Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this resolution relates to historically black colleges and universities and the designation of a period of time to express appreciation for the tremendous function and job they carry out in this great country of ours. In my own city of Nashville, my hometown, and where I live now, we have two wonderful historically black institutions of learning. One is a medical center, Meharry Medical College; and the another is Fisk University. The contributions those two institutions of learning have made to our community, and indeed to the global community, and in the sense of Meharry to the national community of physicians, has been just tremendous. I know both sides of the aisle take great pleasure in once again recognizing this period of time that we can celebrate the great work that is done.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 422, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 426, submitted earlier today by Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, that same spirit is what we plan to continue to address in this appropriations bill, and we will continue to address in other appropriations bills as they become available.

Mr. FRIST. I further ask upon passage of the bill the bill be held at the desk as if a House message.

Mr. FRIST. I further ask that the Appropriations Committee then be discharged from further consideration and the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 4755, the House-passed Legislative Branch appropriations bill, that the text of the bill relating solely to the House remain; that all other text be stricken, and the text of the Senate bill, as amended, be inserted, and the Senate then proceed to a vote on H.R. 4755, as amended, all without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask on Tuesday, September 21, at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 635, S. 2666, the Legislative Branch appropriations bill; that the four managers' amendments at the desk be agreed to, and no other amendments be in order. I further ask that there be 1 hour of debate yielded back of the time, and the bill, as amended, be read the third time and returned to the Senate calendar.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the McCain-Hollings substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the committee-reported substitute, as amended, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. I ask that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar 251, S. 1234.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in a few minutes, I will be propounding a number of unanimous consent requests and completing business for the day. One of the unanimous consent requests I will propound shortly has to do with one of the most significant humanitarian crises of recent years--and most people would say it is the most dramatic humanitarian global crisis of today--the atrocities that are occurring in Sudan, in the Darfur region of Sudan, which is a region in western Sudan which is about the size of France. Sudan is a huge country, and this whole Darfur region since a year before last February has been the geographic location where 30,000 to 50,000 people have died, with another 1.4 million and maybe as high as 1.7 million people displaced from their homes--action that we condemned on the floor of the Senate, and the House did likewise, at the end of July before our recess, and designating in the most dramatic terms that this is genocide. Unfortunately, not a lot has happened on the ground that is constructive since that point in time. Thirty days passed and a United Nations determination on what was going on didn't have very much teeth to it, and the Government in Khartoum of Sudan simply hasn't responded. Thus these atrocities--the rape, the pillaging, the murder, the total destruction of the villages--have continued. It is important that the United Nations continue to act and address this issue. It is also important, since the United Nations has not really acted, that we in the United States lead with clarity, boldness, and, I would say, moral clarity. The resolution we will be addressing shortly takes that next step for what we in this legislative body can do. The resolution calls upon the Secretary of State to take action to push for the immediate suspension of Sudan's membership on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. A government that is engaged in committing genocide should simply not have a seat on the Commission on Human Rights. Since the initial resolution we passed in July designating this as genocide, I have had the opportunity to go to Sudan once again, which I do at least once a year as part of the medical mission work I do. But this time I had the opportunity to go to the country of Chad, which is just west of the Darfur region of Sudan where we have had thousands and thousands of people flee to escape the Janjaweed, the militia that is being funded by the Government of Khartoum. In these refugee camps--Tulum is one I immediately think of where 15,000 people fled--the stories you hear would be a woman who says: Last month, I was there with my three little kids, and my husband was in the fields working, and the Janjaweed military in uniform came and destroyed our entire village. My two children, I don't know where they are. I assume they have been killed. Here is one child with me. My husband is dead, and I have no home and nowhere to go, so I am in the refugee camp. That is going on. After 1,200 interviews that have occurred over the last month, the Secretary of State this past week in a Foreign Relations hearing said: Yes. Based on our findings independent of what Congress decided, this is genocide. What we don't have yet is a determination by the United Nations because there are countries such as China and Russia and Pakistan and others that sit on the Security Council. Basically they have not yet made a determination. Meanwhile people continue to die. The atrocities continue. Thus, this body today in this resolution will take action to push for the immediate suspension of Sudan's membership on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The Senate resolution further states that the United Nations should immediately move to determine whether genocide has been conducted in Darfur, and if it has, that the Secretary of State should push for Sudan's removal from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. A government, as I said, engaged in genocide should not have a seat on this Commission. It makes a mockery of the Human Rights Commission. This is an affront to all responsible countries that embrace and promote human rights. The 1948 Genocide Convention calls on state parties to punish genocide--those are the words it uses--when it occurs. The United States is party to this 1948 Convention on Genocide and so is Sudan. The United States has taken a number of actions to provide relief to the people of Sudan. We have introduced resolutions to the U.N. condemning Khartoum's actions. We have taken a number of actions. The United States has already placed comprehensive sanctions on Sudan for its actions as a state sponsor of terrorism. What we are doing today is pushing to suspend Sudan from the Human Rights Commission, which is consistent with our obligations under that Genocide Convention. It makes sense. It is the right thing to do. I hope the House of Representatives will take up this resolution quickly and pass it forthwith. I also hope in the meantime, Secretary Powell will listen to the will and intent of the Congress and begin taking appropriate action. If we are going to preserve the credibility of the United Nations and its separate commissions, if we are going to advance the causes of human rights, if we are going to protect oppressed peoples around the globe, and especially in Darfur, then the U.N. must take more aggressive action. I turn to the resolution and ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 137, which was submitted earlier today by Senators Frist and Daschle.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting on pending committee matters.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on ``Accelerating U.S. Assistance to Iraq.''

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open executive session during the session on September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., to consider favorably reporting S. 333, a bill to promote elder justice, and the nomination of Joey Russell George, to be Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Department of Treasury.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on Wednesday, September 15 at 9:30 a.m., to consider pending calendar business. Agenda Item 1: S. Con. Res. 121--A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the World Year of Physics. Agenda Item 2: S. 437--A bill to provide for adjustments to the Central Arizona Project in Arizona, to authorize the Gila River Indian Community water rights settlement, to reauthorize and amend the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 3: S. 511--A bill to provide permanent funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 7: S. 1064--A bill to establish a commission to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 9: S. 1354--A bill to resolve certain conveyances and provide for alternative land selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act related to Cape Fox Corporation and Sealaska Corporation, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 12: S. 1462--A bill to adjust the boundary of the Cumberland Island Wilderness, to authorize tours of the Cumberland Island National Seashore, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 13: S. 1466--A bill to facilitate the transfer of land in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 14: S. 1614--A bill to designate a portion of White Salmon River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Agenda Item 15: S. 1649--A bill to designate the Ojito Wilderness Study Area as wilderness, to take certain land into trust for the Pueblo of Zia, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 16: S. 1678--A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 17: S. 1852--A bill to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the development of an exhibit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. Agenda Item 18: S. 1876--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and facilities of the Provo River Project. Agenda Item 19: S. 2086--A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to improve the reclamation of abandoned mines. Agenda Item 20: S. 2142--A bill to authorize appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 21: S. 2181--A bill to adjust the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park in the State of Colorado. Agenda Item 23: S. 2334--A bill to designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Agenda Item 24: S. 2374--A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain lands to the United States and to revise the boundary of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 25: S. 2408--A bill to adjust the boundaries of the Helena, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests in the State of Montana. Agenda Item 26: S. 2432--A bill to expand the boundaries of Wilson's Creek Battlefield National Park, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 27: S. 2567--A bill to adjust the boundary of Redwood National Park in the State of California. Agenda Item 28: S. 2622--A bill to provide for the exchange of certain Federal land in the Santa Fe National Forest and certain non- Federal land in the Pecos National Historic Park in the State of New Mexico. Agenda Item 31: H.R. 1113--To authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica National Monument, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 32: H.R. 1446--To support the efforts of the California Missions Foundation to restore and repair the Spanish colonial and mission-era missions in the State of California and to preserve the artworks and artifacts of these missions, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 33: H.R. 1964--To assist the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in conserving priority lands and natural resources in the Highlands region, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 34: H.R. 2010--To protect the voting rights of members of the Armed Services in elections for the Delegate representing American Samoa in the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 35: H.R. 3706--To adjust the boundary of the John Muir National Historic site, and for other purposes. Agenda Item 36: H.R. 4516--To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research and development to advance high-end computing. In addition, the committee may turn to any other measures that are ready for consideration.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., on ``Impacts of Climate Change.''

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I thank, again, the chairman and ranking member--Senator Thad Cochran--for doing a tremendous job over the last week on the Homeland Security appropriations bill. It was a tremendous accomplishment. As we set out our business before the Senate last week, before we adjourn, we will focus on the issues that are important to America--the safety and security of the American people. We are going to continue that shortly with the Military Construction appropriations bill. We were able to take up and complete Homeland Security. Right now as we meet, we are looking at intelligence reform in this body through both the task force and through the Governmental Affairs Committee as intelligence reform applies to the executive branch. The leadership task force that is chaired by Senator McConnell and Senator Reid is meeting now and will be making some announcements later today. And the Governmental Affairs Committee, I know there is a press conference later today to update people with regard to the reform that is underway. Not this week but the week after, the Senate we will be devoted to that reform. Let me close by thanking everyone for their hard work in completing the Homeland Security bill late last night. The specifics of the schedule for the next several days I will have more to say about later this morning. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, as the Chaplain just mentioned, and as we all know, the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, is one of the holiest days of the year in the Jewish faith. For the Jewish people, Rosh Hashanah marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. It is a day for contemplation and prayer--and, indeed, we just opened our proceedings today with prayer--to look forward to the year ahead and to reflect on past deeds and to ask for God's forgiveness. So as so many prepare to celebrate their holy day, I think we should all take that opportunity to reflect on what this holiday represents to all of us, something we do every day and in a global sense, as we look at humanity broadly.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of the Military Construction appropriations bill today, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the majority and the second 30 minutes under the control of the minority.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I will be brief this morning because we will get started immediately with our business for the day. Chairman Stevens is having an Appropriations Committee markup, and we want to accommodate that important work today. We have made real progress on the appropriations bills thus far, and we will continue to do so both in committee as well as here on the Senate floor. In a moment, we will begin the Military Construction appropriations bill under the agreement that we reached last night. We expect that bill to take an hour or less this morning. I will be discussing with the Democratic leadership a time for the vote on passage of that measure, and I will be able to make that announcement shortly. We will also be discussing other agreements relative to the appropriations measures, and we hope to reach consent on several of those items today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 15. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then proceed to the consideration of the military construction appropriations bill as under the order.

Mr. FRIST

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