Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, when I was talking about the strong support we received in this subcommittee from staff, I wanted to specifically mention those staff members who have been actively involved in the development of this legislation, helping organize the hearings that were held, to review requests, to assess the needs: John Ziolkowski, who is the clerk of this subcommittee, formerly was staff director of the Senate Agriculture Committee when I was pleased to serve as chairman. He has been very instrumental in managing the work effort of this subcommittee. Hunter Moorhead, who has had much experience in agricultural issues and is a veteran of this subcommittee staff as well and was very active in his work is deeply appreciated. He, incidentally, is from the State of Mississippi, so we don't have to have a translator or anybody doing simultaneous translation for anyone to understand us. Fitz Elder, Dianne Preece, as well as Stacy McBride, an FDA fellow who has joined this staff team and has been helpful in developing our section in particular dealing with the Food and Drug Administration, all have been very helpful, and we appreciate their good work. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this is a provision to be added to the bill that deals with eligibility for USDA rural development programs. This is a provision which enables the municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico to be eligible for USDA rural development programs. Eligibility for these programs is based on certain statistics such as population and income but on occasion some communities are declared not eligible because they are too close to an urban area or there is a small pocket of higher income population in the locality. There is no cost to this amendment. It merely makes the community eligible. They still must apply through USDA and they are subject to the availability of existing funds. The Agriculture Committee has no objection and it has been cleared on the Democratic side. Mr. President, the amendment has been cleared on both sides of the aisle and we know of no objection to the amendment from any Senator.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we are pleased to present to the Senate today the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture, rural development, and related agencies. The bill is before the Senate and is open for amendment or discussion and debate. I am pleased to announce to the Senate that this reflects a lot of hard work through hearings, examining the President's budget request for these Departments for this next fiscal year. The subcommittee was very capably managed by the distinguished Senator from Utah, Mr. Bennett, who is chairman of this subcommittee. The bill is within the budget authority outlined by the budget resolution adopted by the Senate. Specifically, section 302(b) of the budget resolution allocates $17.348 billion to this subcommittee's authority for appropriations. It is within the outlay allocation of $18.816 billion. Throughout the past 7 months, the committee has reviewed suggestions by Senators and others who are interested in the provisions of this bill. The bill, as reported by the subcommittee, was approved unanimously and submitted to the full committee. And after review by a bipartisan group of Senators in that subcommittee, all of the Senators in the full committee approved the allocation and the appropriation of funds as reported in this bill. We hope if any Senators have any suggestions for amendments, they will bring them to the attention of the managers of the bill. We will be happy to discuss those and review them. We hope we can complete action on this bill at an early date. There are other bills that need to be considered by the Senate, so we hope we can take up these suggestions, and if there are amendments, we can vote on them expeditiously. We appreciate Senator Kohl, who is the ranking minority member of this subcommittee, for his hard work and leadership in the development of this bill. Their staff has worked with the staff on the majority side in a cooperative way. This is a truly bipartisan effort. The Senate appreciates that fact. I congratulate all who have been actively involved in the development of the legislation. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I appreciate very much the kind remarks of the distinguished Senator from South Dakota and for his influence in the process of developing the appropriate levels of funding in this bill. We have tried very hard not only to stay within the budget allocation but to try to identify priorities so that we put money where the problems are and we deal with the realities of living on a farm, trying to make a living, trying to meet the needs of communities around the country for rural development projects. There is a wide range of jurisdiction that comes under the authority of this subcommittee for rural development, such as housing for low-income people who would otherwise not be able to have housing. Also, we have important components in the bill relating to food safety. We are confronted with threats to our country from terrorist groups, so this makes us worry about bioterrorism and being able to develop an infrastructure to protect ourselves against any efforts to contaminate our food supply or to wreak havoc in our communities with other terrorist activities that relate to our food supply and its sources. For that purpose, we have invested in research and other initiatives that will help us more successfully deal with these challenges to help assure the American public that our food supply is safe, wholesome, and nutritious. In that connection, too, we realize this subcommittee has the responsibility of funding the school feeding programs so that school lunch programs, school breakfast programs, and others maintain healthy diets for children in school throughout our country to bring to them nutritious and safe foods. We just reauthorized in the legislative Committee on Agriculture last year a new law that authorizes the funding of these programs. We have new initiatives, such as fruit and vegetable programs that help assure that schools are able to access and provide a wide variety of healthy foods for children in the public school systems of our country. These are very important steps, building upon a legacy by previous committees that have worked on these challenges and expanding the benefits so that more and more students are reached by these programs. We try to make sure the costs of these programs are controlled so that people are not priced out of the system. We want to make sure that in our public schools, there are free and reduced-price lunches available in our schools for those who cannot afford the full cost of these meals. I also want to point out that access to communications systems, to rural water and sewer systems, to modern electricity facilities that are available in rural areas--where providing such services is much more expensive per consumer than it is in urban areas--is made available through Federal programs that help assure access of farm families and others who live in rural areas of our country to these important quality-of-life situations. We have made a tremendous contribution throughout rural America in promoting economic development using business and industrial loans, trying to attract good-paying jobs to small towns and rural communities. Those programs are funded in this bill, too. I might say for the purpose of showing the commitment, in many of these areas we have increased the funding over previous year levels of funding. The Food and Drug Administration is an independent agency that is funded in this bill as well. Such initiatives as medical device review to assure safety for the consumers, drug safety, and the pharmaceutical products that are supplied throughout our country have to meet standards imposed by the Food and Drug Administration. This year, we are providing an additional $5 million to the Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of helping ensure drug safety. The medical device review account is increased by $7.8 million over last year's level. I have mentioned our efforts in counterterrorism and food safety. That is also within the purview of the Food and Drug Administration, and the funding there is $16.6 million above last year's level. To help meet those challenges, we have had to make adjustments elsewhere in the bill to keep it within the allocation permitted by the Budget Committee. There is not a specific account in here directed to hurricane victims. The recent hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast States has caused a tremendous amount of damage throughout the Gulf of Mexico States--Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I think there are more counties in my State of Mississippi affected by that disaster than any other State. The geographical area was so large, it is just horrible to contemplate the total amount of physical destruction of trees, of growing crops, of poultry facilities. Our agricultural and rural community has been hit hard by the effects of this hurricane. When you get closer to the gulf coast, of course, you see total destruction along the coastal areas. The other day when the majority leader led a delegation of 14 Senators to Louisiana, New Orleans, across the Mississippi gulf coast and into Alabama, ending our tour in Mobile, it brought home to all of us that the entire gulf coast area has been devastated. Businesses are gone. Houses are gone. Churches are gone. Schools have disappeared. It is breathtaking and horrible to observe. The point I am making is that while this bill is not a disaster assistance bill per se, there are many provisions in this bill that will help these communities rebuild and recover and will help the people of those areas until they can get their feet back on the ground and back at work and in suitable housing. I mentioned the farmer's loan programs that exist. There are also funds in this bill for food stamps, for the Women, Infants and Children feeding program. This is for mothers, to help them care for their children, help to get them off to a healthy start in life. Food safety concerns we have mentioned. Conservation recovery, rural housing programs are all very important components to the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina. The Department of Agriculture has stepped forward and is making good progress in identifying areas that need special help. Before long, the Senate will take up another supplemental appropriations bill targeted directly to disaster victims. We are in preliminary discussions already with the administration on when that money will be needed, when will it be considered by the Senate, when will the request be submitted. These are issues we are working hard to resolve to be sure that Federal agencies that have the responsibility of responding to this disaster have the funds they need to do it and do it right and to do it quickly. We have had a number of requests from Senators to consider changes in this bill and for opportunities to speak on the bill. We are here and we will be here the remainder of this day available to discuss issues that may be brought to the attention of the Senate. We appreciate the support of all Senators. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, September 19, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a hearing on Nominations.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased the Senate is now able to return to the consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. This is the third day of consideration of this important bill. Subcommittee Chairman Shelby and the distinguished Senator from Maryland, Ms. Mikulski, have made good progress in the handling of this bill. The bill reported by the committee will assure the funding of many programs and activities of the Federal Government that are under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee. The allocation we made to this subcommittee enabled us to restore funding for State and local law enforcement grants, as well as have increased funding for programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Because this bill is now at the upper limit of the subcommittee's allocation, any amendments adopted to the bill will require reductions below the level of funding in other programs. Now is the time for Senators to come to the floor to discuss the bill or offer amendments. It is my understanding from the leader that any amendments requiring a rollcall vote will be voted on tomorrow. It is my hope we can complete action on this bill tomorrow. The end of the fiscal year is near. We have the responsibility to send this bill to conference as soon as we can. To remind Senators of the importance of completing action on this bill, this committee is one of those committees that was newly created after the reorganization of the Appropriations Committee that was begun in the House of Representatives. We created this committee to manage the funding for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and a number of independent agencies and commissions, including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission. So all of the activities and programs and work of those agencies and departments are contained in this subcommittee's bill. It touches a wide range of interests and concerns, and it is very important for us to complete this bill as soon as we can so these agencies and departments can make their plans for activities that will be funded in this bill at the beginning of the next fiscal year. That next fiscal year starts October 1. In September of every year, a lot of pressure is put on the appropriations process. In order for us to discharge our responsibility with the administration, sharing with the administration decisions about the emphasis that ought to be placed on programs and activities, we have an obligation to do our work and to do it in a timely fashion. That is why I come to the floor today with a sense of some urgency. I hope to communicate that to all of our colleagues in the Senate. The House has completed action on most of its bills, and they are awaiting conference with the Senate to work out any differences or disagreements that we may have with the House on the appropriate levels of funding or the categories of interest in terms of their priorities over others in the Federal Government. This is a day when any votes that are going to occur will occur late in the day. I understand we have a vote in the Senate at 6:30 this evening. So I hope Senators will undertake to come and present us with any suggestions they may have about changes in this bill or any disagreements in the policy reflected in the appropriations process in this bill so we can debate them and discuss them and make changes, if that is the will of the Senate, and then have an opportunity to negotiate those changes on behalf of the Senate with our colleagues from the other body. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is my understanding the Senate was to return to the consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill at 3 o'clock.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I do not want to object to the Senator proceeding to discuss whatever she wants to discuss. I am happy for her to take whatever time she needs to talk about this issue that is of great concern to me, as well as to her.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I have no objection to the Senator having 5 minutes.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am deeply grateful to the distinguished Senator from West Virginia for his kind remarks and his cooperation and presentation of this bill and support of the first supplemental appropriations bill, as well as providing funding to try to help the disaster victims in my State and the other coastal States that were affected by this terrible tragedy. I have admired my friend from West Virginia from the moment I came to the Senate. I respect his dedication to the Senate and his conscientious efforts to effectively represent the State of West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. I have learned a lot from him, and I continue to do so as time goes on. One of the things that has not been as widely noted, I think, as should have been is the leadership provided in the gulf coast areas by the local elected leaders. The Governor of my State, Haley Barbour, has shown an enormous amount of skill, compassion, and determination to use all of the available resources of our State Government to aid the disaster victims, to get them to safety, to provide for them, to help in the debris removal, getting businesses started again and the schools going. It has been a challenge of enormous proportions. I was able to visit with him and his team that he had assembled at the Mississippi Emergency Management Offices on Riverside Drive in Jackson, MS, on my first visit to the State after the hurricane, and I was very impressed by the dedication, the willingness to work, the voluntarism that was apparent on that occasion and to see the results that are being produced by the local leaders in my State to ensure the recovery from this disaster. So they are to be commended. We are going to continue to support them from the Federal level to the fullest extent of our capability and understanding of the needs and how we can best do it. There are safeguards in this bill, Senators should know, to help protect against abuse. There are provisions in the bill requiring the Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make weekly reports on the obligations of their funds. These can be monitored to ensure that they are consistent with the law and the needs of the people who have been affected by this disaster. The Department of Defense is required to report within 5 days of any transfers of funds in this relief effort. In the Federal Emergency Management Agency title, there is $50 billion; $15 million is for the inspector general to conduct audits, as authorized by law, to ensure that the funds are being disbursed as authorized by law and in accordance with the understanding of the needs of the people who are affected by this disaster. We do not want waste. We do not want abuse of these programs. We want them to be administered with integrity and an adherence to the principles of law. I want Senators to understand we are not taking this money and pouring it out on the ground. We are trying to devise ways to see that it gets to the people who need it, who are entitled to it under the provisions of the disaster legislation that we passed in earlier disasters. Mr. President, I know other Senators have asked for recognition. I see my colleague on the floor, Senator Lott, who personally has suffered tremendous damage and loss of his home on the gulf coast, who has worked tirelessly--I have observed it--on the phones, traveling back and forth from the State, interacting with Members of the House to help shape this legislation so it provides meaningful relief not only for the victims in our State but throughout the gulf coast region. I commend him and salute him and want him to know we are standing with him and trying to provide all the support and assistance we know how to provide to help overcome the ravages of this hurricane.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is appropriate for the Senator from Mississippi to speak. It is appropriate to yield to other Senators, but they are not here at this time.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 10 a.m., in SD-106.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 3 p.m. in SD-106.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 8, 2005, at 2 p.m., to hold a hearing on Nominations.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 226. Agenda I. Nominations: Kenneth L. Wainstein to be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. II. Bills: S. 1088--Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005, Kyl, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch; S. 1197--Violence Against Women Act of 2005, Biden, Hatch, Specter, Leahy, DeWine, Kohl, Grassley, Kennedy, Schumer, Durbin, Feinstein; S. , Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005, Specter, Leahy, Feingold; S. 751--Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, Feinstein, Kyl; S. 1326--Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, Sessions; S. 155--Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2005, Feinstein, Hatch, Grassley, Cornyn, Kyl, Specter; S. 1086--A Bill to Improve the National Program to Register and Monitor Individuals Who Commit Crimes Against Children or Sex Offenses, Hatch, Biden, Schumer; S. 596--Jetseta Gage Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2005, Grassley, Kyl, Cornyn.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that Art Cameron, who is detailed to our Appropriations Committee staff from the Treasury Department, and Kate Fitzpatrick be granted the privilege of the floor during the consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce-Justice- Science appropriations bill.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff members be granted the privilege of the floor during the consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill: Jill Shapiro Long, Allen Cutler, and Gabrielle Batkin.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am impressed with the comprehensive statement made by the distinguished Senator from Maryland, describing the provisions of this bill that have been prepared and are being presented today to the Senate by her subcommittee. Her comments and the tone that she has set reflects so well on the Senate. It also reflects a bipartisanship that is so important to the writing of this bill. This is not a Republican bill nor a Democratic bill. It is a bill that reflects a consensus of the members of the subcommittee and also respect for the requests being made by the administration for funding of these agencies and departments for the next fiscal year. We have all had what some might say is a wake-up call about hurricane warnings, mobilization of State and local resources, and relocation of people who are threatened by the ravages of storms such as Katrina. This bill is designed to meet the challenge that is so fresh in our minds. It can be presented to Government officials, private individuals, and businesses as we seek to protect our families and our property and our lives from the threats hurricanes and other storms might pose. It also reflects, as the distinguished Senator pointed out, funding that provides the resources we need for law-and-order activities, crime prevention, and investigations to ensure we are doing what has to be done to protect the security of our country. I know of no more important bill that will come before the Senate this year from our committee than the one being presented today by Senators Shelby and Mikulski. They have done a wonderful job working together. They have set an example by which we could all profit. We need to act expeditiously on the bill, consider any amendments that any Senator has to add money or delete funding that is contained in the bill. We assure everyone that we want to act in a thoughtful way and one that will reflect credit on the Senate. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.