Conrad Burns

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Office of Surgeon General Sunset Act, along with Senators Helms, Thomas, and Kyl. This legislation has the same purpose as my bill from the 104th Congress, but has a different enactment provision. This bill will sunset the Office of Surgeon General only after Dr. Satcher vacates the office; this bill would not remove him from that position. Every recent Surgeon General nomination, including that of Dr. Koop, has resulted in a political battle which has detracted from important health issues. The position has been used by both parties as a political advocate as much as a public health advocate. In the wake of the recent nomination process, I am more persuaded than ever that the office is a lightning rod for controversy which provides no public benefit. The Surgeon General and his staff of six serve no compelling purpose. It is often said that the Surgeon General occupies a bully pulpit from which to address the nation on important health issues. But we've been without a surgeon general since the end of 1994, and there was no shortage of voices on major health issues. The president, the first lady, the secretary of health and human services, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and the former surgeon general all spoke on public health issues. What's more, the Surgeon General and his office are duplicative. The office performs no crucial function that is not handled by a different bureaucracy. In fact, the budget for the office has already been folded into the Office of Public Health and Science, headed by Dr. Satcher in his role as Assistant Secretary for Health. This office has a staff of 300 and a current budget of over $80 million. My bill will merely complete the transition to the Assistant Secretary for Health, eliminating a redundant federal office. This legislation is not about Dr. Satcher, or about any previous Surgeon General. Dr. Satcher will continue to be Surgeon General and the office would sunset immediately after he vacates it. This legislation will sunset an office that has become a political football and has long since outlived its usefulness.

Mr. BURNS

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may proceed as in morning business for no more than 5 minutes.

Mr. BURNS. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Burns pertaining to the introduction of S. 1725 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, it might be a faulty assumption on my part; are we in a period of morning business?

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Office of Surgeon General Sunset Act, along with Senators Helms, Thomas, and Kyl. This legislation has the same purpose as my bill from the 104th Congress, but has a different enactment provision. This bill will sunset the Office of Surgeon General only after Dr. Satcher vacates the office; this bill would not remove him from that position. Every recent Surgeon General nomination, including that of Dr. Koop, has resulted in a political battle which has detracted from important health issues. The position has been used by both parties as a political advocate as much as a public health advocate. In the wake of the recent nomination process, I am more persuaded than ever that the office is a lightning rod for controversy which provides no public benefit. The Surgeon General and his staff of six serve no compelling purpose. It is often said that the Surgeon General occupies a bully pulpit from which to address the nation on important health issues. But we've been without a surgeon general since the end of 1994, and there was no shortage of voices on major health issues. The president, the first lady, the secretary of health and human services, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and the former surgeon general all spoke on public health issues. What's more, the Surgeon General and his office are duplicative. The office performs no crucial function that is not handled by a different bureaucracy. In fact, the budget for the office has already been folded into the Office of Public Health and Science, headed by Dr. Satcher in his role as Assistant Secretary for Health. This office has a staff of 300 and a current budget of over $80 million. My bill will merely complete the transition to the Assistant Secretary for Health, eliminating a redundant federal office. This legislation is not about Dr. Satcher, or about any previous Surgeon General. Dr. Satcher will continue to be Surgeon General and the office would sunset immediately after he vacates it. This legislation will sunset an office that has become a political football and has long since outlived its usefulness.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce with my colleague, Senator Baucus, the Gallatin Consolidation Act completion phase, know as Gallatin II (two). Our colleague, Congressman Hill, is introducing identical legislation today in the House. The bill we have jointly introduced today is the result of much cooperation and communication among the citizens of the state of Montana, the Forest Service, the partners of Big Sky Lumber and the Montana Congressional Delegation. Ranchers, property owners, outfitters, environmentalists, county commissioners, sportsmens groups, wildlife associations and other groups have sat at the table attempting to find consensus on the difficult aspects of the exchange. That process will continue. The introduction of this bill today does not end the public involvement. In fact, it just opens a different facet of public input. Committee hearings are next in line as we consider this legislation. The lands the U.S. Forest Service will acquire under this act are some of the richest wildlife habitat areas in the state of Montana. Today the lands in the Gallatin National Forest are still held in a mostly checkerboard land-ownership pattern. Add into this mix a dramatic increase in residential development in rural areas near the National Forests and you have further complicated the resource problems for multiple use in our National Forests. With this bill we are attempting to consolidate the National Forest System ownership pattern and preserve some of these corridors for wildlife, resource protection, and future generations who are fortunate enough to visit these forests. I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Hill and Senator Baucus for their participation and cooperation in formulating a delegation approach to this complex land exchange. I look forward to moving this bill forward in an efficient and timely manner so that the deadline for accomplishing the exchange can be met. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to congratulate Community Hospital and Nursing Home of Anaconda, Montana, for being listed among the top 100 hospitals in the nation in 1997. The entire staff of Community Hospital, from CEO Sam Allen on down, should be very proud of their hard work and success in caring for the Anaconda community. This distinction is based on an annual performance measurement including patient care, operations, and financial management conducted by HCIA and William M. Mercer, Inc. The study, 100 Top Hospitals-- Benchmarks for Success, looked at 1,300 hospitals with fewer than 99 acute-care beds, and Community was one of 20 that made the Top 100 from that size category. The performance measures of the Benchmarks for Success are objective--such as risk-adjusted mortality index and expense per adjusted discharge (case mix and wage adjusted)--which means that Community Hospital's success is documented by experts in the field. I know that Community's patients and staff knew this without the performance study, but I point this out because this isn't a typical award. Community has built itself into a national model, and for that I congratulate them.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion of the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, at 10 a.m. to hold a hearing.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Readiness of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 25, 1998 at 10 a.m. in open session, to receive further testimony on the status of the operational readiness of the U.S. military forces including the availability of resources and training opportunities necessary to meet our national security requirements.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Surface Transportation/Merchant Marine Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, at 2 p.m. on reauthorization of the Rail Safety Act.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, for purposes of conducting a subcommittee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to receive testimony on the use of specialty forest products from the national forests.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, beginning at 9:30 a.m. until business is completed, to hold an oversight hearing on the budget and operations of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms, and the Architect of the Capitol.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Labor and Human Resources be authorized to meet for a hearing on The Non-School Hours: Mobilizing School and Community Resources during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 1998 at 2 p.m. in room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building to hold a hearing on judiciary nominations.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, at 9:30 a.m. in room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Building to conduct hearings on the President's FY '99 Budget Request for Indian programs.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, at 2 p.m. to hold a hearing.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Communications Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, at 9:30 a.m. on universal service distribution.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, we have checked with Senator McCain and his office. He requires no more time. The vote on this will occur at 6 p.m. this evening, I am told. We are prepared to yield back the remainder of our time, and I yield the floor.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, also, we had a hearing on this bill after it was vetoed the first time. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the proceedings of that hearing.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I would like to advise the Chair that on this issue of the override vote on this bill, we are prepared to yield back the remainder of our time. After I make a couple of unanimous consent requests, I think we are prepared to yield back our time and then we can go on to campaign finance.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. I yield the floor. Mrs. MURRAY addressed the Chair.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, we have a logistics problem here, myself being the cause of most of it. This is the first time that the U.S. Senate has considered a veto message from the President under the line- item veto law. This has already been taken up in the House. There were 38 projects in the military construction appropriations bill that were lined out by the President, and those vetoes were overridden in the House by a strong bipartisan vote of 347-69. The line-item veto provides a mechanism that allows the President to veto items that he doesn't think necessary or which do not meet his approval. We have been asked many times, ``Do you still support it?'' after we have worked so hard with the ranking member, Senator Murray of Washington, and then it came back with 38 projects lined out--and probably with a very, very weak argument. I urge my colleagues to vote for this override of the President's veto of H.R. 2631, a bill disapproving the President's line-item vetoes for the fiscal year 1998 military construction bill. I will go back and say that this money should be in the pipeline. Here we are halfway through the year, or better, and if you come from a northern tier of States, especially Montana, we only have two seasons, winter and the construction season. So these projects need to be on line. I will have more to say about this particular issue. I have to take the Presiding Officer's chair this morning between 12 and 1. First, I would like to say that this is a pretty nonpartisan piece of legislation, the appropriations on military construction, and even this project of the Presidential veto override. The cooperation between the ranking member of our committee and the work that we do on this for the good of families, and also keeping our military infrastructure in pace with the times, sometimes takes lots of work, and decisions have to be made, sometimes tough decisions, especially if we have less money to work with--and we are going to have less money to work with in the next year--it is going to be even more difficult. I want to state publicly what a pleasure it was to work with Senator Murray and her staff in putting together what we think are the priorities that should be taken care of to ensure that the infrastructure, especially military construction and support of our fighting men and women, whenever it is needed. Senator Murray has an opening statement, and I will have more to say on this later on. Privilege of the Floor Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Jay Bynum, a Capitol Hill fellow serving on the staff of Senator John McCain, be granted privileges of the floor during the debate on the veto message to accompany H.R. 2631.