Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, this morning I was very impressed by the comments made by the distinguished Senator from Indiana, Mr. Lugar. At the markup session of our Committee on Agriculture, I had come to that session with a compromise that I was prepared to offer because I thought it would more nearly reflect the programs Congress provided for emergency or economic assistance to farmers in the last two crop-years. We had testimony in our Appropriations Committee from the chief economist and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Agriculture that the situation facing farmers this year is very similar--just as bad--as it was last year and the year before. So the record supports the action being taken by the Congress to respond to this serious economic problem facing agricultural producers around the country. It was the Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee during the last 2 years that had been given the responsibility, under the budget resolution, for writing this disaster or economic assistance program. And we did that. The Congress approved it. It was signed and enacted into law. And the disbursements have been made. This year the budget resolution gave the authority for implementing the program for economic assistance to the legislative committee in the Senate, the Agriculture Committee. I also serve on that committee. The distinguished Senator from Iowa chairs that committee, and Senator Lugar is the ranking member and former chairman of that committee. I have great respect for all of my fellow members on the committee, but I have to say that arguments made this morning, and the proposal made this morning at the beginning of the debate by Senator Lugar, to me, are right on target in terms of what our best opportunity is at this time for providing needed assistance to agricultural producers. The facts are that the House has acted and the administration has also reviewed the situation and expressed its view. We have the letter signed by Mitch Daniels, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, setting forth the administration's view and intentions with respect to legislation they will sign or recommend to be vetoed. If we are interested in helping farmers now, in providing funding for distressed farmers to help pay loans from lenders, to get additional financing as may be needed, if that is our goal, then the best and clearest opportunity for providing that assistance is to take the advice and suggestion of Senator Lugar and vote for the alternative he has provided, which is the House-passed bill. It obviates the need to conference with the House, to work out differences between the two approaches, which is necessarily going to delay the process. To assume that that conference can be completed in 2 or 3 days and funds be disbursed in an appropriate and efficient way is wishful thinking. It is no better than wishful thinking. I do not think producers would like to take that chance under the conditions of distress that exist in agricultural communities all over this country today. If we could take a poll now among those who would be the beneficiaries of this legislation, I am convinced most would say: Let's take the House bill now, use the budget authority for new farm bill provisions that will strengthen our agricultural programs for the future, into the next crop year and beyond, so that we can guard against, in a more effective way, the distresses that confront farmers today. But for now, to deal with the emergency and the problems of today, let's pass a bill that will put money in the pockets of farmers. That is the object, not to improve conservation programs which can be done in the next farm bill. Of course, we are going to reauthorize these conservation programs. But doing it with $1 billion gratuitously from the budget resolution that provides for economic assistance to farmers, that is not direct economic assistance to farmers. That is an indirect benefit, of course, to agricultural producers and to society in general, but it is not money in the pockets of farmers, as the House-passed bill provides and as the Lugar alternative before the Senate today provides. I had hoped there could be a way to provide exactly the same assistance we provided last year and the year before. I crafted an amendment I was prepared to offer in the Senate Agriculture Committee that would do just that. My amendment would provide for $5.46 billion for market loss assistance to farmers. This is the same level of support farmers have received for the past 2 years. My amendment provides an additional $500 million for oilseed assistance, which is the same as last year, and $1 billion for aquaculture and other specialty crops. This is a total amount of $6.475 billion, and it represents approximately half of the Agriculture budget for both fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2002 combined. The $7.5 billion reported in the bill by the Senate Agriculture Committee contains nearly $1 billion for programs that do not provide direct economic assistance to farmers. Why argue about that? Why argue about that in conference and spend some amount of time delaying the benefits that farmers need now? My suggestion is, the best way to help farmers today is to pass the Lugar substitute. It goes to the President, and he signs it. We can't write the President out of this process. He is involved in it. He has committed to veto the bill as reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Nine of us voted against it; 12 voted for it. But we are asking the Senate today to take another look realistically at the options we have. Let's not embrace what we would hope we could do. Let's embrace what we know we can do. I don't care how many charts you put up here to show how bad the situation is in agriculture, you are not going to change the reality of the House action and the President's promised action. We are part of the process and we have a role to play--right enough-- and we can exercise our responsibilities when we rewrite the farm bill. If there is an indication that additional assistance is needed later on, we can take that from the budget resolution which provides for economic assistance for farmers in the 2002 crop year. We can do that. We don't have to solve every problem facing agriculture or conservation on this bill today. We can do what we can do today, and farmers understand that. They don't fall for a lot of political grandstanding. They don't spin all the charts that you can put up on the floor. That doesn't help them a bit. They know how bad it is. What they want is help now. To get help now, let's vote for the Lugar substitute. I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record a section-by-section analysis.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am sure most Senators have heard by now, or read in the newspapers, that Eudora Welty died yesterday in Jackson, MS. She was 92. Miss Welty was a wonderful person and one of America's best writers. She was well known around the world for the excellent quality of her stories, and she was also appreciated in Mississippi for her generosity, warmth and good humor. For several years my wife and I lived in her neighborhood, the Belhaven section of Jackson, and when we would see her she was always gracious and friendly. Everyone I knew loved her. So, it is not an exaggeration to say that the entire State of Mississippi is in mourning today. She may have been every writer's idol, but she was every Mississippian's friend. When I was a student in Europe in 1963 and was introduced to one of Dublin's leading artists, he said, ``If you are from Jackson, Mississippi, then you must know Eudora Welty.'' At that time I really didn't know her very well, and I admitted it. Then he said, ``Well, you must get to know her. She is, you know, the greatest living writer in the world today.'' ``Goodness,'' I thought. I didn't know she was that great. I had read ``Delta Wedding'' and a few of her short stories, but I didn't appreciate her widespread popularity and reputation until I spent a year abroad. Her writings of course are widely read, well known and respected everywhere, including Mississippi. She has been honored at home and throughout the world. But it is in Mississippi that she was loved for her personal qualities as well as for her talent as a writer. Tomorrow her body will lie in state at the old State capitol and on Thursday a memorial service will be held at Galloway Memorial Methodist Church where she was a member. I ask unanimous consent that articles from today's Jackson daily newspaper, The Clarion-Ledger, which chronicle her writing, photography and the numerous awards she received be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, last week I introduced two resolutions appointing citizen regents of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. It is an honor to serve on the Board of Regents as one of the three United States Senators privileged to do so. My fellow Regents, Senators Frist and Leahy join me as cosponsors of both resolutions. At its May 7, 2001 meeting, the Board of Regents voted to nominate Ms. Anne d'Harnoncourt for a second term and Mr. Roger W. Sant to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr. For the information of the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the curriculum vitae of Ms. d'Harnoncourt and the biographical sketch of Mr. Sant be printed in the Record, following my remarks.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, this bill is the first appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002 the Senate is considering. I am pleased to be a member of the subcommittee that has the responsibility for writing this bill each year. I have enjoyed working on the issues and programs that must be addressed each year during our hearings and the development of this legislation. The Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service have a major presence in my state. The levels of funding for their activities and responsibilities in Mississippi have a significant impact on our interest in protecting our natural resources and historic attractions. I'm glad the Committee's bill provides an increase in the funding for operation and maintenance of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The beauty and living history facilities of this parkway attract tourists and local visitors alike, and its completion has been one of my highest personal priorities. The Vicksburg National Military Park will be enhanced by the acquisition of the house used by General Pemberton as his headquarters during the siege of Vicksburg. Along with funding for a needed stabilization project, this commitment will enable the Park to continue to attract more than one million visitors each year. There are also funds in this bill to help pay the cost of acquisition, as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, of Cat Island, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico off the Coast of Mississippi. Other provisions of this bill allow the continued construction of the Franklin County Lake in the Homochitto National Forest which will be a very important recreational resource for the people of southwest Mississippi. An increase in funding is also provided in the bill as payments in lieu of taxes to counties that contain federal lands. This will help offset the losses that have occurred in many of these counties by changes in forest management policies of the U.S. Forest Service. The bill also includes $6.3 million for research programs that will be performed by the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. The National Park Service is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Natchez National Historical Park which contains some of the most interesting properties that reflect the lifestyles and cultural diversity of the early settlers in the oldest continuously inhabited town on the Mississippi River. The City of Natchez is also the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. This bill contains funds for continued enhancement of the historical park which will enrich the experience of visitors to this unique educational resource in my state. Another interesting destination for visitors is the Corinth Battlefield in northeast Mississippi which was included in a list of the top ten most important Civil War battlefields by former Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan. It is located near the Shiloh National Military Park and will be the site of a new Civil War Interpretive Center. This building will be constructed with funds that are included in this bill at the request of our state's delegation in Congress. My colleague, Trent Lott, has taken the lead in making this new addition to our state's list of federally supported projects a reality. Congressman Roger Wicker has also been a key influence in the appropriations process on this project as well as the Brice's Crossroads site. Taken as a whole, the provisions of this Interior Appropriations bill will contribute to the economy of our state and at the same time help protect valuable natural resources, historic attractions and our environment. I appreciate the cooperation and assistance of the managers of the bill and my staff member, Ginger Wallace, who worked hard to help develop the provisions of the bill that were of specific interest in our State of Mississippi.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am concerned that there are members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who are currently not allowed to be provided with health care services under the Indian Health Services Contract Health Services program. It is my understanding that there is a procedure which would allow the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to include the approximately 300 tribal members who reside in Ripley, TN, within their authorized service area. The Ripley community lacks the most basic health services. There are no resources for preventive health education and no access to either Indian Health Services or tribally operated facilities. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has demonstrated a commitment to these tribal members by providing updated housing and other infrastructure and services. The tribe is currently constructing an appropriate health care facility at the Ripley Community. However, it is concerned that it does not yet have the authorization from Indian Health Services to provide those services. I am sensitive to the constraints in the Interior Appropriations bill, which did not allow an increase in the Contract Services Program. I am hopeful that we can work with our colleagues from the House of Representatives in the conference for this bill to find additional funds for this program, to increase the likelihood that tribal members, no matter where they live, will be able to have access to the health services their tribe can offer. Regardless of the funding situation, I hope that the Indian Health Services officials here in Washington, D.C., will review this situation and work closely with Chief Phillip Martin, the tribal council, and other officials of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, to expand its Contract Health Services area.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased that the supplemental appropriations bill which we will vote on today includes much needed funding for education. Federal support to improve the educational opportunities of disadvantaged students is provided under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Earlier this year, the Department of Education announced the allocation of title I funds for qualified schools. The Department was forced to make cuts in the expected funding for all of these school districts, due to a shortfall in the amounts appropriated for this purpose last year. This bill provides $161 million to cover that shortfall; $2.4 million of these funds will be allocated to schools in my State. With this funding, schools in Mississippi will be able to continue to provide essential learning resources to students from preschool through 12th grade. In April of this year, in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, Senator Specter authorized me to chair a hearing in Mississippi to examine the effectiveness of title I in my State. Our panel of witnesses included Mississippi Department of Education officials and local school superintendents. The resounding message from the hearing was that title I funds are vital to making good learning opportunities available to all of Mississippi's students. One of the most compelling statements was that of Yazoo City School Superintendent, Dr. Daniel Watkins who told of his experience at Montgomery Elementary School in Louise, MS. I want to share with the Senate some of his testimony, which I quote here: I began my educational career in 1964 in Louise. My mother was a single parent with 7 children. My first 3 years at elementary school, I had a severe speech impediment that allowed me to be quiet when I knew answers. But I do remember, through title I funding, a speech pathologist, to bring me out of my shyness. Again, I grew up in a small delta town called Louise, with my mother being the mother, the father, a provider and whatever else she needed to be. Besides school, our work consisted of working in the cotton fields. My mother drove a school bus and worked in the school's cafeteria. One of the happiest days of my mother's life was when she received her GED. Needless to say, she stressed education daily and yearly throughout my grade school life. There were many needs in our school system back then, to the extent that I did not quite understand, but I have since learned that through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Federal Government reduced many of these needs. In later years, I have seen the happiness of my mother as she observes her daughter working with a parenting program in Louisville, Mississippi, and two of her sons receiving Ph.D's. Without the increasing help of title I, none of these could have been achieved in the lives a poor Delta family. Hearing Dr. Watkins' personal experiences is helpful in understanding the real life consequences of title I and what it can do to broaden the horizons of a young student. Dr. Watkins' story is, I think, a marvelous testimony to the success of title I. Dr. Watkins and the other witnesses at that hearing went on to tell in just as riveting testimony newer stories of title I providing the resources to reduce dropout rates, provide tutoring, increase literacy of parents and students, enhance teachers' skills, and overall increase the likelihood of high achievement among the most disadvantaged students. I am happy to provide the Senate with some of the good news about title I and I am very pleased that this bill will allow the continuation of the much needed services it provides.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am pleased to address the Senate to applaud the leadership being shown by President Bush during his visit with leaders in Europe. I like the straightforward and forceful way he is expressing his views on international security issues, especially on the subject of missile defenses. In March, the President dispatched senior administration officials around the world to discuss with leaders of other nations the plans he was considering to deploy defenses against ballistic missiles. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and high-level administration teams have worked hard to ensure that our friends and allies understand why the United States intends to deploy these new defensive systems. This week European leaders are hearing directly from the President his personal views on this issue. At his first stop in Madrid, President Bush said that the task of explaining missile defense ``starts with explaining to Russia and our European friends and allies that Russia is not the enemy of the United States, that the attitude of mutually assured destruction is a relic of the Cold War, and that we must address the new threats of the 21st century if we're to have a peaceful continent and a peaceful world.'' The Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Aznar, responded to President Bush's remarks by saying: [I]t is very important for President Bush to have decided to share that initiative with its allies, to discuss it with them, to establish a framework of cooperation with his allies with regard to this initiative and, as he announced, to also establish a framework for discussions, cooperation, and a new relationship with Russia. The Prime Minister also said: What I am surprised by is the fact that there are people who, from the start, disqualified his initiative and, in that way, they are also disqualifying the deterrence that has existed so far and probably they would also disqualify any other kind of initiative. But what we're dealing with here is an attempt to provide greater security for everyone. And from that point of view, that initiative to share and discuss and dialog and reach common ground with the President of the United States is something that I greatly appreciate. Today the news reports indicate that many other European leaders agree with the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister of Spain. The most conspicuous exceptions have been France and Germany. I commend President Bush for his effort to modernize our defenses against terrorism and ballistic missiles. Internationally, we remain vulnerable to these threats. We can no longer intentionally choose to accept that on behalf of our citizens. Nor can peace-loving people anywhere in the world tolerate the continued intentional vulnerability that this policy ensures. President Bush realizes this and is doing what is necessary to remedy the situation. He is making it clear that he will unilaterally reduce our stockpile of nuclear weapons to the lowest level, compatible with the need to keep the peace. And he is consulting with our allies and others in an effort to explore new agreements that will further protect our common security interests. He acknowledges that everyone, not even our closest allies, will agree with us on everything, but President Bush holds out hope for new understandings. He said at one news conference: I don't think we are going to have to move unilaterally, but people know I am intent on moving forward. The President is doing the right thing and setting the right tone in providing this kind of leadership at this particular time. It is a very important step in achieving a higher level of security for all the world, not just for the United States. I ask unanimous consent that a list of quotations from those supporting U.S. missile defense plans be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, my amendment, the Education Programs of National Significance Act, would reauthorize several elementary and secondary education programs that have been effective in improving the education opportunities of students throughout the country. One example is the National Writing Project which as first authorized 10 years ago and for the current fiscal year is funded at $10 million. The National Writing Project has 169 sites in 49 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It provides training for 1 out of every 34 teachers across the country. In addition, the National Writing Project raises $6 in local funding for every $1 in Federal funding it receives, and has become a model program for improving teaching in other academic fields such as math, science, and reading. Last fall, the Academy for Educational Development completed a study which shows the improvement of student writing achievement as a result of their teachers' involvement in the National Writing Project. The study evaluated the writing skills of 583 third- and fourth-grade students. The executive summary of the study states: Overall, these findings show that students in classrooms taught by NWP teachers made significant progress over the course of the school year. Last month, I held a Senate hearing in Bay St. Louis, MS which examined the effectiveness of the National Writing Project in my State. I heard from teachers and school administrators who gave compelling testimony about the positive results in their classrooms and the improvement of their teaching skills attributed to participation in National Writing Project training. The amendment authorizes the continuation, subject to annual appropriations, of the National Writing Project. The amendment also reauthorizes research based educational material delivered by public broadcasting television stations under the Ready To Learn Television Act of 1992. The objective was to utilize the time children spend watching television to prepare them for the first year of school. Today we know this program has resulted in improved learning skills for the children. Recent research from the University of Alabama and the University of Kansas tells us that Ready to Learn is having a positive impact on children and their parents. The University of Alabama study found that Ready to Learn families read books together more often and for longer periods than nonparticipants. And, this is a fact that surprises many, Ready to Learn children watch 40 percent less television and are more likely to choose educational programs when they do watch. Using the best research tested information available, Ready To Learn supports the development of educational, commercial-free television shows for young children. Between the Lions, is the first television series to offer educationally valid reading instruction which has been endorsed by the professional organizations that represent librarians, teachers and school principals. Its partners also include: The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress; the National Center for Family Literacy; the National Coalition for Literacy and the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. This broad-based support is unprecedented for a children's television show. It is well deserved affirmation of the Ready to Learn mission. A recent study from the University of Kansas showed that children who watched Between the Lions a few hours per week, increased their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence by 64 percent compared to a 25 percent increase by those who did not watch it. The parents and other care givers of more than six million children have participated in the local workshops and other services provided by 133 public broadcasting stations. I am encouraged by the success of Ready to Learn and look forward to a new generation of children whose families will have access to the information needed to develop a learning environment before they are enrolled in school. These are two of the Educational Programs of National Significance that I have been personally involved in starting. The others that are included in this amendment are also proven examples of federally funded education programs that will help us have a better educated student population throughout the Nation. I urge Senators to support the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, as I understand, if there is going to be a little lull in the routine right now, I thought I would take advantage of this opportunity to advise the Senate that, at my request, the managers' amendment, No. 585, to this bill includes a new provision in the Early Reading First Program. The Early Reading First Program is designed to improve the language and early literacy development of children ages 3 through 5. Reading, as we all know, is the most important and fundamental skill for children to learn. This new provision in the bill will allow the use of Federal funds and authorize the appropriation of funds for dissemination of a reading readiness screening tool that is based on top quality research for children in this age group. The National Council on Learning Disabilities has developed such a tool which is based on the report and research that was reviewed by the National Reading Panel. To acquaint the Senate with the work that has been done in this area, the National Reading Panel was created at our suggestion as a result of legislation that was introduced back in 1997. Subsequently, the report accompanying the Fiscal Year 1998 Labor-HHS and Related Agencies Appropriations Act called on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Department of Education to form a panel to evaluate existing research on the teaching of reading to children, to identify proven methodologies, and suggest ways for dissemination of this information to teachers, parents, universities, and others. As a result of that initiative and the work that was done, there has been published one example of this initiative. It is prepared by the National Center for Learning Disabilities. With this legislation that is identified by me in this amendment in the managers' package, this is the kind of material that will be disseminated with the use of Federal funds to schools, to universities, to departments of education at universities, and others who are interested in the latest and best information about how to teach young children who have reading difficulties, and new techniques for teaching those who will acquire developmental skills at a faster rate and more efficiently, to equip them to be successful in the early grades of school. So I bring this to the attention of the Senate to let everyone know that there has been, over time, a very successful effort, first by the research institutes at the National Institutes of Health, to do some fundamental research into why children have difficulties learning to read, and things that can be done to help overcome those difficulties. That research has now been used by the Department of Education because of legislation we adopted in the past, and now we have come to the point where there are some specific programs and practices that are being recommended throughout the country as a result of the work of the National Reading Panel whom we charged with the job of translating those research findings into teaching practices and techniques. What this research has told us--just as an example--is that 75 percent of children with reading difficulties who are not identified by the time they reach age 9 will still have poor reading skills at the end of high school; 80 to 90 percent of children identified with learning disabilities have their primary deficits in reading and language-based processes; research provides reliable ways to determine whether children as young as age 4 are developing the fundamental skills necessary to learn to read; and last, early identification and effective, early intervention can dramatically reduce the numbers of students failing in reading. Back in April of last year, the panel submitted its report to Congress at a hearing of our Senate Appropriations subcommittee chaired by Senator Specter of Pennsylvania. Some of the most important research that I hoped could be made available to teachers and parents is the information about the skills young children need to have in order to be ready to read and, beyond that, how to help them attain those skills. This dissemination of a user-friendly predictor of reading readiness will ensure that more children arrive at school with the skills they need, and early identification of those children who need extra help will be possible. This amendment will finally ensure that parents and teachers have available the first tool they need to begin the important steps to learning to read. The Department of Education's monthly publication ``Community Update'' for April 2001 features an article by Dr. Reid Lyon, chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He says in the article: Today's teachers have a number of resources that can help them discriminate between research that can be trusted and research that cannot be. One such resource is The Report of the National Reading Panel. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of Dr. Reid Lyon's article be printed in the Record.

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is with a feeling of deep regret that I bring to the attention of the Senate the death of my friend, J. Wesley Watkins III. He died on Monday, June 4, at George Washington University Hospital. He was 65 years old and was a victim of cancer. Wes and I were classmates at the University of Mississippi. As a matter of fact, we were cheerleaders for the Ole Miss football team in 1956-1957, and I succeeded him as head cheerleader in 1957. During the 1960's Wes became actively involved in the effort to extend all the benefits of citizenship to African Americans. He was a leader in our State in this cause, and he demonstrated great courage and determination. He had an engaging personality, a winning smile, and he loved people. It was always a pleasure to be with him. He truly will be missed by his many friends. I'm glad I was one of them. His hard work to assure equal rights and help make a difference in the lives of others who needed help is described in a newspaper article about his death. I ask that a copy of the obituary that appeared on Wednesday, June 6, in the Washington Post be printed in the Record. The obituary follows: J. Wesley Watkins III, 65, Dies; Civil Liberties Lawyer, Activist (By Bart Barnes) J. Wesley Watkins III, 65, a Washington-based lawyer who specialized in civil rights and civil liberties issues in a career that spanned almost 40 years, died of pneumonia June 4 at George Washington University Hospital. He had cancer. At his death, Mr. Watkins was a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Alternatives and founding director of the Flemming Fellows Leadership Institute, a program that assists and trains state legislators on such issues as family and medical leave, community reinvestment and motor-voter registration. He was a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area, a Washington-based southern regional manager of Common Cause and a management consultant to various nonprofit organizations. In the late 1960's and the 1970s, he had a private law practice in Greenville, Miss. His cases included winning the right for African American leaders to speak to on-campus gatherings at previously all-white universities; the seating of a biracial Mississippi delegation at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and removal of various barriers and impediments to voting. Mr. Watkins, a resident of Washington, was born in Greenville and grew up in Inverness, Miss. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated from the University of Mississippi and served in the Navy at Pearl Harbor from 1957 to 1959. He graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1962. During the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, he was a Justice Department lawyer and tried cases throughout the South. In 1967, he returned to Greenville as a partner in the law firm of Wynn and Watkins. Until 1975, he was the attorney for the Loyal Democrats, the movement to establish a biracial Democratic Party in a state where black residents had been effectively excluded from the political process for generations. The loyalists were seated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as the official Democratic Party of Mississippi. In the years after 1968, Mr. Watkins held negotiations with Mississippi's Old Guard Democrats that led to a unified Democratic Party by the national convention of 1976. Hodding Carter III, the former editor of Greenville's Delta Democrat Times newspaper and a Mississippi contemporary of Mr. Watkins's, described him as ``one of those southerners who loved this place so much that he had to change it. He had to do what he knew was the right and necessary thing in a very hard time. He had to break with so much that was basic to his past.'' Carter is president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami. In 1975, Mr. Watkins returned to Washington and joined the Center for Policy Alternatives and helped found the Flemming Leadership Institute. There, Linda Tarr-Whelan, the organization's board chairman, called him a ``larger-than-life figure with a thick Mississippi accent, a magnetic personality and a gift for telling stories.'' He habitually wore cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat. When chemotherapy treatments for his cancer caused some of his hair to fall out, Mr. Watkins simply shaved his head and started wearing an earring. In the 1980s, Mr. Watkins was task force director for the Commission on Administrative Review of the U.S. House of Representatives, which also was known as the Obey Commission. He was a former legislative assistant to Rep. Frank E. Smith (D-Miss.). He Served on the boards of Common Cause, Americans for Democratic Action and Mid- Delta Head Start, and most recently he was a board member of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington. He was a former vestryman and a teacher in the Christian education program of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington. His marriage to Jane Magruder Watkins ended in divorce. Survivors include his companion, Anita F. Gottlieb of Washington; two children, Gordon Watkins of Parthenon, Ark., and Laurin Wittig of Williamsburg, two sisters, Mollye Lester of Inverness and Ann Stevens of Newark; a brother, William S. Watkins of Alexandria; and four grandchildren.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today Mr. Kenneth Hood of Gunnison, MS, will conclude his term as President of Delta Council. Delta Council is an economic development organization representing eighteen counties of Northwest Mississippi. Organized in 1935, Delta Council brings together the agricultural, business, and professional leadership of the area to solve common problems and promote the economic development of the Mississippi Delta region. As President of Delta Council, Mr. Hood has been an articulate spokesman and leader in the effort to define an effective agriculture policy, and to confront the needs for better schools, water resources, and transportation. Kenneth Hood has been committed to Mississippi agriculture since he first began farming in 1960. He is president of Hood Gin Company and Chief Executive Officer of Perthshire Farms, a family farm operation. He is also president of Hood Equipment Company, an agricultural and construction equipment dealer located in Batesville and Bruce, MS. Mr. Hood has served also as the President of the Mississippi and National Association of Farmer Elected Committeemen, a member of the Board of Directors of Staplcotn, a founding director of Delta Wildlife, a past chairman of the National and Southern Cotton Ginners Association, and Chairman of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation. He has recently been chosen as the new Chairman of the National Cotton Council. I am confident that Mr. Hood will be an important source of information and advice for Congress as we draft a new farm bill.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the distinguished Senators from Minnesota and Maine, Mr. Wellstone and Ms. Collins, in the introduction of the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research, and Education Act. I have worked with them over the past several months to develop this legislation. The Muscular Dystrophy CARE Act will help ensure that federal agencies are coordinating muscular dystrophy initiatives. The bill will create three Centers of Excellence under the National Institutes of Health. These centers will conduct basic and clinical research that will help move scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside. The act also ensures that the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention will conduct basic epidemiological research and data analysis of the impact this disease has on our country. The passage of this legislation will help improve the quality and length of life for tens of thousands who suffer from muscular dystrophy. I encourage all Senators to support this effort.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I support the Grassley amendment. This amendment will provide an additional $63.5 billion to the baseline for Commodity Credit Corporation mandatory payments to farmers. This will allow the authorizing committee to write a comprehensive farm bill that will cover major commodities in addition to livestock and specialty crops, rural development, trade, and conservation initiatives. Conditions in agriculture are not improving. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agriculture community will be facing persistently low prices and depressed farm income this year, and possibly the next. This amendment provides an additional $5 billion in fiscal year 2001 for supplemental support that is needed by farmers. Should farmers need additional assistance in the fall, this amendment also provides for $7.35 billion in fiscal year 2002 that could be used for this crop year. Again, I support this amendment because it provides additional funding needed by farmers this crop year. It also provides a significant level of agricultural funding in the out years to provide effective and predictable financial support.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, while many Senators have had a very active and effective role in bringing us to this point on this legislation, I think we should not forget that there are two Senators who really deserve real credit--Senators McCain and Feingold. Because of their perseverance, determination, and effective leadership, they have brought us to the point where we are nearing passage of this legislative reform effort of the Federal Election Campaign Act. While nobody can be really certain exactly what the implications of all of the provisions will be, I am convinced we are going to see this effort as a major step toward improving the Federal election campaign system and restoring the confidence of the American people in the integrity of the political process. That is very important, and I am very glad to have been a part of it.

Mr. COCHRAN

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from California for yielding, and also for her leadership in helping to craft an amendment to seek to find a solution to the challenge of putting the so-called hard money or regulated contributions at an appropriate limit in this modification of the Federal Election Campaign Act. My perspective comes from my first candidacy for Congress in 1972. It was the first year that candidates for House and Senate seats in Congress were required to operate and fund their campaigns under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. It required recordkeeping. It required disclosure of contributions that candidates were receiving. It limited those contributions. It required all expenditures to be reported on periodic reports to the Federal Election Commission. It required the keeping of records of all expenditures that were made and the keeping of receipts and invoices to back up the entire financial operation of a Federal election campaign. That was the first election year in history that such extensive recordkeeping and disclosures and limitations were required. Many Senators have been talking about the post-Watergate limits and reforms. Frankly, this preceded Watergate. It was in that election campaign that the Watergate incident occurred in 1974. But the fact is, candidates were required to make full disclosure but not organizations who were not covered by the Federal Election Campaign Act. Now we have seen that the amounts being raised and spent by individual candidates have diminished considerably in comparison with the total amount of money being raised and spent to influence the outcome of Federal elections. Most of that money is now not even recorded. The contributions are not limited. The expenditures are not limited. Hence, the phrase ``soft money'' has been used to describe those expenditures and those contributions. They are behind the scenes. They are secret. And we are trying, by this McCain- Feingold bill, to put an end to that kind of spending that is secret, undisclosed, repetitious, and expenditures which are not disclosed either. Advertising is bought by groups. You don't know who is buying the ads. You just see the campaign ad attacking a candidate or a cause. The people are completely confused in many cases as to who is on which side and who is spending the money. We are trying now to help recreate a system where there is full disclosure. In doing so, the McCain-Feingold original bill makes very few changes to the regulated, disclosed, and reportable political spending that goes on. Only in two instances--one involving contributions to State and local parties--does the McCain-Feingold bill increase the amount that could be contributed, from $5,000 per calendar year to $10,000 per calendar year. Then, in the aggregate limit allowed by law for regulated publicly disclosed contributions, the limit was increased from $25,000 per calendar year to $30,000 per calendar year. Most Senators believe those modest changes aren't enough; that in order to make the campaign system fully operational so that candidates can, on their own initiative, raise and spend the moneys they need to offset opposition from organized groups, those limits must be increased. Most Senators agree with that proposition. The issue now before the Senate is how much should the increases be. The Senator from Tennessee offered an amendment, and he discussed his views with the Senate that originally he wanted to triple the contributions in all of these categories. My personal preference was to double them. I made that comment to several Senators as we began to look closely at the provisions of McCain-Feingold. Senator Feinstein from California agreed that in most instances she thought so, too. We have been working now to craft the specifics of an amendment that would be more than McCain-Feingold provided for increases but a level that we think should pass and could pass the Senate and become a part of the McCain-Feingold bill on final passage. That is the effort that is reflected in this amendment. It does not increase some of the categories as much as I personally think they should be. As I say, I think they should be doubled across the board. It is easy to understand. It is substantially less than the index amounts would be if you took inflation into account from 1971 when the act was first created. Over $3,000 would be reflected if we had indexed those amounts in 1971; so that the amount of an individual contribution could be limited now, if it were indexed for inflation, at about $3,300-something instead of $1,000 as it is now. So to strike a compromise, our suggested limit is $2,000. It is a modest increase when you think about it. The other accounts are likewise increased, except for PACs, which some Members view with some skepticism. Frankly, all of the PAC contributions that are made under the law are fully disclosed; records have to be kept, just as in the case of individual contributions. It is there for the public to scrutinize and see in every instance of contributions from political action committees to Members or to candidates. I am hopeful the Senate will look carefully at this proposal and in the instance of a motion to table, that Senators will vote not to table the Feinstein amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Lower Mississippi Delta Education Access and Improvement Act of 2001. The character and fabric of our Nation have been significantly enhanced by the Mississippi Delta's unique blend of the talents that created blues music and Pulitzer Prize literature. But the problems facing this region today overshadow the triumphs of the past and foretell a future without hope. These problems include: below average reading skills among elementary school children, low graduation rates and ACT scores among high school students, lower levels of accreditation among teachers, and poor scores from the State Department of Education Performance Based Accreditation System. Poverty is another issue facing the school districts, evidenced by the fact that 86 percent of the students are eligible for free lunch. However, there is a sense of optimism among community leaders and educators about overcoming the difficulties that confront the educational system of the area. Universities, community based organizations, and schools are developing comprehensive initiatives to achieve new success in teacher training and retention, preschool learning readiness, parental education, school-wide performance, birth to kindergarten preventative health care and immunization delivery. These are the people who best know their problems, and more importantly, how to solve them. In my opinion, these are efforts that deserve federal support. This bill will authorize grants to institutions of higher learning located in the Lower Mississippi Delta for the improvement of education and student and teacher performance. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Lower Mississippi Delta Education Access and Improvement Act of 2001. The character and fabric of our Nation have been significantly enhanced by the Mississippi Delta's unique blend of the talents that created blues music and Pulitzer Prize literature. But the problems facing this region today overshadow the triumphs of the past and foretell a future without hope. These problems include: below average reading skills among elementary school children, low graduation rates and ACT scores among high school students, lower levels of accreditation among teachers, and poor scores from the State Department of Education Performance Based Accreditation System. Poverty is another issue facing the school districts, evidenced by the fact that 86 percent of the students are eligible for free lunch. However, there is a sense of optimism among community leaders and educators about overcoming the difficulties that confront the educational system of the area. Universities, community based organizations, and schools are developing comprehensive initiatives to achieve new success in teacher training and retention, preschool learning readiness, parental education, school-wide performance, birth to kindergarten preventative health care and immunization delivery. These are the people who best know their problems, and more importantly, how to solve them. In my opinion, these are efforts that deserve federal support. This bill will authorize grants to institutions of higher learning located in the Lower Mississippi Delta for the improvement of education and student and teacher performance. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues, Senators Kennedy and Warner. In 1992, Senator Kennedy and I introduced the Ready To Learn Television Act. The premise was to utilize the time children spend watching television to prepare them for the first year of school. Data told us that nearly every preschool child in America was watching up to 30 hours of television per week. While there were some educational television shows, there was not a consistent effort to provide truly meaningful programming. Ready to Learn was signed by President Bush in October, 1992. The new law supported the coordination of existing Public Broadcasting shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. By 1994, more local public television stations began airing a consistent block of preschool educational programs and PBS began developing supplemental materials to help parents prepare their children for school. Today, new research from the University of Alabama and the University of Kansas tells us that Ready to Learn is having a positive impact on children and their parents. The University of Alabama study found that Ready to Learn families read books together more often and for longer periods than non participants. And--this is a fact that surprises many--Ready to Learn children watch 40 percent less television and are more likely to choose educational programs when they do watch. Using the best research tested information available, Ready To Learn supports the development of educational, commercial-free television shows for young children. Between the Lions, is the first television series to offer educationally valid reading instruction which has been endorsed by the professional organizations that represent librarians, teachers and school principals. Its partners also include: the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress; the National Center for Family Literacy; the National Coalition for Literacy and the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. This broad-based support is unprecedented for a children's television show. It is well deserved affirmation of the Ready to Learn mission. A recent study from the University of Kansas showed that children who watched Between the Lions a few hours per week, increased their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence by 64 percent compared to a 25 percent increase by those who did not watch it. Continuing research suggests that classroom, teacher led use of the video and online resources will be beneficial to kindergarten and first grade students and is desired by teachers. Thirty seven million children have played to, sung with, and learned from Ready To Learn Television shows. The parents and other care givers of more than 6 million children have participated in the local workshops and other services provided by 133 public broadcasting stations. In my state, the Mississippi Educational Television Network Ready to Learn director, Cassandra Washington Love, has received high praise for the effective assistance she provides to families. One grandfather said, ``It made my grandchildren happy to know that they could get free books. My wife and I were also happy because we were not able to buy them any books. Thanks to that TV station.'' The second element of the Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act concerns teacher professional development. MATHLINE is a proven professional development model for teachers of mathematics. In 1994, Congress authorized the ``Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics,'' which has supported a project called MATHLINE. MATHLINE is a blend of technology and teacher ``best practices.'' MATHLINE demonstrations established some of the first internet-like online communications between teachers. The flexibility of video tape allows MATHLINE participants to adjust training schedules and cut out the expense and time of travel. This bill graduates MATHLINE to TeacherLine, a more comprehensive professional development tool for teachers of preschool through twelfth grade. TeacherLine will also support state of the art, digitally produced content for classroom use. Digital broadcasting will dramatically increase the services local public broadcasting stations can offer schools. One of the most exciting is the ability to broadcast multiple video channels and data information simultaneously. This will make possible for instructional materials to be distributed on full time, continuous channels, on demand, when teachers and students need it. In my opinion we should reauthorize the programs that are successful models and lead to educational improvement. The Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act takes the best of educational technology programming; improves those proven to work, and places renewed confidence in one of education's most trusted and successful partners. I hope Senators will support this important education legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues, Senators Kennedy and Warner. In 1992, Senator Kennedy and I introduced the Ready To Learn Television Act. The premise was to utilize the time children spend watching television to prepare them for the first year of school. Data told us that nearly every preschool child in America was watching up to 30 hours of television per week. While there were some educational television shows, there was not a consistent effort to provide truly meaningful programming. Ready to Learn was signed by President Bush in October, 1992. The new law supported the coordination of existing Public Broadcasting shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. By 1994, more local public television stations began airing a consistent block of preschool educational programs and PBS began developing supplemental materials to help parents prepare their children for school. Today, new research from the University of Alabama and the University of Kansas tells us that Ready to Learn is having a positive impact on children and their parents. The University of Alabama study found that Ready to Learn families read books together more often and for longer periods than non participants. And--this is a fact that surprises many--Ready to Learn children watch 40 percent less television and are more likely to choose educational programs when they do watch. Using the best research tested information available, Ready To Learn supports the development of educational, commercial-free television shows for young children. Between the Lions, is the first television series to offer educationally valid reading instruction which has been endorsed by the professional organizations that represent librarians, teachers and school principals. Its partners also include: the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress; the National Center for Family Literacy; the National Coalition for Literacy and the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. This broad-based support is unprecedented for a children's television show. It is well deserved affirmation of the Ready to Learn mission. A recent study from the University of Kansas showed that children who watched Between the Lions a few hours per week, increased their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence by 64 percent compared to a 25 percent increase by those who did not watch it. Continuing research suggests that classroom, teacher led use of the video and online resources will be beneficial to kindergarten and first grade students and is desired by teachers. Thirty seven million children have played to, sung with, and learned from Ready To Learn Television shows. The parents and other care givers of more than 6 million children have participated in the local workshops and other services provided by 133 public broadcasting stations. In my state, the Mississippi Educational Television Network Ready to Learn director, Cassandra Washington Love, has received high praise for the effective assistance she provides to families. One grandfather said, ``It made my grandchildren happy to know that they could get free books. My wife and I were also happy because we were not able to buy them any books. Thanks to that TV station.'' The second element of the Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act concerns teacher professional development. MATHLINE is a proven professional development model for teachers of mathematics. In 1994, Congress authorized the ``Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics,'' which has supported a project called MATHLINE. MATHLINE is a blend of technology and teacher ``best practices.'' MATHLINE demonstrations established some of the first internet-like online communications between teachers. The flexibility of video tape allows MATHLINE participants to adjust training schedules and cut out the expense and time of travel. This bill graduates MATHLINE to TeacherLine, a more comprehensive professional development tool for teachers of preschool through twelfth grade. TeacherLine will also support state of the art, digitally produced content for classroom use. Digital broadcasting will dramatically increase the services local public broadcasting stations can offer schools. One of the most exciting is the ability to broadcast multiple video channels and data information simultaneously. This will make possible for instructional materials to be distributed on full time, continuous channels, on demand, when teachers and students need it. In my opinion we should reauthorize the programs that are successful models and lead to educational improvement. The Ready To Learn, Ready To Teach Act takes the best of educational technology programming; improves those proven to work, and places renewed confidence in one of education's most trusted and successful partners. I hope Senators will support this important education legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the National Security Education Program has released an Analysis of Federal Language Needs. This analysis will appear later this year as part of its annual report to Congress. It confirms the need to support foreign language instruction at the elementary and secondary education level. It also is compelling evidence that the Senate should pass S. 541, the Foreign Language Acquisition and Proficiency Improvement Act, which will provide assistance to schools for foreign language instruction. I ask unanimous consent that the March, 2001, National Security Education Program Analysis of Federal Language Needs, be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Public Health, be authorized to meet for a hearing on ``Strengthening the Safety Net: Increasing Access to Essential Health Care Services'' during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 22, 2001, at 10 a.m.