Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Friday, February 18. 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 Senator Burr then be recognized to deliver the Washington Farewell Address, as provided under the previous order; provided further that upon the conclusion of the Farewell Address, the Senate stand adjourned under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 66 until 2 p.m. on Monday, February 28; provided that when the Senate reconvenes on Monday, February 28, 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 consideration of Calendar No. 14, S. 256, the bankruptcy reform bill, as provided under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on the calendar: All nominations reported by the Armed Services Committee today. I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 28 and that the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and the preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record, with no intervening action.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Monday, February 28, at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 256, the bankruptcy reform bill, provided that consideration of the bill during Monday's session be for the purpose of debate only.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 66, the adjournment resolution; provided that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 70 and that the bill be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 69 and that the bill be referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 60, S. Res. 61, S. Res. 62, and S. Res. 63, which were submitted earlier today, en bloc; that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I now ask for a 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 there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before wrapping up, I will look back, very briefly--which I tend to do right before we go into a recess--and also look forward, very briefly. Let me summarize the last 3 weeks as being gratifyingly productive. I say that because last Thursday, by a vote of 72 to 26, the Senate passed the Class Action Fairness Act. The process was bipartisan throughout. It was a great legislative victory for the Senate and, subsequently, for the House of Representatives, which passed the bill today. Soon the President will sign this very important issue that addresses lawsuit abuses. Senator Grassley, who was the lead sponsor of the bill, had been working on class action reform for over a decade. Last week, we finally delivered. I commend my colleagues for their fairness and their cooperation. I applaud also Senator Arlen Specter, who has not been with us the last couple of days, but I talked to him a few minutes ago, and he is doing very well. I applaud him for his leadership because it was through his committee, the Judiciary Committee, that class action was first addressed and brought to the floor, again, with a bipartisan vote, and ultimately passed. I thank Senator Specter for his tremendous leadership. Building on the momentum of the class action bill, we passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act today, not too long ago, with a vote of 98 to 0. I once again thank Senator Olympia Snowe, who was the lead sponsor of that legislation and has been one of its leading champions for many years. It was a bipartisan piece of legislation, obviously, with a vote of 98 to 0. On the other side of the aisle, Senator Kennedy, and on our side of the aisle, Senator Gregg and Senator Mike Enzi--all of them have been thanked over the course of the day. I thank them. And I thank the Democratic leader, as well, Senator Reid, for facilitating passage of this important piece of legislation. When this bill becomes the law of the land, it will prevent health insurers from what can be very tempting for an unscrupulous health insurer, and that would be to reach down and grab information that is important to a patient but that information could be used against the patient. It will prevent insurers from charging higher premiums based on the results of genetic testing. It will also prohibit employers from potentially using genetic information when considering hiring or firing somebody or considering job promotions. This bill, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, is a model of how again we can lead today on tomorrow's problems. As the science advances, genetic tests will be used with increasing frequency, and the likelihood, without this bill, would be for abuse of this genetic information. It is hugely powerful for the patient, but if misused, detrimental to the patient. This legislation addresses that potential problem right up front and prevents that from happening. Over the last 3 weeks, we also confirmed the last of the President's Cabinet nominees. We approved Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State, Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, Samuel Bodman to lead the Energy Department, and Michael Chertoff as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier today, the President announced his selection of John Negroponte to serve as the Director of National Intelligence. We had the opportunity last night to have a presentation, an exchange of information, with Ambassador Negroponte, who is serving us so well today in Iraq. Ambassador Negroponte, as Director of National Intelligence, will be responsible for revamping and integrating America's 15 intelligence- gathering services. As the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and the United Nations, he has proven his ability to manage complicated organizations and tackle the difficult challenges we face today under intense pressure. He understands the needs of policymakers, and he understands how the executive branch works. I look forward to his swift confirmation. I look forward, personally, to working with Ambassador Negroponte in the weeks and months ahead. I hope we will be able to consider his confirmation process in the very near future. The Senate has spoken out on some of the most important issues of the day as well: the Iraqi elections, the Palestinian elections, the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. When we return from our short recess--and, again, most people will be going back to their States in order to be with their constituents over the next week--we will continue keeping our eye on events at home as well as abroad. We will return after our recess to look at issues such as bankruptcy, which we will address as soon as we come back. We will address the supplemental the President has delivered to us. And, of course, we will be addressing the budget as well. As I promised when we began the 109th Congress, it is our job to deliver meaningful solutions on the challenges that are ahead. It is our duty and our privilege to keep America moving forward.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, my first statement refers to first responders and the tremendous progress made over the last several years in addressing responses to emergencies of all types. On Tuesday, the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency came to Washington to brief me and the entire Tennessee delegation on our State's homeland security needs. It was fitting, I was thinking at the time, for him to be here on the day that we voted on the nomination of Judge Michael Chertoff. It has been 3\1/2\ years since we were attacked on September 11. Since then we have taken significant steps to strengthen and improve in so many ways our homeland security, from information and technology to training and to overall preparedness. The Department of Homeland Security was established in March of 2003 and has been central in overseeing and coordinating all of these efforts. It is a huge job. I applaud Secretary Tom Ridge for his skillful leadership during those very uncertain times. Since the September 11 tragedy, we have taken a number of steps. We hardened cockpit doors on 100 percent of large passenger aircraft; 100 percent of all baggage is screened. We have deployed thousands of Federal air marshals and professionally trained screeners at our ports. We now screen 100 percent of high-risk cargo. We have also launched the US VISIT system which creates a database of pictures and finger scans of everyone entering the United States with a nonimmigrant visa. All of these preventive measures, along with many others, are indeed making America safer and more secure. September 11 taught us that the front lines of a catastrophic terror attack are not here or in policy but are local, in communities all across this country. It is the folks in our fire departments, in our police stations, in our emergency rooms, and in the volunteer corps. It is the brave men and women who rush to an attack site with almost superhuman stamina and compassion, working to save their fellow citizens. I am reminded of the Memphis and Shelby County Urban Search and Rescue Task Force that traveled to Washington to help at the Pentagon after September 11. All airplanes were shut down. The team loaded two tractor trailers, three buses, and a few cars, and drove all through the night from Tennessee until they arrived early in the morning of September 12th. It was a team of firefighters, doctors, nurses, computer technicians, and rescue dog handlers who worked 12-hour backbreaking shifts every day for days--believe it was a total of 8 days--to help secure the Pentagon's structure and save lives. Two or three days after September 11, I had the opportunity to go and visit with this rescue task force and to thank them. I remember vividly the day, with the large American flag still on the debris of the Pentagon behind the setup of the task force, and that large Tennessee flag. At that time, all I could say was: Thank you for being on the front line, for responding so immediately, for leaving the comfort of your own homes to volunteer to respond. Like so many brave and committed first responders from around the country, their assistance was invaluable. Tennessee received $32.4 million for fiscal year 2004 and $32.6 million for fiscal year 2005 to continue training and strengthening our first responders and local capabilities. This month, fire departments across the State were awarded grants to promote fire safety and prevention. Meanwhile, Tennessee has established 26 Citizen Corps Councils to help coordinate emergency volunteers. As we learned on 9/11, we are all in this together. Another area that must be addressed is our biohazard preparedness. We know that at least 11, and as many as 17, nations already have offensive biological weapons programs--at least 11 nations. Experts believe these countries' arsenals are stocked with agents that could be devastating as weapons. The United States must be prepared for the eventuality of another bioterror attack. That is why in the last Congress we passed Project Bioshield, which authorizes $5.6 billion over 10 years for the development of vaccines and a whole range of other countermeasures against potential biological attacks. Such potential attacks could include those of smallpox, anthrax, and botulism toxin, as well as other dangerous pathogens such as Ebola and plague. This sort of legislation shows us leading on the challenges of tomorrow. These are proactive pieces of legislation that are preventive, that make us safer and more secure. This legislation will help ensure that our public health agencies focus, in a deliberate and comprehensive way, on developing drugs and countermeasures and vaccines and devices whether it is against a biological attack or chemical attack or radiological attack or an attack by nuclear agents or dirty bombs. This year, we hope to build on these measures with another bioshield act which is designed to better protect and strengthen our domestic public health infrastructure. Specifically, this legislation improves the availability and accessibility of vaccines. It strengthens our capacity to respond efficiently in the event of a public health emergency. And it gets more first responders into the field by offering loan repayments in return for service at the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, or the National Institutes of Health, or other public health agencies. Well, there is much to do to make America safer and more secure, from the war on terror, to strengthening the homeland. Next week, I will be returning to my State, as most of our colleagues will be doing during this period of recess, and attending a conference in Tennessee on a study of what our current plans are and to also explore ways in which we can maximize our efforts. It is hard to plan when we do not know what might be next. That is why we must be ever vigilant and ever creative in securing ourselves from attack. From our Federal officials, to our local volunteers, protecting the homeland is everyone's duty.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, today the Senate will begin with a period of morning business. Yesterday we debated the genetic nondiscrimination legislation and, as a reminder, we will vote on passage of that bill at 3 p.m. today. Throughout today's session, we will also be working on clearing the high risk pooling bill, as well as the committee funding resolution. The chairman and ranking member have been working on a resolution related to Lebanon, and we may be able to clear that resolution for floor action. Later today, I will have more to say on tomorrow's schedule and the schedule for when we return from the President's Day recess.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the Senate's adjournment, committees be authorized to report legislative and executive matters on Wednesday, February 23, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 7, S. 125.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, all without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that during the adjournment of the Senate, the senior Senator from Virginia and the junior Senator from Virginia be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills and joint resolutions.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk and due for their second readings. I ask unanimous consent that the clerk read the titles of the bills for a second time en bloc.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I object to further proceedings en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. 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 Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 5, S. Res. 50, the committee funding resolution.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on February 17. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business until 12 noon, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee and the second 30 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee, and the remaining time be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. I further ask that at 3 p.m. the Senate resume reconsideration of S. 306, Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, and immediately proceed to the vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate.

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 to the measure be printed in the Record, with no intervening action or debate.