Jesse Helms

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I thought that we had an understanding that we would just go to a vote. How much time do I have?

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I hope Senators will look at this amendment very carefully. The pending amendment would ensure that any and all Federal funds authorized and appropriated for HIV/AIDS would not exceed that which is appropriated for cancer. These are not my figures. These came from the Congressional Research Service report to the Congress dated March 9, 1995. Copies of this will be on the table for any Senator who wants to study it. The leading cause of death in America today is heart disease, followed closely by cancer. HIV/AIDS ranks eighth in the number of deaths caused. It is of interest, Mr. President, that HIV/AIDS receives $2.7 billion per year in Federal funding, which exceeds Federal funding for any other disease--heart disease or cancer. Heart disease, which kills more than 720,000 Americans each year, receives $805 million in Federal funds. Cancer, which kills 515,000 Americans, receives $2.3 billion. Mr. President, more people are dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease, accidents, pneumonia, and diabetes than die from AIDS. Yet, AIDS receives more of the taxpayers' money. Something is amiss and needs to be corrected. This amendment will do it. Today, on the average, the Federal Government spends about $91,000 per AIDS death, and only about $5,000 per cancer death. So, in a nutshell, the pending amendment will bring a measure of equity and fairness to the existing priorities in the area of HIV/AIDS funding. As long as cancer kills 18 times as many people as AIDS, and AIDS receives more Federal funding, it is time that Congress establishes some new, equitable, and fair priorities. That concludes my remarks. If I have any more time remaining, I yield it back.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I reclaim my time to defend my position. [[Page S 10758]]

Mr. HELMS. I yield back the remainder of my time. Vote on Amendment No. 1858

Mr. HELMS. The Senator referred to apples and apples. But he is talking about apples and oranges. The administration's numbers prove the disparity. They knock down the argument that the distinguished Senator from Kansas offered and that the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts supports. Even using their skewed approach which combines discretionary and mandatory spending, the numbers prove there is still a disparity. Heart disease receives $38 billion in Federal funds. The number of people suffering from heart ailments is 20 million. The funds per patient-- Federal funds, mind you--are $1,900. That is per heart patient. Cancer is $17.5 billion of Federal funds. The number of people who have cancer in America is 8 million. The funds per cancer patient is $2,187. Look at HIV/AIDS, if you want to talk about fairness: $7 billion. The number of people who have it is 1.4 million. And the Federal funds per patient is $5,000. If you want fairness, the $5,000 is not it. Mr. President, this amendment will insure any and all Federal funds authorized and appropriated for HIV/AIDS will not exceed Federal funds authorized and appropriated for cancer. The leading cause of death in America today is heart disease, followed closely by cancer. HIV/AIDS ranks ninth in the number of deaths caused. It is of interest, Mr. President, that HIV/AIDS receives $2.7 billion per year in Federal funding, which exceeds Federal funding with any other disease. Heart disease, which kills more than 720,000 Americans each year, receives $805 million in Federal funds. Cancer, which kills 515,000 Americans, receives $2.3 billion. Mr. President, more people are dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease, accidents, pneumonia, diabetes, and suicide than die from AIDS; yet AIDS receives more of the American taxpayers' money. Something is amiss and needs to be corrected. Today, on average, the Federal Government spends about $91,000 on every person who dies of AIDS, and only about $5,000 on every person who dies of cancer. I suggest most Americans agree that this discrepancy is simply neither fair nor equitable. Mr. President, in a nutshell, the pending amendment will being a measure of equity to the existing priorities in the area of HIV/AIDS funding. As long as cancer kills 18 times as many people as AIDS, and AIDS receives more Federal funding, it is time that Congress established some new equitable priorities. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter to me by the President of the Family Research Council be printed in the Record.

Mr. HELMS. I reserve the balance of my time in case there is more argument, because I can go on and on about this.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, Senators at least should be aware of which amendment we are voting on now. Will the Chair state that, and will Senator Kassebaum describe that amendment? Because she talked about two amendments and I do not want Senators to be confused.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I wish to reiterate that in case any Senator wants to examine the arithmetic, here it is. I will say again that the administration's figures prove the disparity that I have been talking about. I yield the remainder of my time.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, before discussing today's bad news about the Federal debt, how about ``another go,'' as the British put it, with our pop quiz. Remember? One question, one answer. The question: How many millions of dollars does it take to make a trillion dollars? While you are thinking about it, bear in mind that it was the U.S. Congress that ran up the Federal debt that now exceeds $4.9 trillion. To be exact, as of the close of business yesterday, Wednesday, July 26, the total Federal debt--down to the penny--stood at $4,941,608,987,271.97, of which, on a per capita basis, every man, woman, and child in America owes $18,758.43. Mr. President, back to our pop quiz, how many million in a trillion: There are a million million in a trillion.

Mr. HELMS

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

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, is there a unanimous consent stipulating what shall happen now? I assume the pending business is still the Bosnia resolution, is that correct?

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I inquire of the Chair if the first speaker on this has been identified in the unanimous consent?

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Certainly. I hope you can clear it up. I do not understand what he is saying.

Mr. HELMS. So what the Senator is saying then is that the announcement I made that we would attempt to have two more rollcall votes and then finish the debate on the remaining amendments and go to a vote tomorrow morning on two remaining amendments and final passage of the Ryan White bill, that is being objected to, now, is that it?

Mr. HELMS. But the Senator just said they were not going to permit any more votes tonight. Who is not?

Mr. HELMS. Certainly. Please explain to me. We were trying to be through, finished with this bill at 6. And I, as a matter of courtesy to the Senator from Massachusetts, permitted him to enter a quorum call. I had the floor. I did not have to do that. When can we expect some action on these amendments and the bill? I understand the Democrats have a problem with something else that I have nothing to do with.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, on that evening in 1972 when I learned that I had been elected to the Senate, I made a commitment to myself that I would never fail to see a young person, or a group of young people, who wanted to see me. It has proved enormously beneficial to me because I have been inspired by the estimated 60,000 young people with whom I have visited during the nearly 23 years I have been in the Senate. Most of them have been concerned about the magnitude of the Federal debt that Congress has run up for the coming generations to pay. The young people and I always discuss the fact that under the U.S. Constitution, no President can spend a dime of Federal money that has not first been authorized and appropriated by both the House and Senate of the United States. That is why I began making these daily reports to the Senate on February 22, 1992. I wanted to make a matter of daily record of the precise size of the Federal debt which as of yesterday, Tuesday, July 25, stood at $4,940,346,340,499.40 or $18,753.63 for every man, woman and child in America on a per capita basis.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. If the Senator, the manager of the bill, let me know if we can get the yeas and nays, to set this one aside, and make it one back- to-back rollcall vote at 6 o'clock.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, as the distinguished clerk has just indicated, this amendment is simple. Forest Gump could understand this one. I do not intend to take up a lot of time. I just say it is just a simple act of responsibility on the part of the Senate to make sure that no taxpayers' money--not a cent, not a farthing--distributed under the Ryan White legislation, shall be used in the promotion of homosexuality as being natural or normal--or that poppycock about just another lifestyle. None of the above is the case. This amendment, therefore, takes another important step toward removing the Ryan White Act from politics. It provides a safeguard to make sure that Federal funds--that is to say the American taxpayers' money--ostensibly provided to help victims of the AIDS virus, these funds shall not be used to push the radical agenda of the homosexual activists. I have said many times--and a lot of people do not like my saying it; that suits me all right. I do not like them not liking it. But, if the proponents of this bill really want to help those in need, let us make sure that we help those in need and not let the Ryan White funds be used for such outrageous, extraneous things. This is not the first time I brought up this subject. About 8 years ago, I think it was, I submitted an amendment that prevented any funds used by the Centers for Disease Control for AIDS education, the kind of education that would be used to promote homosexuality. And, believe me, it was going on. This amendment passed the Senate 94 to 2. I certainly can think of no reason why this amendment, the pending one, should not pass by a similar margin. But if any Senator wishes, he or she can come by this desk and we can look at the rollcall of 7 or 8 years ago. We do have it. The promotion of homosexual conduct as acceptable or permissible or just another lifestyle flies directly in the face of what a sound AIDS policy ought to be. Mr. President, 53 percent of AIDS cases, more than half of the AIDS cases in America, have come about through male/male sexual relations. This being true--and the Centers for Disease Control has documented it to be true--then why on Earth should any Federal money, even a penny, be used to promote activity that has proven to be the leading cause of AIDS? Mr. President, I wish I had a nickel for every time I have come on this floor and implored Senators to treat the AIDS disease as a public health issue instead of a civil rights issue. But, judging from the clamor and shouting over the past several weeks, these words continue to be ignored--certainly in the media, and certainly by the AIDS activists. They have run up and down the corridors of the Senate, buttonholed Senators, and all the rest of it. We will see how effective they have been. If this bill passes without any one of the amendments that I intend to offer, we will know something about the effectiveness of the AIDS lobbyists. I am going to say it again and be through. AIDS is not a civil rights issue, it is a public health issue and a serious one, and the money ought to be spent in that regard, not for the promotion of homosexuality or the advocacy that homosexuality is just another lifestyle. The last thing Congress should do is to allow any of the American taxpayers' money to be used to promote the very behavior that is responsible for spreading this disease. What homosexuals do behind closed doors is their own business. But they have no claim--none--on the taxpayers' money. This amendment simply prevents the use of tax money to portray homosexual conduct as acceptable or permissible. The Federal Government has no business financing the promotion of homosexuality, it never should, and as long as I am a Member of the Senate, I am going to be on my feet protesting the use of moneys in that way--or the misuse of it. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I have an amendment. I send it to the desk and ask it be stated.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. No way, Jose. Provided I do not lose my right to the floor, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Nevada and to the Senator from Kentucky.

Mr. HELMS. I still have the floor.

Mr. HELMS. Proceed.

Mr. HELMS. Yes.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, the intention is to have two amendments voted on back to back as near to 6 o'clock or shortly thereafter as possible. Then we will continue with two more amendments, with no further rollcall votes this evening. Tomorrow morning, we will vote on two additional amendments, plus final passage on Ryan White. Did I state it correctly?