Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. I yield to my distinguished colleague from Maryland.

Mr. BOND. This amendment has been cleared on both sides and would provide $10 million within the VA medical appropriation for the Primary Care Providers Incentive Act contingent upon authorization. Senators Mikulski and Rockefeller have been working to create a program to facilitate the employment of primary care personnel at the VA, including an education debt reduction program which Senator Mikulski has long been interested in establishing. This program is intended to improve the recruitment and retention of primary care providers, a very important element in the service to the VA. The Primary Care Providers Incentive Act seeks to update VA's educational assistance programs for prospective employees, particularly in areas where recruitment has been difficult. I urge the authorizing committees to act expeditiously on this important program. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself, Senator Mikulski, and Senator Rockefeller and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, this amendment will assist homeless veterans by requiring the federally funded homeless shelters report to the Veterans' Administration the number of homeless veterans they serve, and it seeks to ensure that these homeless veterans be provide information regarding the availability of veterans benefits. The amendment will improve the Federal Government's database on homeless veterans and will help homeless veterans know about programs which can help them address critical needs. It has been cleared on both sides. I urge its adoption, and yield the floor.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, this amendment would provide, within the $17.2 billion medical care appropriation, $20 million for VA's homeless grant and per diem program. The amendment would make these funds available for vocational training, outreach, shelter, and other important activities to aid homeless veterans in a comprehensive manner. This should help meet the needs of the 275,000 veterans who are estimated to be homeless on any given night of the year. Together with funds already included in the bill, we will have provided $100 million in VA homeless assistance. This is a critical need. I commend the other Senators who worked on supporting this. I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND. First, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself, Senator Cleland, and Senator Mikulski and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader and the minority leader for allowing us to get back to this VA-HUD bill. We have had good discussions on it. We have had a very important amendment debated at length on the space station. This is always one of the important points that we have to debate on the VA-HUD bill. We have had great cooperation from Senators on both sides. I think we have narrowed the list of amendments. And we hope to be able to accept and include in the managers' amendment many of the things that have been raised by our colleagues. We are now waiting for Senator Nickles to come forward to debate an amendment on the FHA limits. But we do have a number of amendments we can accept while we are waiting. Amendment No. 3195 (Purpose: To increase funds for VA homeless grant and per diem program)

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, on behalf of Senators Snowe and Collins, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, quite simply, this has to do with getting and keeping methamphetamine production out of public housing. Many of my colleagues do not have the misfortune of understanding why the amendment is so important. Methamphetamine is a raging crisis in Missouri and many other States in the Midwest. And if it isn't in your State now, it may well be soon. For those of you unfamiliar with the drug, it is a highly addictive, artificial stimulant constituted of such unwholesome products as lighter fluid, antifreeze, and ether, among other things. It is highly addictive, some say more so than crack; but it is perhaps the most physically destructive of illegal drugs. In my State of Missouri, through the excellent work of local law enforcement, in cooperation with the State, and with the DEA, nearly 800 clandestine methamphetamine labs were busted last year. Law enforcement reports that there may be even more this year. Meth started off as a rural drug, but labs have started to turn up in the major metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City. Urban drug users are starting to discover this drug as well. It is not likely that this trend will slow down, because the drug is cheaper than crack, it is more potent than crack or cocaine, it is more addictive than either of those drugs, and it can be made in the home or, in fact, almost anywhere else. In fact, it largely, in our State, is a home-made drug, which is the reason why this amendment is important. Most of the meth being consumed in Missouri is homemade in mom-and- pop drug stores. Information necessary to make the drug is widely available and the ingredients can be purchased at your local convenience store or discount store. The drug, however, is very dangerous to produce. While some who make this drug may consider themselves to be amateur chemists, they are actually rather ignorant individuals who are not only endangering themselves but innocent others. Mr. President, I have seen pictures of children horribly burned because adults caring for them have them in the room where this junk is being produced, and when it goes off it can be highly dangerous. It is highly explosive. Producing meth in a kitchen or a basement produces toxins, and it produces highly explosive gas. Meth labs have been known to explode when drug officers go into a bust. They use low-velocity guns, they use low-intensity flashlights, because a flashlight, a hot flashlight, could set off the ether. If you don't believe it, there are buildings that have had the sides blown out of them--motel rooms, shacks, wherever they have done it. When one of the meth labs explodes, it doesn't just cause a little fire. It can burn people. It can kill people. It can blow the sides of buildings out. It is very, very dangerous. That is why this bill provides for training and more assistance to local law enforcement officers, the first responders in emergency personnel--fire officials, law enforcement officials--so they will know what to do when they go into a meth lab. We need to send a clear message that this activity is not welcome and it will not be tolerated in public housing. Not only do we want drug dealers out, but we especially want those out who are so cavalier with the safety of others that they would conduct a chemical operation, a chemistry operation that is highly dangerous, in the heart of a densely populated residential area. Should anyone doubt that this is taking place, law enforcement officers have told me about drug dealers performing the process in hotel rooms, moving cars, trailer parks, State parks, in the parking lot next to our official offices in one city, and in homes with children. This amendment adopts zero tolerance for drug dealers. I hope that it can be adopted.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment for Mr. Ashcroft and myself.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be set aside.

Mr. BOND. I concur with the Senator from Montana. The Committee expects the VA to provide $1.4 million for the Fort Harrison sewer line in an expeditious manner. I thank the Senator from Montana for the clarification.

Mr. BOND. Yes, the Senator is correct. With the resources provided in this bill, states may use Section 319 funding for eligible activities that might have been funded in previous years under Section 314 of the Clean Water Act. It is the Committee's hope that Section 314 program activities can be well supported with the funding provided to the 319 program.

Mr. BOND. I urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider funding the pilot program so that we can assess its success prior to the Fiscal Year 2000 appropriations process.

Mr. BOND. The Senator from Idaho has made me aware that the RCRA Part B permit is to be issued soon.

Mr. BOND. I am aware of the extensive support the Senator has given to WIPP.

Mr. BOND. I am happy to enter into a colloquy with the Senator from Idaho.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today it stand in adjournment until the hour of 9 a.m. on Friday, July 17. I further ask that when the Senate reconvenes on Friday, immediately following the prayer, the routine requests through the morning hour be granted, and the Senate then proceed to stacked votes ordered with respect to the HUD-VA appropriations bill.