Jim Jeffords

Mr. JEFFORDS

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, we are now in the closing process for the evening, and we have several matters to be considered.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. For the information of all Senators, when the Senate reconvenes on Friday, there will be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes each. The Senate may also consider any executive or legislative items that may be cleared for action. The majority leader has announced there will be no rollcall votes during Friday's session and would like to thank all Members for their cooperation this week and wishes them a restful and productive August break. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Senator Abraham has a substitute amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment, as amended, be agreed to.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time.

Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2920, the House companion bill.

Mr. JEFFORDS. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to its consideration, all after the enacting clause be stricken, and the text of S. 1360, as amended, be inserted in lieu thereof. I further ask that the bill be read a third time, and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this measure appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. JEFFORDS. I finally ask unanimous consent that S. 1360 be placed back on the calendar.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today it stand in adjournment until 10 a.m. on Friday, July 31. I further ask that when the Senate reconvene on Friday, immediately following the prayer, the routine requests through the morning hour be granted and the Senate then begin a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak up to 5 minutes each.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask for its second reading and object to my own request.

Mr. JEFFORDS. The bill will be read a second time on the next legislative day.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 872, which is at the desk.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, Senator Kyl has a substitute amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

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

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment, as amended, be agreed to.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, as amended; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 502, S. 314.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3731, which was received from the House.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, the list of things I presented is the list that the Senator from Mississippi was talking about. It doesn't do anything for you. It allows you to know and gives you a 1-day notice. You get it in the mail and you find out the next day where it is located. There is a minimum 60 days for the--there is a gross exemption, blanket exemption, of the zoning requirements. They are exempt from new standards if it is for temporary use, but there is no definition of what that is. All these things I mentioned are what we are talking about. That is why we believe very strongly that our amendment should prevail and we will work it out in conference. I yield whatever time I have. Mr. BAUCUS addressed the Chair.

Mr. JEFFORDS

Mr. JEFFORDS. Madam President, over the past few years we have become increasingly aware of the need to improve women's health. I am an original cosponsor of S. 766, the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act and am proud to support Senators Snowe and Reid today in their amendment to ensure contraception coverage for all women covered by the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program. I held a hearing on this issue in the committee on Labor and Human Resources on July 21, 1998, and am pleased to see interest in and support for this issue growing. It has been too long in coming, but I am glad to have the opportunity to be part of providing equity in health care for women. I look forward to the day when all American women will enjoy the same equity in coverage this amendment provides to women employed by the federal government. Out-of-pocket health care expenses for women are 68 percent higher than those for men, and most of the difference is due to noncovered reproductive health care. It is disturbing how rapidly some insurance plans began covering Viagra when it has taken so long for many of them to begin covering contraceptives. This bill helps achieve gender equity in health benefits, and its passage would be a victory for women across the Nation. ``EPIC'' provides that if a health insurance plan covers benefits for other FDA-approved prescription drugs or devices, it also must cover benefits for FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs or devices. Further, ``EPIC'' provides that if the plan covers benefits for other outpatient services provided by a health care professional, it also must cover outpatient contraceptive services. The bill does not require special treatment of prescription contraceptives or outpatient contraceptive services compared to other prescription drugs or outpatient care. Each year more than half of all pregnancies in the United States-- approximately 3.6 million pregnancies--are unintended, and almost half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Reducing unintended pregnancies by making effective contraception more widely available would reduce the need for abortion. For that reason, surveys suggest that most people favor increasing coverage of contraception by health insurance plans. The vast majority of private insurers cover prescription drugs, but many exclude coverage for prescription contraceptives. In contrast to the lack of coverage for reversible contraception, most plans do cover abortion and sterilization. The gender equity issue has been highlighted recently by the willingness of many health insurance plans to cover Viagra. A Kaiser Family Foundation national survey on insurance coverage of contraception conducted in May of this year demonstrated that 75 percent of Americans 18 years and older supported coverage of contraception, but only 49 percent supported coverage of Viagra. The Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) has estimated that the extra cost to employers who do not now cover reversible medical methods of contraception is about $16 per employee per year--or less than one percent of current health care premiums.