Tom Harkin

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. I share the Senator's support for organ donation, and I thank my friend from North Dakota for his leadership on this issue. This program is a smart investment and one that I will work to sustain in conference. By helping pay the travel and subsistence costs of donors who could not otherwise afford to donate, we will save lives and reduce the number of people on the organ transplant waiting list.

Mr. HARKIN. I agree with the concerns raised by the Senator from Pennsylvania. Since the 1970s, the percentage of obesity has more than doubled for preschool children ages 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12- 19 years, and more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. As you know, I have a particular interest in fighting the obesity epidemic and have been very supportive of programs that increase physical activity and good nutrition, especially in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2000 that only 8 percent of elementary schools, 6.4 percent of middle/junior high schools and 5.8 percent of senior high schools offer daily physical education for the entire school year for students in all grades of the school.

Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate the remarks of the Senator from Illinois, as well as his work in championing partnerships, such as teacher residencies, on the HELP Committee. I realize the importance of having a quality teacher in every classroom. I know that too many students in high-need schools, both in cities and in rural areas, are sometimes taught by inadequately prepared teachers. These teachers are asked to take on challenges that can be discouraging, or even overwhelming. And so we lose too many teachers, often before we find out how good they could become. I thank the Senator from Illinois for recognizing what we have done to avoid the elimination of funding for these partnership programs. When this bill goes to conference, I look forward to working with my colleague from Illinois, and I will continue to try to increase the level of funding available for colleges and universities to partner, in new ways, to improve teacher preparation. Bringing more quality teachers into classrooms is a priority for me, and I agree with the Senator from Illinois that it is important to find resources to support effective programs to better prepare and to better support teachers.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senators from Louisiana and Tennessee for their interest in this matter and for their request. Yes, I agree to support as much funding as possible for public charter schools.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes consideration of H.R. 3043 tomorrow, Senator Enzi be recognized to call up amendment No. 3437 and there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the amendment be temporarily set aside, and Senator DeMint be recognized to call up amendment No. 3387, and there be 20 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the amendment be temporarily set aside, and the Senate then resume the Roberts amendment No. 3365, and there be 10 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate resume consideration of the Coburn amendment No. 3358, and there be 20 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled prior to a vote; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate return to the Enzi amendment and vote in relation to the amendment; that upon disposition of that amendment, the Senate resume the DeMint amendment and vote in relation to the amendment; that upon disposition of the DeMint amendment, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Roberts amendment; that upon disposition of that amendment, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Coburn amendment No. 3358; that there be 2 minutes of debate prior to each vote, equally divided and controlled, with no amendments in order to any of the amendments covered in this agreement prior to the vote; and that after the first vote, the vote time be limited to 10 minutes.

Mr. HARKIN. So, Mr. President, this ends our business for this evening, so that when the Senate comes in tomorrow morning, we will have four amendments that will take about an hour, and then there will be four votes that will start. They will be stacked votes, and they will then take place 1 hour after we come in. Again, I say that if we come in at 10 in the morning and this takes an hour and then we vote on four amendments, that will take us just about to the noon hour, and we are supposed to finish by 12:30. So I say again, if Senators have amendments, it looks as if they may be getting crowded out, unless they get over here in a hurry. With that, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Caitlin Parton of my staff be granted floor privileges for the duration of today's session.

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I have four amendments that have been cleared on both sides, and I ask unanimous consent to call them up and have them considered en bloc. The amendments are amendment No. 3353, amendment No. 3333, amendment No. 3354, and amendment No. 3374, for which the modification was sent to the desk.

Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, we have another amendment that has been agreed to on both sides, so I call up amendment No. 3399 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I call up that amendment.

Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Presiding Officer. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HARKIN. I will work with my colleague Senator Specter, the ranking member of the subcommittee, to urge the National Cancer Institute to make this matter a high priority. Does the Senator agree?

Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I send a modification to the desk of amendment No. 3374 and ask for its consideration.

Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I don't think there is any further consideration to be had on these amendments. Are the amendments agreed to en bloc?

Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Presiding Officer. We are waiting for a Senator to come to the floor to speak on an amendment. I know of no other speakers yet today. Again, I would remind people that we will be here Monday, and we will be voting--I don't know if the time has been determined yet but probably around 5:30 or somewhere around there. We will probably be in late voting on Monday. We will have a whole lot of amendments on Monday night. The agreement was struck yesterday that we would finish this bill by noon on Tuesday and to get there, with all the amendments we have pending, there will probably be a number of votes on Monday night. So with that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate the Senator raising this issue and will do what I can to ensure that we accept the higher number when we go to conference on this bill.

Mr. HARKIN. I am well aware of the problem of compensating workers affected by radiation from my efforts to secure a special exposure cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. Have these local communities received any sort of compensation to date?

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Stephanie Trifone of my staff be granted the privileges of the floor for the duration of today's session.

Mr. HARKIN

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

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Senator from North Carolina for her interest in and support of the National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank. This is a program Senator Specter and I created in the 2004 bill when he was chairman. Our bill includes $12 million for this program, enough to sustain the banks that exist and start a new round of grants to startup operations. The Dole amendment codifies this $12 million for the cord blood stem cell banking program. I fully support it. I believe I can speak for Senator Specter. On both sides, we are more than happy to accept the amendment.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HARKIN. If the Senator will yield, is there any chance that we could finish the debate after the vote? We are trying to get the vote in prior to some noon things that are happening around here.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I modify my unanimous consent request to say that if the pending debate is not finished at 12:30, that after the vote on amendment No. 3338, we would return to the debate on the Coburn amendment.

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