Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until the hour of 10 a.m., Wednesday, November 7; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate resume consideration of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act.

Mr. DASCHLE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DASCHLE

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

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

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas again for her cooperation and look forward to working with her in the weeks ahead. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Chair.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would like to enter into a colloquy at this time.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I appreciate the concern and the cooperation of the Senator from Texas. She has been a very strong advocate for her State in this regard. I completely appreciate the situation in which she finds herself in this effort. TANF supplemental payments need to be extended for 1 more year. There shouldn't be any question about that. The Graham bill to extend these payments, as she noted, was marked up in the Finance Committee today. I understand there is a bipartisan commitment to move that bill through the Senate and have it enacted into law. I assure her I will do everything I can to accommodate that bill and to see that we are successful in getting it done before the end of this session of Congress.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I would like to join the Senator from New Mexico in thanking the chairman and ranking member for their help on this amendment, and for their hard work on this bill. I know they do their best to accommodate the myriad requests they have received to fund many very worthwhile programs, and to try to address the many crucial challenges facing our public education system. I do agree with my colleagues that we must make sure that our schools do a much better job in serving our growing population of Hispanic children. As the Senator from New Mexico has pointed out, too many have not had access to the strong schools and well-trained teachers who can help them succeed academically for the sake of their own futures and for the benefit of our nation as a whole. I would strongly urge the chairman and ranking member to do their best to provide further increases for these important programs, particularly for bilingual education, migrant education, and GEARUP, during the conference on this bill.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. For the information of all Senators, the next vote will be the final vote for the evening. We will have more to say about the schedule for the balance of the week after the vote.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I have been consulting with the distinguished assistant Democratic leader. He reports to me there are a number of procedural agreements that have been entered into. I appreciate Senators' cooperation in reaching these agreements. As I understand it, we have also adopted by voice vote a couple of amendments. There are a number of amendments pending. It is my hope that we can proceed with votes on those at some point early in the day tomorrow. It would be my expectation that we could finish this bill by tomorrow night, and I would be inclined then not to have votes scheduled on Friday. We would want to lay down the appropriations bill on the District of Columbia, but I think we could probably work through that bill and make arrangements for further consideration of the bill early next week. We have to get this bill done. If we are not finished with it by tomorrow night, clearly we will work on it throughout the day on Friday. My hope is we could finish our work on it sometime tomorrow night, and then Senators would have the opportunity to schedule their day on Friday knowing there would not be votes, although there will be Senate business. I also have been asked by a number of our colleagues if we could accommodate them and their families tonight. We will do so. In keeping with that understanding, there will be no more rollcall votes this afternoon. Having said that, it means we have a very full day tomorrow with a lot of votes on amendments tomorrow. I hope Senators will come to the Chamber, offer their amendments, agree to time limits, and allow us to work through them. We are leaving a lot of work for 1 day, but it would be my hope we could complete our work on that day. I see the chairman is in the Chamber. I know he will work with Senators if they have amendments. Let us offer them tonight. Let us deal with them tomorrow if rollcalls are required, but let us get this bill done. I hope we can do so relatively early in the day. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I rarely come to the floor to offer amendments on appropriations because, I have to say, especially in this case, the chair and ranking member have done a phenomenal job under very difficult circumstances to get us to this point. I admire their work and their leadership and appreciate very much their extraordinary efforts as we have attempted to accelerate consideration of the appropriations bills. I come to the floor to offer this amendment in part because I believe this provides perhaps the only vehicle we will have to consider legislation that I believe ought to have the opportunity to be considered before the end of this year. I offer the amendment on this bill in part because of the importance I think this legislation holds, not only for firefighters but for the country as a whole. When the planes crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, the shift had just changed at fire houses all across the country. In New York, firefighters who had just worked through the night could have gone home, but they didn't. Without a moment's hesitation, they rushed to what we now call Ground Zero to try to save lives. They climbed on the first pumper or ladder truck they saw. One group of firefighters even commandeered a city bus to get to the World Trade Center as quickly as they could. Retired firefighters who heard what had happened rushed from their homes. Within hours, we now know, 343 New York City firefighters had lost their lives in the greatest terrorist attack in our Nation's history. More than 7 weeks later, other firefighters, police, and rescue workers continue to comb through the still smoldering pile at Ground Zero, still risking their lives. We have heard many words of praise for these heroes, and for their extraordinary efforts and for their first responders who risked their lives at the Pentagon, and in western Pennsylvania. They deserve every word of that praise, and far more. As we honor them, it is important to remember that they are not alone. Every day, in every State in America, firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers risk their lives to protect our safety. But in 18 States, they don't have the legal right to sit down with their employers and talk about their own health and safety. That is wrong, and I believe the time has come for those circumstances to change. That is why Senators Dodd and Gregg, and I are offering this bipartisan amendment today: the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation amendment. Our amendment extends the basic right of collective bargaining to firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians. It guarantees public safety officers the right to form and join a union, and the right to bargain collectively over hours, wages, and conditions of employment. That is it. There are things this amendment does not do, and I want to clarify and emphasize that. It expressly forbids strikes or ``lockouts'' by public safety workers. It exempts all States with State bargaining laws for public safety workers that are equal to or greater than this proposal. And it preserves all management rights. We know the essential role firefighters, police and other first responders played on September 11. We know the role Capitol Police played on October 15. When a member of my staff opened a letter containing anthrax, Capitol police officers were immediately notified and were there immediately as well. They risked their lives to protect us. As a result, six law enforcement officers were exposed to the deadly bacteria. Today, every one of them is on the job. Capitol Police are all working 12-hour, 14-hour days, 6 days a week, to protect us all; and they are all union members. People who say that protecting public safety workers' basic rights will somehow jeopardize the public safety simply do not understand the dedication of the men and women who take these jobs. We owe them our thanks. We owe them the basic right to collective bargaining. We owe them this opportunity to look out for themselves in the best way they know how, in their health, in their work, and in their lives. So, Mr. President, I hope that our colleagues will look favorably on this amendment. I commend the extra effort made by Senators Kennedy and Dodd in particular, and Senator Gregg, who has been an outspoken advocate and proponent of this legislation. I am grateful to them. I am especially grateful for the opportunity this afternoon to offer this amendment with their support.

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

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the pending amendments be set aside and that an amendment I have just sent to the desk be considered.

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I will use this time for just a couple of minutes to provide a brief update on our circumstances involving the buildings here in the Capitol complex and the situation involving the anthrax experience we have all been attempting to work through. I had hoped before the end of the week to give our colleagues a briefing. There have been meetings ongoing as late as this afternoon. But I believed it was important for those who couldn't come to the meetings to share at least some of the information we have available to us. It has been 10 days now since the letter containing anthrax was opened in my office in the Hart Building. We now have the final results on all the nasal swabs collected by the attending physician's office. Of the more than 6,000 swabs, 28 were positive for exposure. All 28 of the people whose nasal swabs were positive were on the fifth and sixth floors of the Hart Building's southeast quadrant last Monday. All are being treated with antibiotics. I am happy to say that all currently are healthy. In all, more than 400 people who worked in or passed through the fifth or sixth floor of the Hart Building's southeast quadrant last Monday are being treated with a full 60-day course of antibiotics. I know I speak for all of us on Capitol Hill when I say how deeply saddened we are by the deaths this week of the two postal workers from the Brentwood mail facility. We are also concerned about the two other employees from the Brentwood facility who are currently hospitalized and fighting anthrax infections. On behalf of the entire Senate, I say that our thoughts and prayers are with them, their families, and all of the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service. They are dedicated public servants and they, like the Capitol Police and Senate employees exposed to anthrax, are innocent victims. As for the buildings, the Capitol itself has been open all week for official business. After virtually around-the-clock environmental testing, a number of other buildings in the Capitol complex have begun reopening. The Russell Senate Office Building reopened yesterday. The Rayburn and Cannon House Office Buildings reopened today. Also open today are the Senate day care center, Webster Hall, the Senate page dorm, and the Postal Square where Senate offices have been given temporary work spaces. The mailroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building where a trace of anthrax was discovered last week is being remediated today. Pending the results of environmental tests, it is my expectation that the Dirksen Office Building will be reopened tomorrow. We have also learned that evidence of anthrax was found on the air- conditioning filter on the ninth floor of the Hart Building and the stairwell leading from the eighth to the ninth floor. The experts say this is neither a surprise nor a concern. Environmental testing and nasal swabs of this section of the Hart Building show no further exposure beyond what we already know. In addition, late last night we learned that the environmental tests in the freight elevator in the southwest quadrant of the Hart Senate Office Building tested positive. Based on this finding, the attending physician now recommends that anyone who rode in that freight elevator on October 11, the probable date the letter was delivered to my office, or later, be treated with a 60-day course of antibiotics. Anyone who rode on the southwest Hart freight elevator should see the attending physician. The Hart Building will reopen as it is completely safe. The reopening has been the subject of a good deal of discussion with all of our teams of consultants in and out of the Government. We are looking at the most appropriate way with which to remediate the Hart Building. Some have suggested we remediate the area before any of it is open. If that is possible, that will be our plan. If it is determined that it is not possible to remediate it in the not-too-distant future, within the next several days, we may have to remediate it in stages and open up the Hart Building in stages. First, though, before any part of the building reopens, environmental specialists will examine the nine floors in the southeast quadrant and the area near the southwest freight elevator where anthrax was detected. The exact footprint of the southwest quadrant to be examined is still being determined by both scientific and medical specialists. This anthrax assault has forced a number of temporary changes in the way we work on Capitol Hill. On Monday and Tuesday, all 100 Senators worked out of the Capitol Building. It may be the first time Senators shared such close quarters since the Russell Office Building opened in 1909. While the accommodations were a little cramped, the spirit of determination and cooperation in the Capitol this week has certainly been admirable. This incident has also forced another temporary change on the Hill. Every week more than 250,000 pieces of mail are sent to the U.S. Senate alone. The mail Senators receive is an important lifeline. It is how our constituents tell us what is on their minds and how they communicate when they need help. Since last Monday, when the U.S. Postal Service halted delivery to the Capitol, mail for Senators has been piling up in a regional postal facility. It will continue to be held there until we are absolutely certain it poses no risk to anybody, and it will be remediated as well. The postal workers who handle it and the staffers who open it will all be protected. The Senate Sergeant at Arms is working closely with the Postal Service and with medical and environmental experts to establish procedures for safe mail handling and delivery. This has been a difficult week--not only for my staff and others here on Capitol Hill but for our Nation's postal workers and for many Americans. My staff and I are grateful for the outpouring of concern and support we continue to receive from all over the country. I thank the many experts who continue to work virtually around the clock--the Federal Government, the military, the District of Columbia and, of course, our colleagues and staff here in the Senate. The challenge facing these people, in particular, is unprecedented in American history. To a person, they have responded admirably and enabled the Senate to move ahead with the legislative business of our Nation. I am grateful to each one of them, and I thank them for their effort. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DASCHLE

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

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank Chairman Kohl and Senator Johnson for helping me secure $700,000 through CSREES in this bill for South Dakota State University to continue the planning and development of a bio-based energy and product initiative that will be of major significance to the nation's ability to efficiently produce renewable fuels, as well as to the future viability of rural America and the agriculture community. Senator Johnson and I have been working with SDSU to develop a concept called the ``Sun Grant Initiative,'' which would become a national network of land grant universities in partnership with USDA and DOE, dedicated not only to the development of cost-effective biobased energy and nonfood product production, but also to the disbursement of new technology, and integration in rural communities on a scale that fosters economic independence and growth. The $700,000 dedicated for feedstock conversion in this bill will allow us to move forward with this important project.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, as I understand it, we are simply waiting now for a managers' amendment that should be available shortly. As soon as it is available, we will deal with that. As I understand it, that is the last amendment remaining. We will then go to final passage. For the information of all Senators, assuming we are able to go to final passage tonight, there will be no session tomorrow. We will be in pro forma session on Monday. It would be my expectation, in consultation with Senator Lott, to go to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill Tuesday morning. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. At 10 a.m. on Thursday, the Senate will begin consideration of the counterterrorism act with 5 hours and 10 minutes of debate.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, if there are no further requests for morning business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9:30 a.m. Thursday, October 25, and on Thursday, immediately following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that there be a period for morning business until 10:00 a.m, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the following exception: Senator Hutchison from Texas or her designee, 30 minutes.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I have the greatest admiration for the extraordinary experience and leadership provided by the Senator from Delaware. I am not surprised he was misquoted, and I think he is wise. He speaks from experience in coming to the floor to ensure if there is any misunderstanding it has now been clarified. He did it in a way I would expect. He has come to the Chamber with a complete explanation. I have read some of the remarks because after being asked the question, I was informed of the Senator's comments. I applaud him for the way in which he handled the questions and applaud him as well for his speech. I appreciate his willingness to come to the Chamber, and I thank him for the extraordinary job he does every day as chairman of our Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I compliment the distinguished chairman and ranking member for their excellent work. This is not an easy bill. Oftentimes, it is one that keeps us occupied for days, if not weeks. I thank them for their leadership, and I am very grateful for the fact that we were able to get this bill done. Also, I thank the distinguished Senator from Vermont, Senator Leahy, for his work on the global AIDS matter. Were it not for him, we would not have had the additional resources that are so critical right now, this year, from this country. He did an outstanding job in that regard, too. While he is not on the floor at the moment, I thank him personally for all of his work. As I announced earlier, it is our intention to take up the counterterrorism legislation. It has now passed in the House. We have had a good debate in the Senate. I would like to proceed with a unanimous consent request that would accommodate a good deal of debate again on a bill. I know there may be a colloquy involved. Let me proceed with the unanimous consent request, and I ask the cooperation of all Senators. I will propound the request now.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I say to both my colleagues from Oregon how much we appreciate their extraordinary efforts. I do not know of many pieces of legislation that pass unanimously not once but twice, and not only twice but within a matter of weeks. But that is the case. This legislation passed unanimously as an amendment to the counterterrorism bill. This amendment has just now been passed unanimously as part of the foreign operations appropriations bill. That would not have happened were it not for their tenacity and their decisive leadership. I am grateful to them, first of all, for their willingness to continue to pursue this effort until they are successful. I was involved in these discussions and negotiations with our colleagues from the House as we negotiated the various pieces. There were various reasons this legislation was not kept as part of the counterterrorism legislation, but I will tell my colleagues what I have said publicly: We will continue to pursue this; we will continue to persist until this becomes law. As the Senator from Oregon has noted, the White House indicated they are prepared to join us in that effort. With that additional assistance, with those assurances, we are in a much stronger position now than we have been at any time in recent months to ensure our success. But if for whatever reason we are not successful, this will come back again and again, and we will continue to send it to the House again and again until it is done successfully. I am confident we will complete our work successfully on this amendment. I am confident that with their partnership and the effort they have already made, we will be successful. I will pledge my support, and I know Senator Leahy feels every bit as strongly as I do. We will work in concert with them to ensure the maximum level of success as we go into conference on the foreign operations appropriations bill.