[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8619-S8623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 2997, which the clerk will 
report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2997) making appropriations for Agriculture, 
     Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
     Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2010, and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       Kohl/Brownback amendment No. 1908, in the nature of a 
     substitute.
       Kohl (for Tester) amendment No. 2230 (to amendment No. 
     1908), to clarify a provision relating to funding for a 
     National Animal Identification Program.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would now ask that the cloture motion 
which is at the desk on the substitute amendment be stated.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the substitute 
     amendment No. 1908 to H.R. 2997, the Agriculture 
     Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010.
         John D. Rockefeller, IV, Tom Udall, Mark L. Pryor, Edward 
           E. Kaufman,

[[Page S8620]]

           Blanche L. Lincoln, Kent Conrad, Kay R. Hagan, Mark 
           Begich, Byron L. Dorgan, Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Herb 
           Kohl, Daniel K. Inouye, Michael F. Bennet, Mary L. 
           Landrieu, Charles E. Schumer.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk on the 
bill itself.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on H.R. 2997, the 
     Agriculture Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010.
         John D. Rockefeller, IV, Tom Udall, Mark L. Pryor, Edward 
           E. Kaufman, Blanche L. Lincoln, Kent Conrad, Kay R. 
           Hagan, Mark Begich, Byron L. Dorgan, Max Baucus, Ben 
           Nelson, Herb Kohl, Daniel K. Inouye, Michael F. Bennet, 
           Mary L. Landrieu, Jon Tester, Charles E. Schumer.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture 
vote on the substitute amendment occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 
3; that if cloture is invoked, postcloture time be considered to have 
begun as if cloture had been invoked at 11 a.m.; further, that the 
mandatory quorums required be waived, and that first-degree amendments 
be filed at the desk by 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, as we wait for Members to come forward with 
amendments, I wish to talk about something that is happening down at 
the USDA right now. This morning, Secretary Vilsack is announcing 
changes to the Dairy Product Price Support Program. I wish to commend 
him for his diligence and his willingness to keep pushing on this.
  Wisconsin is home to more dairy farms than any other State in the 
Union. We produce 2.1 billion pounds of milk each month. About half the 
State's $51 billion agriculture economy is directly tied to dairy. So 
when the dairy sector hurts, Wisconsin hurts. And I will say in no 
uncertain terms that the pain in dairy across America is very acute 
right now.
  From January through April, the price of milk paid to dairy farmers 
has been about $4.80 per hundredweight below the cost of production. 
Dairy producers have lost $3.9 billion in equity in 5 months. At risk 
is the long-term stability of the industry, the Nation's milk 
production infrastructure, and thousands of rural communities.
  With Senator Leahy and a number of our colleagues, we have pushed to 
confront these challenges. In the last farm bill, we extended the basic 
safety net for dairy producers, and we strengthened it with something 
called a ``feed cost adjuster.'' In the economic recovery bill we added 
credit to help producers survive.
  At the same time, the Secretary has worked to boost exports and 
provide more dairy products for nutrition programs. All of these are 
critical steps. Together they reflect, literally, a billion-dollar 
effort to address a crisis that has hurt dairy producers in every 
corner of the country.
  But over the past several weeks, in hearings and letters--and 
personal consultations I have been a part of--there is a growing 
appreciation that more needs to be done. Today the Secretary is taking 
the next step. For August through October, he is adjusting the Dairy 
Product Price Support Program in a way that will yield an estimated 
$243 million in revenue increases for dairy producers.
  I commend our Secretary of Agriculture for working with intensity and 
persistence. I commend our President for appointing a Secretary of 
Agriculture who works with intensity and persistence. And I want to 
reassure dairy farmers all across America that, although we do not have 
all the answers, we are committed to pressing forward on their behalf.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues, particularly on 
my side of the aisle, to get their amendments and bring them forward, 
bring them forward this morning. It would be my hope we could get this 
bill done on Monday, early evening, so we can move to the Sotomayor 
discussion and debate on the floor. I think most Members want to speak 
about Sotomayor, so it is going to take a lot of time next week, being 
the last week before we go on break. I hope we could start that as fast 
as possible and we could move through this bill expeditiously.
  We worked very closely with the majority. I think we have a good 
bill. It certainly is not perfect; no bill is. But it is one for which 
we have done a lot of work, and I do not see the issues outstanding 
here to the degree that I think it would merit us putting off the 
discussion and debate on Sotomayor. So I am hopeful we can get those 
amendments coming forward.


                Amendment No. 2229 To Amendment No. 1908

  Mr. President, I have discussed with the majority about bringing up 
an amendment to deal with the issue of neglected and rare diseases. The 
FDA funding is in this bill, and we have negotiated an amendment with 
the proper authorizing committee. So with that, I ask unanimous consent 
to set aside the pending amendment, to call up amendment No. 2229, and 
ask for its immediate consideration.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the clerk will 
report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Brownback] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2229 to amendment No. 1908.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To establish within the Food and Drug Administration 2 review 
   groups to recommend solutions for the prevention, diagnosis, and 
  treatment of rare diseases and neglected diseases of the developing 
                                 world)

       On page 85, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following:
       Sec. 7__. (a) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall 
     establish within the Food and Drug Administration a review 
     group which shall recommend to the Commissioner of Food and 
     Drugs appropriate preclinical, trial design, and regulatory 
     paradigms and optimal solutions for the prevention, 
     diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases: Provided, That the 
     Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall appoint 8 individuals 
     employed by the Food and Drug Administration to serve on the 
     review group: Provided further, That members of the review 
     group shall have specific expertise relating to the 
     development of articles for use in the prevention, diagnosis, 
     or treatment of rare diseases, including specific expertise 
     in developing or carrying out clinical trials.
       (b) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall establish 
     within the Food and Drug Administration a review group which 
     shall recommend to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs 
     appropriate preclinical, trial design, and regulatory 
     paradigms and optimal solutions for the prevention, 
     diagnosis, and treatment of neglected diseases of the 
     developing world: Provided, That the Commissioner of Food and 
     Drugs shall appoint 8 individuals employed by the Food and 
     Drug Administration to serve on the review group: Provided 
     further, That members of the review group shall have specific 
     expertise relating to the development of articles for use in 
     the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of neglected diseases 
     of the developing world, including specific expertise in 
     developing or carrying out clinical trials: Provided further, 
     That for the purposes of this section the term ``neglected 
     disease of the developing world'' means a tropical disease, 
     as defined in section 524(a)(3) of the Federal Food, Drug, 
     and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360n(a)(3)).
       (c) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall--
       (1) submit, not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, a report to Congress that describes 
     both the findings and recommendations made by the review 
     groups under subsections (a) and (b);
       (2) issue, not later than 180 days after submission of the 
     report to Congress under paragraph (1), guidance based on 
     such recommendations for articles for use in the prevention, 
     diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases and for such uses 
     in neglected diseases of the developing world; and
       (3) develop, not later than 180 days after submission of 
     the report to Congress under paragraph (1), internal review 
     standards based on such recommendations for articles for use 
     in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases 
     and for such uses in neglected diseases of the developing 
     world.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President and colleagues, this amendment goes at a 
critical problem in the world and one

[[Page S8621]]

we hold the key to answering. There is a lot of work that needs to be 
done on disease treatment and drug development. Unfortunately, what we 
have seen taking place is that the cost of developing a pharmaceutical 
product to treat particular diseases continues to go up and up and up 
into, in some cases, billions of dollars to develop a particular drug 
for a treatment for individuals.
  When you are looking at disease categories, now that we are getting 
into finer and finer groups, you may have a group of, say, 50,000 
people who have a particular disease, or for a neglected disease that 
is in a Third World country, you can have millions, even more than 
that, who are affected by a disease, but there is not a large 
marketplace to support the research that is necessary to develop a 
cure.
  What we have put forward in this amendment is a review process to try 
to establish a new system for neglected and rare diseases so that drug 
delivery can proceed, and it can proceed on an expedited basis and 
reduce the cost of doing it, so we can start to develop drug treatments 
for rare diseases and neglected diseases that happen in poorer parts of 
the world where the economy does not support that level of research.
  The amendment establishes two review groups within the Food and Drug 
Administration that would recommend solutions for the prevention, 
diagnosis, and treatment of both rare diseases and neglected diseases 
of the developing world.
  According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion 
people--nearly one of every six people worldwide--are affected by at 
least one neglected disease. We have a billion people who are in this 
category of having a disease for which there is little to no research 
being done.
  Examples of well-known neglected diseases include malaria, 
tuberculosis, and cholera. Africa certainly bears the brunt of this, as 
nearly 90 percent of the world's neglected diseases afflict people in 
this continent.
  While this is the target category, it is my hope that what this will 
lead to is us developing systems and ways where we can reduce the cost 
and the time for drug delivery and development so we can use that in 
this country. We can use that on rare diseases where you do not have 
the population pool to support as much of the research.
  Neglected diseases claim roughly 500,000 lives each year. They 
disproportionately affect very low-income populations in developing 
countries. Unfortunately, less than 1 percent of the roughly 1,400 
drugs registered between 1975 and 1999 treated such diseases--1 percent 
of them.
  Streamlining the FDA review process to treat these diseases is not 
only in our country's national interest, but it is consistent with our 
longstanding tradition of caring for those who are less fortunate 
around the world.
  I might point out that as to the public opinion standing of the 
United States, the continent where we have the highest public opinion 
standing of the population is not even North America, it is Africa, 
where we are helping people with the PEPFAR program, with malaria, with 
food, and people like you if you are helping them stay alive. This 
continues in that, so it is good foreign policy as well and also helps 
us in drug delivery and development for our rare diseases.
  This amendment also addresses rare diseases or those diseases for 
which little market exists since so few patients are affected. If this 
happens to be a person in your family, you do not care how many people 
are affected, you are affected, and you want somebody to be developing 
cures for it. Rare diseases can be especially lethal since few 
treatments may exist for individual patients and time is not on their 
side.

  For these reasons, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this 
amendment No. 2229, which would allow experts to identify ways we can 
improve the Food and Drug Administration's ability to review treatments 
for rare and neglected diseases.
  We worked carefully on this proposal with a number of individuals, 
including Dr. Francis Collins, who is nominated to be the head of NIH 
and who had the Human Genome Project, one of the great scientific 
breakthroughs of the last 25 years; as well as with former FDA 
officials and a number of people interested and concerned about what is 
taking place here; about the expanded cost of developing drugs and the 
smaller economic category that they have to hit in. I think this is in 
the best traditions of the United States and is very helpful to us as a 
country to address.
  I and my colleagues have traveled to some of the Third World areas. 
We know malaria hits 60 percent of the children in Sub-Saharan Africa--
60 percent. Tuberculosis as well is rampant. We have other diseases 
that we haven't thought of here for a long time--sleeping sickness, 
river blindness--that affect a large cross-section of individuals with 
little to no effort going into it. To the degree we can help will be a 
massive good that we do. It is my fundamental belief that we are 
blessed to be a blessing, and this country has been blessed. We 
certainly have our difficulties; no question about that, but here is an 
area where we can help and it helps us too.
  I hope my colleagues will see fit to support this amendment. I will 
ask at the proper time that it be supported and that we vote on it.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, as we said before this morning, we intend to 
complete action on this bill Monday. We are here today to work with 
Senators if they have amendments. We need to move this bill along so we 
can complete all our work as we know we wish to do before the August 
recess. So if any Senators have amendments to the bill, they should 
come to the floor so they can be offered, debated, and considered.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, while we are waiting on Members to come 
and present their amendments, I want to talk about something associated 
with agriculture in my State. It is an issue that will probably come up 
after the August break, and that is energy legislation. Energy, in our 
State, is inextricably linked to agriculture, where it is a big energy-
using industry but also one that derives a lot of income for 
agriculture.
  The industry itself moved from a food and fiber industry to a food, 
fiber, and fuels industry, with ethanol and biodiesel and 
increasingly--this is a bit of a sidebar but a connection--wind energy. 
Wind energy, in many of the rural areas of our State, is providing 
income to those regions.
  I want to talk about the energy policy of this country, particularly 
as it is associated with agriculture. We need to look at the 
agricultural industry and what it can produce for a domestic fuel need. 
I am hopeful we can, over time, up the ethanol standard from 10 percent 
to a higher mixed blend. I would like to see us get to 15, 20 percent 
in the current vehicle fleet. I think this is doable and the technology 
is there and it is not harmful to anybody or any of the automobiles in 
the automobile industry.
  A number of us signed a letter asking that fuel blend be upped and 
also that the refineries be held harmless in any up mixture of blending 
that might be considered. A number of refineries are sensitive about 
the MTBE problem, when they were pushed by Congress to put in MTBE, and 
later were held responsible for difficulties associated with that. I 
think we ought to hold the refinery industry harmless but allow the 
mixture to go up from 10 percent.
  In my State, a number of ethanol plants have been built. They are 
cost effective and they continue to operate well. It is a dual-
commodity business, where we are looking at the commodity price of oil 
and the commodity price of corn. We can do very well financially, but 
if they move against us, we can do poorly. We have the capacity to move 
the blend up to the 15 or 20 percent level.
  It is my hope that down the road that will be something of 
consideration. That has been a big piece of the agricultural policy in 
this country--something that has been supported in the Agriculture 
appropriations bill, to increase research on ethanol and make

[[Page S8622]]

the next generation out of cellulose or make everything a cellulosic 
stream, along with a grain stream of ethanol in the same ethanol plant, 
so we can mix those methods of making ethanol. That is an important 
endeavor that we can do.
  On the Energy bill, there is a renewable energy standard put in it 
and not the cap-and-trade bill. I urge my colleagues, let's work on 
renewable energy where we can get good, strong bipartisan support and 
not a cap-and-trade system where it is going to hurt a number of States 
that are high energy using and producing States--particularly like my 
own State or others in the Midwest that are very dependent upon energy. 
This is a major tax on us. It taxes our electrical production that is 
coal based. Our State is in the 60 to 70 percent electric production. 
If we are taxing that, we are taxing people's utility bills. If we go 
with a renewable energy standard, we can seed and develop the growth of 
the wind energy business throughout a lot of the country, or biomass, 
which is helpful to agriculture, and not raise utility rates and not do 
it by taxing and regulating but, rather, by innovation and investment.
  Earlier this week, I met with a number of people from the wind energy 
business, and they were saying we have had a good run, but it is not 
going very well now with this economy and without a renewable energy 
standard. The one we put forward in the Energy Committee has a 15-
percent renewable energy standard; 4 percent of that can be met by 
conservation and 11 percent by renewable production, biomass, wind, and 
even things such as algae biofuel production, which is very much in the 
experimental stage, but it is a developing technology.
  If we can consider that and do the renewable energy standard 
portfolio, separate and distinct, and not blend it with cap and trade, 
I think we can come forward with a good, bipartisan bill that moves us 
forward off of our energy reliance on foreign fuels and into a cleaner 
environment. The tax and regulatory structure of a cap-and-trade system 
would be very harmful on a State such as mine.
  Senator Bingaman chairs the Energy Committee. He did a markup over a 
period of 4 weeks that was one of the most impressive markups I have 
seen, where he worked with everybody to get this bill together on a 
renewable energy standard. We came out with a bipartisan energy bill on 
a renewable energy standard. Not everybody got what they wanted; nobody 
ever does, but it was bipartisan, and it wasn't a cap-and-trade bill, 
which really sends the bells off for a lot of high energy using States. 
That is doable, and it is what we ought to do rather than what the 
House did on cap-and-trade legislation, which passed by the thinnest of 
margins.
  It was basically done completely on Democratic votes, without 
Republican votes; whereas, the renewable energy standard we passed had 
a mixture of Republican and Democratic votes and even some Democrats 
voted against the bill in committee. It is a bipartisan process and one 
that we can move forward with--not to mention other things.
  I just met with a refinery group doing petroleum products--pavement 
and other things--in the United States. They look to get hit with cap-
and-trade legislation--to the point they will be driven out of 
business. But we are still going to need asphalt in this country.
  They are saying: Do you know where it is going to come from? It will 
come from China and India; they will make the asphalt. Big plants are 
being planned and built there in anticipation that we will do cap-and-
trade legislation and they won't. Their CO2 emissions are 
not counted and ours will be and they will sell us the product. That 
completely defeats the purpose of any type of CO2 
mitigation--just driving the industry overseas. It is going to be more 
polluting there than here, and the CO2 emissions that go 
into the atmosphere affect everybody. It is a bad idea for us to cause 
that to happen in our own legislation.
  Industries are planning on doing that now, just building and moving 
the industries to China and importing the products back to the United 
States. That hurts us. That hurts our people, our job formation, and it 
doesn't help the environment. We have another way. We have a way, 
through this renewable energy standard, that can actually work.
  I ask, as we consider the Agriculture bill and others, that we keep 
an eye on energy because it is one of the key cost drivers within the 
industry. It is also one of the key possibilities for us to grow it in 
the future and grow it for our country. That is why we put some 
provisions in this Agriculture appropriations bill that are supporting 
the energy industry in agriculture. But personally--and I know others 
have different opinions on this--I ask that we don't then hurt it with 
legislation later on that is not complementary toward it.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Dr. Robert Keleher

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, while we have time waiting to clear 
some amendments, I am also ranking member on the Joint Economic 
Committee. Today is the last day serving on that committee staff of Dr. 
Robert Keleher. I rise to recognize him briefly.
  He is retiring after many years of valuable service in the Congress. 
Congressman Jim Saxton, when he was chairman, persuaded Bob to join the 
committee staff back in 1996, as chief macroeconomist after an already 
distinguished career. Bob's insightful mind, high standard, and 
extensive knowledge of economics made him a critical component of the 
staff for many years.
  Before joining the committee staff, Bob's career, including serving 
as the senior macroeconomist of President Reagan's Council of Economic 
Advisers in 1985 and 1986, The head of Macro and International 
Economics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and as a special 
monetary and economic adviser to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors 
Vice Chairman Manuel Johnson. I think under anybody's standard, that is 
a very successful career as an economist.

  Bob's contribution to the committee was broad based and valuable. In 
particular, his early and prolific work on the issue of inflation 
targeting represents almost the entire body of congressional analysis 
in this area from 1997 to 2006.
  During his career, Bob also conducted research applying the classical 
principles of economics to tax policy. His research emphasized the 
important effects that marginal tax rates have on economic behavior, in 
particular the positive effects that reducing personal marginal rates 
have on creating incentives for healthy economic growth. We would be 
wise to take Bob's research findings to heart.
  Yet a person's work career is not the only thing that defines him. 
Bob's work was first rate, relevant, and valuable to members of the 
committee. But Bob's character as a man, his judgement, and integrity 
only add to the reasons he will be missed.
  Mr. President, I know my colleagues on the committee, from both the 
Senate and the House, join me in extending a heartfelt thanks to Bob 
for his years of service and in congratulating him upon his retirement.
  Thank you, Bob. We wish you and your family the best. You have earned 
it. Godspeed.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


       Amendments Nos. 2234, 2225, and 2226 To Amendment No. 1908

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
pending amendment to call up the following amendments which are at the 
desk: Leahy No. 2234, Murray No. 2225, and Bill Nelson of Florida No. 
2226.

[[Page S8623]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. Kohl] proposes amendments 
     en bloc numbered 2234, 2225, and 2226 to amendment No. 1908.

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendments be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 2234

  (Purpose: To provide funding for the Office of Inspector General to 
          conduct inspections of the national organic program)

         On page 8, line 2, before the period, insert the 
     following: ``: Provided, That of the amount made available 
     for the Office of Inspector General to conduct investigations 
     such sums as are necessary shall be made available for the 
     inspection of the national organic program established under 
     the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et 
     seq.)''.


                           amendment no. 2225

 (Purpose: To allow State and local governments to participate in the 
                     conservation reserve program)

         On page 85, between lines 16 and 17, insert the 
     following:
         Sec. 7__.  Section 1001(f)(6)(A) of the Food Security Act 
     of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308(f)(6)(A)) is amended by inserting 
     ``(other than the conservation reserve program established 
     under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of 
     this Act)'' before the period at the end.


                           amendment no. 2226

 (Purpose: To prohibit funds made available under this Act from being 
 used to enforce a travel or conference policy that prohibits an event 
 from being held in a location based on a perception that the location 
                  is a resort or vacation destination)

         On page 85, between lines 16 and 17, insert the 
     following:
         Sec. 745.  No agency or department of the United States 
     may use funds made available under this Act to enforce a 
     travel or conference policy that prohibits an event from 
     being held in a certain location based on a perception that 
     the location is a resort or vacation destination.

  Mr. KOHL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2234

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, the Leahy amendment No. 2234 has been 
approved on both sides, and I urge its adoption.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there further debate on the 
amendment?
  If not, the question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 2234) was agreed to.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                          Bovine Tuberculosis

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I seek to clarify with the chairman an 
effort across two States to address the growing issue of bovine 
tuberculosis.
  I have asked the subcommittee to provide funds for a joint effort 
between the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University in 
support of research to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis and 
ultimately eradicate the disease from cattle, deer, and other wildlife. 
My colleagues from Michigan and I understand the negative economic 
impacts bovine tuberculosis impose on our States' agricultural 
industries. In fact, agriculture is the second largest industry in both 
States, and this research is key to protecting our economies.
  However, it is my understanding that this research effort may have 
been mistakenly associated with Michigan's ongoing eradication efforts.
  Mr. KOHL. I thank the Senator from Minnesota for bringing to my 
attention this issue. I understand the importance of the joint research 
effort on bovine tuberculosis taking place at the University of 
Minnesota and Michigan State University.
  I will work with Senator Klobuchar to ensure that the bovine 
tuberculosis joint university research program is addressed as the 
fiscal year 2010 Agriculture appropriations bill moves through the 
legislative process.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I congratulate the chairman for 
crafting a strong fiscal year 2010 Agriculture appropriations bill and 
thank him for his efforts to assist me on this important initiative.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise to offer for the Record, the Budget 
Committee's official scoring of S. 1406, the Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010.
  The bill, as reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, 
provides $23.1 billion in discretionary budget authority for fiscal 
year 2010, which will result in new outlays of $17.7 billion. When 
outlays from prior-year budget authority are taken into account, 
nonemergency discretionary outlays for the bill will total $24.9 
billion.
  The Senate-reported bill matches its section 302(b) allocation for 
budget authority and for outlays.
  The bill is not subject to any budget points of order.
  I ask unanimous consent that the table displaying the Budget 
Committee scoring of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:
  S. 1406, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

 [Spending comparisons--Senate-Reported Bill (in millions of dollars)]

                                                        General purpose
Senate-Reported Bill:
  Budget Authority...............................................23,050
  Outlays........................................................24,886
Senate 302(b) Allocation:
  Budget Authority...............................................23,050
  Outlays........................................................24,886
House-Passed Bill:
  Budget Authority...............................................22,900
  Outlays........................................................24,686
President's Request:
  Budget Authority...............................................22,819
  Outlays........................................................24,743
Senate-Reported Bill Compared To:
  Senate 302(b) allocation:
    Budget Authority................................................  -
    Outlays.........................................................  -
  House-Passed Bill:
    Budget Authority................................................150
    Outlays.........................................................200
  President's Request:
    Budget Authority................................................231
    Outlays.........................................................143

Note: Table does not include 2010 outlays stemming from emergency 
budget authority provided in the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act 
(P. 1102).
  Mr. KOHL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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