[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20830-20833]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      DOING THE NATION'S BUSINESS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the past 4 weeks have been extraordinarily 
productive. I thank my colleagues for their participation, for their 
cooperation, and for their patience to make that possible. I thank them 
for accepting some deadlines that we put forward, accepting the overall 
strategy, just as we just heard, of setting a goal far in advance so 
people have the opportunity to prepare and to think so we can most 
efficiently use the time for debate and amendment on the floor of the 
Senate.
  We have passed major legislation, of which we should all be proud. We 
should share that with our constituents, as we go back to our States, 
as we travel around the country to seek input and listen but also to 
say that we are doing the Nation's business.
  Our leadership has developed a straightforward mission. The mission 
is crystal clear. It is to move America forward. We are doing so in a 
manner with values such as civility and trust. We do it in a way that 
is relationship centered, meaning that we are working together to get 
the very best out of our individual Members, in terms of thoughts and 
ideas. We do it in a manner that is solution oriented, that is 
solutions to the problems that we identify, not just rhetoric and not 
just talk about the problems.
  I think we witnessed that yesterday, in a long day that began at 9 
o'clock or 9:30 in the morning but continued until late at night, with 
the ultimate passage of an Energy bill, of which passage, early in the 
morning, people said: No way.
  All the media questions, people coming up were saying it is going to 
take another week or 2 weeks or 3 weeks on this Energy bill. Are you 
going to stay in on Saturday? Are you going to come back and spend all 
of September?
  Yet after initial discussion and proposals, both caucuses worked 
together and worked within themselves and we came together to pass an 
Energy bill that will, indeed, move America forward. We did it against 
what many people would say are the odds. We did it in a very closely 
divided Senate. But it shows that even in that environment, of a 
closely divided Senate, if we keep our eye on a specific goal, we can 
move America forward.
  We have set specific goals. As you just heard, we laid out what we 
are going to be doing next far enough in advance for people to prepare.
  Then we act. Each side has certain strategies, and then we reach that 
goal to give a solution to the American people. That is what Americans 
expect.

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When we talk to our constituents, that is what they say they want. That 
is why they send us to the Senate. They want to be sure we step up to 
the plate on growth and jobs.
  We must be a key partner with the administration in the war on 
terror. We must stand up and act on life and support our values here at 
home and, indeed, around the world. We have much to do in the realm of 
health. We have made progress, but we have much more to do. Our tort 
system is badly in need of reform.
  Of course, during all of this, our utmost responsibility is to 
govern--to govern responsibly, in a responsive way.
  Before we leave for our recess today, reflecting over the last 4 
weeks we have been in session, I therefore jump back to before the 
Fourth of July recess. Before the Fourth of July recess, it was at that 
point that I informed our colleagues we would be doing the Energy bill 
in this final week in July, and we did. I said at that time we would do 
everything possible to finish the Energy bill this week, and we did. As 
late as yesterday morning, there was doubt. Early in the morning, 
people said there was no way it could be done. We got it done by 
cooperation--again, on both sides of the aisle--by determination, and 
by going back to one of those values I keep talking about which we are 
expressing in this Congress--civility. We were successful. We got it 
done. America will benefit. Americans will benefit.
  We have a national comprehensive energy policy coming out of this 
body. Yes, it will be modified. Yes, in part, it will be rewritten over 
the coming weeks. But with the President laying out a plan 2 years and 
3 months ago, with the House of Representatives having acted, and the 
Senate having acted on energy, we can develop that final product to 
send to the President to the benefit of all Americans. It is part of 
government, it is part of leadership, and we have delivered.
  On the international front, last night we passed two highly 
significant trade agreements. One was the Singapore free-trade 
agreement, and the other was the Chile free-trade agreement. Those are 
the first free-trade agreements to move through Congress under the so-
called fast-track authority since that process was restored a year ago. 
It is an important achievement for the body itself, but it is an even 
more important achievement for the world community and for our national 
community as we improve those trade relationships with Chile and 
Singapore.
  As you just look at the action last night on energy, it was a tough 
challenge. Everybody said: No, we have to spend days and days and days 
more. As we look on the success with trade last night, we can say we 
have added another chapter to our work to grow the economy and to 
create jobs. It didn't exist yesterday morning, and now it exists after 
our action last night. As we look at this whole issue of jobs and as we 
travel around the country, it is the No. 1 issue you hear about because 
it affects people's lives so directly.
  We passed the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003. Indeed, as most of us are 
aware, over the last week or week and a half and over the next several 
weeks, 25 million families will receive checks of $400 or more per 
child, which is in addition to the $600 they have already received this 
year. But that additional incremental $400 is because of action here in 
the Senate and passing the jobs and growth package--25 million 
families--indeed, over 500,000 in my home State of Tennessee. If we had 
not acted, they would not be getting the checks. They will be spending 
those checks. Most importantly, they decide how to spend that $400, or 
that $1,000, because of the action of this body. They are the ones who 
decide whether it is on clothing, whether it is on food, or whether it 
is on buying a computer to help their child in education. They will be 
deciding.
  A family of four, because of that jobs and growth package, making 
$40,000 will see their taxes reduced. Remember, that means money in 
their pockets--money they can save and invest. A family of four making 
$40,000: $1,133 in 2003. That is how much their taxes will be reduced.
  The Jobs and Growth Act is the third largest tax cut in history 
passed by this body. The $350 billion package will boost the economy, 
it will grow the number of jobs, and it will allow more Americans to 
control more of their own hard-earned paychecks. This is money they 
have earned which they paid to the Federal Government that the Federal 
Government has returned to them to save and to invest, to boost the 
economy, to make their lives more fulfilling. That is the sort of 
action and the sort of solution that moves America forward.
  Because of our commitment to meeting our legislative goals, we are 
helping to put America on the road to economic security. We are 
committed to strengthening America's economy. We are committed to 
providing each American with more of that economic security. And we are 
committed to ensuring that the playing field is fair.
  On the international front, we funded Operation Iraqi Freedom in less 
than 2 months. We have liberated the Iraqi people from the clutches of 
a vicious and brutal dictator, a mass murderer who has killed thousands 
of his own people, including members of his own family as well as 
thousands of people from lands outside of the Iraqi border.
  Over the last several weeks, we have had the opportunity to be 
briefed by people directly in Iraq who are participating in the 
rebuilding of that democracy. They brought to us encouraging news that 
all too often we don't see on the front pages of the newspapers or in 
the coverage on the television. But we are hearing directly from them. 
We are making progress. Is it slow? Of course, it is slower than any of 
us would want. But it is steady, consistent progress. The Senate will 
continue to support this ongoing war on terror. We will continue our 
financial commitment. We will continue our moral commitment until 
America's enemies are defeated.
  Internationally, we also passed the NATO Expansion Treaty bringing 
700 new nations into that cornerstone organization of freedom in the 
Western World. We are bringing more and more countries into the orbit 
of democratic nations and providing more of the world's economic 
citizens with that sort of opportunity, and more of the world's 
citizens with that economic security that they, too, deserve.
  The Senate is also flexing its influence to reform countries that 
defy their citizens their natural, God-given rights to be free. We did 
that recently with the assistant majority leader, Senator McConnell's 
Burmese Freedom Act just several weeks ago. With a bit of luck, we will 
finish action on the authorization of our foreign aid programs so that 
we can further enhance our voice and our values around the world.
  Again, if we jump back 5 or 6 weeks, before the last recess, I 
articulated my goal to pass major appropriations bills in a timely 
fashion. This, too, we are accomplishing in an organized, systematic 
way.
  The colloquy that just occurred on the floor with the distinguished 
chairman of the Labor-HHS bill is a manifestation of planning and a 
systematized approach of a strategy where we can address that very 
important bill in a timely fashion. If we do it as he mentioned--as he 
will be explaining on the floor of this Senate on the Tuesday we come 
back--if we do it instead of delaying, there will be an additional $3 
billion available. If it happens to be available the way the law is 
written, that committee will not have the incentive later to take the 
action but will address the bill right now.
  This is in contrast to the last Congress. There was a logjam we had 
in the last Congress where the appropriations bills really got stopped. 
In fact, it was not until this Congress that we passed 11 of the 13 
appropriations bills that were supposed to be passed in the last 
Congress. We did that in the first couple months of this Congress.
  But we are making progress. We built on our success with the FAA 
authorization bill, the extension of unemployment benefits. When you 
look at the appropriations, in 3 short weeks we passed the legislative 
branch, the Department of Defense, military construction, and the 
Homeland Security

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appropriations bills. That keeps moving America forward. And we will 
come to Labor-HHS when we return.
  I should mention that on the Homeland Security appropriations bill we 
had distinguished leadership. I applaud and personally thank Senator 
Thad Cochran for his tremendous work in particular because that was the 
first time we have had this Department of Homeland Security and, thus, 
it is a new appropriations bill. It was handled magnificently on the 
floor, and we were able to successfully complete the Homeland Security 
appropriations bill.
  This whole process of setting goals, implementing a strategy in a 
civil environment, and working hard through debate and amendment is 
working. If you look at our commitment on health and health issues, 
people see the commitment there. They saw it as we set out the agenda 
in early January on a whole range of issues.
  In January, most people, on Medicare, said: The Senate is not going 
to be able to do it. The House can probably do it. They have done it in 
the past. In fact, they do it really in every Congress. The rules are 
very different in the House. But most people said: In the Senate 
Medicare is too partisan. There is too much bickering. People use it 
for political purposes. It can't be done.
  Yet, again, we delivered. Now the Senate has passed a bill that, for 
the first time in the history of this wonderful Medicare program--that 
simply is out-of-date, but a wonderful program that as a physician I 
have had direct experience with for 20 years, just about every day 
taking care of Medicare patients before coming to the Senate, writing 
thousands of prescriptions myself--for the first time those 
prescriptions I was writing become a part of Medicare.
  Heretofore, these outpatient prescriptions have not been a part of 
Medicare. Yet the way health care has evolved, these medicines today 
are probably the most powerful component, the most powerful tool 
doctors and nurses and health care providers have to give seniors 
health care security, to give patients health care security.
  In addition, seniors and individuals with disabilities will have the 
opportunity, for the first time in Medicare, to choose a plan or a type 
of health care coverage that best suits their individual needs. We 
passed it in the Senate. We did what a lot of people said we were just 
not going to be able to do. And it was bipartisan. There were over 70 
votes, and it was really kind of driven to get as many votes as 
possible but with good policy, taking the very best of the Democratic 
ideas and the very best of the Republican ideas, and melding those 
together.
  We have a challenge I am very hopeful we will meet by late September; 
that is, to take that House bill, to take the Senate bill--the 
conference is underway now--and, in conference, develop a bill that 
will be strong, that will guarantee seniors access to good prescription 
drug coverage, and give them the choice of a plan that best meets their 
needs.
  I will say--because people don't talk about it very much on the 
floor; and I am speaking as an individual but also as a conferee--it is 
important for us to complete action in this conference by late 
September. The sooner we complete action on the bill, the sooner every 
senior--people who are listening broadly around the country or near 
seniors--will have a prescription drug card within months--within 
months--of the time the President actually signs that bill; every 
senior will get some help with that card in the very near future if 
they are buying prescription drugs.
  So the sooner we complete the bill, the sooner we can get the benefit 
to the seniors, especially those seniors who are hurting, who are in an 
economic position where this burden of buying prescription drugs is 
great, is heavy. The sooner we pass this bill--it has to be a good 
bill; it has to be an appropriate bill; it has to be a balanced bill; 
and it has to be, most importantly, a responsible bill--the sooner 
seniors can benefit from the $400 billion that this body, the House, 
and the President of the United States have all agreed we want to get 
to seniors.
  So it is ready in terms of the commitment that is made. The money is 
there. Now we need the vehicle itself. And that is what we are doing in 
conference. So the sooner we can get it done, the sooner seniors will 
be able to benefit.
  On health, I will also have to mention the global HIV/AIDS bill this 
body passed several months ago under the distinguished leadership, 
great leadership, of Chairman Dick Lugar. This global HIV/AIDS bill 
addresses the greatest moral, humanitarian, and public health challenge 
of the last 100 years. It shows we are caring. It shows we have 
compassion. It shows we do not just talk about it, but that we lead on 
it.
  I commend President Bush, in his State of the Union Message, for 
leading on it, and this body for responding appropriately at a level--
again, in a bipartisan way--that most people in this country and, 
indeed, the world would not have anticipated.
  As a physician, I have had the opportunity over a 20-year period to 
take care of HIV/AIDS patients personally, both when I was at 
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and also as I did my medical 
training in Boston, MA, and out at Stanford in California. I can tell 
you, when you have the opportunity to look back over a 20-year period--
in 1983 we did not know this virus existed. We did not know about it. 
The best scientists in the world did not know this virus existed. Then 
it killed five people in the country. Then it killed, in the world, a 
million people, then 5 million people, then 10 million people. And now 
23 million people have died over that 20 years since 1983.
  We are responding. This is the first time we have really stepped up 
and said: We are going to eliminate this virus. I am very proud of my 
colleagues and gratified that the Senate stepped up with this 
determination to dedicate $15 billion, which is the figure people think 
of, but equally important, taking a leadership role for comprehensively 
addressing the ravages of this virus.
  By passing this legislation, we are helping to prevent 7 million new 
infections, we are providing antiretroviral drugs for 2 million HIV-
infected people, providing care for 10 million HIV-infected 
individuals, and investing in research so we will find a cure.
  Right now, today, there is no cure for this virus. There is no 
vaccine to prevent this virus. Thus we need to do everything we can to 
both preserve our great pharmacologic research endeavors in this 
country and, at the same time, invest in a responsible way so we can 
encourage and give incentives to encourage investment to find a cure--a 
cure that if you had the virus, you will be able to cure the virus, and 
also to prevent the virus. And you can do that with a vaccine.
  In this Congress, we have seen Senator Susan Collins lead the 
campaign to increase public access to defibrillation of the heart. When 
a heart fibrillates, it becomes like a bag of worms. Instead of beating 
regularly, it begins to fibrillate. And that is when people die, 
because the heart is not pumping. But if you can get to them quickly 
enough, you can put those paddles on, and you can shock the heart back 
to that normal, constant beating.
  That public access to defibrillation is important. It is something on 
which we are making huge progress, specifically under the leadership of 
Senator Susan Collins.
  We passed the Trauma Care Systems Planning and Development Act. So if 
driving home today you were to have an accident, there will be a trauma 
center to respond to you immediately, especially when time and 
expertise become critically important.
  Our values have been on display this session as well.
  We have allotted significant resources to upgrade the technology at 
America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We took a 
historic step in bringing a National Museum of African American History 
and Culture to our Nation's capital by passage of that bill.
  It has been 80 years of petitions that has led to an understanding of 
how we might respond. But in terms of developing the museum, it took 
passage on

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the floor of the Senate for it to take that next step to become a 
reality. I have to thank Senator Sam Brownback and Congressman John 
Lewis from the other side of the Capitol for their tremendous 
leadership.
  Senator Lamar Alexander has focused on the American History and 
Civics Education Act. Because of his leadership, America's students 
will have the opportunity to learn our Nation's great history and civic 
traditions. I thank Senator Gregg for his bill, the Keeping Children 
and Families Safe Act. We acted on legislation to make it easier for 
States to continue their efforts to enroll children in health care 
programs. The SCHIP legislation makes a difference in thousands and 
thousands of families' lives.
  There were three items passed earlier this year I want to mention. In 
March we passed the partial-birth abortion ban. We have an agreement 
with the other side of the aisle to address this issue for a day 
sometime in September. The following month, we passed the CARE Act, the 
President's faith-based initiative. That same month we passed the AMBER 
alert. The lives of millions of Americans and future citizens will be 
protected by all of these efforts. Each of these items demonstrates our 
deep compassion for our most vulnerable citizens.
  The Senate is accomplishing all of this through hard work, through 
cooperation among Members on both sides of the aisle. I thank my 
colleagues for their efforts. We are overcoming partisanship. We are 
stressing civility and trust. We are making the legislative process 
work in an orderly and systematic way.
  One area, however, that is in some ways undermining progress is the 
obstruction we are seeing with regard to Presidential circuit court 
nominees. We have seen it with Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen, and 
William Pryor. Now is not the time to rehearse the history of the last 
7 months, but it is enough to say that the process is broken. The 
process is not working. I would only hope as the fall unfolds, we will 
find ways for the Senate to vote up or down. That is really all this 
side of the aisle is asking for, to have that opportunity to vote yes 
or no, up or down on the President's judicial nominations.
  When it comes to the fall, we will continue our work to govern 
responsibly and comprehensively. We will complete our efforts with 
regard to the emergency supplemental as well as funding the President's 
request submitted in early July.
  In those coming weeks of the fall, we will also complete action on 
several remaining appropriations bills. As we outlined earlier today, 
we will begin with the Labor, Health and Human Services legislation. 
That legislation underwrites many of our Federal efforts to help where 
we must to make a difference in so many Americans' lives.
  We will also continue to work this fall on asbestos reform 
legislation. It is clear that is a pressing national crisis. I am 
convinced that with goodwill and cooperation, we will be able to 
responsibly address this issue. I have talked with the Democratic 
leadership repeatedly, and we all agree it is an issue we can address 
and will address sometime in the future.
  We will also take up at some juncture class action lawsuit reform. It 
is a fairly quiet bill in the background, but it is one that will make 
a huge difference in the fair and quick administration of justice 
nationwide. We will also be revisiting medical litigation reform 
sometime in the fall. There are other items we can address in terms of 
tort reform that we in all likelihood will be considering. We will 
continue to stand for issues surrounding life. We will complete action 
on the partial-birth abortion ban at some point in September, and then 
we will move ahead on legislation addressing the Unborn Victims of 
Violence Act.
  Yesterday Senator Judd Gregg announced hearings in September on 
public health issues on tobacco. I know the distinguished Senator from 
Kentucky, Mr. McConnell, introduced legislation on Wednesday with 
regard to buying out quotas from tobacco farmers. We will be addressing 
all of those issues in the coming months. In addition, we will be 
looking for other opportunities.
  In closing, I thank my leadership colleagues who have helped me each 
and every day over the last 7 months: Our distinguished President pro 
tempore, Ted Stevens; I talk to Chairman Stevens daily. He is an avid 
user of e-mail so I get three or four every day, which I quickly 
answer, a canny veteran whose counsel daily has proven invaluable to me 
and to so many others; our assistant majority leader, Mitch McConnell, 
whose tireless work day in and day out has kept us together as a team 
and a conference in these months, is really the glue to our conference; 
Conference Chairman Rick Santorum, who continues to work in overdrive, 
working overtime, working with passion to keep an eye on the midterm 
and the long-term issues that are so important to us, focusing so often 
on those basic values we share; Jon Kyl, our policy committee chairman, 
whose attention and focus and study, by leading the policy committee, 
all ensures that we legislate the very best we can, with the very best 
information at every opportunity; Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, our 
vice chairman, who stands so often as our public persona in addressing 
issues and explaining those issues in a way that is important for the 
American people to understand, addressing issues in a sophisticated, 
substantive way, but at the same time explaining those so Americans can 
indeed fully understand where this institution is moving; George Allen, 
our senatorial chairman, whose instincts are so often right and right 
on target; Judd Gregg, who I rely on daily for counsel, whose word I 
trust and whose support so often makes a huge difference in this 
Chamber; Senator Bob Bennett, our chief deputy whip, whose work with 
colleagues we simply could not do without; Senator Arlen Specter, who 
was just on the floor, whose thoughts and advice inform so many of the 
decisions we make here.
  I am grateful to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who 
share a thought, who share with me that single word, that piece of 
advice out of their busy day. I am proud that together as Senators we 
have preserved what our predecessors have given us and are working to 
pass on to our successors even something a little bit better.
  I thank all the Senators for their hard work, their diligence, and 
their cooperation. I look forward to returning in September to continue 
our work on the people's business.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennett). The Senator from Rhode Island.

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