Robert Dole

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, this week marks the final withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Haiti. It is an appropriate time to ask, ``What did our second intervention of the century in Haiti achieve?'' Congress and the American people were deeply divided over the wisdom of Operation Uphold Democracy. Many of us were concerned that the American intervention to restore President Aristide would not lead to lasting and durable change in Haiti. Unfortunately, it is now clear that U.S. policy has not achieved its stated goals of establishing a rule of law, fostering genuine democratic change, and creating sustainable economic development. A bicameral staff delegation visited Haiti over the April recess and has completed a report which details serious failures of American policy-- failures in each of the three critical areas of politics, security, and the economy. Human Rights The report concludes that the Clinton administration and the United States Embassy have not taken human rights seriously in Haiti. A particularly disturbing incident involves the event leading up to the assassination of Mrs. Bertin on March 28, 1995--3 days before President Clinton visited Haiti. The U.S. Government had concrete information about a plot to kill Mrs. Bertin which implicated Aristide government officials, including the Minister of Interior. Inexplicably, no one in the U.S. Government warned Bertin of the plot. Instead, U.S. officials decided to rely on the same government planning Bertin's murder to provide her with warning of the plot. This incident deserves, as the report recommends, full investigation by the executive branch and by the Congress to examine why U.S. officials neglected to act effectively on information that they possessed. No Progress on Dole Amendment The report details lack of progress in meeting the conditions of the so-called Dole amendment on investigating political murders. The report also details the lack of action by the U.S. Embassy in examining and reporting on a wide range of human rights and police issues. The compromise of police investigations by Aristide loyalists was not reported. Basic information about murders involving the U.S.-trained police forces was not even gathered. It seems clear that the attitude of the United States Government was they did not want to know about government death squads which would prove embarrassing to the claim of Haiti as a foreign policy success. administration's conflicting stories The report also details the sustained campaign by the administration, chiefly the Agency for International Development [AID], to blame Congress by providing intentionally misleading information about U.S. assistance programs. The Clinton administration cannot even get its own story straight. For example, while AID criticizes Congress for delaying aid to the Haitian police because of human rights concerns, the State Department takes credit for suspending aid to the Haitian police for the same human rights concerns. And while AID was holding up health programs because of their concerns about the competence of the Haitian Minister of Health, AID officials in Washington, regularly criticized Congress for holding up health projects in Haiti. a foreign policy success? There has been much in the media about the success of President Clinton's Haiti policy. There has been little about the fundamental flaws detailed in this report. It is clear, however, that the administration knows it is on thin ice: changes in their Haiti policy have already been announced in recent days. Earlier this year, congressional pressure led to the dismissal of some of the worst human rights violators in the Haitian security forces. This week, the administration announced it was suspending aid because the Dole amendment conditions could not be met. The administration is reportedly considering reopening a fund for the victims of human rights violations. Most notably, the administration now points to the importance of thwarting former President Artiside's effort to undermine important policy goals. Long the defender of Aristide, even the Clinton administration now admits he refused to allow progress on police reform or free market economics. What a difference congressional pressure can make. playing politics with haiti policy Mr. President, there is no difference between congressional Republicans and the stated goals of the Clinton administration in Haiti--democracy, economic recovery, and the rule of law. Our differences are about the very real problems which have been swept under the rug--in the name of defending policy failures. Our differences are over the administration's effort's effort to make Haiti a political football by blaming Congress for their own shortcomings. Mr. President, the U.S. military did its job. There is no security threat to the government of Haiti. The dictatorship is destroyed and the Haitian army no longer exists. It is on the civilian side where our policy has fallen short. What have we achieved in our Haiti intervention after 18 months and more than $2 billion? The answer is disappointment and missed opportunities. The answer is not nearly as much as could have been achieved if the administration had been more honest and more able. For the sake of the long-suffering people of Haiti, I hope the administration will jettison its political approach, and begin working with Congress to fashion a workable Haiti policy. I hope they begin soon. I ask unanimous consent that the report be printed in the Record.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I just say for the information of all Senators and members of their staffs, we will convene at 11 o'clock on Monday. There will be 3 hours of morning business, and following morning business the Senate will then resume consideration of term limits legislation. No rollcall votes will occur during Monday's session of the Senate. Senators are reminded that under rule XXII all first-degree amendments to the term limits legislation must be filed with the clerk by 1 p.m. on Monday. Second-degree amendments must be filed no later than 1 hour prior to the cloture vote on Tuesday. Since the Senate will be in recess for the weekly party caucuses to meet, I now ask unanimous consent that Members have until 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, to file their second-degree amendments to the term limits legislation.

Mr. DOLE. When the Senate completes debate on Monday, it will resume consideration of the term limits legislation Tuesday morning until 12 noon. No rollcall votes will occur during Tuesday's session prior to the hour of 2:15 p.m. At 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, two votes will occur back to back, the first being a cloture vote with respect to the term limits legislation, and the second vote will be on passage of the health insurance reform bill. Senators are encouraged to debate the term limits legislation during the session of the Senate on Monday and Tuesday morning. The Senate may also be asked to turn to any other legislative items to be cleared for action. Unless there is some objection, I ask unanimous consent that that second vote be limited to 10 minutes.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. I further ask unanimous consent that at 12 noon on Tuesday, April 23, there be 30 minutes equally divided in the usual form with respect to closing remarks on the health insurance reform bill which was considered and debated throughout yesterday's session of the Senate.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until the hour of 11 a.m. on Monday, April 22; further, that immediately following the prayer, the Journal of proceedings be deemed approved to date; no resolutions come over under the rule; the call of the calendar be dispensed with; the morning hour be deemed to have expired; the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; and that there then be a period for morning business until the hour of 2 p.m. with Senators to speak for up to 5 minutes each with the first 90 minutes under the control of Senator Daschle, or his designees, and the last 90 minutes under the control of Senator Coverdell, or his designee; further, that at the hour of 2 p.m. the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 201, Senate Joint Resolution 21 regarding a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms.

Mr. DOLE. I further ask unanimous consent that following the 2:15 p.m. cloture vote on Tuesday, notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to the vote on final passage of the health insurance reform bill, H.R. 3103.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 1028 be placed back on the calendar.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, Sunday, April 14, was a special anniversary for me. It was on that date during World War II I was wounded and joined the ranks of America's disability community. We are a large, diverse community, from all walks of life, of every race and creed, and with the same hopes and dreams as other Americans. Since joining the Senate, it has been my custom to remember this anniversary each year by speaking about an issue important to Americans with disabilities. So today I will discuss a revolution in technology for the disabled-- a quiet but extraordinary revolution that is bringing us closer to our national goals of independence and full participation. New Technologies for the Disabled Mr. President, today's technologies for the disabled are yesterday's science fiction pipedreams. For my friend Kyle Hulet in Hutchinson, KS, technology provides a new world of independence. Kyle has only limited use of his hands, and has had to depend on others for the simplest things--even turning the lights on in his room. But with a new environmental control unit strapped to his wheelchair, which operates much like a TV remote control, Kyle can run 16 appliances, including lights, TV, and stereo. Jenni Koebel of Topeka, who cannot speak and has limited use of her hands, taps out words on the keyboard of a communication device--that then speaks with a voice synthesizer. Sure, the voice is a little mechanical, but Jenni's intelligence and charm shine through. When Jenni visited me sometime back, she was a high school student. Today, she is enrolled in my alma mater, Washburn University. Technology has helped make this possible. Even the venerable wheelchair has gone high technology. For too long wheelchair users have been described as ``wheelchair bound'' or ``confined to a wheelchair.'' This stereotype unfortunately contained some truth--wheelchairs were heavy and awkward. That is, until innovators like Marilyn Hamilton came along. Marilyn, who became a wheelchair user following a hang-gliding accident in 1978, asked why chairs couldn't be light, compact, fast--and good looking. And when no one could give her a good answer, she went out and built a chair that was all these things. And then helped set up a company, Quickie Designs, to build those chairs for others. And for the amputee, artificial legs made of new plastics can now mimic the spring and bounce of the natural footstep. Perhaps the toughest test for these artificial limbs is sports. And the toughest sports events for disabled athletes can be found at the Paralympic games. For example, in 1992, Tony Volpentest of Edmonds, WA, ran the 100- meter dash in 11.63 seconds, just 1.83 seconds off Carl Lewis' Olympic record. Tony was born without hands or feet, and uses two high technology artificial legs. The 1996 Paralympics will be held later this year in Atlanta, following the Olympics. Over 120 countries will be represented--and with talent like Tony's, we are talking real competition among world class athletes. In the future, we can expect even more astounding devices--such as systems that will allow blind people to freely navigate city streets using signals beamed from global positioning satellites overhead. And sophisticated voice recognition systems that will automatically closed caption videophones of the future. The bottom line here is simple. For people with every kind of disability--whether sensory, cognitive, motor, or communication-- technology can provide tools to speak, hear, see, learn, write, be mobile, work, and play--in short, to live as fully and independently as possible. Technology increasingly allows people with disabilities to make the same choices about their lives--good and bad--that other Americans often take for granted. The Information Superhighway Mr. President, one can hardly open a newspaper or turn on the TV these days without hearing about the Internet--the worldwide hookup of thousands of computers. For the price of a local phone call, an individual can retrieve information from almost anywhere on the planet. But for Holly Haines, the Internet is about a job. Holly lives in rural Pennsylvania. The nearest traffic light is 8 miles away--a lot like western Kansas where I grew up. Because of muscular dystrophy, Holly rarely leaves home. Several years ago Holly called my office, asking for some help in getting access to the Internet through a local university. She had a job offer at a national database company, but to call the company's computer directly every day would have meant huge, unaffordable long- distance phone bills. Well, Holly got on the Internet and went to work. And about a year ago the Microsoft Network called to offer her a job as supervisor of Chat World. Every day hundreds of network subscribers talk on-line in the virtual town square of Chat World. Life in the virtual world can get pretty wild, and Holly is Chat World's mayor and Miss Manners rolled into one. She oversees a staff of 75 people. By the way, Microsoft never had a clue that Holly was disabled when they hired her. And here's the important lesson. For Holly, and for millions of Americans with disabilities, the Internet is both a great equalizer and a great opportunity. Fulfilling the Promise of Technology Mr. President, the news is not all good. Thousands of Americans with disabilities cannot afford these technologies, some of which cost thousands of dollars. In my home State of Kansas, the legislature has recognized this problem and recently authorized an annual appropriation of $100,000 to help pay for technology. And in the Balanced Budget Act, I sponsored a provision with Senator Conrad to allow Medicare beneficiaries to use their own funds to pay for more sophisticated technologies, by supplementing Medicare's payment for a standard item. But we need to do much, much more. The second big issue is that we must be careful that new technologies--whether personal computers, the Internet, or whatever-- are designed to be accessible to the disabled from the start. We have learned the hard way how expensive it can be to retrofit buildings and streets. We do not need to learn that lesson twice. In this regard, the new Telecommunications Act has several provisions designed to encourage companies that manufacture telecommunications equipment or provide services to make their products accessible to the disabled. Another provision in the act also provides for more closed captioning of TV and video programs. Mr. President, in closing, I would like to say a few words about the Americans With Disabilities Act. ADA was passed 6 years ago. Some people claim that I have backed off my support for ADA. That is simply not true. But I believe, and have always believed, that ADA can work, must work, for everyone--people with disabilities, Government, and business. I am trying hard to see that happens. The poet Archibald MacLeish once wrote, ``America was always promises.'' The technology revolution, together with important laws like ADA, are helping people with disabilities realize America's promises.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote occur at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, and the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk relating to the committee substitute to Senate Joint Resolution 21.

Mr. DOLE

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

Mr. DOLE. I now ask, in response to the statement by my colleague from Illinois, that we now observe a moment of silence in honor of the memory of Ron Brown and others who died in that tragic accident. [A period of silence.]

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. Let me now yield to my distinguished colleague from Illinois.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I now ask that the entire resolution be read.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I have long been inspired by the Kansas State motto: ``To the Stars Through Difficulties.'' The people of Oklahoma have persevered this past year through almost unimaginable difficulties with grace, with grit, and with courage. Our thoughts and prayers will remain with them as they continue to reach for the stars. (At the request of Mr. Dole, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)

Mr. DOLE. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and its preamble be agreed to.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the resolution just agreed to expresses the sense of the Senate on this first anniversary of the tragic Oklahoma City bombing that took 168 lives. One of the provisions of the resolution is that the Senate join with the Nation in observing a moment of silence at 9:02 a.m. central daylight time. That moment now having arrived, I invite all Senators to join with me and with the staffs of Senators Nickles and Inhofe who are in the gallery in observing 168 seconds of silence. [A period of silence.]

Mr. DOLE. I send a resolution to the desk and ask that its title be read.

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, I now ask that there be a period for the transaction of routine morning business, not to extend beyond 4 p.m.

Mr. DOLE

Mr. DOLE. En bloc?

Mr. DOLE. How many from the Senator from Massachusetts?

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I think the distinguished Democratic leader wanted to add a word.

Mr. DOLE. So that will be two votes?