[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19926]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                REGARDING SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 4365

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                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2000

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I voted against 
passage of the Senate amendments to H.R. 4365, the Children's Health 
Act. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the reason for my 
vote, especially in light of the fact that I voted in favor of the bill 
when it was first considered by the House on May 9, 2000.
  H.R. 4365 reauthorizes and revises a number of children's health and 
drug abuse prevention and treatment programs. I am particularly pleased 
that the bill includes several new initiatives to combat asthma in 
children. The asthma epidemic has been particularly troublesome; 
national survey data indicate that the number of children with asthma 
in the nation has more than doubled in the past 15 years and the number 
of deaths attributed to asthma in children more than tripled between 
1977 and 1995.
  I also strongly support the bill's provisions to expand efforts to 
assist children with hearing loss and autism, the provisions providing 
grants to states to improve the health and safety of children in child 
care facilities, and the new programs intended to help prevent birth 
defects.
  However, I did not vote in favor of H.R. 4365 because the Senate 
included provisions requiring the United States Sentencing Commission 
to amend the federal sentencing guidelines to provide for mandatory 
minimum sentences for crimes related to the manufacture, importation, 
exportation, and trafficking of methamphetamine and ecstasy. While I of 
course do not condone the manufacture, use, or distribution of these 
two dangerous and illegal controlled substances, I also strongly 
believe that sentencing for federal criminal offenses should be left to 
the discretion of federal judges and that they should be permitted to 
take into account the facts and circumstances surrounding each 
individual case.

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