Tom Harkin

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I call up the Durbin amendment.

Mr. HARKIN. All time is yielded back.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I have an amendment for Mr. DeMint, which I send to the desk.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?

Mr. HARKIN. I yield--how much time remains?

Mr. HARKIN. I will split it, 1\1/2\ minutes to Senator Specter, and I will take the last 1\1/4\ minutes.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, first I thank Senator Specter for his help through all this debate and developing this bill. I thank Senator Byrd for his usual eloquence tonight. I think he encapsulated what this is all about. This is a bipartisan bill. It passed the committee by a vote of 26 to 3. Frankly, I think at least two, maybe all three of those were opposed to the stem cell portion we had in there, which is no longer in the bill. Nonetheless, this passed 26 to 3. To echo a little bit what Senator Byrd said, if you vote to commit, you are voting to cut community services block grants, to zero it out, and your social services block grants that go to your States will be cut by 30 percent. You would cut NIH, as Senator Byrd said, by $279 million. How about special education? That would be cut by $748 million. How about community health centers? That would be cut by $250 million. A ``yea'' vote means you agree with the President that we do not need any more community health centers, you agree with the President we don't need any more money to go to the States for special education, you agree with the President that we can cut funding for NIH, you agree with the President we can zero out the community services block grants and cut the social services block grants to the States by 30 percent. That is what a ``yea'' vote means. Frankly, I hope we have an overwhelming vote to reject this motion to commit and keep this a strong bipartisan bill with which we can go to conference.

Mr. HARKIN. Senator Salazar, I commend you for bringing this critical issue to my attention and to my Colleagues' attention. I agree with you that we must do all that we can to reduce serious birth defects.

Mr. HARKIN. I remain committed to retaining the provision in conference as it is written in the Senate and House Labor-HHS appropriations bills. I will be happy to work with the Senators from Wyoming and Oklahoma to ensure that the policy is implemented as smoothly as possible for the NIH, researchers, and scientific publishers.

Mr. HARKIN. I am aware of the cuts the State of Connecticut has sustained and am aware that these cuts directly impact individuals living with HIV/AIDS in your State.

Mr. HARKIN. I agree with my colleague and will work during the conference process to ensure that funding for this program is not reduced.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I would be happy to.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues, Senator Clinton and Senator Snowe, for bringing this critical issue to the floor of the U.S. Senate. The Even Start Family Literacy Program is a valuable program, and I agree with my colleagues that Congress must do all that it can to ensure that the Even Start Program receives an adequate funding level to keep the program alive.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I would say to the Senator from Massachusetts that I agree with his description of the challenges facing the funding for deafblind services and that it is my hope that we can find agreement with our House colleagues to retain the modest funding increase that appears in their bill.

Mr. HARKIN. I share my colleagues' support for the National Health Service Corps and agree that we must do more to reduce the number of health professional shortage areas. In my State, 14 of our counties are designated as shortage areas, so I know this issue firsthand. When this bill gets to conference, I will support as much funding as possible for this important program, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to ensure an expansion of the National Health Service Corps.

Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate the comments by the Senator from Georgia, as well as the ranking member. I agree with them that the Health Information Technology Development program is a step towards better dissemination of health information and better health care, and I will work with my colleagues during conference with the House to provide as much funding as possible. (At the request of Mr. Harkin, the following colloquy was ordered to be printed in the Record.) HIV/AIDS Programs

Mr. HARKIN. I see.

Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate knowing of the Senator's support for this provision. I will certainly keep it in mind as we move into conference negotiations.

Mr. HARKIN

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

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that in the vote sequence previously agreed to, the Dorgan amendment, No. 3335, as modified, be removed from the agreement and the Menendez amendment, No. 3347, be substituted and the amendment be modified with the text of amendment No. 3428, and that the Senate then vote in relation to the Menendez amendment, No. 3347, as modified, following the disposition of the Allard amendment, and that all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

Mr. HARKIN. I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be considered and agreed to and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc: Amendment No. 3335, as modified, 3331, 3419, 3434, 3405, and 3411.

Mr. HARKIN. Parliamentary inquiry: I understand there is 2 minutes, if the Senator wants it.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, this amendment has been agreed to on the other side.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask that amendment No. 3360 be withdrawn.