Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce Committee be discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 420 and the Senate now proceed to its consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 21. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then resume consideration of Calendar No. 503, S. 2400, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 366, submitted earlier today by Senator Coleman.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will resume consideration of the Department of Defense authorization bill. There will be no votes tomorrow, but Senators Warner and Levin will have a series of cleared amendments. Following that action, we will proceed to a period for morning business to accommodate Senators who do wish to make statements. As I stated earlier, there will be no votes during tomorrow's session. The next vote will occur on Tuesday, June 1, the day we return from recess. I will have more to say tomorrow on the post-recess schedule.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I now ask for their second reading and, in order to place the bills on the calendar under rule XIV, I object to further proceedings of these matters, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I object to further proceedings on the measures, en bloc, at this time.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 414 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, very briefly, I want to comment on what has been a real focus for the Senate and our various committees; that is, the revelations of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It has been a shock to the Nation and indeed to the world. The photographs we reviewed last week are appalling to all of us. America is clearly outraged at the scandal, ashamed, as we all should be. But it all centers on the fact that a very few have tarnished the reputations and the honor of a great many people representing the United States of America. That is why this body, the Senate, has and must continue to act swiftly and fully investigate, to the best of our ability, the incidents of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison and hold accountable those responsible and take bold corrective actions where necessary to ensure that those incidents never occur again. This body has acted in a quick and deliberate manner to get to the bottom of this matter. Over the past 2 weeks, we have had a series of hearings. There is a hearing going on in Armed Services now, the second day the Senate Armed Services Committee has held a meeting. The Intelligence Committee held their hearings. The Appropriations Committee has continued to hear from the Defense Department and other agencies on the matter. Our committees are working aggressively in terms of oversight, taking very appropriate action. We have received hours of testimony from administration officials and senior military officers. Members have had the opportunity to review the photos that depict some of the offensive acts. This morning, for the last hour, the Armed Services Committee has been holding a hearing. The witnesses include General Abizaid, Commander of Central Command; Lieutenant General Sanchez, Commander of the coalition forces in Iraq; and Major General Miller, who is now in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison. I mention all of this because we are aggressively investigating and the Defense Department is cooperating fully in these inquiries and has been responsive to all of our requests. I am confident the Defense Department is investigating this matter thoroughly, both within and its relationships to other agencies as well. I am confident they are taking actions to ensure these acts never occur again. This is all essential if we will be successful, which I know we can be, in bringing democracy and the rule of law to Iraq and restoring the respect and confidence many people have historically had in our military. Last week Secretary Rumsfeld's trip with General Myers occurred. That was a very important trip. It was a boost to the morale of the thousands and thousands of Americans who are serving so nobly in Iraq, our men and women who are fighting for democracy and freedom. I commend the Secretary and General Myers for making the trip. Secretary Rumsfeld has demonstrated tremendous leadership throughout the last several weeks and months and tremendous character in his presentations, helping us to understand what happened there so we can all take corrective action. I commend Secretary Rumsfeld for his tremendous leadership and courage in addressing this matter of prisoner abuse, but also his leadership in the global war on terrorism. He has been a superb Secretary of Defense who really deserves the thanks of a grateful Nation, and we are thankful for his leadership in these very difficult times. While I know there are going to be many more difficult days ahead on the prisoner abuse scandal, I am confident the Senate will continue to do what is right and necessary to ensure that justice prevails and such terrible acts never happen again. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 20. 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, the Senate then begin a period of morning business for up to 60 minutes with the majority leader or his designee in control of the first 30 minutes and the Democratic leader or his designee in control of the final 30 minutes; provided that following morning business the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 503, S. 2400, the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the morning business period be extended until 11:30 this morning with the additional time equally divided; further, that at 11:30 the Senate begin S. 15 as under the order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Tomorrow, following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the Department of Defense authorization bill. We made good progress on that bill today, disposing of 16 amendments. Senators Warner and Levin will continue working through amendments tomorrow. Rollcall votes are expected on amendments to the bill throughout the day tomorrow, and Senators will be notified when the first vote is scheduled. I also want to alert all Senators that the fiscal year 2005 budget resolution conference report may become available, and we may consider that conference report before the week concludes. Votes will occur over the next 2 days and Members should plan accordingly.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning the first 90 minutes will be devoted to a period of morning business, the first 45 minutes controlled by the minority leader or his designee, with the final 45 minutes controlled by the majority side of the aisle. Following morning business, we will consider S. 15, the bioshield bill. Last night we reached agreement to allow for up to 2 hours of debate and a vote on passage of this important piece of legislation. We have been working on bringing the bioshield bill to the Senate floor for quite some time. I am pleased we are finally able to vote on passage on this measure. Following passage of Project Bioshield, we will resume consideration of the Department of Defense authorization. Pending is the Lautenberg amendment on sanctions. That amendment has been under review, and Members may well want to speak on that issue. Yesterday Chairman Warner indicated it was his desire to reach agreement for an amendment filing deadline. I hope that is possible. We should set a time certain for Senators to file their defense amendments to the bill so the two managers may begin to try to clear amendments on both sides of the aisle. Finally, I remind everyone we will be scheduling votes on judicial nominations as we go forward, and rollcall votes will be anticipated throughout the day.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk, and I ask that they be read the first time, en bloc.

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. Our goal is to reach a conference agreement that reflects the balance and broad bipartisan consensus S. 1072 achieves. 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.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the House-passed highway bill, H.R. 3550; provided further that all after the enacting clause be stricken and the text of S. 1072, as passed, with the addition of the amendment which is at the desk, be inserted in lieu thereof; the bill then be read a third time and passed; further, 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 11 to 10.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I want to discuss with the Democratic leader an approach that might enable us to move forward to conference on S. 1072, the 6-year reauthorization of our Nation's surface transportation laws. While I am proud of the bipartisan agreements reached by the bill's managers that got us to this point, much work still remains, and it is important that 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 all Senators know it is unrealistic to expect the House will agree with all our provisions and that we will likely have to make significant changes to S. 1072. But as we make those changes, we should make them together. The transportation bill we passed this year was a model of bipartisan cooperation that was marked by good faith on both sides. That is the essence of the agreement I am proposing, a commitment from both sides that they will work in good faith in conference to get the best possible result. I have spoken to Senator Inhofe, who will chair the conference. He has agreed he will not pursue a conclusion to the conference, nor sign any conference report that would alter the text of S. 1072 in a way that undermines the bipartisan working relationship that has existed in the Senate.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar Nos. 439 through 454, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments to S. 1848 and H.R. 417, which are at the desk, be agreed to; all committee amendments, where applicable, be agreed to; the bills, as amended, if amended, be read the third time and passed; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; the title amendment to S. 1167 be withdrawn; and that any statements relating to the bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 498, S. 882.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1528, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Grassley- Baucus technical amendment, which is at the desk, be adopted; that the committee-reported substitute, as amended, be agreed to; and that the bill be read the third time.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, agents of bioterror are potentially the most powerful and devastating weapons of mass destruction that are known to man. Bioterror agents are more powerful than traditional weapons of mass destruction, are more powerful than chemical weapons, are more powerful than nuclear weapons. When I say that, people oftentimes say: How can you say that? And it really comes down to one simple concern: that many of the bioterror agents are and can be infectious. They are agents of virus, of bacteria, of another living organism that cannot be seen, that cannot be touched, that cannot be smelled or heard. Yet they are deadly. They know no borders. There are no geographic borders. They attack indiscriminately, and they can travel through a school, they can travel through a community, they can travel through a State, they can travel through a country, and they can travel, indeed, through a continent. They are powerful, powerful agents. The United States is less than adequately prepared today in terms of defense against these agents of bioterror. Over the next 2 hours, we will be talking about a bill--and ultimately will pass a bill--that is long overdue, legislation that bolsters, that strengthens our Nation's defenses against threats from bioterrorism. I applaud the leadership of Senator Judd Gregg, the distinguished chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He has done a tremendous service to this Nation by bringing this legislation through his committee and to the floor of the Senate today for passage. We absolutely must--we absolutely must--strengthen our defenses against the threats of biological weapons which I just referred to. But also covered in this bill are other weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, including chemical, and including radiological weapons. I also commend the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, for his efforts to achieve a bipartisan consensus on the bioshield legislation we are now considering on the Senate floor. This legislation has been a priority for President Bush. I congratulate him. He first outlined his bold initiative in his State of the Union Address in January 2003. Since then, we have worked closely with the administration and with our colleagues here in Congress to pass this critical legislation. What the legislation allows us to do is be proactive in developing a broad range of countermeasures to combat biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats. It was just several months ago in my own office that there was a bioterror attack and ricin was sent. It is a deadly agent. It is an interesting agent to think about because it is deadly. It is ricin. It was here in our Nation's capital city, in an adjacent building. There is no antidote. We do not have a medicine that can counteract the effects of ricin today. It is now 3, almost 4 years ago that anthrax hit this same capital. It was deadly. With ricin, thank goodness, nobody was hurt and injured. With the anthrax, 3 years ago, the reality was being demonstrated that bioterror is here, it is on our own soil. It hit this Nation. It hit this Capitol. It hit the entire east coast. Indeed, it was deadly, that little anthrax bacteria that you cannot see. This legislation allows us to further our response to such agents, both here on our soil, which exist and are being used today, as well as internationally. It was just 2 days ago that a canister of sarin gas--it shifted just a little bit, with a mixing of two other chemicals, to become sarin gas--began to leak through that canister, again reminding us of the impact that chemical weapons can have today. So whether it is domestically or internationally, this piece of legislation will bolster and strengthen our defenses to fight, to use countermeasures that will prevent, hopefully, the use of and have an appropriate response to the use of these biological and chemical weapons. The bioshield legislation really does do just that. It improves our ability to investigate, to develop, and to produce these new such countermeasures. For the first time, we have well defined this new paradigm of a public and private partnership working together to develop these countermeasures in our Nation's interests. While maintaining high standards of scientific excellence, the bill streamlines the ability of agencies and entities, such as the National Institutes of Health, to rapidly advance research into these much needed countermeasures, countermeasures to the realities of biological weapons today. The bill provides the private sector with new incentives to invest in research and development of biomedical countermeasures that otherwise simply would not have the business potential. We need to give those appropriate incentives to the private sector, to use its ingenuity, to use its innovation, to use its capitalism, to use its knowledge to respond to the realities, these real threats that are out there today. The legislation is critical to our efforts to protect our citizens. There is a whole series of biological threats that are categorized by categories 1, 2, and 3. For the category 1 list, we have vaccines for only two, one being anthrax and the other being smallpox. Both of those vaccines need continued research and refinement in order to minimize those side effects and to make sure we can improve the ease of delivery so that in the event we need to respond, we can respond quickly, efficiently, and safely, whether it be for our soldiers or for citizens throughout America. This bill also is a major component of our overall much larger strategy to improve our overall biodefense. There are other initiatives such as strengthening our public health system. Our public health system has been neglected over the last 25 or 30 years. That public health system, that public health infrastructure, is the frontline in response to these agents. Another component I hope we will be able to address in the future, which is important as we develop this broad strategy against bioterrorism, is this whole element of vaccine liability. Clearly, our vaccine liability system needs reform. We have the latest public health challenges, things such as SARS, sudden acute respiratory syndrome--a year and a half ago that virus came, and nobody knew what it was, and the terror it created--West Nile virus, and vancomycin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. All of those have taught us the danger of sitting back and being too complacent and not being proactive. In this bill we are being proactive. I commend especially Chairman Gregg, the President of the United States for his bold leadership, Senator Kennedy, and all of our colleagues who have worked to craft this legislation to see that we respond to a clearly identifiable need. Passage of this legislation, indeed, is a major step forward in strengthening our national security.