Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Be happy to.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the agreement we have underway provides for two votes later this afternoon. The first is final passage of the Australia free-trade bill and the second is the DeWine amendment to the FSC legislation. I hope we will not need all 6 hours set aside for the Australia bill. Some members have already spoken over the course of yesterday, and therefore we may be able to expedite consideration of this bill over the course of the afternoon by yielding back some time. In any event, for the benefit of Senators, I wanted to notify them we will be stacking these two votes later today. On another matter, I have been notified that the minority objected to the Judiciary Committee meeting today at 2. The other 12 committee requests were granted, and that one request was objected to. There is a lot of important work to be done by the Judiciary Committee. As I look at it, the chairman has four judges on the agenda, as well as legislation. As I look at the schedule, I note that the Hatch-Feinstein constitutional amendment on flag desecration was scheduled as well today. I feel it is important to get to both the nominations as well as the legislation. It was only the other day there were complaints on the floor about not taking constitutional amendments through committee, and that is on their agenda today. Now we have objections to going through the process of having the committee meet to consider the nominations and legislation. I hope my colleagues on the Democratic side will rethink their objection so we can proceed and the Judiciary Committee can proceed with this important business and allow these committees to do their work. I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to continue its markup on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 2 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be happy to be in discussion with my colleague. Since our discussion, now many weeks ago, we have made real progress in terms of understanding the potential impact of allowing the reimportation of drugs. I think there has been a lot of discussion on both sides of the aisle. We had an extended meeting yesterday talking about the safety issue surrounding it. Since our discussion, there have been hearings in the appropriate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. There has been a bill put together by the principals in the committee, the responsible committee. There have been scheduled markups, and I believe there is a markup scheduled for next week on that particular bill. So progress is being made. It is a very important issue. We are talking about not just reimportation and the cost of drugs, but we are talking about the safety of drugs being used. I think we have made a huge amount of progress over the last several weeks, so in terms of scheduling and looking at what time that might be considered on the floor of the Senate, I will be happy to be in discussion with my colleague. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the H.R. 4759, legislation to implement the United States-Australian Free Trade Agreement. I am excited by the new opportunities for both the United States and Australia that will be created under this important agreement. I strongly support its passage. I thank all my colleagues in the Senate and the other body for their hard work. In particular, I thank Chairman Grassley and Senator Baucus and their staff for working together in a bipartisan way to get us to this moment. I also thank the U.S. Trade Representative and his team and the Australian Embassy for bringing us to this moment. Our two economies are closely linked. Australia is one of our most important trade partners. The facts speak for themselves. Two-way trade between our nations in goods and services totals $28 billion annually. We have a $9 billion trade surplus with Australia, our greatest with any nation. More than 99 percent of our exports to Australia will enter duty-free once the agreement goes into effect. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, more than 19,000 U.S. firms are already selling into the Australian market. Ninety-three percent of U.S. exports to Australia are manufactured goods. As many have pointed out, this is indeed a ``Manufacturer's Free Trade Agreement.'' This agreement is expected to produce an increase in $2 billion annually in trade for both nations by 2010. That means the creation of as many as 40,000 new jobs directly related to this agreement. In my home State of Tennessee, Australia is an important market for our goods. Tennesseans export more to Australia than to France. Last year, Tennessean companies exported $225 million to Australia, a 10- percent increase from 1999. In turn, The United States is already Australia's largest source of imports and second-largest export destination. So this agreement will benefit both our countries. U.S. farmers benefit from this agreement, too. The United States exports $400 million annually in agricultural goods to Australia. These exports will receive immediate duty-free access. This agreement will offer substantial new markets for U.S. services as well. The agreement will provide new openings for telecommunications, express delivery, energy, construction, engineering, financial services, and many other sectors. And this agreement lifts restrictions on U.S. investment in Australia. In addition to opening new markets, there are other benefits to U.S. and Australian businesses. Australia is the gateway for U.S. businesses to Asia. The Australians have close ties to their Asian neighbors. This agreement will pave the way for new, dynamic partnerships between United States and Australian firms. And with the elimination of tariffs and lowering of trade barriers for most industrial products under the agreement, U.S. firms, partnering with Australian firms, will be able to better compete in the growing Asian markets. But this agreement is about more than increasing business opportunities. Australia is one of our most steadfast allies and a key partner in the war on terror. Australians have fought beside Americans in every major conflict in the last 100 years. This agreement strengthens an already close bond forged between two old friends. This agreement is strongly supported by the business community. The U.S. Chamber, the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses, strongly supports this agreement. The National Association of Manufacturers, the leading voice on manufacturing in the United States, has called for its immediate passage. I am pleased that we are ready to do that today.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today's session will begin with a period for morning business for up to 60 minutes. Following morning business, we will proceed to the FSC/ETI or the JOBS bill as the order from last night provides. That agreement allows for one amendment to be considered under a 3-hour time agreement. Following the disposition of that DeWine-Kennedy amendment, we will proceed to passage of the bill and then request a conference with the House. I do want to express my appreciation to everyone for last night as we reached this agreement well into the evening. With the tariff's increasing impact on our manufacturers, it is imperative that we get this bill to conference so we can finally produce a bill to send to the President. Again, I want to thank the Senators on both sides of the aisle, especially the Democratic leadership, working with our leadership in bringing this bill to conference. Today we will also consider another important bill, the Australia free-trade bill, under the statutory time limit of 20 hours. Several Senators spoke on that issue yesterday, and I hope that on both sides we will be able to yield back a lot of that time and complete this bill at an early hour today. We will stack the vote in relation to the FSC/ ETI amendment for later this afternoon, possibly with a vote on passage of the Australia free-trade measure. The timing for those votes will be discussed and we will let our colleagues know a little bit later this morning. Senators should therefore expect votes later this afternoon, those two votes for sure. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business for debate only with Senators speaking for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1303, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, since Friday, we have had a good and productive debate about marriage, the bedrock of our society. I applaud my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the civil discussion, for the judicious discussion we have had. The issue, very appropriately, has been elevated to this body as representatives of the American people. The issue is being clearly defined. And the fundamental issue is, Do we let four activist judges from Massachusetts define marriage, the bedrock of our society, or do we let the American people? Do we listen to their voices through their elected representatives? We come, in a few moments, to a vote. And the question before us, in terms of the vote is, Should we consider a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a husband and a wife. If 60 Senators vote yea, we will begin to debate the specifics of the constitutional amendment. Not everyone is going to agree with every single word or every sentence of the amendment that is before us, but by voting yes today, you are agreeing that the amendment deserves to be debated, and possibly amended. If you vote no, you are saying the Senate should not even consider an amendment to protect marriage as the union between a man and a woman. We did not ask for this debate, and we would gladly sort of wish it away and say other people can take care of it, but four activist judges on the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on May 17. That is where the debate began, and that is why we act today. It has become clear to legal scholars on the left and on the right that same-sex marriage will be exported to all 50 States. The question is no longer whether the Constitution will be amended; the only question is, who will amend it and how it will be amended. Will activist judges, not elected by the American people, destroy the institution of marriage or will the people protect marriage as the best way to raise children? My vote is with the people, and thus, as majority leader, I felt and continue to feel that it is important that discussion and debate go on on the floor of the U.S. Senate which does represent the American people. Americans understand that children need mothers and need fathers. We would be foolish to permit a vast, untested social experiment on families and children to occur, untested on that institution of marriage, the bedrock, the cornerstone of our society. I recognize that amending the Constitution is a serious matter. Again and again, people have asked why we are addressing marriage on the Senate floor or talking about changing the Constitution. It is a serious matter, and we should do not do it lightly. That is, indeed, why we should debate the issue. It was the 27th amendment to the Constitution that addressed regulating salaries, how much Members of Congress are paid; thus, it is not too much to ask that the 28th amendment be about protecting marriage and children. Do we let four activist judges define marriage for our society or do we let the American people decide? I implore my colleagues, let the Senate debate the best way to protect marriage. Let us proceed to a civil and substantive debate, but let the debate on the amendment begin. I urge my colleagues to vote yea. I yield the floor and yield back all the time on our side.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. That is correct, so long as the Democratic conferees are acting in good faith. And I have every expectation they will. I agree that it is our mutual goal to reach a conference agreement that reflects the balance and broad bipartisan consensus S. 1637 achieved. That will be the test of good faith for both sides. I think we can do that, and we will not bring a bill to the Senate floor if it does not reflect that commitment. I want to thank the Democratic Leader for his leadership and willingness to address this process.

Mr. FRIST. I want to discuss with the Democratic Leader an approach that might enable us to move forward to conference on the JOBS bill, S. 1637. The Senate JOBS bill reflects overwhelming bipartisan support, passing by a margin of 92-5. Much work remains to be done on this bill and it is important we start as soon as possible. There are significant differences with the House bill, so this is likely going to be a challenging process. I want to make sure that all Senators know that it is unrealistic to expect that the House will agree with all our provisions and that we will likely have to make changes to S. 1637. But as we make those changes, we should make them together. The JOBS bill we passed was a model of bipartisan cooperation that was marked by good faith on both sides. And that is the essence of the agreement I am proposing--a commitment from both sides that they will work in good faith in the conference to get the best possible result. I have spoken to Senator Grassley and he has agreed that he will not pursue a conclusion to the conference--nor sign any conference report--that would alter the text of S. 1637 in a way that undermines the broad bipartisan consensus S. 1637 achieved on final passage.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, what this means is we will be proceeding to conference on the FSC/ETI JOBS bill, a bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate and passed the House of Representatives and that prior to proceeding to conference, we will have a vote tomorrow on a combined bill that has to do with the FDA and a tobacco buyout. That vote will follow up to 3 hours tomorrow. The vote will likely be tomorrow afternoon, although we will be debating the issue in the morning. I am pleased. We all know that the FSC/ETI JOBS bill is a very important bill for the United States, for jobs and jobs creation. There is a certain time limit involved. In fact, every month that we wait, the Euro tax goes up 1 percent every month; it is 9 percent now. It is time to take this to conference and pass this bill.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in a few moments I will be propounding a unanimous consent request that we can comment on afterwards. It reflects a number of negotiations and back and forth between both sides of the aisle that have gone on for several weeks, but aggressively and intensively over the last 8 to 9 hours. I ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, July 15, immediately following morning business, the pending motion to proceed be withdrawn and the majority leader or his designee be recognized in order to move to proceed to Calendar No. 591, H.R. 4520; provided further that the motion be agreed to and that Chairman Grassley then be immediately recognized in order to offer S. 1637, as passed by the Senate, as a substitute amendment; provided further that Senator DeWine be recognized in order to offer a DeWine-Kennedy first-degree amendment relating to the FDA and tobacco; further, that no other amendments be in order to the bill and that there be 3 hours for debate equally divided in the usual form; I further ask consent that following the debate, the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the amendment at a time determined by the majority leader after consultation with the Democratic leader and that immediately following the disposition of that amendment, the substitute be agreed to, the bill then be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the bill with no intervening action or debate; I further ask consent that the Senate then insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House, and the Chair then be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate with a ratio of 12 to 11.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2589 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I now ask for its second reading, and in order to place the bill on the Calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand that S. 2652 is at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, following morning business, the Senate will begin debate on the FSC/ETI JOBS bill. Under the previous agreement, there will be up to 3 hours of debate on the DeWine-Kennedy FDA and tobacco amendment. We will vote on that amendment later tomorrow afternoon. We will also take up H.R. 4759, the Australian free trade bill tomorrow and complete that measure as well. Therefore, Senators can expect a couple of votes later in the day on Thursday.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 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 for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period for the transaction of morning business for up to 60 minutes, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee, and the final 30 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; provided, that following morning business, the Senate begin consideration of Calendar No. 591, H.R. 4520, the FSC/ETI JOBS bill, as provided under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking Committee be discharged from further consideration of H. R. 4363 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.