Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the Treaty with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, treaty document No. 104-2, transmitted to the Senate by the President today; and ask the treaty be considered as having been read the first time, that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the official State motto of Texas is just one word. And that word is ``Friendship.'' That word was also the motto of John White, one of the great sons of Texas, who passed away on Friday. John was a Democrat through and through. But John knew that partisanship is not as important as friendship. He knew that partisanship is not as important as decency. And he knew that partisanship is not as important as patriotism. Friendship. Decency. Patriotism. These were the hallmarks of John White's career in public service. It was a career that saw him serve for over a quarter of a century as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as Chairman of the Democrat National Committee. But John's influence extended far beyond the jobs he held. Former Congressman Jake Pickle said, John was a small-town man who grew into national prominence because he had a lot of just plain common sense. Almost from the day he arrived in Washington, Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, and countless others called upon John for counsel and for common sense. And no matter how busy he was, John always answered the call. Mr. President, I know that all Members of the Senate who had the privilege to know John, join with me in extending our sympathies to his wife, Nellie, and to his entire family.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the President of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join with a like committee on the part of the House of Representatives to escort the President of the United States to the House Chamber for the joint session to be held at 9 p.m. on January 24, 1995.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. And, of course, if the amendments are offered, we can have a discussion after 3. I guess the question would be whether there are some amendments that did not get offered. But if it is some critical amendment, then I think, under the order, the two leaders could agree to make an exception to the 3 o'clock cutoff, which, if it should do.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to House Concurrent Resolution 16, just received from the House, regarding the State of the Union Address; that the concurrent resolution be deemed agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Dole pertaining to the introduction of S. 256 and S. 257 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'') Mr. CRAIG addressed the Chair.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. The Senator is correct. There are a number of amendments, I think 117 amendments were filed when we were getting into cloture. In order to qualify under this agreement--Senator Byrd from West Virginia made it clear--the Senator himself must offer the amendment, himself. I think we can accommodate everyone, but hopefully they will be able to accommodate us, too, and not offer all these amendments.

Mr. DOLE. Right. As I indicated, we entered into the agreement last night and we have listed in the Record all the amendments on both sides of the aisle. I think they total around 67 amendments. To offer the amendment, you simply have to send it to the desk. If there is an amendment pending, you have to, of course, set that amendment aside. We also agreed that if for some unusual circumstance someone was prevented on either side of the aisle from offering their amendment before the 3 o'clock deadline, the two leaders could agree that one of our colleagues, or more, could then offer the amendment, or amendments, in any event. The importance of the agreement is to get a finite list of the amendments. There are no time agreements on any of the amendments. I hope not all the amendments are offered. But even if all the amendments are offered--that means sent to the desk--they may not be called up. It is my hope we can complete action sometime maybe on Wednesday of next week. I suggest to my colleagues who have any other questions that in the Calendar of Business on pages 2 and 3, we have outlined the agreement. I think the highlights are that we will start considering S. 1 again on Monday at 10 a.m., with no votes until 4 o'clock, if any votes are ordered. There will be no business today, except you can send your amendments to the desk. majority leader made last evening is the fact that an amendment may be filed but that is not sufficient to cover the unanimous-consent agreement. It must be offered. It can be set aside and that constitutes an offering and it can be taken up later but, nevertheless, a Senator must offer his amendment or by unanimous-consent one of the leaders or the floor manager can do that. So there was concern last night, and I want to make that clear again this morning, that if an amendment has been filed for cloture, it is not sufficient to accommodate this unanimous-consent agreement.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me just indicate for our colleagues that there will be a period for the transaction of morning business throughout the day, with Senators permitted to speak for not to exceed 15 minutes each. And I remind Senators and members of their staff that under the unanimous-consent agreement entered last night, there will be no rollcall votes today and no rollcall votes on Monday, prior to 4 p.m. Today Senators may discuss their amendments to S. 1 and have them printed in the Record in order to qualify them under the 3 p.m. Tuesday deadline. I do not know how many Senators wish to speak today, but we will be in for whatever period of time it may take.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, I am particularly honored today to introduce legislation which will amend the congressional charter of the VFW to make those veterans who have served in South Korea eligible for membership. Since the 1953 armistice, the 170-mile demilitarized zone [DMZ] which separates North and South Korea has been the source of extreme and serious tension. According to the VFW, 89 Americans have been killed and 132 wounded in clashes with North Korea since the armistice was signed. Across this no-mans-land, North Korea has maintained 70 percent of its 1.2-million-man armed forces. Those forces are in forward deployed attack positions along the entire DMZ, only 30 miles from the South Korean capital of Seoul. Since the end of the Korean war, the United States has pledged to the Republic of Korea to deter any renewal of the conflict. To fulfill our commitment, we have positioned a 37,000-man force consisting of the U.S. 8th Army, including the 2d Infantry Division and the Air Force's 314th Air Division. The record and performance of our military men and women during the past four decades in meeting that commitment, and in spite of constant danger, has been exemplary. I wish to commend the leadership of this great veterans service organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for their recognition of those members of our Armed Forces who have served in Korea since 1949. I am honored to introduce this legislation and provide my full support for its consideration and quick passage by my colleagues. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, today I rise, with my colleagues, Senator Simpson, Senator Lautenberg, and Senator Lieberman, to introduce the Missing Service Personnel Act of 1995. This legislation is similar to that which was introduced last year but which the Congress was unable to consider before adjournment. The legislation would reform the Department of Defense's procedures for determining whether members of the Armed Forces should be listed as missing or presumed dead. Legislation pertaining to those missing in action has not changed in the past 50 years. Since the Vietnam war, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Government have been criticized for their handling of the POW/ MIA issue. Some of that criticism is legitimate. Some of it has been brought upon the Government by its own actions or inactions. This bill attempts to correct most of those problems and establish a fair and equitable procedure for determining the exact status of such personnel. At the same time, it is my hope that we might restore some of the Department's credibility on this issue and rebuild faith and trust between the public and our Federal Government. This bill attempts to ensure that missing members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees accompanying them are fully accounted for by the Government and that they are not declared dead solely because of the passage of time. The legislation would establish new procedures for determining the whereabouts and status of missing persons. Additionally, the bill provides for the appointment of counsel for the missing persons, ensuring that the Government does not disregard their interests and affording them due process of law. The proposal also attempts to remove the curtains of secrecy which often seem to surround these cases by ensuring access to Government information and by making all information available to the hearing officers. Additionally, the missing person's complete personnel file would be made available for review by the family members. Moreover, the legislation attempts to protect the interests of the missing person's immediate family, dependents, and next of kin, allowing them to be represented by counsel and to participate with the boards of inquiry. It is our hope that by allowing more participation by the family, requiring legal representation of the missing persons, and permitting Federal court review of all determinations, we will establish fundamental fairness for all concerned. We recognize that the Department of Defense has concerns about this legislation. At the same time, we also realize that families of missing personnel raise legitimate issues. However, in my view, we need to look at this issue from the perspective of those brave men and women currently serving in our Armed Forces. As this bill moves through the legislative process, it is our hope that all of these issues and concerns will be addressed. Mr. President, the men and women in uniform must know that this Nation will do everything possible to return them safely home in the event they become missing while serving in armed conflict. Additionally, we must assure them that a more open and fair procedure will be established to determine their exact status. In closing, let me note the support that this legislation has already received. I have received letters encouraging the introduction of this bill from the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition, and Vietnow. Additionally, in just the short time between its introduction last year and our adjournment, this legislation gained a total of 23 cosponsors. I am pleased to again sponsor this important legislation with the distinguished Senator from New Jersey, and urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and letters from each of these organizations be printed in the Record following my statement.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I move to table the committee amendment found on page 25, line 11, as modified by Senator Glenn, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, January 19, 1995, at 9:15 a.m., to hold hearings on Senate committee funding resolutions. The committee will receive testimony from the chairmen and ranking members of the following committees: Intelligence, Appropriations, Labor, Indian Affairs, Commerce, Banking, Governmental Affairs, Veterans' Affairs, Armed Services, Environment.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meeting during the session of the Senate on Thursday, January 19, 1995, for purposes of conducting a full committee oversight hearing which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to review the implications of the North Korean nuclear framework.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be allowed to meet during the Thursday, January 19, 1995, session of the Senate for the purpose of conducting a hearing on the issue of the nomination of Robert Pitofsky, of Maryland, to be Federal Trade Commissioner.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 19, 1995, in open session, to receive testimony on the condition of the Armed Forces and future trends.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments to express my support for the Health Care Fraud Prevention Act of 1995, which was introduced earlier today by my distinguished colleague from Maine, Senator Cohen. As Senator Cohen has pointed out, health care fraud and abuse costs the American taxpayers literally billions and billions of hard-earned dollars each year. Unscrupulous doctors who overbill patients, medical suppliers who sell unnecessary or defective equipment to unsuspecting customers, clinic operators who submit false Medicaid reimbursement claims--all these scams have the effect of driving up the To combat these activities, the act establishes a new health care fraud statute in title 18 of the United States Code. This statute provides for an array of penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for those who knowingly scheme to defraud a health care plan. This statute is patterned after the existing mail and wire fraud statutes. The act also gives the Secretary of HHS greater authority to exclude health care scam artists from the Medicaid and Medicare programs, while establishing tough civil penalties for fraud so that a range of sanctions will be available. In addition, the act directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an all-payer national health care fraud control program. Under this program, both the Secretary and the Attorney General would be authorized to conduct investigations and audits of health care delivery systems. To pay for these investigations, the act establishes a ``Health care fraud and abuse control account.'' Criminal and civil fines imposed on violators would be deposited into the account and then used to finance future law enforcement efforts. Of course, the vast majority of health care providers are good people committed to the well-being of their patients. Their hard work and commitment should not be tarnished in any way by those few bad apples who attempt to game the health care system for their own personal benefit. This legislation won't put an end to the health care fraud racket, but it will help to ensure that our law enforcement authorities have the tools to get the job done. Not surprisingly, the Health Care Fraud Prevention Act was crafted with the help of law enforcement officials, including officials at both the FBI and the Department of Justice. Finally, I want to commend my distinguished colleague from Maine for bringing this important issue to the attention of the Senate. Today's legislation is the product of a 2-year ongoing investigation conducted by the staff of the Special Committee on Aging. And last year, Senator Cohen successfully offered many of the provisions contained in this bill as an amendment to the 1994 Crime-Control Act. Unfortunately, the amendment was dropped in conference. To his credit, Senator Cohen has continued to speak out on this issue, and I fully expect that his persistence will pay off later this year when the Senate has an opportunity to consider this important legislation.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments to express my support for the Health Care Fraud Prevention Act of 1995, which was introduced earlier today by my distinguished colleague from Maine, Senator Cohen. As Senator Cohen has pointed out, health care fraud and abuse costs the American taxpayers literally billions and billions of hard-earned dollars each year. Unscrupulous doctors who overbill patients, medical suppliers who sell unnecessary or defective equipment to unsuspecting customers, clinic operators who submit false Medicaid reimbursement claims--all these scams have the effect of driving up the To combat these activities, the act establishes a new health care fraud statute in title 18 of the United States Code. This statute provides for an array of penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for those who knowingly scheme to defraud a health care plan. This statute is patterned after the existing mail and wire fraud statutes. The act also gives the Secretary of HHS greater authority to exclude health care scam artists from the Medicaid and Medicare programs, while establishing tough civil penalties for fraud so that a range of sanctions will be available. In addition, the act directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an all-payer national health care fraud control program. Under this program, both the Secretary and the Attorney General would be authorized to conduct investigations and audits of health care delivery systems. To pay for these investigations, the act establishes a ``Health care fraud and abuse control account.'' Criminal and civil fines imposed on violators would be deposited into the account and then used to finance future law enforcement efforts. Of course, the vast majority of health care providers are good people committed to the well-being of their patients. Their hard work and commitment should not be tarnished in any way by those few bad apples who attempt to game the health care system for their own personal benefit. This legislation won't put an end to the health care fraud racket, but it will help to ensure that our law enforcement authorities have the tools to get the job done. Not surprisingly, the Health Care Fraud Prevention Act was crafted with the help of law enforcement officials, including officials at both the FBI and the Department of Justice. Finally, I want to commend my distinguished colleague from Maine for bringing this important issue to the attention of the Senate. Today's legislation is the product of a 2-year ongoing investigation conducted by the staff of the Special Committee on Aging. And last year, Senator Cohen successfully offered many of the provisions contained in this bill as an amendment to the 1994 Crime-Control Act. Unfortunately, the amendment was dropped in conference. To his credit, Senator Cohen has continued to speak out on this issue, and I fully expect that his persistence will pay off later this year when the Senate has an opportunity to consider this important legislation.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, let me thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and let me thank the Senator from Massachusetts for his persistence. I did not mean to offend him earlier. I think we have an agreement that satisfies most everyone on each side of the aisle. Mr. President, I renew my request. I ask unanimous consent the list of amendments be printed in the Record. The list of amendments follows: Democratic Amendments to S. 1 Bingaman: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. (3) Relevant. Boxer: (1) Sensitive subpopulations. (2) Immigration costs. (3) Child porn/abuse/labor exclusion. Bradley: (1) Relevant. Byrd: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. (3) Relevant. Dorgan: (1) Metric conversion. (2) Federal Reserve. (3) C.P.I. Ford: (1) Imposing standards on House. (2) Imposing standards on House. (3) Imposing standards on House. Glenn: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. (3) Relevant. (4) Relevant. (5) Relevant. Graham: (1) Immigration. (2) Fund allocation. (3) Relevant. Harkin: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. Hollings: (1) Relevant. (2) Sense of Senate Balanced budget. Johnston: Relevant. Kohl: Relevant. Lautenberg: Relevant. Levin: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. (3) Relevant. (4) Relevant. (5) Relevant. (6) Relevant. (7) Relevant. (8) Relevant. Moseley-Braun: Relevant. Moynihan: Relevant. Murray: (1) Hanford. (2) CBO. (3) CBO. Wellstone: (1) Relevant. (2) Relevant. (3) Relevant. Republican Unfunded Mandates Amendments McCain: Appropriations point of order. Gramm: 60-vote point of order. Gramm: Treatment of concurrence reports. Hatfield: Local Flex. act. Hatch/Brown: Judicial review. Hatch: FACA. Brown: SOS/Review of S. 1. Grassley: CBO vs. Actual costs study. Grassley: 60-vote waiver re: direct costs. D'Amato: Comptroller of the Currency. Kempthorne: Manager's technical amendment. Roth: Chairman's technical amendment. Dole: Relevant. [[Page S1206]] Kempthorne: Relevant.

Mr. DOLE. That is correct.

Mr. DOLE. Let me say that we will have people speak for not to exceed 15 minutes to amend requests.

Mr. DOLE. Any further business to come before the Senate?

Mr. DOLE. Yes.