[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 830-831]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                              NOMINATIONS


     tommy g. thompson to be secretary of health and human services

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I supported Governor Tommy G. Thompson's 
nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) because 
he is a proven leader in reforming welfare, health care, and other 
important social policies.
  As the steward of the Department of Health and Human Services, he 
will be involved in managing more than 300 separate programs and the 
largest budget of any cabinet agency, more than $400 billion per year. 
In this position, it is my hope that he will make providing affordable, 
universal prescription drug coverage to every Medicare beneficiary, and 
reforming the Medicare program to ensure its long-term fiscal solvency 
at the top of his agenda.
  Also, I would hope that under his leadership, HHS will take an active 
role in working to address continued funding and access shortfalls in 
the rural health care system, particularly as they relate to Medicare 
reform. This is especially important in my state of North Dakota, where 
health care providers are struggling to offer quality services to 
seniors living in rural areas. In addition, we know that Governor 
Thompson has fought hard to expand health care coverage for low-income 
parents and children in the state of Wisconsin. It is my hope that he 
will continue this effort at the federal level, with a firm commitment 
to retaining a strong federal role in important programs such as 
Medicaid and the State-Children's Health Insurance Program.
  I look forward to working with Governor Thompson in the coming years 
to improve health care and income security for all Americans.


                      Confirmation of Mel Martinez

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I supported Mel Martinez as Secretary of 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I believe that Mr. 
Martinez will contribute both his knowledge of housing policy and 
personal experience toward increasing home ownership among all 
Americans. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Martinez said that he 
knows the value of home ownership, because he has witnessed its great 
power throughout his entire life. It is true that the foundation of 
community involvement and prosperity is built upon home ownership, 
which is a critical element of the American Dream.
  I am pleased that Mr. Martinez has voiced his support for the 
President's proposal to provide $1.7 billion in tax credits over five 
years to build and renovate single-family homes in poor communities and 
to allocate another $1 billion in tax credits to assist up to 650,000 
families attain their dreams of becoming homeowners.

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  Having emigrated to the United States at the age of 15 and 
successfully risen to the post of Chairman of Orange County, Florida, 
Mr. Martinez has proved his mettle and displayed his commitment to 
public service. I look forward to working with Mr. Martinez in his 
capacity as our nation's newest Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development.


            Norman Mineta to be Secretary of Transportation

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I was very pleased to support the 
nomination of Norman Mineta to be Secretary of Transportation.
  Mr. Mineta has had a long and distinguished career in public service. 
Most recently, he served with distinction as Secretary of Commerce. 
Before that, he served for many years in the House of Representatives, 
where he rose to become Chairman of the Transportation Committee. With 
that background, Mr. Mineta could not be better prepared for the 
challenges he will face.
  One of this country's great competitive advantages in the global 
economy has been our transportation infrastructure, which allows us to 
move raw materials to processing plants and finished products to 
markets around the world with great efficiency. However, our 
infrastructure is starting to show its age. Our roads and airports, in 
particular, are increasingly congested, and delays are costing our 
economy tens of billions of dollars annually. In recent years, the 
Congress has dramatically increased our national commitment to highway 
and airport funding to make sure our infrastructure is up to the 
standards and challenges of the twenty-first century. Our next 
Secretary of Transportation will have the important task of 
implementing these legislative initiatives as well as helping to 
negotiate the next highway bill.
  As he takes on these challenges, I hope Secretary Mineta will keep in 
mind some of the concerns of primarily rural states like North Dakota. 
In my state, Essential Air Service is critically important to 
preserving air service to mid-size communities and helping to foster 
economic development in those communities. More generally, federal 
funding is essential to maintaining the hundreds of miles of highways 
that bridge the distances between population centers. Finally, I had 
the opportunity to talk with Mr. Mineta the other day about the unique 
situation in the Devils Lake region in my state and the need to come up 
with an innovative solution that will maintain the road network in the 
face of continued flooding of Devils Lake.
  I look forward to working with Secretary Mineta on these many issues 
and wish him well in his new position.

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