Tom Harkin

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Are we going on the FDA bill?

Mr. HARKIN. If the leader will yield, I have a question. So we are not having a cloture vote at 10 a.m. Was there a unanimous- consent agreement entered into that I missed before I came onto the floor?

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, further, I ask unanimous consent that this amendment be in order, notwithstanding any vote on cloture.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, this is cosponsored by a number of Senators on both sides of the aisle, Senators Hatch, Daschle, Mikulski, myself, and a number of Senators on both sides of the aisle. I don't believe it is going to be objected to. However, we are facing the problem of cloture. That's why I asked for unanimous consent. I am sorry the manager of the bill would not allow this amendment to be in order.

Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Senator for yielding. Let me agree with Senator Kennedy on this issue. The stories in the paper this morning ought to alarm us all about the need to proceed very cautiously and very carefully about what we are doing. I spent a lot of time looking at devices. I had amendments on the bill itself, when it was in committee, on devices. The FDA has the authority now, if a device is used for a certain purpose, to make sure that there are not misleading or false advertising proposals. But when they want to use the device for a purpose for which it is not intended, there is nothing in the bill to prohibit that. That is what we are talking about, and I think we have to proceed very cautiously and carefully here. Mr. President, I did want to talk about another issue. I thank Senator Jeffords and Senator Kennedy for their hard work and leadership on this bill. I think we all agree we need some reform of FDA. I have been in favor of that. We need to streamline the processes. I agree with Senator Jeffords in that regard. There are many positive provisions in this bill. Amendment No. 1137 to Modified Committee Substitute Amendment No. 1130 (Purpose: To establish within the National Institutes of Health an agency to be known as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Mr. HARKIN

Mr. HARKIN. I, too, fully concur with Senator Daschle's assessment. NCI must not forsake this important opportunity to expand its breast cancer research agenda. I anticipate that NIH and NCI will give this critical avenue of research every consideration as they make their fiscal year 1998 funding decisions. fulfilling the promise of the breast and cervical cancer mortality prevention act (p.l. 101-345)

Mr. HARKIN. The National Institutes of Health reports that more than half of 6 to 8 year olds already suffer tooth decay. There are few things that the Federal Government can do directly to decrease this disease in children. Fluoridation is one of them. I, too, will work with my colleagues to provide the necessary funding in the conference report. funding for breast cancer research

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 1115 to S. 1061 be withdrawn.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. HARKIN. I also recognize the value of a comprehensive research strategy aimed at detecting, preventing and treating osteoporosis, and I encourage NIAMS and AHCPR to give this research every consideration as they make their fiscal year 1998 funding decisions. aging research and alzheimer's disease

Mr. HARKIN. I want to again thank the chairman for his interest and help in addressing this problem.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, what is the parliamentary situation at this time?

Mr. HARKIN. I also agree that it was our intention to fund the program at $225,000 this fiscal year, and I comment the National Student-Parent Mock Election program of its continued success.

Mr. HARKIN. I thank the chairman for clarifying this point. music education

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the pending legislation increases funding for Head Start by $324 million and directs that 10 percent of the fiscal year 1998 increase be dedicated for further expansion of the Early Head Start Program which serves children from 0-3 years of age. The appropriations bill does not amend the underlying Head Start statute, therefore, there is no change to the 5 percent set-aside for the Early Head Start Program as prescribed by that law for fiscal year 1998. I would ask the chairman if he could clarify the intent of the legislation with respect to the Early Head Start Program. It is my understanding that the 10 percent from the fiscal year 1998 increase is in addition to the 5 percent set-aside already provided by law.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I couldn't agree more. Providing crucial early detection and diagnostic screening services to uninsured women is a high priority for me. It is essential that women who are diagnosed with breast cancer through our efforts are not abandoned without hope of appropriate treatment. I know that our committee, with the chairman's support, will work hard to support CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and strongly encourage the administration to develop recommendations to Congress to ensure broader access to followup treatment.

Mr. HARKIN. I appreciate that. I just have a sense that some people may have voted on this and not understood exactly what was going on in terms of stripping away all of these measures and taking away the prohibition that we had in the past to limit how much could be spent on administration. That is all taken off. I heard time and time again from people on both sides of the aisle how we should cut down on how much money we put into administration. I agree with that. We all agreed with that. Now those restrictions are gone. They will be able to use this money for whatever they want. I just think it is a terrible mistake on the part of the Senate to have adopted this amendment. I appreciate the time. Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.

Mr. HARKIN. And the other side, too, get an additional minute. Mr. President, we have had requirements in the past that no more than a certain amount of this money could be spent for administration because we wanted it to get to the kids and we wanted it to get to vocational education and technology. These requirements are done away with in this amendment. So now they can use this money to pay superintendents or other school personnel more money.

Mr. HARKIN. I will yield.

Mr. HARKIN. As the chairman knows, this bill includes funding for the National Mediation Board [NMB] which is responsible for mediating labor-management disputes in the railroad and airline industries under the Railway Labor Act [RLA]. To help meet this responsibility section 3 of the RLA requires the arbitration of certain disputes that arise between employee and their employers in the rail industry. Unfortunately, there is a serious need to help the NMB fulfill its section 3 responsibilities. Delays in care processing cause uncertainty and hardship for both rail workers and the carriers. I want to thank the chairman for recognizing this problem and for including an additional $500,000 to the budget of the NMB. It is my understanding that it is the intent of the chairman and the committee that the NMB should use this extra money to deal with the section 3 cases. Is this also understanding of the chairman?

Mr. HARKIN. It is our intention to support programs which provide such essential drug abuse prevention services to youth. It strikes me that the Crow Creek Youth Center meets that criteria, and I join with my colleagues in encouraging the Secretary to identify funding for the South Dakota program and similar programs in rural and isolated areas plagued by high rates of alcohol and drug abuse.

Mr. HARKIN

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