[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1716

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I understand we are now in morning 
business. I ask unanimous consent that immediately upon the disposition 
of the Defense appropriations bill, on which we just voted cloture, 
that immediately following the vote on that bill that the Senate return 
to consideration of S. 1716, which is a bill by Senator Grassley and 
Senator Baucus to provide emergency health care relief to the many 
victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita throughout the gulf coast and 
the needs of States throughout the Nation. I ask unanimous consent that 
the bill be brought up for consideration right after the final vote on 
the Defense appropriations bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. FRIST. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will object shortly. As the distinguished 
Senator from Louisiana knows, the issue we are talking about is one 
that is very close to me, one on which she and I have had many 
conversations because it goes right to the heart of health care for 
hundreds of thousands of people. It is an issue we have to address. I 
personally have spent about an hour and a half today on this issue with 
the chairman and many others. We are not there yet. I pledge to keep 
working on this issue. I understand the time urgency of it.
  As the distinguished Senator from Louisiana knows, there are several 
objections on our side, and on behalf of those colleagues, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, may I ask the majority leader a 
question?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Through the Chair, first of all, I appreciate the work 
that he has been doing behind the scenes with the leadership in the 
Senate to press forward on this very important issue. But I would like 
to ask him what he thinks about the possibility of us going home on 
break for over a week before something can be determined definitively 
as to whether people who are without a home, without a job, without a 
church, without a neighborhood, without their family--does the Senator 
think we should possibly make some decisions at least about their 
emergency health care needs before we leave?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the issue of health care and health care 
delivery among peoples who have lost their homes, who have lost 
shelters, security, family members, is something we need to address 
quickly, expeditiously, and we are going to continue to work on it.
  At the same time, I wish to say to the American people who are 
listening to me--and the Senator from Louisiana and I have had the 
opportunity to travel together over the region she is about to discuss, 
and I observed firsthand. Those people now are getting health care, and 
health care is not being denied anybody. It cannot be denied, and it 
will not be denied. The real issue is to make sure that compensation 
for that health care does flow and does flow in a timely fashion to 
where the patient is displaced or to the State of Louisiana or it might 
be Alabama or Mississippi. How that is done most appropriately and 
fairly where the funds can follow the individual and follow the 
patient, the family, is what is being addressed.
  The issue is not as to whether or not health care is being provided. 
Health care is being provided. It is available to those people who need 
it.
  Mr. President, I would like to proceed with a couple of items of 
business, and then I know that the Senator from Louisiana has the floor 
and has a number of very important things to address.
  I should also say that Senator Landrieu and I have been in discussion 
over the course of today on a number of issues that she provided in a 
letter to me which addresses health care issues, small business issues, 
education issues, and community disaster loans. I continue to 
aggressively address all four of those issues with my colleagues as 
well.

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