[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 29071-29075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           DEMOCRACY FOR CUBA

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I am happy to join my colleague from 
Florida, Senator Martinez, to express outrage at the continued 
injustice carried out by the Castro regime inside of Cuba and to 
highlight that we are at a critical time for democracy inside of Cuba. 
This past Monday, as many of us were sipping coffee and driving to 
work, 70 young Cuban dissidents were arrested, detained, and harassed. 
Ten have been released but others remain detained.
  What was their crime that got them arrested? Were they destroying 
property? Were they stealing food? Were they acting violently? No, none 
of that. They were walking down a street in Havana, and while they were 
peacefully walking down that street together, they had on their arms 
this wristband--this wristband, a simple white wristband--that has one 
word written on it, ``cambio,'' which in Spanish means ``change.''
  This one simple gesture was strong enough to have them thrown in 
prison. This one simple gesture was strong enough to have them detained 
and harassed. But I also hope this one gesture would be strong enough 
to inspire us and to inspire those who love freedom and democracy and 
have respect for human rights around the globe.
  This incident was not isolated. These youth knew the consequences 
their actions might very well bring them--this simple statement of 
wearing a white wristband that says ``change.'' Decades of repression 
has led to decades of fear. But these young people did not show fear. 
They showed courage and, I think, showed us where they want Cuba to go. 
They want it to change.
  Their courage must not fall on deaf ears. We are listening and 
watching. From the Senate floor to the White House we are inspired by 
what these young people have shown us. They have shown us that Cuba can 
and will change, and this change will come from within Cuba, from the 
Cuban people themselves, from its youth. But they need our help, and we 
must continue to fight here to do what we can to empower them and to 
acknowledge them when they empower themselves.
  We also have to build on this momentum. Just like last week, 
President Bush said:

       The operative word in our future dealings with Cuba is not 
     stability. The operative word is freedom.

  One of Cuba's most well-known dissidents, at least inside of Cuba 
suffers, while unfortunately, the rest of the world remains largely 
silent. It is interesting to me how American news stations go to Cuba 
and spend a lot of time with members of the regime but do not spend a 
lot of time focusing on those people inside of Cuba who are trying to 
create movements for freedom and democracy, as others did in other 
parts of the world at different times in our history, such as Lech 
Walesa did in Poland, such as Vaclav Havel did in the former 
Czechoslovakia, such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn did in Russia, and so 
many others such as Nelson Mandela did in his own country.
  There was international spotlight on these people as they were given 
a chance by the world's acknowledgment to try to create movements for 
freedom and democracy in peaceful ways within their own society. Yet in 
Cuba, somehow, because there are those who have lived with the 
romanticism of the Castro regime and do not understand it is nothing 
less than an oppressive dictatorship, they somehow seem to look the 
other way.
  I want to talk just briefly, before I yield the floor to my 
distinguished colleague from Florida, about one of those dissidents who 
gives inspiration to these young people who were arrested simply for 
wearing this plastic white bracelet that says ``change.''
  Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, in his absence because he is in jail--
languishing in Castro's jail--will be receiving the Presidential Medal 
of Freedom next week. Dr. Biscet may not be a household name in 
America, but he is probably the best known political prisoner inside of 
Cuba.
  Let me read a little about him:

       During the Black Spring of 2003, was sentenced to 25 years 
     in prison. The prosecution was the most severe of several 
     that Dr. Biscet had to endure since 1986, when he first 
     publicly declared himself an opponent of the dictatorship.
       Barely a month before he was arrested, Dr. Biscet had 
     completed a 3-year prison sentence for, among other 
     ``crimes,'' displaying the Cuban flag upside down as a form 
     of protest. Before he was imprisoned, Dr. Biscet opposed the 
     regime on several fronts.
       In 1986, a year after he graduated from medical school, he 
     protested the long hours Cuban doctors had to work without 
     pay. In 1997, he started the Lawton Foundation for Human 
     Rights and conducted a secret 10-month study of abortion 
     techniques that

[[Page 29072]]

     found, among other things, that many babies were killed after 
     they were born alive.
       In February of 1998, Dr. Biscet was kicked out of the Cuban 
     national health care system, making it impossible for him to 
     work as a physician because of the principled positions he 
     took.
       During Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in January of 
     1998, activists with the Lawton Foundation publicly 
     demonstrated for the release of Cuban political prisoners. 
     They went on a 40-day liquid fast to demand the release of 
     political prisoners and to draw attention to the human rights 
     situation on the island.
       But by the end of 1999, the dictatorship had enough of Dr. 
     Biscet. On November 3, 1999, he was arrested and eventually 
     sentenced to 3 years in prison for the so-called crimes of 
     dishonoring national symbols--that is, displaying the Cuban 
     flag upside down--public disorder, and inciting delinquent 
     behavior. He finished his sentence in late 2002. But only 36 
     days after finishing that sentence, he was rearrested again 
     while preparing to meet with a group of human rights 
     activists.
       After several months in jail, he was formally charged with 
     being a threat to state security and sentenced to 25 years in 
     prison.

  And he languishes there today. His crime? Seeking peaceful change in 
his country. His crime? Talking about the death of young born children. 
His crime? Fighting against a repressive regime. Yet in America, there 
is silence. There is silence.
  It is amazing to me that such a person could write a letter like this 
even though he has gone through some of the worst things that someone 
can go through in their life: Constant harassment, imprisonment. 
Earlier this year he wrote an open letter from himself from the Kilo 
5.5 Prison in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, that got out. The letter says:

       To my fellow Cubans, wherever you find yourselves, whether 
     in our enslaved island, or in exile in any part of the world.

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full letter be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

An Open Letter From Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet From the Kilo 5.5 Prison in 
                           Pinar del Rio Cuba

       To my fellow Cubans, wherever you find yourselves, whether 
     in our enslaved island, or in exile in any part of the world. 
     I include also those descendents of Cubans born in other 
     lands. To all of you I send my warmest and sincere greetings.
       Our efforts to achieve the unconditional liberty of our 
     nation will soon become reality. I do not need to reveal 
     details to communicate what among Cubans is common knowledge. 
     We suffer not from division or fragmentation in our 
     principles, but rather in which methods to use. We do not 
     lack unity in ideals, but only in the methods to be applied 
     to obtain our liberty. Unfortunately, these insignificant 
     differences of opinion have given room for division among 
     exile leaders and dissidents inside Cuba. These differences 
     have given oxygen to the flames of the most recent and 
     dangerous obstacle that we confront.
       I refer to the movement for complacency. A movement that 
     intends to make Cubans--faithful lovers of liberty--believe 
     that they should applaud and be content to receive only small 
     doses of liberty. A movement that suggests that Cubans do not 
     deserve full liberty, but only small dosages of it. This 
     movement of low expectations unites with speculation that 
     other fragments of liberty and democracy will automatically 
     follow. This thoughtless movement does not claim for Cubans 
     internationally recognized basic human rights, it only 
     suggests them. It does not claim the democratic rights of the 
     violated Constitution of 1940, but opts instead for the 
     framework of the illegitimate Communist constitution of 1976. 
     That constitution is nothing more than an instrument of 
     oppression, a malevolent document whose only purpose is to 
     justify the totalitarian and ill-formulated state. It is an 
     illegal aberration that has permitted and even encouraged the 
     imprisonment, torture and execution of political opponents 
     without even the minimal legal rights or a defense. An 
     atheist abomination that has only served those who enslave 
     our nation.
       To those who feel exhausted after more than 40 years of 
     constant oppression and of unfruitful efforts. To those whose 
     frustrations and discontent have caused them to lose their 
     moral compass. To those who have concluded that we must 
     appease the oppressor. To them I ask:
       Is it acceptable to the memory of the thousands of young 
     Cubans, our best sons, who were executed by firing squads for 
     the simple crime of defending our right to full liberty, to 
     now accept complacency? Do those tens of thousands of 
     compatriots who spent decades in prison, and who are still in 
     a prison system whose horrors we can only imagine, deserve 
     only partial liberty? Do those countless families who were 
     separated from their loved ones and destroyed in the process, 
     or those who have perished at sea, or who have died in exile 
     dreaming of returning to their country, deserve that we now 
     accept the crumbs that we are being offered? Shall we accept 
     defeat after nearly a half a century of patriotic heroism in 
     search of liberty and democracy, or shall we show the world 
     that the most brutal and longest lasting dictatorship in our 
     time could not extinguish the unbreakable spirit of liberty 
     of the Cubans?
       I must tell you that we have reached a crossroad in our 
     history. Nearly a half a century ago we as a nation 
     confronted a similar historical decision. In those days many 
     accepted the fateful words that circulate again today: 
     ``anything would be better than what we already have.'' They 
     were mistaken then and they are mistaken now. Tragically, 
     more than forty years of our national nightmare have elapsed 
     to find ourselves again with the same question, and with the 
     opportunity to correct our mistakes and make ourselves truly 
     the owners of our own destiny.
       I call for the unity of all my compatriots. There exists 
     only one path before us. A path that unites us and includes 
     all Cubans inside and outside the island of Cuba. A path that 
     claims the rights of the citizenry in its entirety. A path 
     that demands full democracy and the unconditional freedom of 
     the Cuban people under a multiparty system of government, 
     democratically elected through free general elections. A path 
     where the Rule of Law is established and which guarantees 
     equality under the law, without distinction of races, sex or 
     religious creed. A path that brings about an unconditional 
     and immediate amnesty to all political prisoners.
       Fellow Cubans, let us take a step forward and let us do it 
     in a clear and decisive manner. The work awaiting us is 
     difficult but not impossible. Together we can achieve for our 
     country the genuine democracy deserved by Cuba's citizens.
       Finally, to the leaders of the democratic states of the 
     world, to the American people, and in particular to the 
     President of the United States, George W. Bush, we ask only 
     one simple commitment: do not support or promote any solution 
     or accord regarding the future of the Cuban nation that you 
     would not consider acceptable for your own country.
       May God illuminate us in our path for the liberty of Cuba.
                                           Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet.

  Mr. MENENDEZ. I want to read only 2 paragraphs of it:

       To those who feel exhausted after more than 40 years of 
     constant oppression and of unfruitful efforts. To those whose 
     frustrations and discontent have caused them to lose their 
     moral compass. To those who have concluded that we must 
     appease the oppressor. To them I ask:
       Is it acceptable to the memory of the thousands of young 
     Cubans, our best sons, who were executed by firing squads for 
     the simple crime of defending our right to full liberty, to 
     now accept complacency? Do those tens of thousands of 
     compatriots who spent decades in prison, and who are still in 
     a prison system whose horrors we can only imagine, deserve 
     only partial liberty? Do those countless families who were 
     separated from their loved ones and destroyed in the process, 
     or those who have perished at sea, or who have died in exile 
     dreaming of returning to their country, deserve that we now 
     accept the crumbs that we are being offered? Shall we accept 
     defeat after nearly a half a century of patriotic heroism in 
     search of liberty and democracy, or shall we show the world 
     that the most brutal--

  The most brutal--

     brand longest lasting dictatorship in our time could not 
     extinguish the unbreakable spirit of [the] liberty of the 
     Cubans?

  That is Dr. Biscet from jail. Those young people who marched on the 
street with a very simple message--with a very simple plastic bracelet: 
``cambio,'' ``change,'' they are inspired by the Dr. Biscet of Cuba and 
others.
  Finally, it is amazing to me that when the island of Cuba is engulfed 
by a tropical storm, instead of making preparations for the people of 
Cuba to be safe, state security is making arrests of young people who 
peacefully walk down a street in Havana because of a simple bracelet 
but also a powerful message of change. It speaks volumes about what 
that regime is about.
  I hope our colleagues use this tragic and other tragic sets of 
circumstances inside of Cuba to think about what our policy should be 
to this regime. I am reminded, standing up here with my colleague from 
Florida, of our successful fight to increase funds to our democracy 
assistance programs inside Cuba which help people create peaceful 
change in their own country.
  We are at a critical time for democracy in Cuba, and the Cuban people 
are the fuel. It is the Cuban people who have faced fear and repression 
for decades. Yet they continue to fight for change. It starts and it 
will finish with

[[Page 29073]]

them. This is why my heart and support go out to them, for what they do 
is more meaningful and powerful than most can imagine. That is why we 
grieve for those arrested and harassed and incarcerated and languishing 
in Castro's jails.
  We are also encouraged. We know they grow stronger. We come to the 
floor of the Senate to make sure they understand they are not alone.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). The Senator from Florida is 
recognized.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from New Jersey, my 
distinguished colleague, for his very passionate and correct and 
appropriate remarks. I think there is no higher moment for this body 
than when we stand with those who are oppressed, as this country has, 
and as this Senate has over the history of our Nation. Standing with 
those who are oppressed is our highest moment and our best calling.
  I do find it ironic that something as simple as this simple little 
white band, with the word ``change'' on it, could be so threatening to 
this illegitimate regime as to have to imprison 70 young people. Now, 
today, we hear that another 40 have been arrested. It is 
unconscionable. It is unthinkable that a regime would be so weak as to 
be so threatened by something as simple as these wristbands we are 
wearing.
  But it is also a sign of the continuing spirit of freedom that 
continues to be alive and well on that imprisoned island. There is no 
question about that. That is why I think it was so appropriate we came 
together to increase the funding for the dissident movement inside 
Cuba--so they can have the simple resources, such as pens and paper, so 
they can communicate with one another and they can add their message of 
freedom and their message of hope.
  I do not have any question these young people, whether they were 
arrested for a few days or for a harsher sentence--and we do not know 
because there is no rule of law; there is no guidepost we can follow--
are simply at the mercy of this regime that for now almost half a 
century has brutalized its people with totalitarian rule.
  I am pleased my colleague from Texas is here, Senator Cornyn. I want 
to give him a moment of time if he cares to comment on this situation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized.
  Mr. CORNYN. Briefly, Mr. President, I commend my distinguished 
friends and colleagues from New Jersey and Florida for this statement 
of solidarity with the Cuban people.
  I could not agree more that it is important--certainly now as much as 
ever--that we stand arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, opposed to 
oppressive regimes that really govern by fear.
  I have to say, just briefly, to my friend from Florida, Senator 
Martinez, I know his personal history of being a refugee from Cuba when 
he was 16 years old, being part of a Pedro Pan effort to bring young 
Cubans to America so they could have a better life.
  He also shared with me recently a movie which, while a work of 
fiction, I think, gave me a very emotional sense of what people in 
Cuba, in Havana in particular, must have experienced with the Cuban 
people being oppressed by Fidel Castro. I have to tell my colleagues, 
it is a bleak existence that these people, who are seeking nothing more 
than the most basic of human rights, have under a heartless regime of a 
dictator such as Fidel Castro.
  So I just wanted to express a few words of thanks and words of 
solidarity for my colleagues from New Jersey and Florida and to 
reiterate that all of us, all of the American people stand in 
solidarity with those in Cuba who seek change, who seek what we perhaps 
too often take for granted; that is, our freedom to speak, to live, to 
worship as we see fit. We ought to do everything we possibly can to 
support them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleagues, 
our two distinguished Members of the Senate who are of Cuban origin and 
who proudly bear that moniker of ``Cuban American,'' one of the most 
distinguished groups in our society in America today.
  I wish to say that at the time Fidel Castro was beginning his 
takeover on the island of Cuba, as a young boy I had the opportunity of 
representing the youth of America and going to the Iron Curtain at the 
German-Czechoslovakian border and speaking over Radio Free Europe to 
the young people behind the Iron Curtain. Of course, at age 17, what I 
saw that day made a lasting impression, for standing there at the 
German-Czechoslovakian border in the little village of Tillyschantz, 
seeing the machine gun nests, the guard towers, the concrete dragon's 
teeth to prevent anyone from breaking through the fence, the mine 
fields, the ground raked very clean so that any footprints could be 
seen, seeing the dogs patrolling back and forth, that, of course, made 
a significant impression upon a young mind that had some appreciation 
for the enslavement of people.
  Now, what happened to the Iron Curtain is happening to Cuba. That 
iron curtain around Cuba is starting to fall, and it is for exactly 
these same things that are happening now: 70 young people walking 
around with white wristbands that say ``cambio''--change--that the 
dying Communist, repressive, totalitarian regime is continuing to lash 
out and arrest them. It is the inevitable march of history that 
ultimately freedom is going to win, just as it did in Eastern Europe 
with the fall of the Iron Curtain that I saw at age 17. It has taken a 
lot longer in Cuba because of its island barrier, because of its 
extraordinary repressive regime.
  So whenever we get a chance to speak out for change--``cambio''--we 
in this Senate need to do it. I am delighted to join my colleagues, 
Senator Martinez and Senator Menendez, in unifying our voices in 
calling for cambio in Cuba.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Florida for 
coming to the floor. Senator Menendez was so eloquent in his 
description of the situation today, and I wish to echo his comments 
regarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom Oscar Elias Biscet will be 
receiving on Monday. It is a wonderful acknowledgment of this Afro-
Cuban doctor. He, in his quest for freedom, has chosen to follow Martin 
Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, and Gandhi. This is a man of peace. 
He is not a man of armed conflict, not a man of violence; he is a man 
of peace. He is in prison, as was mentioned by the Senator from New 
Jersey, but I want us to understand that being in prison in Cuba isn't 
as simple as just being denied the opportunity to walk and move as you 
will but it is to be in the most repressive gulag the world has ever 
seen.
  President Bush last week was speaking eloquently about the situation 
in Cuba. He said: The day this regime ends, those who have supported it 
will be embarrassed by the things that will be revealed, just like 
those who supported the Eastern European gulag or the Nazis or the 
Stalins of the past, who were embarrassed at a time when the full 
measure of their cruelty was seen and recognized.
  As we approach the agricultural fair in Havana, I remember that as a 
young boy--my father was a veterinarian, and one of the biggest thrills 
for me was to go from my small city to Havana to the fair. This was a 
time when the cattle exposition was there, and my father, of course, 
being involved in this industry, was there doing business. I remember 
seeing my first rodeo there. It is a wonderful memory.
  Well, this fair still goes on every year. I know there will be many 
from this country who believe the most appropriate thing to do is to 
make a buck and go there and sell goods and participate in this fair. I 
hope when they are there, they might have the courage themselves to 
wear one of these little wristbands. I will be happy to supply them. I 
have a few. It would be wonderful if they would show up at the fair 
wearing these wristbands that say ``cambio''--just a simple message of 
solidarity with those who are oppressed.

[[Page 29074]]

  We are a people of freedom. We enjoy our liberty, and we want it for 
others. We understand that the time for the Cuban people is coming. The 
hour for the Cuban people is approaching. It is coming. So I thank my 
colleagues for their solidarity, Senator Cornyn from Texas as well as 
my colleague from Florida and Senator Menendez, all joining today in 
one voice seeking ``cambio''--change--and standing together with these 
young people for their courage and their bravery, as well as 
celebrating this wonderful award Dr. Biscet will be receiving on 
Monday, which is a good recognition of his long work in the area of 
human rights, and hoping that it might be an opportunity for the Cuban 
regime to perhaps consider whether it is the time to grant him his 
freedom.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. McCaskill). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for about 7 or 8 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, Members of the House and Senate have 
worked diligently over the last several months to write a bill to 
reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program. They worked hard 
and came to a solid bipartisan compromise. This is a bill that 
Republicans and Democrats alike have championed. Almost 70 Members of 
the Senate voted for the Children's Health Insurance Program, and about 
290 members of the House voted for it.
  Despite the strong support nationwide from both parties in the House 
and both parties in the Senate and the strong support from groups such 
as the United Way to children's hospitals, to pediatricians, to medical 
groups, to all kinds of children's advocates, the President still 
vetoed it.
  Now we have an opportunity to save the bill. For our national leaders 
who are still unsure, I wish they would meet the families benefiting 
from this program. I would love it if President Bush would meet 
families such as the Coltmans of Conneaut, OH, which is not far from 
where my wife grew up, near the Pennsylvania border. The Coltmans are a 
large family with 5 children and 2 hard-working parents.
  In July, their 7-year-old son Caleb was diagnosed with leukemia. The 
doctors are optimistic, but treatment, of course, is very expensive. 
Last year, Kenna Coltman, Caleb's mother, left her job to work for her 
family business, a neighborhood grocery store. Unfortunately, this 
meant she had to search for new health insurance. After a long search 
for private insurance, the Coltman family found an affordable plan, but 
it wasn't scheduled to go into effect until August.
  By that time, Caleb had been diagnosed with leukemia. Needless to 
say, that was a deal breaker for the private insurer.
  Uninsured, facing catastrophic illness--a parent's worse nightmare--
the Coltmans ran out of options. Caleb's mother recounted the 
experience this way:

       If there was absolutely any other way to get our son the 
     care and medication he needs without totally impoverishing 
     our family, we would do it.

  Instead, the Coltmans turned to Ohio's Healthy Start/Healthy Families 
program, a Medicaid-CHIP joint initiative.
  Mrs. Coltman said:

       We were lucky in the fact that last year was a really bad 
     year for us financially, or we may not have even qualified 
     for Medicaid.

  Hear that again:

       We were lucky in the fact that last year was a really bad 
     year for us financially, or we may not have even qualified 
     for Medicaid.

  It seems wrong to me that a family should be feeling ``lucky'' 
because they earned so little money in 1 year that they were able to 
qualify for Medicaid to take care of their son who was diagnosed with 
leukemia.
  But Mrs. Coltman does feel lucky and they qualified--falling below 
200 percent of poverty even after exhausting all their savings.
  Caleb's treatment is now covered. Thankfully, his current prognosis 
is good, and the family business seems to be turning the corner. 
Although the Coltman parents are still without health insurance, the 
children remain covered through SCHIP--a bona fide lifesaver, a real 
lifesaver.
  Let's make sure other families--in Ohio and elsewhere--have access to 
this critical health insurance safety net by sending the Children's 
Health Insurance Program bill to the President's desk.
  Let's provide children in Ohio, in Missouri, and elsewhere, such as 
Caleb, the start in life that will help them to achieve their goals and 
develop to their fullest potential.
  Ten years ago, a Democratic President and Republican Congress made a 
promise to low-income children and their parents. We told them they 
would be able to insure their children. We wrote it into law and the 
Children's Health Insurance Program has worked for 6 million children. 
Now, this bill will help us follow through on that promise for 4 
million additional children.
  There are millions of low-income American children who are eligible 
but not now enrolled. This bill enables our country to follow through 
for more children who are already standing at the door. This bill lets 
them in. We have an insurance program that works, a bipartisan 
consensus that is firm, and a goal that is above politics. Our goal is 
to provide health insurance for our children. Let us move forward.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I have had a number of conversations this 
morning with Democratic and Republican Senators. They are attempting to 
work out a compromise with respect to the CHIP bill, the children's 
health program. They think if they have more time, they can do that. I 
believe they are acting in all sincerity. They have tried very hard. 
They have even had individual meetings with House Members; Democratic 
Senators have met with Republican House Members; Democratic and 
Republican Senators have met with Republican House Members. They have 
tried to work something out.
  It is an unusual situation. They have even been calling the Speaker. 
A number of the prime negotiators have talked to her numerous times on 
the telephone and met with her personally.
  Having said that, this is an effort to try to work something out. I 
ask unanimous consent the motion to proceed to H.R. 3963 be agreed to, 
that the bill be laid aside until 4 p.m. this coming Monday, November 
5; that on that day, Monday, November 5, the Senate vote on cloture on 
the bill at 5 p.m.; if cloture is invoked, there be 2 hours for debate 
on the bill and any possible germane amendments thereto, and at the 
conclusion or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote under 
the provisions of rule XXII.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on behalf of one of the Members on my 
side of the aisle, I would have to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, in an effort to try to be cooperative in 
this matter, I ask consent to allow these individuals more time to deal 
with this, and therefore I ask unanimous consent to proceed to this 
legislation, H.R. 3963, and that it be adopted and the bill be laid 
aside until the disposition of the farm bill, H.R. 2419. That would 
probably not be until, at the earliest, somewhere in the middle of 
November sometime.

[[Page 29075]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, once again there is an objection on 
this side of the aisle.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, of course, I am disappointed. I have tried 
to keep the Republican leader advised. I have done my best to balance 
the requests. I usually do not get in this position of Democratic and 
Republican Senators, but I have been happy to do that. This is my 
effort to try to do that.
  I hope there can be some way, sometime, that we can send a bill to 
the President that he will not veto. Hopefully, this one he will not. 
We have made some changes in it, as I have indicated. We changed to no 
waivers over 300 percent. We have locked in more tightly anything 
dealing with undocumented children. We have cut the time for adults. 
Any adults who are on the program, with no children, they were to have 
2 years, now it is 1 year. We have moved the best we can.
  Having done that, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
now proceed to consideration of the children's health insurance bill, 
H.R. 3963, the time between now and 4:45 p.m. today be equally divided 
between the two leaders or their designees, and no amendments or 
motions be in order to the bill; that at 4:45 p.m. the Senate vote on 
cloture to the bill and that motion to be filed upon reporting of the 
bill; if cloture is invoked, the bill be read a third time and the 
Senate vote without any intervening action or debate on passage of the 
bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, reserving the right to object, and I 
will not object, let me echo the observations of the majority leader 
about how important the children's health insurance issue is.
  This was a measure that originated with a Republican Congress back in 
the 1990s. I think we are going to be able to get this worked out after 
this skirmish that has been going on over the last few weeks in a way 
that will guarantee additional poor children receive the health 
insurance they certainly richly deserve.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent 
request? The chair hears none, and it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. I thank the Chair.

                          ____________________