Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 116 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)

[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 116 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9615-S9624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. OBAMA:
S. 1818. A bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to phase
out the use of mercury in the manufacture of chlorine and caustic soda,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public
Works.
Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, today I reintroduce legislation initially
inspired by an indepth report published in late 2005 by the Chicago
Tribune that highlighted the extent of mercury contamination in the
fish eaten by the American people.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause serious developmental
problems in children, ranging from severe birth defects to mental
retardation. As many as 630,000 children born annually in the U.S. are
at risk of neurological afflictions related to mercury. In adults,
mercury can cause problems affecting vision, motor skills, blood
pressure and fertility. As many as 10 percent of women in the U.S. of
childbearing age have mercury in their blood at a level that could put
a baby at risk.
Sampling conducted by the Tribune showed surprisingly high levels of
mercury concentrations in freshwater and saltwater fish purchased by
Chicago area consumers, fish like tuna, swordfish, orange roughy, and
walleye. The Tribune also reported on how existing programs at the Food
and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have
failed to adequately test and evaluate mercury levels in fish.
For all Americans, especially pregnant women and other at-risk
groups, there are risks to eating fish with high mercury levels. That
is why we need to work harder to get at the root causes of mercury
contamination. In the short term, some have proposed strategies that
include eating less fish, or issuing consumption advisories, or
printing labels on tuna cans, or posting placards at the supermarket.
Each of those strategies have their respective merits, but if we are
really serious about making fish safer to eat, we need to actually
reduce the amount of mercury in fish, and that means reducing the
amount of mercury used in industry.
When policymakers focus on addressing mercury sources, often coal-
fired power plants and incinerators are at the top of the list. I think
it is important that we not overlook other sources, however, where new
policies could yield notable mercury reductions in the short term using
methods that are achievable and affordable. One such source is the
chlor-alkali industry.
Chlor-alkali facilities manufacture chlorine gas and caustic soda,
important chemicals that serve as the building blocks of many of the
products and plastics essential to modem everyday life. For more than
100 years, mercury has been a key component in the chlorine process.
Since 1974, however, about 115 plants worldwide have converted to
better technologies such as membrane and diaphragm cells. Today in the
U.S. more than 90 percent of the chlor-alkali industry has switched
from using mercury to using these alternative catalysts. Moreover, of
the 8 plants in the U.S. that still use mercury, 3 are in the process
of stopping. The remaining 5, however, have made no such commitment. It
is also worth noting that in 2005 alone, the 5 uncommitted mercury
using plants released more than 4,400 pounds of mercury into the air,
on average four times the average mercury releases of a standard coal-
fired power plant.
The time has come to finish these upgrades and end the use of mercury
in the chlor-alkali process, especially since these remaining plants
rank among the largest mercury emitters in their respective states.
The bill I introduce today, the Missing Mercury in Manufacturing
Monitoring and Mitigation Act, or M5 Act, prohibits using mercury cells
in the chlorine or caustic soda manufacturing process by the year 2012.
The M5 Act also puts procedures in place by mid-year 2008 to track and
report mercury input and output in the chlor-alkali industry. The
evidence suggests that between 2000 and 2004, the industry could not
account for more than 130 tons of mercury. The EPA calls this ``an
enigma.'' The M5 Act addresses this enigma by tightening up mercury
tracking requirements. My bill also establishes an advisory committee
to study and recommend methods for transfer and long-term storage of
mercury from closed or closing facilities. And the bill directs the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Register to conduct a health
assessment at those facilities that still use mercury after 2008.
It is important to point out that there are alternatives to mercury
in the chlor-alkali process, more than 100 plants worldwide have
converted to better technologies. We also know that these alternatives
are not cost-prohibitive. Statistics compiled in a recent report by the
group Oceana demonstrate that conversion costs are substantially
similar to the cost of the continued use of mercury, for example, the
cost of waste disposal, treatment, monitoring, fines, and higher energy
consumption associated with using the old technology.
If there were simply no alternatives to mercury for this industry, if
other technologies had not been proven on a commercial scale, or if
switching from mercury was simply too expensive, then I could
understand if there were strong arguments against this legislation. But
here we actually have a situation where mercury use could actually be
phased out within a rather short period of time, improving the health
of children and families. So the choice is whether we want to wait
another decade and hope that improvements happen, or whether we want to
ensure that mercury is phased out beginning today. I hope my colleagues
will choose the latter, and I urge their support of this bill.
______

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer):
S. 1820. A bill to better provide for compensation for certain
persons injured in the course of employment at the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory in California; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to
enable hundreds of former Santa Susana Field Laboratory workers or
their survivors

[[Page S9616]]

to receive compensation for illnesses caused by exposure to radiation
and other toxic substances.
These benefits have long been denied them due to flaws in the Energy
Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Act of 2000.
This bill fulfills the intent of Congress when it approved the act,
providing compensation and care for nuclear program workers who
suffered severe health problems caused by on-the-job exposure to
radiation.
Specifically, this bill will provide a special status designation,
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act, to
Santa Susana Field Laboratory employees, so they can receive the
benefits they deserve.
The bill would extend the ``special exposure cohort'' status to
Department of Energy employees, Department of Energy contract
employees, or atomic weapons employees who worked at the Santa Susana
Field Laboratory for at least 250 days prior to January 1, 2006.
This revision will provide the act's benefits to any of those workers
who contracted a radiation-linked cancer due to their employment at the
Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
Workers at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory played a significant
role in keeping our Nation secure during the Cold War. They helped
develop our nuclear weapons program, a cornerstone of our national
defense.
Sadly, many workers of this era were exposed to radiation on a
regular basis. But the records are incomplete and inaccurate. Some
records show only estimated levels of exposure for workers, and are
imprecise. In other cases, if there were records kept, they can't be
found today.
Many Santa Susana Field Laboratory workers were not aware of the
hazards at their workplace. Remarkably, no preventative equipment like
respirators, gloves, or body suits were provided to workers.
More than 600 claims for compensation have been filed by Santa Susana
Field Lab workers. Mr. President, 90 percent of those have been denied
due to lack of documentation, or inability to prove exposure
thresholds.
Santa Susana Field Lab workers and their families now face the burden
of having to reconstruct exposure scenarios that existed more than 40
years ago, in most cases with no documentation.
The case of my constituent, Betty Reo, provides a stunning example of
why this legislation is necessary.
Ms. Reo's husband, Cosmo Reo, worked at the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory as an instrumentation mechanic from April 18, 1957, until
May 17, 1960. Cosmo worked in the rocket testing pits and was exposed
to hydrazine, trichlorethylene and other cancer-causing chemicals which
attack the lungs, bladder and kidneys.
Cosmo died of renal failure in 1980. Ms. Reo applied for benefits
under the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Act. She
has been trying to reconstruct the exposure scenarios under which her
husband worked, but without adequate documentation, which is virtually
nonexistent, she has repeatedly been denied benefits.
This bill would help people like Betty Reo.
I urge my colleagues to join me in correcting these injustices and
cutting through the ``red tape'' that prevents Santa Susana Field
Laboratory workers, and their families, from receiving fair
compensation.
For many, such as Ms. Reo, time is running out. We can no longer
afford to delay, and this bill provides a straightforward solution to
fix a broken system.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1820

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF MEMBER OF SPECIAL EXPOSURE COHORT.

(a) In General.--Section 3621(14) of the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42
U.S.C. 7384l(14)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(D) The employee was so employed for a number of work
days aggregating at least 250 work days before January 1,
2006, by the Department of Energy or a Department of Energy
contractor or subcontractor at the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory in California.''.
(b) Reapplication.--A claim that an individual qualifies,
by reason of section 3621(14)(D) of the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (as
added by subsection (a) of this Act), for compensation or
benefits under such Act shall be considered for compensation
or benefits notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for
compensation with respect to such individual.
______

By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. Bond):
S. 1823. A bill to set the United States on track to ensure children
are ready to learn when they begin kindergarten; to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, supporting our children and early
childhood education are critical to keeping America competitive. Today
I am pleased to introduce the Ready to Learn Act, legislation that will
help families in New York and across the country by preparing children
for kindergarten. I am pleased my colleague Senator Bond, a long-time
leader in early childhood development, has partnered with me in
introducing this essential legislation.
Since my time as a law student, I have worked to spread information
about the importance of care and education for our children, especially
our youngest children. It is critical that we provide them with every
possible opportunity to learn, grow, and develop early on, not just
once they start kindergarten, but before they arrive. This is a cause I
have believed in and fought for over the past 35 years, as an advocate,
a lawyer, First Lady, a Senator, and most important of all, as a
mother.
The Ready to Learn Act will help prepare children for kindergarten by
providing funding for States to establish high-quality early learning
programs to promote school readiness for four-year-olds in their State.
States will apply for funding through a competitive process to
establish and administer voluntary preschool programs; this legislation
will allow governors to build on pre-existing early childhood systems.
Schools, child care entities, Head Start programs, or other community
providers of pre-kindergarten programs are all eligible for funding.
To ensure high-quality programs that properly prepare children to be
ready to learn, State plans will require qualified teachers, a
developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate early
learning curriculum and support for professional development.
Research has shown the early years are critical in a child's
development and that pre-kindergarten education offers benefits that
extend through the first years of school and beyond. Children who
attend high-quality pre-k programs are less likely to be held back a
grade or to need special education, and they are more likely to
graduate from high school. They also have higher earnings as adults and
are less likely to become dependent on welfare or involved in crime.
While some parents can afford high-quality pre-kindergarten
opportunities for their children, so many hard working families simply
can't. As a result, in today's current education system, it is not
unusual for children to arrive at kindergarten already behind their
peers. Nearly 50 percent of all kindergarten teachers report that at
least half of their students come to school with problems that hinder
their success. One in every six kindergartners needs specialized one-
on-one tutoring or special instruction in a small group. Each year,
more than 200,000 children repeat kindergarten.
Back when I was First Lady, I hosted a White House Conference on
Early Childhood Development and Learning, where expert after expert
emphasized the importance of these early years. A child who arrives at
kindergarten ready to learn has a far greater chance of excelling, not
only in his or her early years, but far into his academic career.
Studies show that children who learn the names and sounds of letters
before entering kindergarten are 20 times more likely to read simple
words by the end of kindergarten than children who enter kindergarten
not knowing the letters of the alphabet. Children who do not know their
letters prior to kindergarten too often fail to catch up with their
peers who do. Eighty-eight percent of children who

[[Page S9617]]

are poor readers in first grade remain poor readers by the fourth
grade. Children who are not at least modestly skilled readers by the
end of third grade are unlikely to graduate from high school.
Like many of my colleagues, I have seen what happens when we invest
in our children. We already know that for every one dollar we spend on
early childhood education, we reap seven dollars as a society. I have
seen what happens when caring adults come together and make the
commitment to ensuring that our children can fulfill their God-given
potential.
I saw it back in Arkansas when we brought HIPPY to America to teach
parents how they could educate their children. We taught them about the
importance of reading to their children, and using household objects to
teach basic lessons.
I have seen it in visiting Head Start programs where children were
learning to read, learning to count and solve problems, learning to
share and interact with others and thrive in a structured environment.
We are seeing it around the country in States that have already
started investing in early childhood programs. The Ready to Learn Act
will support and build on that success.
Supporting our children and early childhood education are critical to
keeping America competitive. It is my hope that my colleagues will join
Senator Bond and I in supporting this important legislation.
______

By Mr. OBAMA:
S. 1824. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
establish a Hospital Quality Report Card Initiative under the Medicare
program to assess and report on health care quality in hospitals; to
the Committee on Finance.
Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Hospital
Quality Report Card Act, a quality-focused initiative that will
actively engage all relevant stakeholder groups--patients, providers,
administrators, and payers--and increase availability of information
about the quality of health care services in local hospitals and health
systems.
We know that overall performance in our Nation's hospitals can vary
tremendously, and is mediocre at best in many institutions. The
academic literature has documented serious issues in health care
quality for treatment of a number of conditions, including cardiac
arrhythmias, hip replacements, and alcohol dependence to name just a
few. But discussions of health care quality are not limited to academic
exercises; patients and their families experience medical errors and
substandard hospital care every day. Just last month, the L.A. Times
reported an extreme case involving Ms. Edith Isabel Rodriguez. Ms.
Rodriguez, a 43-year old American woman with a perforated bowel,
suffered an excruciating and possibly preventable death, after lying
unattended on the floor of an emergency room for 45 minutes. Our
Nation's hospitals can do better and must do better.
One step towards improving health care quality is collecting,
analyzing, and reporting on health care quality, using measures that
have been developed, validated, and accepted by the medical community.
Not only will such measures assist hospitals by identifying problem
areas and facilitating monitoring for improvement, but the transparency
through public reporting will also help consumers and payers make
informed decisions about where to obtain health services.
The Hospital Quality Report Card Act grants the Secretary of Health
and Human Services the power to collect hospital information related to
the staffing levels of nurses and health professionals, the
accreditation of hospitals, the quality of care for vulnerable
populations, the availability of specialty services and intensive care
units, hospital acquired infections, measures of crowding in emergency
rooms, and other indicators of quality care. This information--focused
on health care effectiveness, safety, timeliness, efficiency, patient-
centeredness, and equity--will be electronically accessible to the
public. The report card initiative builds upon current work at the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as initiatives in a
number States including my own home State of Illinois. I am proud to
report that I was the primary sponsor of the Illinois Hospital Report
Card Act that passed into law in 2003 and took effect in 2004.
Our Nation's reputation of having one of the best health care systems
in the world needs to be restored, and this won't happen until we can
assure the American people that our hospitals are doing a better job
offering top-notch quality care. The Hospital Quality Report Card
Initiative will help by expanding and reporting quality measurement,
which will provide an incentive for hospitals to do better and valuable
information to patients and consumers. I ask that you support the
Hospital Quality Report Card Act and help my efforts to pass this
legislation.
______

By Mr. WEBB (for himself, Mrs. McCaskill, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Casey, Mr. Tester, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Levin, Mr. Carper, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Kerry, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Obama, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Harkin, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Dodd, and Ms. Landrieu):
S. 1825. A bill to provide for the study and investigation of wartime
contracts and contracting processes in Operation Iraqi Freedom and
Operation Enduring Freedom, and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
Therebeing no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1825

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Commission on Wartime
Contracting Establishment Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY AND INVESTIGATION OF WARTIME CONTRACTS AND
CONTRACTING PROCESSES IN OPERATION IRAQI
FREEDOM AND OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM.

(a) Commission on Wartime Contracting.--
(1) Establishment.--There is hereby established a
commission to be known as the ``Commission on Wartime
Contracting'' (in this subsection referred to as the
``Commission'').
(2) Membership matters.--
(A) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 8
members, as follows:
(i) 2 members shall be appointed by the Majority Leader of
the Senate, in consultation with the Chairmen of the
Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(ii) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, in consultation with the Chairmen
of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives.
(iii) 1 member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of
the Senate, in consultation with the Ranking Minority Members
of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(iv) 1 member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives, in consultation with the
Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Armed Services
and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives.
(v) 1 member shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Defense.
(vi) 1 member shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.
(B) Deadline for appointments.--All appointments to the
Commission shall be made not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(C) Chairman and vice chairman.--
(i) Chairman.--The chairman of the Commission shall be a
member of the Commission selected by the members appointed
under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A), but only if
approved by the vote of a majority of the members of the
Commission.
(ii) Vice chairman.--The vice chairman of the Commission
shall be a member of the Commission selected by the members
appointed under clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (A),
but only if approved by the vote of a majority of the members
of the Commission.
(3) Duties.--
(A) General duties.--The Commission shall study and
investigate the following matters:
(i) Federal agency contracting for the reconstruction of
Iraq and Afghanistan.
(ii) Federal agency contracting for the logistical support
of coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom.

[[Page S9618]]

(iii) Federal agency contracting for the performance of
security and intelligence functions in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
(B) Scope of contracting covered.--The Federal agency
contracting covered by this paragraph includes contracts
entered into both in the United States and abroad for the
performance of activities described in subparagraph (A),
whether performed in the United States or abroad.
(C) Particular duties.--In carrying out the study under
this paragraph, the Commission shall assess--
(i) the extent and impact of the reliance of the Federal
Government on contractors to perform functions (including
security, intelligence, and management functions) in
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom;
(ii) the performance of the contracts under review, and the
mechanisms used to manage the performance of the contracts
under review;
(iii) the extent of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement
under such contracts;
(iv) the extent to which those responsible for such waste,
fraud, abuse, or mismanagement have been held financially or
legally accountable; and
(v) the appropriateness of the organizational structure,
policies, and practices of the Department of Defense and the
Department of State for handling contingency contract
management and support.
(4) Reports.--
(A) Interim report.--Not later than one year after the date
of the appointment of all of the members of the Commission
under paragraph (2), the Commission shall submit to Congress
an interim report on the study carried out under paragraph
(3), including the results and findings of the study as of
that date.
(B) Other reports.--The Commission may from time to time
submit to Congress such other reports on the study carried
out under paragraph (3) as the Commission considers
appropriate.
(C) Final report.--Not later than two years after the date
of the appointment of all of the members of the Commission
under paragraph (2), the Commission shall submit to Congress
a report on the study carried out under paragraph (3). The
report shall--
(i) include the findings of the Commission;
(ii) identify lessons learned on the contracting covered by
the study; and
(iii) include specific recommendations for improvements to
be made in--

(I) the process for developing contract requirements for
wartime contracts and contracts for contingency operations;
(II) the process for awarding contracts and task orders for
wartime contracts and contracts for contingency operations;
(III) the process for managing and providing oversight for
the performance of wartime contracts and contracts for
contingency operations;
(IV) the process for holding contractors and their
employees accountable for waste, fraud, abuse, or
mismanagement under wartime contracts and contracts for
contingency operations;
(V) the process for determining which functions are
inherently governmental and which functions are appropriate
for performance by contractors in an area of combat
operations (including an area of a contingency operation),
including a determination whether the use of civilian
contractors to provide security in an area of combat
operations is a function that is inherently governmental;
(VI) the organizational structure, policies and practices
of the Department of Defense and the Department of State
handling contract management and support for wartime
contracts and contracts for contingency operations; and
(VII) the process by which roles and responsibilities with
respect to wartime contracts and contracts for contingency
operations are distributed among the various departments and
agencies of the Federal Government, and interagency
coordination and communication mechanisms associated with
wartime contracts and contracts for contingency operations.

(5) Other powers and authorities.--
(A) Hearings and evidence.--The Commission or, on the
authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or member
thereof, may, for the purpose of carrying out this
subsection--
(i) hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and
places, take such testimony, receive such evidence,
administer such oaths; and
(ii) subject to subparagraph (B)(i), require, by subpoena
or otherwise, require the attendance and testimony of such
witnesses and the production of such books, records,
correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents,

as the Commission or such designated subcommittee or
designated member may determine advisable.
(B) Subpoenas.--
(i) Issuance.--

(I) In general.--A subpoena may be issued under
subparagraph (A) only--

(aa) by the agreement of the chairman and the vice
chairman; or
(bb) by the affirmative vote of 5 members of the
Commission.

(II) Signature.--Subject to subclause (I), subpoenas issued
under this subparagraph may be issued under the signature of
the chairman or any member designated by a majority of the
Commission, and may be served by any person designated by the
chairman or by a member designated by a majority of the
Commission.

(ii) Enforcement.--

(I) In general.--In the case of contumacy or failure to
obey a subpoena issued under clause (i), the United States
district court for the judicial district in which the
subpoenaed person resides, is served, or may be found, or
where the subpoena is returnable, may issue an order
requiring such person to appear at any designated place to
testify or to produce documentary or other evidence. Any
failure to obey the order of the court may be punished by the
court as a contempt of that court.
(II) Additional enforcement.--In the case of any failure of
any witness to comply with any subpoena or to testify when
summoned under authority of subclause (I) or this subclause,
the Commission may, by majority vote, certify a statement of
fact constituting such failure to the appropriate United
States attorney, who may bring the matter before the grand
jury for its action, under the same statutory authority and
procedures as if the United States attorney had received a
certification under sections 102 through 104 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 192 through 194).

(C) Access to information.--The Commission may secure
directly from the Department of Defense and any other
department or agency of the Federal Government any
information or assistance that the Commission considers
necessary to enable the Commission to carry out the
requirements of this subsection. Upon request of the
Commission, the head of such department or agency shall
furnish such information expeditiously to the Commission.
Whenever information or assistance requested by the
Commission is unreasonably refused or not provided, the
Commission shall report the circumstances to Congress without
delay.
(D) Personnel.--The Commission shall have the authorities
provided in section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, and
shall be subject to the conditions set forth in such section,
except to the extent that such conditions would be
inconsistent with the requirements of this subsection.
(E) Detailees.--Any employee of the Federal Government
employee may be detailed to the Commission without
reimbursement from the Commission, and such detailee shall
retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her
regular employment without interruption.
(F) Security clearances.--The appropriate departments or
agencies of the Federal Government shall cooperate with the
Commission in expeditiously providing to the Commission
members and staff appropriate security clearances to the
extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and
requirements, except that no person shall be provided with
access to classified information under this section without
the appropriate security clearances.
(G) Violations of law.--
(i) Referral to attorney general.--The Commission may refer
to the Attorney General any violation or potential violation
of law identified by the Commission in carrying out its
duties under this subsection.
(ii) Reports on results of referral.--The Attorney General
shall submit to Congress a report on each prosecution and
conviction that results from a referral made under this
subparagraph.
(6) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the
date that is 60 days after the date of the submittal of its
final report under paragraph (4)(C).
(7) Contingency operation defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``contingency operation'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
(b) Investigation of Waste, Fraud, Abuse, and
Mismanagement.--
(1) In general.--The Special Inspector General for Iraq
Reconstruction shall, in collaboration with the Inspector
General of the Department of Defense, the Inspector General
of the Department of State, and the Inspector General of the
United States Agency for International Development and in
consultation with the Commission on Wartime Contracting
established by subsection (a), conduct a series of audits to
identify potential waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in
the performance of--
(A) Department of Defense contracts and subcontracts for
the logistical support of coalition forces in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; and
(B) Federal agency contracts and subcontracts for the
performance of security, intelligence, and reconstruction
functions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring
Freedom.
(2) Scope of audits of contracts.--Each audit conducted
pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall focus on a specific
contract, task order, or site of performance under a contract
or task order and shall examine, at a minimum, one or more of
the following issues:
(A) The manner in which requirements were developed.
(B) The procedures under which the contract or task order
was awarded.
(C) The terms and conditions of the contract or task order.
(D) The contractor's staffing and method of performance,
including cost controls.
(E) The efficacy of Department of Defense management and
oversight, Department of State management and oversight, and
United States Agency for International Development management
and oversight, including the adequacy of staffing and
training

[[Page S9619]]

of officials responsible for such management and oversight.
(F) The flow of information from the contractor to
officials responsible for contract management and oversight.
(3) Scope of audits of other contracts.--Each audit
conducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) shall focus on a
specific contract, task order, or site of performance under a
contract or task order and shall examine, at a minimum, one
or more of the following issues:
(A) The manner in which the requirements were developed and
the contract or task order was awarded.
(B) The manner in which the Federal agency exercised
control over the contractor's performance.
(C) The extent to which operational field commanders are
able to coordinate or direct the contractor's performance in
an area of combat operations.
(D) The extent to which the functions performed were
appropriate for performance by a contractor.
(E) The degree to which contractor employees were properly
screened, selected, trained, and equipped for the functions
to be performed.
(F) The nature and extent of any incidents of misconduct or
unlawful activity by contractor employees.
(G) The extent to which any incidents of misconduct or
unlawful activity were reported, documented, investigated,
and (where appropriate) prosecuted.
(4) Continuation of special inspector general.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 3001(o) of the
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for
the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 (Public Law
108-106; 5 U.S.C. App. 8G note), the Office of the Special
Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction shall not terminate
until the date that is 60 days after the date of the
submittal under paragraph (4)(C) of subsection (a) of the
final report of the Commission on Wartime Contracting
established by subsection (a).
(B) Reaffirmation of certain duties and responsibilities.--
Congress reaffirms that the Special Inspector General for
Iraq Reconstruction retains the duties and responsibilities
in sections 4 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App. 4; relating to reports of criminal violations to the
Attorney General) and section 5 of the Inspector General Act
of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 5; relating to reports to Congress) as
expressly provided in subsections (f)(3) and (i)(3),
respectively, of section 3001 of the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of
Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be required to carry out
the provisions of this section.
______

By Mr. McCONNELL:
S. 1826. A bill to add Kentucky State University to the list of
schools eligible for assistance under part B of title III of the Higher
Education Act of 1965; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1826

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY QUALIFIED GRADUATE
PROGRAM.

Section 326(e)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1063b(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (Q), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (R), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(S) Kentucky State University qualified graduate
program.''.
______

By Mr. COCHRAN (for himself, Mr. Pryor and Mr. Enzi):
S. 1827. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
require prompt payment to pharmacies under part D, to restrict pharmacy
co-branding on prescription drug cards issued under such part, and to
provide guidelines for Medication Therapy Management Services programs
offered by prescription drug plans and MA-PD plans under such part; to
the Committee on Finance.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, implementation of the Medicare
prescription drug plan has helped provide prescription drug coverage
for millions of Medicare beneficiaries who previously did not have
access to medications. Many seniors are now paying less for
prescription drugs and the savings for the prescription drug program
are even greater than expected. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, CMS, and health care providers worked together to plan and
implement this program and from the beginning, pharmacists played a
significant role in making this benefit successful. Pharmacists
assisted their Medicare patients in the selection and enrollment
process and filled prescriptions for patients, regardless of the
guarantee of timely reimbursement. Pharmacists continue to be diligent
in serving their patients and providing much-needed medications,
despite financial difficulties they have encountered in providing these
services.
We are introducing a bill today to assist pharmacists as they
continue to serve their patients and as they help to continue the
success of the Medicare drug benefit. This bill will allow pharmacists
to achieve efficiencies in reimbursement for the products they provide
to Medicare beneficiaries. This is especially important to the small,
rural independent pharmacies in my State. This legislation will also
provide incentives for pharmacists and other providers to help
beneficiaries better use their medications, adhere to their drug
regimens, and utilize cost saving medication therapy management
programs.
I am pleased to offer this legislation that will help continue the
success of the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, earlier today I joined with Senators
Cochran and Enzi to introduce the Pharmacist Access and Recognition in
Medicare Act of 2007. This is bipartisan legislation that will help
ensure patients have access to local pharmacies.
I am concerned that the Medicare Modernization Act that was enacted
in 2003 failed to sufficiently ensure Medicare patients would have
quality access to prescription medicines available at local pharmacies.
The new drug program took effect at the beginning of 2006. We now
know that during that year over 1,100 community pharmacies across the
country closed their doors according to the National Community
Pharmacists Association.
It is critical to me that patients living in small towns throughout
Arkansas and across America have access to community pharmacies.
While I believe major reforms need to be made in the Medicare
prescription drug benefit, I believe that the bipartisan bill I
introduced with Senator Cochran and Enzi today is an achievable first
step in making the Medicare drug benefit work better for patients and
pharmacists who are local front line health care providers.
This bill will ensure that pharmacies are paid on a timely basis for
prescriptions that are filled for Medicare beneficiaries. It can take a
month for pharmacies to be paid now, and this bill will ensure that
pharmacies get paid electronically for clean claims within 10 business
days.
Seniors should have a choice concerning what pharmacy they use. Our
bill codifies regulations ensuring that Medicare drug cards are not
cobranded with the name of a pharmacy, leaving beneficiaries under the
impression that the card may only be good at a single, large chain
pharmacy.
Cards could be cobranded in the first year of the program.
Regulations prohibit that happening this year, but our bill ensures
this will not be a problem in the future.
The bill will also help ensure that medicines are used appropriately.
Pharmacists are the best trained providers in our health care system to
ensure prescribed medications are used correctly. The bill creates a 2
year community-based medication therapy management demonstration
program using pharmacists to provide services.
______

By Mr. INHOFE:
S. 1828. A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency to conduct a study of the feasibility of increasing
the consumption in the United States of certain ethanol-blended
gasoline; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a small but
important bill that seeks to improve the quality of the air we breathe
and increase the level of public involvement under the Clean Air Act.
The senior Senator from Rhode Island joined me in sponsoring an
identical version of this bill as an amendment to the energy bill.
Unfortunately, there was an objection to clearing that amendment for
unknown reasons.
The objection was a surprise, particularly given the widespread
support across a variety of industries and advocacy groups. In fact,
the Natural Resources Defense Council and American

[[Page S9620]]

Lung Association sent Senator Reed and me a letter of support.
Under current law, the Clean Air Act allows a petition for a new
renewable fuel or renewable fuel additive, including mid-level ethanol
blends, to be approved without EPA taking any action whatsoever, not
asking for public comment, not conducting studies on the safety or
emissions impacts and not reviewing existing emissions or safety
studies. In fact, current law provides that a petition is deemed
approved even if EPA fails to act or make a determination one way or
another.
Environmental law and the Clean Air Act specifically, is premised
upon public input and involvement. It is critical that this section of
the Act, as elsewhere, provide for adequate stakeholder involvement. My
bill would force EPA to give public notice and seek public comment from
all interested persons on any petition for a new renewable fuel or
renewable fuel additive.
Safeguarding air quality is critical, but guaranteeing that the
engines that consumers rely on is important as well. Studies done by
Australia's EPA found that mid-level ethanol blends can cause the
following problems with motor vehicle and small, off-road engines:
failure of exhaust components, for example catalyst, due to heat/
durability, engine damage and seizure, engine stalling and stopping,
failure of engine cut-off switches, unexpected engagement of cutting
blades/chains, and fuel leaks and blockage of fuel lines. My bill
directs EPA, with DOE's and USDA's assistance, to study whether the use
of higher ethanol blends pose safety, air quality, or engine
operability concerns in motor vehicle and nonroad engines, and
equipment.
Ethanol proponents should support this bill. The ethanol industry
cannot afford to have consumers turn against their product if higher
levels of ethanol blends cause their snowmobile, chainsaw, or boat
engine to shut down. If EPA's study shows that these higher blends are
safe for all engines, then the ethanol industry will benefit from the
study.
This bill is about good Government and transparent Government. EPA
should not be permitted to approve these petitions ``in the dark of
night,'' without public participation.
The bill that I am introducing today, like the amendment that Senator
Reed and I offered during the energy bill, will simply make sure that
EPA carries out its duty to protect human health and the environment,
increase the public's role under the Clean Air Act, and shed light on a
currently private process.
______

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mr. Shelby:
S. 1829. A bill to reauthorize programs under the Missing Children's
Assistance Act; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. LEAHY. I am pleased to introduce the Protect Our Children First
Act of 2007, which will reauthorize funding for the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC through fiscal year 2013, and
increase Federal support and coordination to help NCMEC programs to
find missing children across the Nation. I am glad that Senator Hatch
has joined me in introducing this bill, along with Senators Lincoln and
Shelby. As members of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, we
have all worked together on numerous pieces of legislation to protect
the safety and welfare of our children, and I thank them for their
continued leadership and for joining me in introducing this bill.
Just a few months ago, we commemorated the 25th National Missing
Children's Day, when our Nation particularly remembers our commitment
to work together in locating and recovering missing children. It pains
us all to see on TV, in the newspapers or on milk cartons photo after
photo of missing children from various comers of our country. As a
father and grandfather, I know that an abducted child is the worst
nightmare. Unfortunately, it is a nightmare that happens all too often.
Indeed, the Justice Department estimates that 2,200 children are
reported missing each day. There are approximately 114,600 attempted
stranger abductions every year, with 3,000 to 5,000 of those attempts
succeeding. Experts estimate that children and youth comprise between
85 percent and 90 percent of missing person reports. These families
deserve the assistance of the American people and a helping hand from
the Congress and from Federal agencies.
As the Nation's top resource center for child protection, the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children spearheads national
efforts to locate and recover missing children and raises public
awareness about ways to prevent child abduction, molestation and sexual
exploitation. NCMEC works to make our children safer by being a
national voice and advocate for those too young to vote or speak up for
their own rights. The center operates under a Congressional mandate and
works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to coordinate the efforts
of law enforcement officers, social service agencies, elected
officials, judges, prosecutors, educators, the U.S. Marshals Service,
and the public and private sectors to break the cycle of violence that
historically has perpetuated these needless crimes against children.
Child advocates like John Walsh, who worked hard in helping Congress
enact the National Center's charter, also continue to support the
center's vital work.
The center's professionals have disturbingly busy jobs, they have
worked on more than 127,700 cases of missing and exploited children
since its 1984 founding, helping to recover more than 110,200 children.
The center raised its recovery rate from 64 percent in the 1990s to 96
percent today. The center has set up a nationwide, toll free, 24-hour
telephone hotline to take reports about missing children and clues that
might lead to their recovery, a National Child Pornography Tipline to
handle calls from individuals reporting the sexual exploitation of
children through the production and distribution of pornography, and a
CyberTipline to process online leads from individuals reporting the
sexual exploitation of children. It has taken the lead in circulating
millions of photographs of missing children, and it serves as a vital
resource for the 17,000 law enforcement agencies located throughout the
Nation in the search for missing children and in the pursuit of
adequate child protection.

The center has also developed a ``Cold Case Unit'' within the Missing
Children Division that focuses on long-term missing children cases. By
using age progression technology, NCMEC has recovered 741 missing
children. NCMEC forensic artists have also identified 24 missing
children by using facial reconstructions of unidentified remains.
In order to help the center solve these long-term cases, Section 5 of
this bill would allow an Inspector General to provide staff support to
NCMEC for the purpose of conducting reviews of inactive case files to
develop recommendations for further investigation. The Inspector
General community has one of the most diverse and talented criminal
investigative cadres in the Federal Government. A vast majority of
these special agents have come from traditional law enforcement
agencies, and they are highly trained and extremely capable of dealing
with complex criminal cases.
Under current law, an Inspector General's duties are limited to
activities related to the programs and operations of an agency. Our
bill would allow an Inspector General to permit criminal investigators
under his or her supervision to review cold case files, so long as
doing so would not interfere with normal duties. An Inspector General
would not conduct actual investigations, and any Inspector General
would only commit staff when the office's mission-related workloads
permitted. At no time would these activities be allowed to conflict
with or delay the stated missions of an Inspector General.
The Protect Our Children First Act also gives the Center better tools
for working in coordination with Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies to find missing children. This bill would provide
analytical and technical support to assist law enforcement agencies in
searching public databases to identify missing children and to locate
abductors and would facilitate the deployment of the National Emergency
Child Locator Center to assist in locating children in times of
national disasters. In addition, the bill would allow

[[Page S9621]]

NCMEC to work in conjunction with the FBI to provide fitness
determinations based on criminal history of volunteers in child-serving
organizations and track the incidence of attempted child abductions to
report any links or patterns to law enforcement agencies.
NCMEC is headquartered in Alexandria, VA, and operates branch offices
in five other locations throughout the country to provide hands-on
assistance to families of missing children, advocating legislative
changes to better protect children, conducting an array of prevention
and awareness programs, and motivating individuals to become personally
involved in child-protection issues. It has also grown into an
international organization, establishing the International Division of
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has been
working to fulfill the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction. The international division provides
assistance to parents, law enforcement, attorneys, nonprofit
organizations, and other concerned individuals who are seeking
assistance in preventing or resolving international child abductions.
NCMEC manages to do all of this good work with an annual DOJ grant,
which expires after fiscal year 2008. We must act now to extend its
authorization so that it can continue to help keep children safe and
families intact around the Nation. There is so much more to be done to
ensure the safety of our children, and the legislation we introduce
today will help the center in its efforts to prevent crimes that are
committed against them.
We have before us the type of bipartisan legislation that should be
moved easily through the Senate and the House. The children we seek to
protect through legislation like this should not be used as pawns by
groups who would play politics by saddling such efforts with
controversial measures. I applaud the ongoing work of the center and
hope both the Senate and the House will promptly pass this bill to show
our support for the NCMEC to continue to find our missing children and
to protect exploited children across the country.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1829

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protect our Children First
Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

Section 402 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5771) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 402. FINDINGS.

``Congress finds that--
``(1) each year thousands of children are abducted or
removed from the control of a parent having legal custody
without such parent's consent, under circumstances which
immediately place the child in grave danger;
``(2) many missing children are at great risk of both
physical harm and sexual exploitation;
``(3) in many cases, parents and local law enforcement
officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to
mount expanded search efforts;
``(4) abducted children are frequently moved from one
locality to another, requiring the cooperation and
coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement
efforts;
``(5) growing numbers of children are the victims of child
sexual exploitation, increasingly involving the use of new
technology to access the Internet;
``(6) children may be displaced from their parents or legal
guardians as a result of national disasters such as
hurricanes and floods;
``(7) sex offenders pose a threat to children; and
``(8) the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children--
``(A) serves as the national resource center and
clearinghouse;
``(B) works in partnership with the Department of Justice,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States
Marshals Service, the Department of the Treasury, the
Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security's
Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United
States Secret Service, and many other agencies in the effort
to find missing children and prevent child victimization; and
``(C) operates a national and increasingly worldwide
network, linking the Center online with each of the missing
children clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as with
Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, and
others, which enable the Center to transmit images and
information regarding missing and exploited children to law
enforcement across the United States and around the world
instantly.''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
ADMINISTRATOR.

(a) In General.--Section 404(b) of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)) is amended--
(1) striking paragraph (3); and
(2) redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).
(b) Annual Grant to the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.--Section 404(b)(1) of the Missing
Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(1)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall annually make a
grant to the Center, which shall be used to--
``(A)(i) operate a national 24-hour toll-free telephone
line by which individuals may report information regarding
the location of any missing child, and request information
pertaining to procedures necessary to reunite such child with
such child's legal custodian; and
``(ii) coordinate the operation of such telephone line with
the operation of the national communications system referred
to in part C of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.
5714-11);
``(B) operate the official national resource center and
information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children;
``(C) provide to State and local governments, public and
private nonprofit agencies, and individuals, information
regarding--
``(i) free or low-cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and
transportation services that are available for the benefit of
missing and exploited children and their families; and
``(ii) the existence and nature of programs being carried
out by Federal agencies to assist missing and exploited
children and their families;
``(D) coordinate public and private programs that locate,
recover, or reunite missing children with their families;
``(E) disseminate, on a national basis, information
relating to innovative and model programs, services, and
legislation that benefit missing and exploited children;
``(F) in cooperation with the Department of Justice and the
Department of State and local law enforcement, develop and
present an annual report on the actual number of children
nationwide who are reported missing each year, the number of
children who are victims of nonfamily abductions, the number
of children who are the victims of parental kidnappings, and
the number of children who are recovered each year;
``(G) provide technical assistance and training to law
enforcement agencies, State and local governments, elements
of the criminal justice system, public and private nonprofit
agencies, and individuals in the prevention, investigation,
prosecution, and treatment of cases involving missing and
exploited children;
``(H) provide assistance to families and law enforcement
agencies in locating and recovering missing and exploited
children, both nationally and internationally;
``(I) provide analytical support and technical assistance
to law enforcement agencies through searching public records
databases in locating and recovering missing and exploited
children and helping to locate and identify abductors;
``(J) provide direct on-site technical assistance and
consultation to law enforcement agencies in child abduction
and exploitation cases;
``(K) provide forensic technical assistance and
consultation to law enforcement and other agencies in the
identification of unidentified deceased children through
facial reconstruction of skeletal remains and similar
techniques;
``(L) track the incidence of attempted child abductions in
order to identify links and patterns, and provide such
information to law enforcement agencies;
``(M) facilitate the deployment of the National Emergency
Child Locator Center to assist in reuniting missing children
with their families during periods of national disasters;
``(N) operate a cyber tipline to provide online users and
electronic service providers an effective means of reporting
Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the areas of--
``(i) possession, manufacture and distribution of child
pornography;
``(ii) online enticement of children for sexual acts;
``(iii) child prostitution;
``(iv) sex tourism involving children;
``(v) extrafamilial child sexual molestation; and
``(vi) unsolicited obscene material sent to a child;
and subsequently to transmit such reports, including relevant
images and information, to the appropriate international,
Federal, State or local law enforcement agency for
investigation;
``(O) work with law enforcement, electronic service
providers, electronic payment service providers, and others
on methods to reduce the distribution on the Internet of
images and videos of sexually exploited children;
``(P) operate the Child Victim Identification Program in
order to assist the efforts of

[[Page S9622]]

law enforcement agencies in identifying victims of child
pornography and other sexual crimes;
``(Q) develop and disseminate programs and information for
the general public to educate families and children regarding
the prevention of child abduction and sexual exploitation;
and
``(R) develop and disseminate programs and information to
local communities, schools, public officials, nonprofit
organizations, and youth-serving organizations to help
parents and children use the Internet safely.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) Annual Grant to the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.--Section 404(b)(2) of the Missing
Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(2)) is amended
by striking ``$20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004
through 2008'' and inserting ``$ 20,000,000 for fiscal year
2008 and such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal
years 2009 through 2013''.
(b) In General.--Section 408(a) of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777(a)) is amended by striking
``2004 through 2008'' and inserting ``2008 through 2013.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL .

Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
5779 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 3703. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

``(a) In General.--An Inspector General appointed under
section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) may authorize staff to assist the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children--
``(1) by conducting reviews of inactive case files to
develop recommendations for further investigations; and
``(2) by engaging in similar activities.
``(b) Limitations.--
``(1) Priority.--An Inspector General may not permit staff
to engage in activities described in subsection (a) if such
activities will interfere with the duties of the Inspector
General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.).
``(2) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section.''.
______

By Mr. ENZI:
S. 1834. A bill to improve the health of Americans through the
gradual elimination of tobacco products; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to address a serious and deadly
health issue. I am talking about tobacco, a scourge on our society.
Smoking kills. There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. These are
not mere platitudes. They are the deadly truth. Tobacco kills more
Americans each year than alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicide,
suicide, car accidents, fire and AIDS combined.
My colleague Senator Kennedy has proposed dealing with this shocking
statistic by having the Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco.
I suggest my colleagues ask themselves: What will it mean to have
cigarette and tobacco products regulated by the FDA?
The FDA is the gold standard among public health regulators the world
over. For the past century, the FDA has protected the public, from
filthy conditions in meat packing plants to thalidomide, which caused
thousands of birth defects in Western Europe. The FDA's constant
vigilance is not just an historical artifact. It seems like every day
there is something new for the FDA to protect us from. The headlines
behind me show how we have come to depend on the FDA every day to
protect us and our children from poisons that could harm or even kill
us.
It is evident that the FDA is overworked and underfunded. We, as a
nation, currently ask the FDA to be responsible for so many things:
ensuring that new drugs and medical devices are safe and effective;
safeguarding the Nation's food supply; regulating the manufacture and
distribution of food additives and drugs that will be given to animals;
and, increasing the security of our blood supply.
In each of these key activities, the role of the FDA is to protect
our health. In providing that protection, the FDA examines key
scientific facts and weighs the balance of benefit to our society and
risk to our health. It is incomprehensible to me to extend that
critical role to an FDA risk/benefit analysis of tobacco and
cigarettes.
I will say it again: Smoking kills. There is no such thing as a
``safe'' cigarette. Any public statement by the FDA under their current
authority would necessitate the finding that there is no benefit to the
use of cigarettes, only harm.
The Kennedy-Cornyn bill would establish the FDA as the regulator for
tobacco products. However, the bill explicitly states that the FDA will
not be permitted to prohibit the sale of any tobacco product to adults.
That is not true regulation. The bill would gut the authority that
Congress has bestowed and staunchly defended for the FDA, the authority
to remove health threats from the marketplace. This approach is so
flawed that I believe the bill cannot be fixed.
Even having the FDA review and approve cigarettes sends mixed and
confusing messages to the public, creating the sense that cigarettes
are safe or can be made safer. The FDA cannot be put in the position of
approving a product which years of science and the personal experience
of far too many Americans has shown to be dangerous. Simply put,
tobacco kills people. Piling on regulations and bureaucracy won't
change that.
I commend my colleague Senator Kennedy for trying to do something
about the evil of tobacco. But this bill is a dinosaur. It has been
introduced year after year, with barely any changes. In fact, the bill
would have FDA issue a regulation from 1996 completely intact. A
regulation, I might add, that was overturned by the Supreme Court. But
that is beside the point. Instead of resurrecting broken, outdated
legislation, we should be aiming to make tobacco extinct.
While some in the tobacco industry claim to share my views on
smoking, I do not believe they have actually bought in to the idea of
getting people to stop using tobacco. A case in point is the new $350
million facility Philip Morris has built in Richmond, VA. I ask
unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the following
classified ad from the journal Science.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, this ad calls for the recruitment of
scientists to work at this facility, studying how to ``develop relevant
exposure models'' for smoking related diseases. Or to do large scale
epidemiology studies on ``the cause of cigarette smoke-related
diseases.'' Here I thought the cause of cigarette smoke-related
diseases was smoking. Silly me.
Clearly, Philip Morris believes it will still be able to operate
under the Kennedy bill. It will be business as usual for the Marlboro
Man, and more Americans will die needlessly.
Trying to make cigarettes safer through a billion-dollar bureaucracy
is a waste of time and money. The right approach is to get people to
stop smoking, or better yet, to never start.
The key failing of the Kennedy dinosaur legislation is that it will
not reduce smoking. In 2004, this bill did pass the Senate, as part of
FSC-ETI. The Congressional Budget Office, in scoring the Senate-passed
bill, examined the tobacco provisions. I suggest my colleagues study
that score carefully. CBO suggested there would be essentially no
reduction in adult smoking, and only a 12.5 percent reduction in youth
smoking. The bill assesses user fees in excess of $450 million a year.
There are currently 2.7 million youth smokers. When you do the math, it
comes out to nearly $1,500 per year per youth smoker to achieve these
reductions. I don't know if you've talked to any teenagers recently,
but they are pretty entrepreneurial. I bet a lot of them would quit
smoking if you just paid them to give it up, or even to stay off the
stuff in the first place.

In another example of very little bang for very big bucks, a recent
Institute of Medicine report from May says that if we keep doing what
we are doing, we will reduce smoking from the current 20 percent of the
population to about 15 percent over the next 20 years. If we do
everything in the report, which is basically the Kennedy bill plus a
number of other steps, some of which maybe unconstitutional, we might
reduce it to 10 percent. At an unknown, but likely very high, cost.
This bill can't be fixed. I know we can do better. We just have to
think bigger. We must win the war on tobacco, not sign a peace treaty
with Phillip Morris.
I have developed my own tobacco legislation that would truly have an
impact on the number of smokers in this country, and I am pleased to
introduce today the Help End Addiction to Lethal Tobacco Habits or
HEALTH Act.
My bill contains a novel cap-and-trade program--guaranteeing that

[[Page S9623]]

fewer people suffer the deadly consequences of smoking, while providing
flexibility in how those reductions are achieved.
Cap-and-trade programs have a proven track record in the
environmental arena. In the 1980s, lakes and forests were dying from
acid rain. The acid rain was caused by emissions of sulfur and nitrogen
oxides from power generation at electrical plants. The Clean Air Act
amendments of 1990 instituted a system of allowances for emissions of
sulfur and nitrogen oxides that could be used, banked, traded or sold
freely on the open market. The number of allowances decreased each
year. This system achieved the desired results faster and at lower cost
than had been anticipated. The cap-and-trade program for sulfur and
nitrogen oxides has made dramatic differences in our air quality over
the past 15 years, and is a resounding success. I propose to carry this
market-oriented system over to the tobacco control arena. Although this
has never been tried for a health issue, I think it will work.
My legislation will contain a cap-and-trade system for shrinking the
size of the tobacco market over the next 20 years. Smoking reductions
are guaranteed, and companies are given time and flexibility to make
the reductions or divest. In addition, small tobacco companies would
have a valuable asset in their allocations, leveling the playing field
a bit between the smaller and larger industry members. Finally, and I
think very importantly, public health groups could buy and retire
allowances to achieve the reductions in tobacco use even faster than
specified in my bill. I would like to issue a challenge today to those
groups, use your clout to help me make this work. Stand with me to
fight tobacco and protect the health of all Americans.
I want to remind my colleagues that the FDA approves cures, not
poisons. Forcing the FDA to regulate tobacco but not letting them ban
it, as my colleague Senator Kennedy proposes, would undermine the long
history of the agency protecting and promoting the public health.
In closing, every day, we hear about some new problem the FDA faces
in protecting our health. From contaminated seafood to tainted
toothpaste, this agency is in dire need of congressional support to
carry out its mission. We should be focusing our efforts on increasing
the number of inspectors, and on renewing the expiring drug and device
user fee laws.
I ask my colleagues to think hard about what they are proposing when
they suggest FDA regulation is the way to defeat tobacco. My record is
clear when it comes to tobacco. I am no friend of big tobacco and I
have never taken a dime of tobacco company money for my campaigns. I
don't intend to start now. But I absolutely reject the notion that the
way to show you're ``for kids'' and ``against Big Tobacco'' is by
sending the Nation's premier public health watchdog out to fight for
safety with one hand tied behind its back. We must not mandate the FDA
seal of approval on a deadly product that has no health benefit
whatsoever. We can do better. Will you join me?

Health Science Research for Harm Reduction--New Positions at Philip
Morris USA

The Health Sciences Research Division of PM USA is seeking
Leading Scientists in several biomedical-related research
areas.
The primary goal of the Health Sciences Research Division
(HSR) is to conduct health science research to facilitate the
development of new methods and technologies with the
potential to reduce harm associated with our products.
In June 2007, PM USA research scientists will begin
occupying the new 450,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art Center
for Research and Technology (CRT) facility. HSR scientists
will work in collaboration with other PM USA scientists at
the CRT to investigate and discover technologies for the
reduction of harm associated with our products.
Cigarette Smoke-Related Disease Scientists: Will
participate in the development of models and biomarkers of
cigarette smoke-related diseases including: Cancer Scientists
investigating cancer with emphasis on lung cancer. COPD
Scientists investigating chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease. CVD Scientists investigating cardiovascular disease.
Experimental Pathologists: Will participate in the
development and use of microscopic and imaging techniques to
investigate the cause of cigarette smoke-related diseases.
Oxidative Stress Scientists: Will participate in studies
investigating the role of oxidative damage and cell death
processes in cigarette smoke-related diseases.
Inflammation/Immune System Scientists: Will participate in
studies investigating the role of inflammatory/immunological
processes in cigarette smoke-related diseases.
Inhalation Toxicologist for Aerosol Dosimetry: Will
participate in studies investigating in vitro and in vivo
exposure to cigarette smoke to quantify airway smoke
deposition and develop relevant exposure models.
Toxicologist for PK-PD Studies: Will study the PK-PD of
exposure to cigarette smoke during smoke inhalation for the
purpose of developing clinically predictive cell and tissue
dose models.
Epidemiologists (Molecular/Genetic and Chronic Disease):
Will participate in the design, conduct and analysis of
large-scale, high-throughput, molecular and chronic disease
epidemiologic studies on the cause of cigarette smoke-related
diseases (CVD, COPD, Cancer).
Biostatisticians: Will participate in the design and
analysis of large-scale epidemiologic, in vitro and in vivo
studies on the cause of cigarette smoke-related diseases
(CVD, COPD, Cancer).
Geneticists (Statistical and Population): Will participate
in the design and analysis of large-scale, high-throughput,
molecular epidemiologic and in vivo studies on cigarette
smoke-related diseases (CVD, COPD, Cancer).
Complex Systems Analysts (Systems Biology): Will
participate in the integration and modeling of high-
throughput, cross-platform, trans-species data on cigarette
smoke-related diseases (CVD, COPD, Cancer).
______

By Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Lautenberg):
S. 1839. A bill to require periodic reports on claims related to acts
of terrorism against Americans perpetrated or supported by the
Government of Libya; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I introduce, along with Senators
Levin and Lautenberg, a piece of legislation which I hope will help the
American victims of Libyan terrorism and their families move one step
closer to receiving justice for the terrible crimes committed against
them. Our legislation requires the administration to submit to Congress
twice yearly reports on the status of the outstanding legal claims by
these American victims and their families against the government of
Libya. It also requires the administration to explain its own efforts
on their behalf.
I believe it is in the United States' strategic interest to develop
better relations with Libya. Colonel Qaddafi renounced terrorism and
dismantled Libyan weapons of mass destruction programs. We need to
demonstrate to the rogue regimes of the world that there is a path back
to the civilized community of nations. Libya is an important country in
its own right as a gateway between Europe and Africa, as a country
which shares a border with the Darfur region of Sudan, and as an OPEC
member.
But for this relationship to advance, we need to come to terms with
the past. Several hundred Americans have been killed by Libyan
terrorism and scores more have been injured. The Libyan regime has
accepted responsibility for the heinous Pan Am 103 bombing, which
killed 270 Americans. That admission also helped pave the way to the
negotiations that led to Libya's renunciation of its support for
terrorism and its WMD programs. But the families of the victims of Pan
Am 103 are still waiting for the final settlement of their case. Last
year, the Libyan government agreed to terms with the victims of the La
Belle discotheque bombing in Germany. But they have since refused to
honor the previously agreed upon terms. Other victims of Libyan terror
are still waiting for justice. Their cases may be smaller in scale, but
pain that the victims and their families have suffered is no less real.
The victims and families deserve to know what their government is
doing on their behalf to settle these cases. Colonel Qaddafi needs to
understand that the way forward needs to account for the past. And the
State Department needs to begin to develop a coherent vision for what
we hope to achieve in the Libyan--American relationship.
This piece of legislation we offer is modest, but I believe that it
can help us to make progress in each of these three aspects.
Lastly, I would like to say a few words about the human rights
conditions inside Libya. Yes, Americans are interested in Libya's
external behavior.

[[Page S9624]]

But we are also concerned about the human rights conditions within
Libya. I am relieved that the death sentence of the six Bulgarian
nurses and Palestinian doctor accused of infecting Libyan children with
HIV has been commuted. But the case against them is preposterous, as
confirmed by rigorous investigations into the allegations by UNESCO and
the World Health Organization. That they remain in jail is outrageous.
For more than 3 years, years, I have been calling for the release of
Fathi Eljahmi, a courageous democracy advocate with serious health
problems whose only crime is to speak truth to power. I again call on
the Libyan government to release Mr. Eljahmi.

____________________