Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. What is the basis of it then, the study, the basis of the assumptions that you are making?

Mr. BOND. Well, Mr. President, I might say to the distinguished minority leader, this is one of the problems we get when there is a legislative matter on which there have been no hearings in the Senate. We are attempting to determine the basis of that assumption here on the floor of the Senate. This should properly be done in a Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing. As I understand what the minority leader says in his arguments--and none of us have any question about the pain and difficulty that a family with a child born with spina bifida goes through. What we are asking is whether there is a reasonable basis in fact. Now, as I understand it, all of these assumptions are based on something called the ranch-hand study, is that correct?

Mr. BOND. That is an estimate based on one study. You are extrapolating from that study?

Mr. BOND. Based on a study of a small number of people where there were slightly larger incidence of spina bifida in this study than in the normal population, is that correct?

Mr. BOND. But it is an estimate?

Mr. BOND. I understand this is just an estimate based on an assumption from a study that if there is a connection, this number of offspring of veterans would have spina bifida, is that correct?

Mr. BOND. They have not actually counted this number. This is an estimate, is it not?

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, before the minority leader leaves, there are a number of things I would like to clarify with him. What is the basis of the number of children who have spina bifida, who are children or offspring--and I suppose now many are grown into adulthood--what is the basis of that number?

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

Mr. BOND. On behalf of Senator Faircloth, I send to the desk an amendment which repeats the provisions carried in last year's appropriations measures regarding free speech and the Fair Housing Act.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, this deals with a problem the State of Utah has had, its Housing Finance Agency, with HUD. It is $755,000 that is in dispute. We believe this amendment is necessary to resolve the matter. As I understand it, HUD has no objection to this. I ask for the immediate adoption of the amendment.

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

Mr. BOND. Next, on behalf of Senator Bennett, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, this is a measure dealing with the availability of CDBG funding in the city of Charleston. It makes changes in the boundaries of the city. This has been cleared on both sides by the authorizing committee, and at a time when the city of Charleston once again is facing the potential disastrous impact of hurricanes, we think this is a very worthwhile change, and urge its adoption.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, we have three amendments, I think, that have been cleared on both sides. Amendment No. 5187 (Purpose: To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and for other purposes)

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, we have made good progress on the bill so far. As the majority and minority leader discussed, we do have one major amendment, the veterans health care amendment, the veterans entitlement amendment, to be proposed by the minority leader. We were hoping to get a time agreement on that. As I look down the list, there are a number of amendments relevant to the VA-HUD bill, and I ask Senators to come to the floor. Some of these I still hope can be worked out by agreement and taken without a vote. A couple people on our side of the aisle have suggested that they want votes but would be willing to take very short time agreements on them. For the most part, we hope to be able to finish those. There are quite a few amendments that are not relevant to the VA-HUD bill. I hope they can be held for bills which are related to the subject matter. There are some on both sides. Nobody has a monopoly on those. But if we are to continue the very important work of the many agencies that are included in this bill, we really do need to get this measure passed, sent to conference, worked out, and sent to the President. As I have stated on previous occasions, lifting the ceiling on the Ginny Mae loans will permit the sale of mortgages from the Veterans' Administration and FHA which otherwise would come to a halt. There is a matter, a very important matter, with continuing the availability of flood insurance that is dealt with in this measure. I urge my colleagues on both sides not to put in amendments which more appropriately belong on other measures or which are likely to lead to extensive discussions. We are open, ready for business, and we would like to get this resolved in the daylight. It would be a real pleasure to pass one in the light of day, and if we work cooperatively, we have a chance of doing that today.

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

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, as cochairman for the National Guard Caucus I rise to comment on the process of funding our Nation's military construction needs. The Senate, in the past years, has voted to appropriate necessary military construction funds to offset the neglect of administrations in order to make sure that the defense infrastructure would be adequately funded. The Senate this year was again forced by the Clinton administration to make sure that the defense infrastructure would be adequately funded. Active Force infrastructure has traditionally been adequately funded with the Guard Forces traditionally underfunded. Why has it been this way, many have asked, and the answer which is whispered through the Halls of this building is that the Congressmen and Senators will take care of it, and we have and we do and we will because we care about the welfare and readiness of the National Guard and Air National Guard even if some administration officials do not. The administration this year funded the Army Guard to the tune of $7 million, $7 million for the entire Army Guard infrastructure for all 50 States and Puerto Rico; $7 million. For the entire Army Guard Force. If the Senators here respect our citizen soldiers, then they must rectify this shoddy treatment of those who protect us. My colleagues on the committee have done just that and they have done it with strict adherence to a rigorous set of standards for these necessary quality of life and readiness projects. The committee considered each of the programs added to this year's military construction bill for its executability in fiscal year 1997, its being of the highest priority for the base commanders and National Guard tags, its inclusion in the FYDP, and its overall necessity to quality of life and readiness. Currently, this is the only venue we have to maintain infrastructure readiness and essential and housing projects which were designated as critical by each State's adjutant general. I urge all Senators to support the men and women of the Guard and support the Guard's ability to carry out its missions.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I want to express my appreciation to all those who helped us through this rather long ordeal. I express a special thanks to the majority and minority leaders for enabling us to finish work on this bill tonight. There was some question whether we were going to be able to get it done tonight. I am very grateful that the arrangements were made so that we could pass it. We have a difficult conference ahead. I can't let this time pass without saying that my ranking member, the distinguished Senator from Maryland, Senator Mikulski, has been an invaluable ally. In addition to representing the interests of the minority side, she has been extremely helpful in expediting and completing action on many of the matters that faced us. We could not have done this without the work of our trusted and valuable staff. On our side, the chief clerk, Stephen Kohashi, ably assisted by Carrie Apostolou, and Julie Dammann on my staff was essential on our side. Sally Chadbourne has been terrific to work with. I am grateful for her assistance on this. Also, David Bowers and Catherine Corson helped on the minority side. We are most grateful that this measure had such spirited involvement on so many interesting and challenging issues. It is truly remarkable. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. I thank the Senator from Idaho for raising this important point. The EPA has indicated to our committee that it is highly concerned about the health effects of particulates. We have met the EPA's request for funding for this program, and included $18.8 million. These funds are for health effects research, exposure research, improving monitoring technologies, modeling studies, and other key requirements.

Mr. BOND. Yes, the agency has informed me that it will be using the 1997 appropriation for both increased health effects research and, in addition, more than $2 million will be for initiating an emissions monitoring program. In addition, it is my understanding EPA will be requesting additional funds for monitoring in its FY98 budget submission. It is my expectation that the agency will request the funds necessary to establish a thorough and scientifically defensible monitoring program. I concur that EPA should send us a description of their proposed comprehensive monitoring program and a budget proposal. I thank my colleagues, and I agree with my colleagues that EPA should seriously consider a ``no change'' option as part of its proposed decision due by November 29. However, I would add that in view of the potential for harm to the public from particulates, a prudent option for the November deadline would be to reaffirm the current ambient air standard--and thus not disrupt ongoing programs--while moving expeditiously to implement a sound research agenda upon which to base future decisions. Mr. President, I am also concerned that EPA must pay closer attention to the potential adverse impacts of changes to the particulates standard on small businesses. I am aware that EPA is taking the position that changes to the particulates standard do not impact small business in terms of implicating the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because the EPA's standards do not create burdens on small business, it is the State implementation plan. As a primary author of the 1996 amendments to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, I strongly disagree with the agency's interpretation, and believe that EPA agency should fully comply with the requirements imposed on Federal agencies by that act.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I wish to announce that the Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing chaired by Senator Frist entitled ``The Impact of Union Salting Campaigns on Small Businesses.'' The hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 1996, beginning at 9:30 a.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building. For further information please contact Melissa Bailey at 224-5175.