Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I send to the desk three amendments that are making technical changes to the bill. They have been cleared on both sides of the aisle. I ask they be considered and agreed to en bloc. I ask my statement on each of these amendments be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, further reserving the right to object, the leader is absolutely correct when he suggests there may very well be another supplemental request submitted. This request that is being presented to the Senate tonight is in response to a direct request from the President for $2 billion to replenish a fund that has run out of money, or will be exhausted in the morning. The House is acting tonight to approve the request of the President for the additional $2 billion. The Senate should act tonight also, without getting into discussions of additional funding for other disasters or other needs around the country, because this situation is an ongoing disaster in Florida. Without these funds being made available tonight, in response to the President's request, they will not be able to continue the debris removal, providing shelter and food for those disaster victims who need those benefits. The disaster relief fund will be exhausted. So my hope is we can consider additional requests, such as the one being suggested by the distinguished leader from South Dakota. We will carefully consider any other requests, but tonight is not the time to get into the business of picking out which other amendments or additions should be included in this dire emergency request we are being called upon to make to the Senate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased that we are finally able to proceed with this legislation and remove serious barriers to American agricultural exports. Since the World Trade Organization ruled against the United States over our Foreign Sales Corporation and Extraterritorial Income tax rules, we have had ample time to address this issue. In fact, the Senate Finance Committee reported legislation that would bring the United States into compliance with our trade obligations on October 1, 2003. European Union tariffs on our farm exports have steadily increased, making them increasingly less competitive in international markets. The EU retaliation list includes about 400 agricultural, food and forest product tariff lines of imports from the United States. Proceeding with this legislation will help us regain market share and export opportunities that will have added benefit for truckers, rail lines, shippers and related businesses. This will help the export of U.S. agricultural products to hit a projected record of more than $60 billion this year. In addition, I am pleased that an agreement could be reached to allow for the consideration of a tobacco buyout amendment to this legislation. I commend our members of the Senate Agriculture Committee who have worked diligently to reach this point. Particularly, Senators McConnell, Chambliss, Dole and Miller and their staffs have brought us to this point through careful negotiation. Over the past decade, tobacco producers have seen their tobacco quota cut in half and resulting in an economic crisis among tobacco-dependent communities. This buyout provision will provide the estimated 57,000 tobacco farms in the United States the necessary resources to continue their livelihood or transition into more diversified operations. The amendment is also a move in the right direction in eliminating the archaic tobacco quota system. It is my hope that this important provision will enable tobacco producers the ability to better compete in a free market system. As chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the Senate and House of Representatives to ensure that farmers in the United States who choose to continue to grow tobacco will have that opportunity. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and the underlying bill.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the Senator for his clarification of this issue. m1a2 sep tank modernization

Mr. COCHRAN. Would this money also be used to address the force protection issues of counter-fire and detection techniques that exist in the technology base, such as sensor technologies that have demonstrated real-time detection, classification and location of enemy fire?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I commend the chairman and the committee staff for their outstanding work in bringing this legislation to the Senate for consideration.

Mr. COCHRAN. I note that the committee included funding in the Defense Appropriations bill to address the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, in the Iraq theater. Specifically, I am referring to the inclusion in Title IX of the bill which appropriates $25,000,000 for a force protection initiative using the Rapid Equipping Force concept.

Mr. COCHRAN. It is my understanding that the money is to be used to help our deployed soldiers fight the current IED threat that we hear so much about in the war in Iraq.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. The Senator is once again correct. This bill recognizes that there are certain situations when it may be nearly impossible for a school district to get in touch with the families of children who are eligible for this program. In situations such as those the Senator described, and other similar ones, the school district may decline to verify up to 5 percent of the approved applications selected for verification and replace those applications with other approved applications.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I agree with the distinguished Senator from Georgia on the importance of breakfast to our children's education.

Mr. COCHRAN. I do not disagree with the Senator from Iowa. Incentive Criteria for Reduction of Nonresponse Rates and Substitution Mr. HARKIN, Mr. President, I hope to clarify the operation of certain provisions in the bill. As the chairman knows, the section of the bill titled, ``Household Applications,'' provides school districts with an incentive to reduce the nonresponse rate during the income verification process. I would like to offer an example of the operation of 10- percent improvement criteria in nonresponse rates, so that the committee's intent is not misinterpreted. A district with a non- response rate of 40 percent, for example, would have to reduce its nonresponse rate to 36 percent, in order to meet the 10-percent improvement criteria and be entitled to maintain existing verification procedures under current law.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to present to the Senate S. 2507, legislation to reauthorize the child nutrition programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the next 5 years. Over the past year and a half, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has held hearings and received suggestions from a wide range of interests for improvements in the programs that are authorized in this bill. The committee worked diligently to draft a consensus bill that will ensure the continuation of proven Federal Government support for meeting the nutritional needs of school children and others who will benefit from these programs. I would like to thank especially the distinguished ranking member of the committee, the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Harkin, for his assistance and for continuing the longstanding tradition of a bipartisan approach to the development of child nutrition bills in our committee. The committee met on May 19, 2004, and reported the bill unanimously. This bill reflects the commitment of the committee to ensure that our Nation's children have access to the nutrition they need to lead a healthy life. All of the worthwhile and important initiatives contained in this bill will play a significant part in ensuring that our children have access to good nutrition. The programs authorized in this bill touch the lives of one out of every five people in this country, including over 37 million children and nearly 2 million lower income pregnant and postpartum women. According to the Congressional Research Service, total fiscal year 2004 spending for these programs will be an estimated $16.4 billion, and the administration's fiscal year 2005 budget anticipates spending $16.85 billion. The Budget Committees of both the Senate and House have seen fit to include new mandatory money that will enable us to continue otherwise expiring provisions contained in current law. Even though we had no money for new initiatives, we believe the committee has put together an overall package that improves these programs while protecting the interests of the participants. Important components of the bill are: Protection of the integrity of school meal program benefits, participation of for-profit child care centers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, protection of school meal benefits for military families, expansion of the Summer Food Service Program Lugar Pilots, expansion of the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program, and improvements to the WIC Program. I would also like to clarify section 203(e)(10) of the bill, which is designed to contain costs in the WIC program in order to ensure that all eligible participants can receive benefits through the program. Given the new provisions in the law, it is important that States publish their allowable reimbursement levels for WIC program vouchers. Also, because of changes contained in the bill, it would be important for USDA to review and modify risk profiles used when examining retail food stores for compliance with program rules. There is a related provision in our bill that prohibits certain vendors from providing incentive items to entice program participants to come to their stores unless the free merchandise is food or of nominal value. The Secretary is given the authority to define merchandise of nominal value. A reasonable interpretation of this provision would permit the Secretary to prohibit stores from giving away lottery tickets. Given the extremely small chance of winning a large amount of money as advertised by the lottery, the actual ticket is probably of very little value. However, some observers' perceived value of a ticket is greater than the actual value. A reasonable interpretation of this provision would give the Secretary the authority to prohibit lottery tickets under this provision. We have worked hard to craft a bipartisan, consensus-based bill, as evidenced by the letters of support we have received from organizations including the American Dietetic Association, the American School Food Service Association, America's Second Harvest, the Food Research and Action Center, National Council of La Raza, Bread for the World, the National Milk Producers Federation, the International Dairy Foods Association, and the National Food Processors Association. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Addition of New States to the Fruit and Vegetable Program

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this provision is being added as a part of the floor consideration of this legislation. Therefore, there is no accompanying report language which explains its effect. We appreciate the contribution the Senator from Alaska has made to the Senate's consideration of this legislation. Will the Senator please share her views on this provision?

Mr. COCHRAN. The Senator is, indeed, correct in his calculations. The provision calling for a 10-percent improvement in S. 2507 would operate in precisely the manner that the Senator from Iowa described.

Mr. COCHRAN. I agree that the Senator from Michigan has correctly cited the conference report of the 2002 farm bill, and I appreciate all of her hard work on this issue.

Mr. COCHRAN. I agree that the USDA has not followed the language from the 2002 farm bill conference report. I suggest that the Senator from Michigan and I work with USDA to try to facilitate greater purchases of fruits and vegetables in the nutrition programs.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like Senator Murkowski to explain her rationale for offering this provision.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator's explanation.

Mr. COCHRAN. The explanation that Senator Harkin has offered with regard to this provision of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 is absolutely correct and is consistent with the committee's intent. In including the amendment to Medicaid law, it was certainly not our goal or intent to allow all Medicaid information to be shared with local educational agencies. We intended to allow States to share only such limited Medicaid information that was necessary to verify eligibility in the School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs. Any interpretation to the contrary is inconsistent with the intent of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the calling of the quorum be rescinded.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 580, S. 2507; that the Cochran amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the distinguished Senator from Colorado for yielding to me. I also thank him for his leadership on this issue in the Armed Services Committee. He has been a key proponent and a very persuasive supporter of the National Missile Defense Program and missile defense generally. This amendment would undermine the ability of our Department of Defense to go forward in the deployment and protection of our country through the use of ballistic missile technology and capabilities. These capabilities have been developed in response to legislation that was approved by the Congress and signed by the Chief Executive to develop a missile defense capability that could defend the United States against missile attack. We have made great progress since those initial authorizations were approved by the Congress. We are now in a position of actually deploying a system that is workable. The testimony of General Kadish before our Appropriations Committee and before the Armed Services Committee has clearly indicated the successful progress of this program to date. We should continue to support it and we should defeat this Boxer amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I announce that the Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will conduct a hearing on June 24, 2004 in SD-562 at 9:30 a.m. The purpose of this hearing will be to Review the Implementation of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. subcommittee on national parks

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I announce that the Subcommittee on Production and Price Competitiveness of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will conduct a hearing on June 23, 2004 in SD- 628 at 10 a.m. The purpose of this hearing will be to examine proposed legislation permitting the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to register Canadian pesticides. Agenda: S. 1406. subcommittee on energy