Susan Collins

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would correct a unique health insurance problem for some American citizens whose work is devoted to maintaining the memory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his Campobello Island retreat near the Maine border. About 10 U.S. citizens from the State of Maine work in Canada under terms of a treaty that governs operation of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. As you know, that beautiful island in the Province of New Brunswick was President Roosevelt's treasured retreat, and still draws thousands of visitors from around the world. The American employees of the Park are, unfortunately, faced with a difficult problem in obtaining affordable health-insurance coverage. The legislation I introduce today would solve their difficulty by making them eligible for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Insurance Benefits Program. In the spirit of bipartisan recognition that FDR was one of our greatest and most inspiring Presidents, I am delighted to be joined in this effort by Senator Harkin. His endorsement of this bill is especially notable because he serves on the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission, and is thus very familiar with the difficulty of my Maine constituents employed at the Park. The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was dedicated in 1964 as a unique memorial to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Park is governed by a treaty between the United States and Canada, and is funded by both governments. The Park employs approximately 10 full-time employees who are American citizens residing in Maine. Unfortunately, the treaty that governs the Park does not address the health insurance needs of individuals employed directly by Roosevelt Campobello International Park. As a result, the State Department issued an opinion in 1965 stating that those employed by the Park Commission, ``shall be subject to the relevant Canadian labor laws.'' Based on the State Department opinion, the Civil Service Commission, the predecessor of the Office of Personnel Management, has determined that the employees are not considered Federal employees eligible for FEHBP coverage. The employees currently receive health insurance coverage through a small group plan negotiated by the Roosevelt Park Commission. The premiums have risen so dramatically that they can no longer afford coverage. The full-time employees are unique in their situation and should be included under the FEHBP for health insurance purposes. This would be a matter of equal treatment as well as compassion for those workers and their families. Full-time employees of other parks that share a border with Canada, like Glacier National Park, while technically the shared responsibility of both the United States and Canada, are eligible for coverage under the FEHBP. In addition, the location of the Park makes it impractical for these employees to seek medical treatment in Canada even if the government allowed them to join the Canadian health system. The closest doctors and hospitals are in Maine, and the Park is only accessible from the United States. If the treaty were negotiated today, health insurance would certainly be a part of the negotiations. The situation facing this small group of Roosevelt Campobello Park employees is a consequence of negotiations conducted when health insurance was not a standard employee benefit as it is today. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation so that U.S. citizens maintaining the Park honoring a great American President will be treated fairly.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would correct a unique health insurance problem for some American citizens whose work is devoted to maintaining the memory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his Campobello Island retreat near the Maine border. About 10 U.S. citizens from the State of Maine work in Canada under terms of a treaty that governs operation of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. As you know, that beautiful island in the Province of New Brunswick was President Roosevelt's treasured retreat, and still draws thousands of visitors from around the world. The American employees of the Park are, unfortunately, faced with a difficult problem in obtaining affordable health-insurance coverage. The legislation I introduce today would solve their difficulty by making them eligible for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Insurance Benefits Program. In the spirit of bipartisan recognition that FDR was one of our greatest and most inspiring Presidents, I am delighted to be joined in this effort by Senator Harkin. His endorsement of this bill is especially notable because he serves on the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission, and is thus very familiar with the difficulty of my Maine constituents employed at the Park. The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was dedicated in 1964 as a unique memorial to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Park is governed by a treaty between the United States and Canada, and is funded by both governments. The Park employs approximately 10 full-time employees who are American citizens residing in Maine. Unfortunately, the treaty that governs the Park does not address the health insurance needs of individuals employed directly by Roosevelt Campobello International Park. As a result, the State Department issued an opinion in 1965 stating that those employed by the Park Commission, ``shall be subject to the relevant Canadian labor laws.'' Based on the State Department opinion, the Civil Service Commission, the predecessor of the Office of Personnel Management, has determined that the employees are not considered Federal employees eligible for FEHBP coverage. The employees currently receive health insurance coverage through a small group plan negotiated by the Roosevelt Park Commission. The premiums have risen so dramatically that they can no longer afford coverage. The full-time employees are unique in their situation and should be included under the FEHBP for health insurance purposes. This would be a matter of equal treatment as well as compassion for those workers and their families. Full-time employees of other parks that share a border with Canada, like Glacier National Park, while technically the shared responsibility of both the United States and Canada, are eligible for coverage under the FEHBP. In addition, the location of the Park makes it impractical for these employees to seek medical treatment in Canada even if the government allowed them to join the Canadian health system. The closest doctors and hospitals are in Maine, and the Park is only accessible from the United States. If the treaty were negotiated today, health insurance would certainly be a part of the negotiations. The situation facing this small group of Roosevelt Campobello Park employees is a consequence of negotiations conducted when health insurance was not a standard employee benefit as it is today. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation so that U.S. citizens maintaining the Park honoring a great American President will be treated fairly.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. COLLINS. Yes, it is the intent of the bill that those provisions apply to all containers, whether transiting U.S. seaports or land ports of entry.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, we are on the verge of passing major port security legislation that will provide the structures and resources needed to better protect the American people from attack through seaports that are both vulnerable points of entry and vital centers of economic activity. I wish to thank all those who have been involved in this effort: the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, Senator Lieberman; the Commerce Committee chairman and ranking member; Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus on the Finance Committee. Most of all, I thank Senator Patty Murray, who has been my partner in the port security legislation from conception to this day. It has been a great honor and pleasure to work with her. I have a list of the hard-working staff, my staff on the Homeland Security Committee, who have worked on this issue. I ask unanimous consent that a list of their names be printed in the Record.

Ms. COLLINS. You are correct, Senator Levin. The bill contains provisions which would strengthen security measures for containers transiting either land or sea ports of entry.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the attached letter from the Supply Chain Security Coalition be printed in the Record.

Ms. COLLINS. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Ms. COLLINS. I see our colleagues are eager to vote, so I yield the floor.

Ms. COLLINS. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to table the Schumer amendment No. 4930 occur at 4 p.m., with no second degrees in order prior to that vote. I further ask consent that following that vote, the bill be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the bill, with no intervening action or debate.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, thank you.

Ms. COLLINS. No objection, and I so modify my request.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I further make a point of order that amendment No. 4945, offered by the Senator from Nebraska, as modified, is also not germane postcloture.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I will yield myself 1 minute, and then I will reserve a minute for after Senator Schumer speaks. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to table the amendment offered by the Senator from New York, which would require 100-percent scanning of all 11 million cargo containers entering the United States, regardless of whether they are incredibly low-risk containers or high-risk containers. Now, the amendment that was adopted yesterday, the Coleman amendment, provides for 100-percent scanning of high-risk containers. The bill before us has a pilot program in three foreign ports to find out: Is it feasible and practical? Is the technology available? Can we, in fact, do 100-percent scanning without significantly slowing the flow of commerce? Right now it appears that we cannot do that. The technology is not there. But eventually we will be able to get to that goal. The approach in the Schumer amendment ignores the technological limitations we now have. Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of my time.

Ms. COLLINS. I am very sympathetic to the concerns of both Senators but, unfortunately, this does not belong on the port security bill. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent it be in order to make the following point of order, en bloc. I make a point of order that the following amendments are not germane postcloture: amendment No. 4967, offered by Senator Stabenow; amendment No. 4957, offered by Senator Clinton; amendment No. 4943, offered by Senator Clinton; and amendment No. 4958, offered by Senator Clinton.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, once again, I will explain the provisions of the bill. It has a layered system of security for our cargo and, by the end of next year, it requires that the 22 busiest ports in the United States, which handle 98 percent of all cargo containers, will have installed the equipment to screen for radiation, for radiological devices, including a nuclear device. So it is not just studies and plans, as the Senator from New York repeatedly says; it has specific mandates. The Coleman amendment, adopted yesterday, requires 100 percent screening and scanning of all high-risk containers. But the fact is that we do not yet have feasible, efficient, practical technology in place to allow us to do 100 percent scanning of all containers without significantly slowing container movement, producing a backlog, and harming our economy. I move to table the Schumer amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. COLLINS. I do not object.

Ms. COLLINS. To the objectionable part.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on behalf of the leader, I object. The leader objected yesterday. This is the same issue. He has asked I make this objection known.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, at this point I suggest time be yielded to the Senator from Nebraska and the Senator from Montana to briefly discuss a pending amendment of the Senator from Nebraska. Amendment No. 4945

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am compelled to object because we have another Senator coming over shortly for an amendment. I have promised the Senator from Nebraska and the Senator from Montana that they would have a few minutes to talk about their amendment.

Ms. COLLINS. It will come out of the time of the Senator from Nebraska because we have the Senator from New York coming at 12:45 for his amendment. I have no objection with that understanding--that it will come out of the time of the Senator from Nebraska.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Steve Midas, who is a Coast Guard detailee assigned to the Homeland Security Committee, be accorded privileges of the floor for the remainder of the consideration of the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006.