Jesse Helms

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to make my remarks seated at my desk.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, during my almost 30 years in the Senate, I have been honored to welcome dozens of remarkably gifted guest Chaplains. Today's guest Chaplain, Anne Graham Lotz, of Raleigh, NC, my hometown, is one of North Carolina's most distinguished citizens and one of America's most beloved evangelists who, for more than 25 years, has been taking the good news of Jesus Christ across the United States and to many foreign countries. Of course, she is the daughter of the remarkable two people, Billy and Ruth Graham. And this remarkable lady has preached the gospel to hundreds of thousands of Americans, filling up large civic arenas in countless major U.S. cities as well. Anne Graham Lotz has addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. She represented her distinguished father at Amsterdam 2000, the largest gathering of evangelists in history. Anne Graham Lotz is a leader of Just Give Me Jesus, which is making a nationwide tour to spark a spiritual revival. This past April, Anne's tour came to Raleigh where more than 26,000 people packed our city's largest arena for 2 days of singing and praying and teaching, led by-- who else?--Anne Graham Lotz. Anne is the final guest Chaplain whom Dot Helms and I will have the privilege of hosting. That is appropriate because Dot's and my family have known and loved her and her great family for a long time. The first time I heard Anne's blessed father, Billy Graham, was in 1951. At that time, I was administrative assistant to a distinguished Senator from North Carolina, the late Willis Smith. Billy preached just steps from this Chamber on the East Front of the Capitol, and I had read in the Washington Sunday morning paper that he was to be here. And I said: Mercy, I don't believe he will have anybody here. I am going over there and make sure that one North Carolinian joins him. Well, Madam President, there was standing room only from the doors of the Capitol all the way to the Supreme Court. Anne is joined today by her husband, Dr. Danny Lotz, who was a star basketball player during his years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Their two daughters, Rachel-Ruth and Morrow, are with us this morning along with their husbands, Steven Wright and Traynor Reitmeier, and Anne's granddaughter, Bell. So, Madam President, Anne Graham Lotz is herself an integral part of Billy Graham's remarkable legacy, and it is my honor to have presented her to the United States Senate this morning. I yield the floor.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, God blessed this Nation with an abundance of natural resources and places of unmatched natural beauty. I am so glad that as a Nation we have set aside portions of our land for the enjoyment of the American people and have preserved our heritage by the restoration and maintenance of dozens of historic sites around America. However over the course of my nearly thirty years in the Senate, I have seen the Federal Government fumble year after year its stewardship over the lands it holds as a fiduciary for the American People. The Federal Government has continued to add acre after acre year after year, when it has been demonstrated that it cannot maintain what it already has. This has placed an enormous burden on the National Park Service and other Federal agencies who manage and hold in trust land for the American people. The Park Service is charged with managing 385 sites which comprise 83 million acres of land drawing 300 million visitors per year. The Service is also responsible for, among other things, the care of more than 80 million museum artifacts that trace American history. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, the National Park Service estimated that its national maintenance backlog was $4.9 billion when it submitted its fiscal year 2002 budget request to the Congress. Let me say this again, $4.9 Billion. The Appropriations Committee has recognized this and recommended an increase of $97,990,000 above the fiscal year 2002 enacted level, and $500,000 above the budget request, and I'm glad the Committee included an additional $20,000,000 in to meet these needs. Included in that is a 2.9 percent increase for base operations of National Parks in North Carolina. That is encouraging but the Federal Government needs to catch up. According to the figures supplied to me by the National Park Service the total amount for ``deferred repair/rehabilitation construction for the National Park Units in North Carolina is $65,231,974. My friend from Georgia, Mr. Cleland, and my friend from Tennessee, Mr. Thompson, have offered a ``sense of the Senate'' resolution that calls upon the Federal Government to catch up on the hundreds of maintenance and repair projects in our national parks which I support. Clearly, the Federal Government is behind the eight ball on its fiduciary duty to maintain and operate the National Park System. In my State of North Carolina there are 9 sites within the State and three other parks service units that we share with other States, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park we share with Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Parkway that we share with Virginia and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that we share with the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia , Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. There are a total of 416,620.1 acres of land that the National Park Service manages for the federal government in North Carolina. The Federal Government needs the resources for proper management and catching up on the backlog of maintenance and construction projects on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Carl Sandburg Home and National Historic Site, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Moores Creek National Battlefield, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. These parks and historic sites are among the most visited in the nation and these units in North Carolina are among the most beautiful, spectacular and historically significant in the Nation. The first powered flight occurred at the site of the Wright Brothers Memorial on December 17, 1903. Next year America will gather at the Wright Brothers National Memorial to celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of flight and I am grateful to the Appropriations Committee for providing needed funding for this event. The Revolutionary War battle at the site of the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park that was fought on March 15, 1781 is where General Nathanael Greene and his army of 4,400 patriots severely crippled Lord Cornwallis's professional troops of 1,900 men. Lord Cornwallis lost a quarter of his army and almost a third of his officers. This was the largest and most hotly contested battle in the Revolutionary War's Southern Campaign and led to the American victory and British surrender at Yorktown seven months later. The beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway are unmatched. Our National Parks are like the front porch of America, they need to be swept and keep clean and well maintained at all times because it is a reflection of the America people. I do hope the Senate will pass this resolution and that the Federal Government will do a better job in the months and years ahead managing and maintaining land in the National Park Service system for our children and grandchildren.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, the anthrax attacks against the Senate and the news media this past fall demanded that we recognize how vulnerable America is to bioterroism. The murderous and cowardly perpetrators of this terrorism must be brought to justice, but we must also prepare ourselves for other attacks in the future. I am proud to have worked with Senator Biden in co-authoring the Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2002, S. 2487, and I am pleased that a bipartisan effort has led to its consideration today. This bill recognizes that bioterrorism is a transnational threat and that the defense of the U.S. homeland is not an isolated activity. Rather, our homeland defense requires a comprehensive international strategy. A recent National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the prospect of a bioterrorist attack against U.S. civilian and military personnel will continue to grow as states and terrorist groups continue to acquire biological warfare capabilities. This same report warns that emerging and reemerging infectious diseases that originate overseas threaten Americans not only here in the United States, but also our military personnel stationed overseas participating in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. On September 5, 2001, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on ``The Threat of Bioterrorism and the Spread of Infectious Diseases.'' The compelling testimony of several expert witnesses, along with the assessments of the intelligence community, prompted Senator Biden and I to undertake this important legislation with the goal of combating bioterrorism, and ultimately enhancing U.S. national security. In order to enhance U.S. efforts to combat bioterrorism, it is critical that we address the glaring gap that exists in the capabilities of developing countries to conduct pathogen surveillance and monitoring. This legislation authorizes the President a total of $150 million dollars over the next 2 years to fund pathogen surveillance and response activities through the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. Several provisions are designed to address shortfalls in public health education and training, including short-term public health training courses in epidemiology for public health professionals from eligible developing countries. The President is authorized to provide assistance for the purchase and maintenance of public health laboratory and communications equipment. In addition, the heads of appropriate Federal agencies are authorized to make available a greater number of U.S. government public health personnel U.S. missions abroad, international health organizations, and regional health networks. All of the provisions of S. 2487 are directed towards enabling developing countries to acquire basic disease surveillance and monitoring capabilities to effectively contribute to community, local, regional, and global surveillance networks. In order to ensure that the United States has all of the requisite tools at its disposal to protect U.S. civilians and military personnel against intentional or naturally occurring disease outbreaks, priority for assistance under S. 2487 will be for countries that provide early notification of disease outbreaks and pathogen surveillance data to appropriate U.S. departments and agencies. There is a critical need for transparency and information sharing of pathogen surveillance data so that the United States can utilize a comprehensive toolkit to combat bioterrorism. It is my expectation that developing countries receiving assistance under this Act will make a steadfast commitment to improving their pathogen surveillance and monitoring efforts. I am particularly proud of the provisions of S. 2487 that address the glaring need for syndrome surveillance--the recording of symptoms (patient complaints) and signs (derived from physical examination) combined with simple geographic locators--to track the emergence of a disease in a population. Provisions on syndrome surveillance address the need to narrow the existing technology gap in syndrome surveillance capabilities and real-time information dissemination to public health officials. Current disease reporting is paper-based and ineffective in transmitting important information to public health officials in developing countries where one doctor often cares for hundreds of patients. Thus, S. 2487 authorizes the President to provide assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase simple computer technology, including touch-screens and low-speed Internet connections for use by physicians in health clinics. Let me close with the astute words of Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff, Senior Scientist, Sandia National Laboratory, as stated during his testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee in a March 2002, on the threat posed by chemical and biological weapons. Dr. Zelicoff has spent a considerable amount of his distinguished career developing technology and solutions to assist the medical and public health communities identify natural and deliberate disease outbreaks. According to Dr. Zelicoff, When all is said and done, should would-be perpetrators of bioterror know that the effects of their attack would be blunted if not eliminated, they might well re-think their strategy in the first place. A multi-national cadre of clinicians and nurses, exchanging up-to-the-minute information is our single best defense, and we have the resource--now--to so equip them. All that is required is a policy shift emphasizing and strengthening this lynchpin capability. While we are supportive of the public health benefits of this Act, we should not lose sight of the intent of this legislation--to combat bioterrorism and enhance U.S. national security. I look forward to working with the Bush administration and members of Congress to secure funding for these invaluable activities directed towards global pathogen surveillance and monitoring.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I commend Senators Byrd and Stevens and the entire Appropriations Committee, as well as the leadership of Senators Warner and Miller for ensuring that American soldiers, sailors, aviators and marines will not be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). (I, unfortunately, could not be here to offer an amendment on June 6 as I was recovering from surgery to replace a valve in my heart.) With inclusion of the American Servicemembers Protection Act, ASPA, in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill we can all be proud that the Congress put these brave men and women at the top of our priority list. During Senate action on the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, Senator Warner offered a unanimous consent request to include section 2015 in ASPA as generous gesture in the face of concerns raised about the spirit of the legislation. I have been assured by Senator Warner that he did not intend to limit in any way the applicability of the bill or the binding nature of its substance. The hortatory nature of section 2015 was plain at the time it was adopted, and confirmed by the fact that, during debate shortly before ASPA was overwhelmingly approved, no Senator uttered a word--not a single word--to suggest that section 2015 made any substantive change to ASPA whatsoever. Section 2015 was not part of ASPA language negotiated with the Administration. It merely reiterates that ASPA applies only to the International Criminal Court. It does not apply to other international efforts to bring to justice foreign nationals accused of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity. Section 2015 must be read in line with ordinary canons of statutory construction. Our courts have long affirmed that in interpreting laws the specific controls the general unless otherwise provided. There are many very specific provisions in ASPA about what is permitted and what is forbidden regarding the International Criminal Court. Had the Senate wished to weaken ASPA's restrictions through section 2015--thereby weakening its protections for American servicemembers--it would have had to amend them, strike them, or not withstand them directly. However, this would have been completely inconsistent with the plain language of the legislation, and the intent of its supporters. The full text of sections 2004, 2006, and 2011, along with other provisions of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act, was adopted by the Senate by a vote of 78-21 when I offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriations for fiscal year 2002 bill on December 7, 2001. When Senator Warner offered these same provisions as an amendment to this supplemental appropriations bill, the Senate had essentially the same debate it had on December 7th of last year. No Senator suggested that section 2015, which was included by voice vote during the final minutes of debate, was intended to alter the legislation that passed the Senate previously. The final vote in favor of the ASPA amendment, 75-19, reflected complete uniformity with the December 7, 2001 legislation.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, this past week a deep sense of sadness settled in on the Helms family--and countless other families as well. Scottie Stephenson's life was finally ended at age 80 by an unyielding illness. Scottie had gone on to her reward after 80 years of loving and being loved by everybody around her. For various reasons, I had to cancel my plans to be there when the final tributes were being paid to this remarkable lady who was declared many times to be the First Lady of Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh--which, is where I began my years in broadcasting--and where I ended them when in 1972 I allowed myself to be talked into seeking election to the U.S. Senate. Mrs. Louise ``Scottie'' Stephenson never quite accepted the death of her handsome husband, Nelson W. Stephenson, whom she married in 1948 but who died in 1961. Scottie knew the end was approaching early this year. We discussed it a number of times always with the conclusion that when it happened, she would probably be the No. One Gate Keeper serving Saint Peter. As her condition worsened, I set aside a time each day to be devoted to discussions with Scottie about those years gone by when she and I were officers of Capitol Broadcasting Company. Those, she used to remark, were the ``salad days''. Then came that inevitable morning when I called and a tape responded. Scottie had mentioned that she would arrange that. Jim Goodmon, now president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Company, was in high school when he began working nights at Capitol Broadcasting. Our hometown morning paper, the News and Observer, published in its April 17 editions a comprehensive obituary outlining many of the aspects of Scottie's remarkable life. I ask unanimous consent that it and an editorial from the same paper be printed in the Record.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, on April 26, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Donald S. ``Steve'' Workman will be awarded the Soldiers Medal for his courageous actions at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Soldiers Medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Army who distinguish themselves by heroic acts that do not directly involve actual conflict with the enemy. When you hear Steve's story, I am confident that you will agree that his selfless actions indeed merit this award. As all of us vividly remember, a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001. Instead of leaving the Pentagon, Steve risked his life by reentering the building to help other survivors. He struggled through intense fires, sparking electrical wires, and pools of jet fuel and eventually came upon Navy Lieutenant Kevin Shaeffer, who had been blown to the floor--by a gigantic fireball--from his desk in the Navy Command Center. After finding Kevin, Steve guided him through flames and dense smoke to one of the infirmaries inside the Pentagon. When they reached the infirmary, Steve realized Kevin was going into shock so he immediately elevated Kevin's legs using a trash can, loosened his belt, and gave him small drops of water. After helping a nurse administer an IV and painkiller, Steve grabbed a small tank of oxygen and led Kevin outside to wait for an ambulance. Once ambulances began arriving, Steve helped place Kevin in one of them and they rode together to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. En route, the ambulance's oxygen tank ran empty so the small oxygen tank Steve took from the Pentagon infirmary was a godsend. Kevin recalls that the two men talked during the trip and he remembers giving Steve his wife's name, Bianca--also a Navy Lieutenant--and phone number. When the ambulance arrived at Walter Reed, Steve turned Kevin over to the medical personnel and helped the hospital staff contact Bianca. He then returned to the Pentagon to help anyone else needing it. Kevin later learned that he had suffered second and third-degree burns over 41 percent of his body. During his three month stay at Walter Reed, Kevin and Steve, and their families, stayed in close contact with each other and have developed a strong relationship. Kevin and Bianca have stated that they consider Steve to be a member of their family. SFC Steve Workman is a brave, courageous soldier whose actions helped save the life of a fellow servicemen. He is a true hero.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I repeat for emphasis that we have the President of Finland in our midst today. She will be here to meet the Senators as they come in to vote.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I have the honor of presenting to the Senate the distinguished President of the Republic of Finland, President Tarja Halonen. Mr. President, for the time between when Senator Stevens relinquishes the floor and the time the vote starts, I ask unanimous consent that our guests be granted the privilege of the floor during the vote so they can meet Senators.

Mr. HELMS. Absolutely.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I do not relish questioning legislation that the President and the distinguished Republican leader are seeking to move through the Senate, but I feel obliged to make sure that the Record reflects that I am genuinely opposed to the request to move to the Andean trade bill because I am committed to standing up for the men and women from North Carolina who earn their living in the textile industry. Time and again, these good citizens have been asked to sacrifice their livelihoods for the sake of textile trade liberalization. In 2001, the textile and apparel sector lost almost 141,000 domestic jobs. In North Carolina alone, more than 20,000 jobs were lost last year. The steady erosion of the manufacturing base in North Carolina is creating a genuine crisis, both for the men and women who are out of work, and the communities which depend on a healthy domestic textile industry. The so-called Andean Trade Preferences Act proposes to unilaterally allow duty-free imports of apparel products from the Andean region. This legislation will exacerbate the problems facing our communities rather than assisting our industries and workers. Mr. President, with all respect, I do not believe the Senate should proceed to the Andean trade bill, and I, therefore, feel obliged to oppose the leader's request.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I decided that the Congressional Record should use the same heading, ``Sorrow To Solace,'' on what I am about to say to the Senate as the Raleigh (N.E.) News and Observer used on its heart-rending story on March 12 about Christelle Geisler. Who is Christelle Geisler? For openers, she is a charming student at Raleigh Meredith College whose home is in Hickory, NC, in the western part of my State. But that does not tell the real story about Christelle, so let me begin at the beginning of my brief relationship with her a few days ago. James Humes was waiting for me when I arrived at my Senate office in the Dirksen Building. In the hallway were a number of other visitors. James Humes is well known and highly respected in this city. He looks like Winston Churchill, he walks like Winston Churchill, he sounds like Winston Churchill. He served a stint as speech writer for a President of the United States; he is a well-known and highly respected author, his most recent book bearing the title, ``Eisenhower and Churchill,'' with a subtitle reading, ``The Partnership That Saved The World.'' Jamie Humes and I met Christelle Geisler at the same moment. Christelle giggled quietly in appreciation of Jamie Humes' imitation of Churchill. The three of us had our picture taken together; then Jamie departed with her appealing smile and her good manners. I recall being disappointed that she could not stay longer. An hour or so later I found a portion of The News and Observer's March 12th story about Christelle. It began with the three-word heading I asked to appear at the top of these remarks in the Senate this morning. The subhead: ``A Girl Scout uses what she learned from grief to help other teens''. It is touching story about how Christelle having written a brochure designed to help other teenagers cope with grief. Catawba County, Christelle's home county, has distributed hundreds of copies of the brochure. At this point, allow me to ask to print in the Record the News and Observer story, written by Kelly Starling, to finish the heart-warming story about a young lady who has been honored by the Girl Scouts of America because she wanted to help others in their time of grief. The article follows: [From the Raleigh News and Observer, Mar. 12, 2002] Sorrow to Solace

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, is there a quorum call in progress?

Mr. HELMS. I understood there to be one. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to make my brief remarks seated at my desk.

Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Helms are printed in today's Record under ``Morning Business.'')

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, this past Monday, March 11, I was among the hundreds of Otto Reich's friends and supporters when he was sworn in by Secretary of State Colin Powell to serve as Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs. His nomination had been delayed, to a frivolous extent, by a few Senators who held a grudge against Mr. Reich because he so ably served President Reagan in the 1980s as head of the U.S. Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America. Now, on this past Monday, March 11, surrounded by his family, his two daughters held the Holy Bible on which Otto placed his hand while taking the oath of office by Secretary Powell. There followed a thunderous and prolonged applause when the oath was concluded and Secretary Powell turned over the podium to Secretary Reich. Madam President, it occurs to me that many will find Otto Reich's remarks on that occasion of special interest. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the text of those remarks be printed in the Record.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be made a cosponsor of this amendment.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, this past Friday, March 8, the Department of Veterans Affairs paid special tribute to Robert Hodges of Stonewall, NC, in a ceremony in Pamlico County where Mr. Hodges was officially recognized and honored as the Nation's oldest veteran. Family records disclose that Mr. Hodges was born June 18, 1891, confirming that he is almost 111 years old. The grandson of slaves, Robert Hodges grew up on a large farm; he began working when he was 8 or 9 years old. Mr. Hodges was 27 when he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army in 1918. As one of 237,000 African-American stevedores, he served 1 year in France. After his discharge, he returned to North Carolina and to his parents' farm. He married Malinda Boyd in 1924; eventually they saved enough money to buy their own farm. Along with their eight children, they continued to work the farm until failing eyesight caused him to retire in the 1950s, but he continued being an active member of his church, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, and his community. During his 111 years, he was aware of the first flight at Kitty Hawk and of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. There have been 20 U.S. Presidents during his lifetime. I was represented at this ceremony by Kelly Spearman, a very fine member of the Helms Senate Family. Mrs. Spearman presented Mr. Hodges an American flag which was flown over the Capitol in his honor.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, Mr. Richard Perle is currently Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute and chairman of the Defense Policy Board of the Department of Defense, and served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in the Reagan administration. He gave this testimony at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this morning on the subject of ``How do We Promote Democratization, Poverty Alleviation, and Human Rights To Build A More Secure Future?'' Mr. Perle's testimony was superb, and I commend it to all. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this statement by Richard Perle be placed in the Record.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, my amendment will clarify once and for all any question about rats, mice and birds used for medical research under the Animal Welfare Act. Approval of this amendment will make sure that none of the important work taking place in the medical research community will be delayed, made more expensive, or be otherwise compromised by regulatory shenanigans on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Specifically, this amendment will follow Congressional intent by excluding rats, mice and birds from the definition of ``animal'' under the Animal Welfare Act. This has been the established practice of USDA during the more than 30 years that the Animal Welfare Act has been the law of the land during which time scientists and researchers have developed extensive protocols based on current regulatory procedures based on that Act. So, the medical research community was astonished the U.S. Department of Agriculture, weary and browbeat into submission by numerous lawsuits and petitions by the so-called ``animal rights'' crowd, gave notice of its intent to add rats, mice, and birds under the regulatory umbrella. I hasten to add that 90 percent of the mice, rats, and birds used in animal research are already being regulated by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and the Food and Drug Administration. But that is not enough for the professional activists who delight in creating mischievous controversies like this. The problem, however, is that their mischief-making in this case has serious real-life complications for the life-saving research in laboratories all over America. The paperwork burden alone is extraordinary: If USDA is allowed to move forward with their new rules, it is estimated that the additional reporting requirements and paperwork will cost the researchers up to $280 million annually. So instead of searching for cures for breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, and diabetes, USDA will force researchers out of the laboratory to spend their time filling out countless forms for yet another federal regulator. This unnecessary paperwork will simply demonstrate what the federal government already knows: that animal researchers already treat research animals in a professional and humane manner. A rodent could do a lot worse than live out its life span in research facilities. I was surprised to learn from the Wall Street Journal that more than 10 times as many rodents are raised and sold as food for reptiles than are used by the medical research community. But nobody raises a point about that. I wonder if anyone in the Chamber has ever seen a hungry python eat a mouse. If you have, then you know it is not a pretty picture for the mouse. Isn't it far better for the mouse to be fed and watered in a clean laboratory than to end up as a tiny bulge being digested inside an enormous snake? I suspect Mrs. Helms would have a word or two for me if I forgot to phone the exterminator upon finding evidence that a mouse has taken up residence in our basement. Alas, extermination remains the fate every year of hundreds of thousands of rodents that have not found the relative safety of a research laboratory. It is anything but a joking matter when regulatory heavy-handedness prevents researchers who are working diligently to find cures for deadly diseases. Consider the following recent medical discoveries in which humane animal research has played a role: Breast cancer researchers learned recently that laboratory rats that are fed high-fiber diets develop significantly fewer breast tumors than rats receiving little or no fiber. Asthma researchers recently used transgenic mice to isolate a specific gene that plays a key role in causing human asthma, and have now developed an animal model to test new asthma treatments. Scientists are aggressively studying rats to learn more about recovery of motor skills after spinal cord injuries, and are already reporting advances in knowledge about the relationship between motor functions and the nerve cells that send signals to motor neurons. There are dozens of other such examples of the medical advances made as a result of animal research, and I feel a sense of outrage, personally, that a Federal agency would now try to make it more difficult to accomplish this important work that will benefit humanity. So, Mr. President, I hope the Senate will resist the extremism of activists and deliver a richly deserved rebuke to the methods of these people who are protesting so mightily. It is time to definitively settle this matter, to end the debate, and to approve the pending amendment, thereby allowing scientists to return to the laboratory without the specter of burdensome new Federal regulations to hamstring their research. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, thank you very much. I understand that the request for the yeas and nays will be made in my absence by the managers of the bill and others. I have been assured, I assume, we will have a rollcall vote. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that it be in order for me to make my remarks seated at my desk.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask the Senator from Nevada to restate his request. I could not hear him.