drug issue, when all else fails I think we should 
look at common sense. What we are asking is that Medicare be able to 
negotiate for lower prices in the purchase of drugs for senior 
citizens. This is opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance 
industry, and HMOs because they have a sweetheart deal. They can 
negotiate for lower prices but Medicare can't.
  You can throw around all the statistics you want, it is not going to 
lower prices. I call upon our common sense. Doesn't it make sense that 
Medicare should be able to compete with these HMOs and negotiate for 
lower price drugs? Of course. That is why AARP and dozens of other 
organizations that care about seniors, not about profits, are on the 
side of moving forward on this legislation. I hope there will be 
Senators on the other side of the aisle who will step up and allow us 
to move forward on this legislation.
  Finally, it is hard to comprehend, but in addition to not being able 
to move forward on the issues relating to intelligence, and probably on 
prescription drug negotiations, we have been

[[Page S4624]]

stymied in being able to bring forward a bill on court security. I hope 
it is just a small minority of Senators on the other side holding up 
this bill. We have had violence in courtrooms all over America. In 
Reno, NV, a disgruntled man did not like what a judge was doing on a 
divorce proceeding. He drove to a garage with his high-powered, deer-
hunting rifle and fired, at almost 200 yards, through the window of the 
judge's chambers. The shot did not kill him but badly wounded him.

  We know what happened in Atlanta, GA, with someone who was in 
cahoots, basically, with one of the violent prisoners. As a result of 
that, people were killed.
  In Illinois, a disgruntled litigant waited in the judge's home, and 
when the father and one of the children came home, he killed them both.
  This legislation dealing with court security is extremely important. 
We just had this terrible incident in Blacksburg, VA, indicating how 
prone this country is to violence. This legislation dealing with court 
security allows grants to States to beef up the security in courtrooms. 
It will allow bulletproof glass, as should have been in the judge's 
chambers in Reno, NV, and metal detectors. It would allow jurisdictions 
to obtain metal detectors. It would limit what Federal judges have to 
list in their various personal papers. It would not be possible, if 
this legislation passes, for some disgruntled defendant, witness, or 
whatever the case might be, to go to the Internet and find out where 
the judge lives, as happened in Illinois. They would not have to 
disclose personal information like that. They would not have to 
disclose the jobs of family members so one of these violence-prone 
people could go to someone's place of business and hurt and injure a 
child or loved one of one of these judges who make difficult decisions.
  This legislation is important to allow us to better understand and 
protect against disgruntled litigants. It increases the penalties for 
people who do these bad things, who harass prosecutors, judges, and 
witnesses.
  It is very important legislation, and we should have already 
completed it. But here we are. We are going to have to move to proceed 
to it. Once--I hope--cloture is invoked, then we have 30 hours to wait 
before we get onto the bill. It would be a shame that we have to waste 
the time of our country, time that could be spent on valuable 
legislation that could be done here in this Chamber, waiting to move 
forward because of people not wanting to legislate.

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