Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I particularly thank my distinguished colleague from Massachusetts for yielding to me. I am very pleased to join with him in offering this critically important amendment. Late last year, Senator Kerry and I introduced legislation, which is bipartisan legislation aimed at providing support to help families give their children the kind of encouragement, love, early training and a healthy environment they need to develop their social and intellectual capacities. I have had the opportunity in my years both as Governor and in the Senate to work with children and work in the development of children. I am convinced that many of society's problems today--the high school dropout rate, drug and tobacco use, juvenile crime, even adult crime--can all be linked to inadequate child care and early childhood development opportunities. Let me just tell you a brief story about the first really broad-based early childhood development program that we put into effect in Missouri. Our Parents As Teachers Program was designed to provide assistance through educating and informing and giving helpful advice to parents of children from birth to 3 years old--how they could relate to the children, how they could establish better contact with the children, how they could excite the child's curiosity, to get involved with reading and learning. I was having a difficult time getting it through the Missouri legislature. I recommended it in 1981 and 1982 and 1983, and someone always had a reason to vote against it. I never got it through. Finally, in my last year as Governor I said we are going to make an all-out push because this program is making a difference. We were seeing in the pilot projects in four school districts that children whose parents had been in Parents As Teachers came to school ready to learn. Their parents had taken responsibility. The parents were involved in their education. They had developed the pattern of involvement. The program itself identified potential learning disabilities or physical disabilities early on, which could be best corrected at those early ages. I told everybody I was going to focus attention on early childhood development. Without my direct suggestion or intervention, the Director of Corrections, the Missouri Department of Corrections, the man who managed all of the prisons and the parole and probation efforts in Missouri, Dr. Leroy Black, on his own, came before the committee that was hearing testimony on Parents As Teachers. We had just gone on a major prison-building exercise in Missouri. In that 4 years of my second term we had increased the prison spaces 88 percent. People were wondering whether we could ever catch up with the prison population. He came before that committee with a very simple, straightforward message. He said if we want to cut down on the need to keep building prisons in the future, we are going to have to deal with early childhood development. He said the failures in early education, the failures of parental responsibility, the failures of the parents to be involved--for some care giver to make sure these children were getting an education, being taught responsibility--is the greatest cause of the increase in crime and the increase in prison population. He was successful. He was a great help in getting this program established on a Statewide basis. Yes, as Senator Kerry mentioned, we now have studies based on this program and others that show a child's social and intellectual development is deeply rooted in the early interaction and nurturing a child receives in his or her early years and the scientific research shows that infant brain development occurs much more rapidly than previously thought. We used to think of those cute little infants, birth to 3 years old, as being cuddly, wonderful things without much going on. But brains are developing--50 percent of a child's mature learning capabilities are developed by the age of 3. They are in a very rapid mode of development. Anybody who has tried to teach a child to speak two languages instead of one language will find a very small child--you think they would learn English slowly--but they will learn another language, too, just as quickly, where an adult is having a great deal of difficulty trying to learn another language. They are in a rapid mode where they can accept new inputs and they are learning rapidly. The role parents and adults play is critical. That is when the patterns are established for the future learning of future responsibility of the children. I had long said the first 3 years of life was the greatest learning experience for a child. I found when our son Sam was born, that the first 3 years of his life were the fastest learning experience in my life. I learned a lot more in those 3 years than I had learned in many years as Governor and various offices that I had held. Learning about a child and learning how important that education is, is quite an experience. Frankly, some of the people who attacked our early childhood development program, Parents As Teachers, were accusing it of being subversive. They thought it was subversive because we were encouraging government to come in and take over the raising of children. That is not the purpose of the program. We provided the parents the tools to be the first educators of the children. Guess what happened. It was subversive in that it hooked the parents into the child's development and well-being and welfare and education. When we are talking about discouraging children from using tobacco, and as we did in the amendment adopted this week, from using drugs, from using alcohol, parental responsibility is a vitally important part of that program. We believe establishing responsibility can best occur with assistance through early childhood development. Parental responsibility is very important. Yet, there are times when parents need some help. That is what the other part of this bill does. Parents today face a variety of stresses that were unheard of a generation ago. Many families with children rely on more than one paycheck. That doesn't necessarily mean two 9-to-5 paychecks. Many families are working tag-team shifts or part-time only, or own home-based businesses so one parent can always be with the children. The challenges are tremendous and the challenges are not going to get any easier. As we all know, the most dangerous time of the day when children engage in harmful activities, such as tobacco or drug use or crime, is between the hours after school and before parents get home from work. In an average week in America, over 5 million children under the age of 13 come home to an empty house. These are the kids who are most vulnerable and who engage in activities which may threaten their future. Providing increased funding for early childhood development and constructive after-school activities will serve as a powerful deterrent to these damaging behaviors. Ultimately, however, it is important to remember that the likelihood of a child growing up in a healthy, nurturing environment is most impacted by his or her parents and family. While government cannot and should not become a substitute for parents and family, we can help them become stronger by equipping them with the resources to meet every day challenges. The Kerry-Bond amendment achieves that goal. This amendment will lay the foundation needed to realize meaningful reductions in tobacco and drug use, juvenile crime, and other social ills which plague our society. Again, prevention is the key. Investing in early childhood development initiatives and before and after school activities is an important weapon in our fight against our Nation's unhealthy and life-threatening activities. The future well-being of our children is too important for us to break continually along partisan lines. I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment, and I thank my distinguished colleague from Massachusetts for his hard work and dedication to this cause. Cloture Motion

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a serious challenge to law enforcement, to communities, to our youth, and to the future of our country. Methamphetamine, as most of us in this body know, is a growing danger in many of our communities. We have the dubious distinction in Missouri of having achieved the highest ranking in the number of clandestine methamphetamine labs busted in the last year. Seven hundred labs were busted where they were cooking up this deadly brew to endanger their neighbors, to threaten the lives and the future of our young people and our adults. Methamphetamine, or crank, is a hot new drug, and it is supposed to have a wonderful temporary feeling. The problem is it destroys the body and the minds of the users. It also, when it is prepared, leaves a deadly residue and threatens explosion and fires that have injured many innocent people. Methamphetamine dealers are the very worst kind of social predators, far worse than even an average drug dealer, and that is saying something. They have the same disregard for young lives they seek to spoil, but they also possess a callous indifference to the entire public. Meth cookers prepare their drugs in homes, in rented apartments and hotel rooms, but the meth cooking process is a very dangerous one because it produces dangerous byproducts including carcinogens and toxins and combustible gases. While it is being cooked, it is highly explosive. I have talked with law enforcement officers who go in who have to use low-powered flashlights because a really hot flashlight could set off a spontaneous combustion in a meth lab. I have seen the pictures of young children who have been on cooking sites with their parents or care givers when the mess caught fire and burned them horribly. The aftermath of the process is a mini toxic waste site. The waste sites litter my State of Missouri. Despite the danger, law enforcement officers in my home State continue their heroic effort every day to bring more of these labs down. They are currently outgunned because the methamphetamine production and sales have been spreading. The problem is severe, and many of the lab sites are so dangerous that local law enforcement agencies cannot handle the responsibility alone. We have been very gratified that many of the local police agencies and law enforcement agencies in my State have been provided invaluable assistance by the Drug Enforcement Agency, the DEA. As I said, last year, 700 labs were taken down. This year, it looks like they may even exceed that number. The lab sites must be cleaned up promptly, and that is where the problem comes in. The responsibility initially falls on local law enforcement officials, and the drug dealers are not very concerned about what mess they leave with the community. Cleaning up the waste on these sites can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $40,000. Our law enforcement agencies are not funded to do this. Our law enforcement agencies, when I talked with the DEA and the local police and the local sheriffs around Missouri, find out they have to waste valuable manpower just babysitting the sites, keeping people away from these sites so they do not stumble in and get caught in one of these dangerous meth sites. For that reason, I believe we should embark on a State-Federal partnership to ensure that these labs are fully cleaned up and the nuisance is removed immediately from local communities. In the HUD-VA appropriations bill, we have included a pilot project for $2 million to go to our Department of Natural Resources for the State of Missouri, to institute a cleanup partnership between the State and local law enforcement. With these valuable resources, the State environmental expert will team up with local law enforcement agencies on the sites promptly and rid the town of toxic waste. The State will have funds to outfit a cleanup detail, expand that detail, and equip itself to respond to all corners of the State. The State will also have the resources to share with local governments, who must move in and respond to emergency cleanups, a process that could otherwise bankrupt many small communities. On a broader basis, we recognize this problem is a nationwide problem. In the Superfund measure that has been reported out of the Environment and Public Works Committee, that I hope this body will be able to take up, we provided that brownfields money can be used for toxic waste cleanups of methamphetamine sites because, in fact, they are toxic waste sites and, in essence, may be more dangerous than many of the sites already classified as toxic waste sites. What happens when one of these sites becomes a site for cooking meth is deadly. The meth labs can blow up--blow the front off the building. If they are in a motel, people innocently taking a room in the adjacent room may find themselves victims of a blast. But whoever comes on a site, a methamphetamine site, after cooking has occurred there, is in a very dangerous position. We need to crack down to the fullest extent of the law on these predators, but until we win that war we must protect our community. This effort will go a long way toward helping our law enforcement fulfill that responsibility. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 11, for purposes of conducting a full committee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to receive testimony on the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, the Finance Committee requests unanimous consent to conduct a hearing on Thursday, June 11, 1998 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in room 215 Dirksen.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, the Finance Committee requests unanimous consent to conduct a hearing on Thursday, June 18, 1998 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in room 215 Dirksen.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 11, 1998 at 10:30 and 2:00 p.m. to hold hearings.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Subcommittee on Employment and Training, be authorized to meet for a hearing on ``Child Labor'' during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 11, 1998, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee on Energy Research, Development, Production, and Regulation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 11, for purposes of conducting a subcommittee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. The purposes of this oversight hearing is to receive testimony on the federal oil valuation regulations of the Minerals Management Service.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Immigration, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 11, 1998 at 2:00 p.m. to hold a hearing in room 226, Senate Dirksen Building, on: ``Immigration and Naturalization Service reform: The Service side.''

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, as we speak, there is work going on on redrafting the Gramm-Roth amendment to add what I think is a vitally important provision to provide tax relief through full deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed. To me that is another very, very significant step that we should take for the purpose of fairness, the purpose of assuring that all people in this country have health care, to ensure that those who may suffer illnesses or disability as a result of the use of tobacco have adequate care when they become ill. The revised amendment has not yet been offered, but I rise in strong support of the Gramm-Roth amendment, because it will return a portion of the revenues raised from the tobacco tax to taxpayers who are bearing the burden of this tax increase. I am pleased to be a cosponsor. The objective is to discourage use of tobacco by raising the price, and certainly tax increases will do that, but the purpose of the bill should not be to raise the taxes and produce massive new Government spending. I think it is appropriate that we use this bill to provide tax relief to the people who are going to be paying increased taxes on tobacco. The amendment's phaseout of the marriage penalty for couples with incomes of less than $50,000 is a solid first step to eliminating the marriage penalty completely. We should be encouraging people to marry and raise their children in a marriage. Under current law, many two-income wage earners, particularly if they are both earning good wages, are penalized by paying higher taxes as a result of being married than they would be paying if they were single. In addition, I think it is fitting that part of the tobacco tax revenues will be used to ease the burdens of the tax increase which will be borne by Americans in the lowest tax brackets. I am also extremely pleased that part of these revenues will be used to eliminate another inequity in the Tax Code--the deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed. This amendment will finally-- finally--make full deductibility a reality beginning next year. Again, it is fitting to use tobacco revenues for this purpose since two-thirds of families headed by a self-employed individual with no health insurance earn less than $50,000 a year. That is from a March 1997 Current Population Survey. I don't have in hand the statistics on the number of those people who may be tobacco users, but I suspect that it is a significant number who would be taxed by the increased cost of cigarettes who would find it difficult to make commitments, like buying health insurance, if they don't have this relief. Today, while the self-employed, as a result of our actions in the last couple of years, which I led and strongly supported, can deduct 45 percent of their health insurance costs, they are still not on a level playing field with large businesses which can deduct 100 percent. While the self-employed are slated to have full deductibility in 2007, and I am very grateful to the Members of this body who supported our efforts to get that goal, what self-employed person or family members can wait 9 more years to get sick? It just isn't going to happen. Nobody is willing to wait 9 years to get their health insurance, and we should not wait 9 years to give them fair tax treatment for buying health insurance for themselves and their families. An immediate increase in the deduction to 100 percent would make health insurance more affordable and accessible to 5.4 million Americans in families headed by self-employed individuals who currently have no health insurance. Full deductibility will also help bring insurance to 1.5 million children who live in households headed by self-employed individuals where there is no health insurance. Coverage of these self-employed individuals and their children through the self-employed health insurance deduction will enable the private sector to address the health care needs of these individuals rather than having an expensive, intrusive, and burdensome Federal bureaucracy to do it. It has long been my goal that the self-employed have immediate 100 percent deductibility of health insurance costs. I have sought every opportunity to achieve that goal. In 1995, my amendment to the Balanced Budget Act, which President Clinton vetoed, would have increased the health insurance deduction for the self-employed to 50 percent. In 1996, I worked with Senator Kassebaum and Senator Kennedy to include in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act an increase in the self-employed health insurance deduction incrementally over 10 years to 80 percent. In 1997, provisions of my Home-Based Business Fairness Act were included in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, finally increasing the deduction to 100 percent in 2007 and accelerating the phase-in over existing law. This year, I and others who have been strong supporters, on a bipartisan basis, of this measure worked with Chairman Domenici to include language in the budget resolution calling for funds to be available to accelerate the 100-percent deductibility of health insurance by the self-employed. If this tobacco bill is signed into law without full deductibility, I intend to be back--and I will be back as many times as it takes--to finish the job. Right now, full deductibility is available in 2007. I intend to be here to see it move up to an immediate deductibility to end the glaring unfairness of the discrimination against people who have to buy their own health insurance who are not provided health insurance by their employer. The goal of providing full deductibility of health insurance costs for the self-employed has long enjoyed broad bipartisan support. My colleague who was just on the floor has long championed it. We do have support on both sides of the aisle. We have support from small business, we have support from agriculture, because it is right, it is necessary. We are talking about health care. We are talking about eliminating a penalty, a tax penalty that discourages people from being able to acquire their own health insurance for themselves and their families. Let us continue the spirit of bipartisanship by adopting this amendment and not miss an opportunity to help the self-employed get the insurance coverage they need and deserve. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this amendment when it comes to the floor. I intend to be a cosponsor. And I trust that we will have a strong bipartisan majority for the amendment when it is offered. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. WELLSTONE addressed the Chair.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the new tradition of ``Father's Month'' in St. Louis, Missouri founded by Mayor Clarence Harmon. Being a father myself, I know the important role that a father's nurturing can make in a child's life. A father's influence can help a child grow into a healthy, happy, well-adjusted adult. The purpose of ``Father's Month'' will be to encourage the community to actively work toward a common goal of fathers who take a larger role in the development of their children. I agree with Mayor Harmon that merely providing financial support is not enough. With the continuing efforts of St. Louis to promote events that teach positive family values and family togetherness, there is no telling how much the community can achieve. I offer Mayor Harmon and the community of St. Louis support and gratitude during ``Father's Month.''

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today I introduce a measure on behalf of myself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Grassley, and others which sends a strong message to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) that the United States Senate disapproves of the agency's recent rule regarding surety bond requirements for home health agencies. The surety bond regulation, coupled with HCFA's implementation of the Interim Payment System (IPS) for home health, are crippling the ability of our Nation's home health agencies to provide high quality care to our Nation's seniors and disabled. Over this past month alone, in St. Louis, Missouri, the two largest home health providers decided to get out of the home health business-- leaving hundreds of elderly and disabled patients searching for a new provider. The invaluable, dedicated services provided by the largest independent provider in St. Louis , the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), will no longer be realized by the approximately 600 home care patients the agency has served. It is regrettable that a government bureaucracy is forcing a home health agency, that has served the St. Louis area for 87 years, out of the home health care business. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 requires that all Medicare- participating home care agencies hold surety bonds in an amount that is not less than $50,000. This provision was modeled after a successful Florida Medicaid statute which imposes surety bonds on home care providers as a way of ensuring that only reputable businesses entered Florida's Medicaid program. This needed and modest idea, however, has been severely distorted by HCFA. HCFA's surety bond rule deviates from Florida's program in two major ways: First, the Florida program requires a $50,000 bond. HCFA's rule requires the bond amount to be the greater of $50,000 or 15 percent of the home care agency's previous year's Medicare revenues. Since HCFA issued its initial rule back in January of 1998, constituents in my home State have reported numerous problems in securing these bonds. These reputable individuals inform me that most bond companies are refusing to sell home care bonds under the regulation's requirements. Those few companies that are selling bonds are requiring backup collateral equal to the full face value of the bond, or personal guarantees of two or even three times the value of the bond. Second, the Florida program requires only new home care agencies to secure these bonds. Agencies with at least one year in the program and with no history of payment problems were exempted from the bond requirement. HCFA's rule, however, requires all Medicare-participating home care agencies to hold bonds, regardless of how long an agency has been in Medicare and regardless of the agency's good Medicare history. Further, HCFA's rule requires every home care agency to purchase new surety bonds every year. HCFA's rule is outrageous. These requirements and costs are unaffordable, especially for the smaller, freestanding home health agencies. HCFA's surety bond regulations threaten the existence of many small business home health providers and the essential services they provide to the most vulnerable and most frail of our society. The surety bond requirement reflects HCFA's attitude that all Medicare providers are suspect. Rather than keeping unscrupulous providers out of the home health business, HCFA's rule will penalize and put many decent home health agencies out of business. In promulgating this rule, HCFA did not consider the long-standing reputation of most home health agencies, their years of compliance with Medicare's regulations, or their history of managing and avoiding overpayments from the government. These providers have worked long and hard within the convoluted Medicare program, have abided by the rules and regulations, and have been subjected to numerous audits by fiscal intermediaries. HCFA's careless disregard, which has already put many conscientious law-abiding companies out of business, must be dealt with immediately. It is especially incomprehensible when the small businesses at risk provide a service so valued by the disabled and older Americans who receive it. On Tuesday, June 8, the Regulatory Fairness Board for Region VII held a public meeting in Frontenac, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. My Red Tape Reduction Act of 1996 created ten Regional Fairness Boards to be the eyes and ears of small business, collecting comments from small businesses on their experience with Federal regulatory agencies. The Ombudsman, created under the same law, is to use these comments to evaluate the small business responsiveness of agency enforcement actions. According to Scott George, a small business owner from Mt. Vernon, Missouri who serves on the Region VII Fairness Board, this particular meeting of the Fairness Board was dominated by testimony from smaller, freestanding home health care agencies that will be driven out of business by the HCFA regulations. They testified that more than 1,100 home health care providers nationwide have already closed their doors this year. Mr. George noted that every company that testified before the Region VII Fairness Board said they would be driven out of business by year-end. One couple traveled from Michigan to Missouri to testify that they will be out of business by the time of the Regional Fairness Board for their area holds a hearing absent relief from the HCFA regulations. Mr. President, concerns similar to those expressed in Missouri this Tuesday were raised with HCFA during its rulemaking. Regrettably, HCFA reacted like a quarter horse down the home stretch with blinders on, ignoring the comments submitted by small business as well as the agency's statutory obligations under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 as amended by my Red Tape Reduction Act in 1996. In April, at the urging of myself and other Senators, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy sent a letter to HCFA to advise the agency of the significant NEGATIVE impact this rule would have on small home health care providers. SBA's letter documents the deficiencies in the HCFA efforts to implement the bonding requirement. As set forth by the Chief Counsel of Advocacy, HFCA appears to have: exceeded the Congressional mandate in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, inappropriately waived the APA's requirement for a general notice of proposed rulemaking with the opportunity for comment, and bypassed the procedural and analytical safeguards provided by the Regulatory Flexibility Act as amended by my Red Tape Reduction Act in 1996. The SBA Office of Advocacy petitioned HCFA to exclude the provisions requiring the 15 percent bond requirement and the capitalization requirement pending a ``proper and adequate analysis'' of the impacts on small businesses. HCFA did not exclude these requirements. Not only does this exceed the scope of the 1997 Congressional directive, but it also imposes an undue financial burden on reputable home health agencies. Furthermore, in its June final rule, HCFA did not conduct a Regulatory Flexibility analysis of the rules impact on small home health care agencies. Instead, HCFA certified that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. HCFA's certification is in direct conflict with the comments submitted by the Office of Advocacy and the home health care industry regarding the small business impacts of the rule. In 1996, Congress voted to enhance its ability to put a stop to excessive regulations and sloppy agency rulemakings. Enacted as Subtitle E of my Red Tape Reduction Act, the Congressional Review Act enhances the ability of Congress to serve as such a backstop. Senators Nickles and Reid sponsored the bipartisan, Congressional Review portion of the Red Tape Reduction Act to provide a new process for Congress to review and disapprove new regulations and to make sure regulators are not exceeding or ignoring the Congressional intent of statutory law. The simple fact is that HCFA has ignored everyone--Congress, the SBA, the home health industry, and most importantly the beneficiaries of home health services. Congress must therefore move expeditiously and exercise its authority under the Congressional Review Act to pass a resolution of disapproval to strike the June 1 HCFA rule because HFCA exceeded the Congressional mandate and issued this rule in total disregard of its statutory obligations under the APA, Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Red Tape Reduction Act. Although Congress did direct the agency to develop surety bonding requirements and provide a deadline for such a rule to be issued, this does not relieve the agency of its responsibility to conduct such a rulemaking in accordance with existing laws intended to ensure procedural fairness in the rulemaking process. The practical implication of Congress expressing its disapproval of the June rule is to require HCFA to go back and to conduct rulemaking in accordance with the intent of Congress as expressed in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and in keeping with the APA and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. As part of the rulemaking, HCFA should conduct an appropriate initial and final Regulatory Flexibility analysis in accordance with Sections 603 and 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Congress enacted these procedural safeguards to require agencies to assess the impact of rules such as HCFA's on small entities and to ensure that agencies choose regulatory approaches that are consistent with the underlying statute while minimizing the impacts on small entities to the extent possible. We should pass the resolution we are introducing today to ensure HCFA implements its statutory responsibilities in accordance with the law. While I strongly support the vigorous routing of fraud and abuse whenever and wherever it is found, Congress and HCFA must ensure the highest access to appropriate, high quality home care--because in-home care is the key to fulfilling the desire of virtually all seniors to remain independent and in their own homes. Home health provides a safety net for our Nation's elderly and disabled, and Congress must ensure that these protections continue long into the future. Many of the elderly and disabled being cared for at home would not be able to remain there if it were not for the services provided by this vital industry. We should clean up the fraud and abuse, not shut the industry or cut off these critical services. It is clear that HCFA must be held accountable, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in beginning this process today. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a SBA Office of Advocacy letter be included in the Record.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. He sent a message in asking to be listed as a cosponsor. I want to follow up on the comments of my distinguished friend from Massachusetts, a distinguished veteran himself. He talks about the purpose of this bill being to deter teenage smoking. And I believe that we must keep our focus on that as the principal goal. Personally, I believe that raising the price of cigarettes alone is not going to be enough. I think we have to have advertising restrictions and a counteradvertising campaign. But we also must have sanctions on teenagers. If it is illegal, and if they purchase-- knowingly purchase--cigarettes in violation of the law, there ought to be sanctions; there ought to be graduated sanctions. There ought to be sanctions that apply to their parents as well, because just raising the price and putting burdens only on the sellers may make this a thrill- seeking opportunity for some teenagers. I believe that among the amendments, we need to adopt that there be tougher sanctions on teenagers. Let me address this amendment that Senator McCain and others have presented. I was one who strongly objected to the use of the particular offset from the veterans smoking program for the highway measure. I was joined in that by my colleague, Senator Specter, the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. And as I think all our colleagues know, Senator Specter has been temporarily sidetracked with an operation. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We expect him to be back very shortly. Before he left, he and I discussed the need to offer an amendment on this measure to provide adequately for veterans health care issues. And this is a very good start. I will want to confer with Senator Specter's staff and others to find out what else we can do to make sure that the veterans of this country are adequately cared for in terms of their health care. Let me go back and tell people where this came from, because a lot of people were surprised when this became the offset. Well, this was the offset because it was insisted upon by the administration in its negotiations with the Congress. The smoking program for veterans came about as a result of an official in the Veterans' Administration, and yet the OMB and the White House said, ``We're not going to pursue this program.'' I have the pleasure and the responsibility of appropriating money for the Veterans' Administration. And over the last several years, I have routinely put more money in, with the support of my ranking member, Senator Mikulski. The committee, and the full committee, put in more money than has been recommended for veterans health care by the administration to make sure we keep our word to the veterans to take care of their health care needs. And in this instance, the White House has told the Veterans' Administration not to proceed with the program. When the VA officials came before our committee, I asked them if they were prepared to implement the program. They said they were not. I asked what they needed. They suggested hundreds of millions of dollars in administrative costs to handle the claims. They said they were not planning on administering the program. So they started the program through the action of an official in the Veterans' Administration, and then the higher political authority said it was time to cut it off. In negotiations with the relevant committees in the House and the Senate, they said this must be the offset for the highway bill. The highway bill was passed by both Houses and it was time that we spent highway money on highways and transportation needs. I do oppose the use of spending offsets from the veterans health care to pay for it under the budget rules, but in this amendment, and perhaps in additional amendments, we will have an opportunity to restore from the proceeds of the tobacco taxes money badly needed for veterans health care programs. We have met with the veterans budget group, the representatives of veterans who have suggested about a billion a year in addition is needed for veterans health care programs. That is the target that Senator Specter and I have. We will work to see if we can, through this piece of legislation, restore funding for veterans health care to make sure that we do care for our veterans. Our veterans are going through a time of change. The veterans' needs are different. There is more need for outpatient facilities, more need for veterans homes, more need for long-term care rather than acute care. I commend Dr. Kizer, the head of the veterans health side, for his extraordinarily strong efforts in spite of the difficulties posed in reforming the Veterans' Administration health care to make sure that the health care being provided to the veterans is what they need. There have been some tough measures taken. In my State, they cut off the surgery center in one community on our southern border because they said they weren't doing enough surgeries to maintain proficiency. Frankly, this was not popular when you looked at it from the community as a whole. But I can tell you, the veterans who were to receive surgery, and their families, are certainly better served if those veterans can be given that service in an area where they perform frequent operations and maintain their proficiency. We have opened, instead, veterans primary health care facilities around the State so veterans don't have to travel 100 or 150 miles one way to get primary health care. I commend the Veterans' Administration for moving in the right direction to make health care readily accessible to those veterans who are entitled to health care programs. We need to continue on that path. We need to continue to see that we are providing the kind of health care services in the location and in the format where they are most needed. This amendment by Senator McCain is an excellent step in the right direction. I will go back to work in an hour with the Environment and Public Works Committee, which is having a meeting on the technical corrections, because I agree with the comments of Senator McCain that putting phraseology about willful misconduct as it relates to cigarette smoking is totally uncalled for. At this point, no one seems to be able to pinpoint the draftsmanship of it. But wherever it came from, it was wrong. I think it was wrong to take the money as an offset in the first place. But it is certainly unacceptable for us to have a policy statement saying that veterans who smoked the cigarettes that were given to them by the military--at smoking times designated by the military when they turned the smoking light on, when they provided cigarettes, the C rations, when they provided cigarettes in smoking areas--to say they were doing something wrong when they took advantage of the cigarettes and smoked is not only nonsensical, it is outrageous. We apologize to the veterans of America. We need to change that. That is totally unacceptable. We hope by passing this amendment that we will begin to get the resources that are needed to the Veterans' Administration to provide for the health care needs of our veteran population. The Veterans' Administration is doing some wonderful things. They have made great advances, treating injuries that came out of wartime. They are now becoming more and more experienced and more skillful in dealing with problems that aging veterans have. We do have a significant aging veterans population. That makes the localized, primary care facilities, privately contracted health care clinics for veterans much more accessible and therefore convenient to veterans. We need to have these additional resources available to the Veterans' Administration so we can meet our commitment to the veterans and make sure that they receive the kind of health care they have a right to expect and which we think they have earned. I appreciate very much the leadership that Senator McCain has provided on this. With all of the other cosponsors, I am confident we will have an opportunity to get a good, strong vote on behalf of this measure. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment when it comes before the Senate on Thursday. As I indicated, we will be conferring with Senator Specter as he recuperates. I know he has strongly supported veterans and wanted to be here for this amendment. We are doing this in his behalf and will continue to work with him to provide additional resources for veterans as and where we can find them and they are necessary. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment by Senator McCain and my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kerry. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Coverdell be added as a cosponsor of this amendment.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to say a very quick word or two about the TEA-21 , I believe, Transportation Efficiency Act of the year 2000 and to express my deep appreciation for the leadership that Chairman Chafee, Chairman Warner and Senator Baucus have provided. This, as has been said, is one of the very largest bills that we have acted upon. It has an impact on each of our States and will have for the next 6 years. It has been a very difficult fight to raise the dollars necessary and to allocate them fairly. I express the deepest appreciation to all three of my colleagues I mentioned. I want to say what tremendous work has been done by the staff on the majority side, Jimmie Powell, Ann Loomis, Dan Corbett; on the minority side, Tom Sliter and Kathy Ruffalo. On my own staff, Tracy Henke has worked literally hundreds of hours and has had very little sleep, as all of the staff on Environment and Public Works. They have done an outstanding job. When we started this process, I said there were five essential goals: Increase the funding for highways. We need a bigger pie. We need, for the State of Missouri, to get a fair share. We must upgrade and repair deteriorating bridges. We need to put the trust back into the highway trust fund so that people who pay gas taxes into the trust fund will know that those gas taxes are coming back to build better roads, bridges, highways and transportation system. Finally, there should be flexibility so the States and localities can get the most for their money. I am delighted they have approved all those principles. I note for the Record what I have noted in committees, in conferences, in individual discussions. I have grave and deep problems with and do not agree with the use of the funds from a newly and administratively created veterans' smoking program to offset the expenditures of the highway fund. I believe the highway fund should be spent for highways; veterans' funds should be spent for veterans. I have fought those battles; I have lost those battles because the President has insisted on using that as an offset. I intend to come back and work with colleagues, such as Chairman Specter of the Veterans' Committee, Senator McCain, Senator Smith and others to put a good veterans health care measure into the next vehicle, and I believe that is probably going to be the tobacco bill. We are going to see that our veterans are cared for. I realize that offsets are needed. I do not think we should have taken this one. But for our State, we are going to receive tremendous benefits in Missouri. This is nearly a 53-percent increase in the annual funding for the State of Missouri where our roads, highways and bridges are not just a matter of convenience, they are a matter of life and death. Safety depends upon adequate roads. For the first time, we are going to see our share of the funds moving up from the low 80 cents per $1 sent in to almost 92 cents. We will see a structure to ensure the gas taxes will be used for highways and transportation. The flexibility is expanded and for good measure. I thank the leaders for agreeing to my wetlands banking amendment which will enable us to ensure improved protection for wetlands in accommodating the highway construction. Last year, I worked with people on both sides to put through the Bond extension which kept the highway funding flowing until May 1 of this year. We have not had contract authority, obligation authority for the last month. I believe the President, through his Secretary of Transportation, expressed great appreciation for this measure, and I hope that we can pass it today and get it signed by the President so we can go back to rebuilding the roads, bridges and highways that are vitally important for our country. I thank the leader and thank the leadership of the committee.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I was going to use about 2 minutes to thank the distinguished chairman of our subcommittee, the Senator from Virginia, and say kind things about him. But if he wishes----

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, every year Ebony magazine pays tribute to thirty leaders ages thirty and younger who are working for the betterment of their communities. They all represent the caliber of talent that is being groomed to move to the fore front of society and lead the United States of America into the 21st century. This year Metro East Family Church of East St. Louis, Illinois will be honoring the ``30 Young Leaders of the Future,'' featured in the December 1997 issue of Ebony Magazine. It is a great honor to congratulate each of Ebony magazine's selection of young leaders of the future, but especially the two from my home State of Missouri. Reverend Eric Mason, 25, is the pastor of Administration at the Metro East Family Church. Formerly, he was a case manager at the Nebraska Health and Human Services Department, then an assistant pastor and education director at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church and was appointed by the Governor of Nebraska to the Affirmative Action Commission as chaplain. He served as the Chair of the Omaha Police Department, on the Legal Redress Committee, was a member of Omaha NAACP, and the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. Reverend Mason personifies everything positive in the St. Louis community and I am excited to learn of his influential leadership. Faustenia Morrow, 25, is the development administrator for Team Sweep, a youth-at-risk program run by the City of St. Louis. She also is President of Young Organized Political Action Committee and fundraising chairperson of Metropolis St. Louis, an organization with the goal of attracting and retaining professionals in St. Louis. In addition, Ms. Morrow is assistant campaign advisor for Missouri State Representative Betty Thompson, founding member of the Sisters of High Tea, an organization of professional women and a member of the Professional Organization of Women. Her continuing commitment to the St. Louis community is a positive example for all and I am extremely pleased to have her as a role model for others. Dedication to one's community has become an increasingly rare quality in our society. However, Ebony's selection of young leaders has shown that the most effective approach to enriching a community is to give back rather than to take. Their unselfish commitment has set a precedence for the generations before and after them to follow and implement. I salute the contributions made by these leaders, and join the Metro East Family Church of East St. Louis in paying tribute to the ``30 Young Leaders of the Future.''

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, on January 31, 1998, a long time friend and a true hero of the agriculture world retired. I rise today to pay tribute to B.L. ``Bud'' Frew who presided over MFA, Inc. for twelve years as President and CEO. Bud has been a most- trusted advisor when it comes to policy and issues that impact production agriculture and rural America. Bud says that one of the most important accomplishments of his tenure was to instill the idea that everyone has the opportunity to make a contribution to MFA. He felt that the honor in farming had reached a low in the 1970's. Bud took it upon himself single handedly to raise the pride of farmers back to the level of old days when a handshake was a handshake and your word was your word. Maybe that is why he received Missouri Farm Bureau's highest award, Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow's Recognition of Leadership Award, Ag Leader of the Year from Missouri Ag Industries and Man of the Year for Agriculture from Missouri Ruralist magazine. He is experienced, wise, practical, honest, reflects the collective common-sense views of rural Missourians' and has the courage to fight for a position that may not be fashionable. Additionally, he has the quality that any doer and great leader has. He knows how to pick his battles and he knows how to win those battles he picks. Those closest to him know that Bud has the two things it takes to be a successful businessman: character and integrity. I am sorry to see him go because he has been a hero for MFA and a critical leader for Missouri agriculture. However, besides all this, Bud is my friend so I am glad that he may have some time for himself and his family. I hope I am on his fishing invitation list. However, I warn him that he will still be called upon by me and my staff when the tough questions arise. On behalf of rural Missouri, I say to Bud, congratulations and thanks.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, a very popular Sunday night television show, entitled, ``Touched by an Angel'' focuses on stories where people's lives have been affected in a positive way by angels who are sent from Heaven to serve among us. I rise today to pay tribute and honor a very dear friend who might just qualify as one of those angels that serves to minister to his fellow man. This past week, a former Presiding Commissioner of Cape Girardeau County, Gene Huckstep, completed his successful service on Earth just before reaching his 70th birthday. Gene Huckstep was widely loved and universally respected, but he was at first appearance not one you would figure to be an angel. Gene was a powerfully-built man who could be as rough as he needed to be. He laughingly told stories about his educational career, which at times bordered on juvenile delinquency. He was sent in the military to shape up. Then, in a career fueled with brushes with death, by his calculation he used up about 39 lives. In the Army as a tank driver he once was badly burned when the tank caught fire when it was being refueled, and another time when his tank went into water 25 feet deep he barely escaped drowning. After his service career he returned to his native Cape Girardeau and saw death and destruction first-hand when the May 21, 1949 tornado struck. After taking a baby from the hands of a dying man impaled on a two-by-four, he searched for other survivors and fell into a cellar fracturing three vertebrae and leaving him in a body cast from hip to neck. His outstanding service to his fellow man began in 1965 when his family-owned body shop bought a gas-powered saw which led law enforcement agencies to begin to call on Gene to rescue victims in serious car accidents. He faced many life and death situations cutting people out of burning automobiles to save their lives; in some cases losing the battle to flames before he could extricate them. One time he was trying to retrieve a drowning victim when friends on the bank saw swarms of cottonmouth water moccasins coming toward him. They pulled him out with a grappling hook that saved him from potentially fatal snake bites. Over his career in 22 years he personally extricated victims from 1,976 serious car accidents. For these victims and their families, Gene Huckstep truly was an angel. His service to mankind continued well beyond his extrication business. In 1978 he was elected Presiding Commissioner of Cape Girardeau County with strong bipartisan support and led the way on many improvements in the county including a new jail, a veterans home, and many other worthwhile benefits. In the private sector he led the drive for a new emergency room at St. Francis Hospital, and he served as Chairman of the Board of Cameron Mutual Insurance Company. His specific charitable contributions are far too many to recount, but it is safe to say he left his community a far better place because he touched so many things for the good of the community and his fellow man. As one who was blessed by his friendship as well as his political support, I shall always remember his generosity, his good humor, and his genuine concern for others. Our thoughts and prayers are with his lovely wife Betty, his family, and his many close friends. I shall always treasure his memory and the fact that he was spared from dangerous situations so many times to carry on his work among the people of southeast Missouri.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, On May 31, 1998, Ross P. Marine, DHL, MHA, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Trinity Luthern Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, and former Administrator, Truman Medical Center East (Truman East), and the Director of Public Health for the Jackson County Health Department (JCHD), is receiving the Citizen of the Year award from UNICO/Kansas City Chapter. As the recipient, he may select a charity of his choice to receive half the proceeds from the awards dinner. Mr. Marine has chosen to give his donation to the Truman Medical Center East Auxiliary's commitment to the renovation of the Obstetrics Unit into a new Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Post-partum wing at Truman East. UNICO stands for Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Clarity and Opportunity and is a national organization made up of men and women of Italian descent who work for positive community service. A Board member or current officer nominates the candidate, for Citizen of the year. Candidates must have an interest in their community and working with others to make their community a better place. Mr. Marine has continually shown that he not only has concern for the betterment of his community, but has also taken a leadership role. He made health care more accessible by starting five public health outreach facilities. Truman East received $38 million in renovation and expansion because of Mr. Marine's efforts. While embracing the credo of UNICO, ``Service above Self,'' he has helped his community and therefore Missouri as a whole. He has been appointed to numerous Boards of Directors and received many awards for all his outstanding achievements. Commending Mr. Marine for his many years of service to his community and the field of medicine, I am glad to say that the State of Missouri is enriched with his wisdom and leadership. I join the many who congratulate and thank him for his hard work and wish him continued success in future years.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the Missouri radio and television stations for their contributions to public service. This year, in a survey conducted for the Missouri Broadcasting Association by Public Opinion Strategies, it was determined that Missouri Broadcasters aired $44 million worth of public service announcements (PSA) in 1997. This amount was fourth best among the thirty-eight states who participated. The survey reported that Missouri television stations air an average of 175 PSAs each week and radio stations air an average of seventy-five per week. That comes to a total of 18,775 PSAs weekly. Every television station and 94 percent of radio stations in Missouri participated in fundraising efforts for charitable organizations last year. Those organizations received a total of $17.3 million in charitable donations because of the on-air PSAs made by Missouri's broadcasters. The most frequent PSAs dealt with drug and alcohol prevention and abuse. Other common PSAs covered anti-crime efforts, hunger, poverty, the homeless, anti-violence and AIDS prevention. No other industry can make the impact that broadcasters can make. I am proud to say that the Missouri broadcasters are some of the best. I commend the Missouri broadcasters for their untiring dedication in helping charitable causes in Missouri. It does make a difference and people are benefitting from these broadcasters' efforts. I join the many who thank the Missouri broadcasters for their support throughout the year. Whether it be charities, weather warnings or public health announcements, I know the Missouri broadcasters will be on-air to lead the cause.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an exemplary program in Missouri, the Leadership Training Institute for Youth (LTI). Every year at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri this leadership camp is held for youth from all over America. This camp inspires youth to work toward their goals and to achieve personal excellence. With the leadership of Dr. Pat Briney, the attendees learn leadership skills through Christian values. LTI helps to guide youth through their most confusing years and teaches them coping mechanisms for future problems. LTI represents the kind of spirit, honor and integrity that belong with today's youth leaders. I commend LTI staff and participants for their energy and faith to Christian values and hope they continue their important mission for years to come.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, across our great nation there are thousands of teachers dedicated to the development of young minds. In Missouri, as a former Governor and U.S. Senator, I have had the opportunity to meet many educators and have a great deal of admiration for their commitment to our youth. I have found, however, some teachers are special and go beyond the call of duty to lead their students toward a rewarding and productive life. Today, I rise to speak about one such teacher who is retiring this year, Nicholas ``Nick'' Leist. For thirty-six years Mr. Leist has dedicated his life teaching music to young people in Missouri. Mr. Leist has not only been an educator, he has been a friend and inspiration to literally thousands of students. Over the last thirty years, he has taught more than 9,000 students at Jackson High School, and his musicians have had a phenomenal record, having achieved twenty-seven consecutive number one ratings at district music contests. More than eight dozen students have gone on to become teachers themselves, following in the steps of their mentor. On May 5, 1998, Mr. Leist conducted his last Jackson High School band concert which brought tears to the eyes of students and their Mr. Leist. They will miss Nick Leist at Jackson High School next year; however, the impact he had on students will live on for generations through the people he inspired to greater personal heights. I join the many who wish Mr. Leist happiness in the years to come.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the Earth Angels in my home State of Missouri. Earth Angels received the Award for Environmental Sustainability from Renew America. They were among twenty-eight winners from more than 1,600 applicants who exemplify Earth Day. Earth Angels is a branch of the Guardian Angel Settlement Association in St. Louis, Missouri. The group is made up of more than 150 inner city children and led by Neil Andre, Director of Earth Angels. Their projects range from recycling to planting trees in their Forest of Life to collecting money for other environmental groups. The group is supported by selling ``Earth Angel stock.'' People who buy into the group get a quarterly newsletter with their latest project updates. Earth Angels gives ``at risk'' children a chance to be part of an important cause and organization. Commending Neil Andre and the Earth Angels for their Award for Environmental Sustainability, I wish them continued success in the future. It is extremely gratifying to learn of a group of children doing so much to help our environment. Congratulations for a job well done.