Barbara Mikulski

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I should really ask my colleagues, for any person who has a sense of honor and decency, please support this amendment. Let us leave the decision to the doctors and not to the Senate. Mr. President, I do not expect any more speakers. I look forward to hearing the comments of the Senator from Oklahoma, and perhaps after he has concluded we might be able to yield back our time.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am ready to yield the time as well.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I would just comment that one example I can give that is not medically necessary is where someone would want an abortion for the purpose of sex selection. So, Mr. President, having said that, I am prepared to again affirm medically necessary and yield back my time.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I rise today in support of my amendment to chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, which corrects a technical error in existing law. The error which I refer to results in some Federal law enforcement personnel who began duty during an interim period when the Federal employee retirement system was being changed being denied the benefits they deserve. From January 1, 1984, to December 31, 1986, certain Federal law enforcement personnel were hired and placed under an interim retirement system. The Civil Service Retirement System [CSRS] was not open to newly hired employees and the new retirement system, the Federal Employees Retirement System [FERS], was not yet in effect. When the Federal Employee Retirement System went into effect, this group of law enforcement personnel became covered under the FERS law enforcement provisions. However, during this transitional period, these law enforcement officers were denied law enforcement credit because they were never classified as law enforcement personnel. This amendment corrects the existing language so this group of law enforcement personnel will not be required to unfairly work up to an additional 3 years to meet eligibility requirements under the FERS law enforcement provision. Our Federal law enforcement personnel work long, hard, and dangerous duty in service of this country. It is only fair that we ensure that each and every Federal law enforcement employee receives the retirement benefits they deserve. amendment no. 2251 Mr. SHELBY offered an amendment (No. 2251) for Mr. Brown: The General Services Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration should review and reform current personnel rules and labor agreements regarding federal assistance when relocating because of a change of duty station. The Senate is concerned about reports that, under FAA and GSA rules, employees at the Denver, Colorado, ATCT and TRACON were permitted to claim personal housing relocation allowances in connection with their transfer from FAA facilities at Stapleton Field to the new Denver International Airport, even in some cases where an employee's new home was farther from the new job site than the employee's former home. The FAA should immediately investigate this misuse of public funds at Denver International Airport and reform their personnel rules to end this kind of abuse.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Does the Senator from Oklahoma wish to comment on his amendment or on why he felt it met a compelling human need?

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from New Jersey 10 minutes, and at the conclusion of his remarks, I will presume the Senator from Ohio will speak.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from California, Senator Feinstein. She is very able on this issue.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Does the Senator from Oklahoma wish to speak?

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 5 minutes to the patient Senator from Minnesota.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Did the Senator yield back his time?

Ms. MIKULSKI. We intend to use all of our time, Mr. President. I now yield, as part of that time, 5 minutes to the Senator from Rhode Island.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Not on my time.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 1 minute to the Senator from California, Senator Boxer.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I wanted to bring to the attention of the Senator from Arizona, it will be the first time today the Senator from Oklahoma or anyone on that side of the debate has agreed to answer a question.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from North Dakota.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I will yield that back, reserving the right the call it back again under the time I may control. I now turn to the ranking member of the subcommittee and yield him 5 minutes.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Before I yield to the Senator from New Jersey, I note that the Senator from Oklahoma is both the manager of his time and now he is the Presiding Officer. Is it, therefore, the Senator from Oklahoma's--and I speak to him now as a Senator from Oklahoma----

Ms. MIKULSKI. Are you temporarily in the chair so that Senator-- I did not know if you were going to be there for a whole hour.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield the Senator from Pennsylvania 10 minutes from our time. I believe he has 10 minutes from the Republican leader's time.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield 7 minutes to a member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray.

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, the Senate is not in order. I would like to hear the Senator from Oklahoma. We talk a lot about courtesy. If Senators will take their seats so we can hear what the Senator from Oklahoma says.

Ms. MIKULSKI. I say to the Senator from Nebraska and to the Senator from Oklahoma, should the amendment of the Senator from Oklahoma prevail, then I have two amendments that I will offer. One will deal with allowing abortions that are medically necessary and medically appropriate; leave the decision to the clinician. If that should be defeated, I will offer another amendment limiting it to medically appropriate. I will say to the Senator from Oklahoma, there are many Senators who wish to speak. And there are many Senators who voluntarily reduced their time that they spoke on the last restriction to 5 minutes. There were Senators who wanted to speak extensively. One was the Senator from Pennsylvania on the other side of the aisle who actually went to the leader time because I could not accommodate him. So at this point I cannot agree to a time agreement. If the two leaders have a different view and would like to discuss that with us, I would be happy to enter into a quorum call. But right now, I have colleagues that will want to talk about the yet one more restriction.

Ms. MIKULSKI. This is a straight up-or-down vote.

Ms. MIKULSKI. The Senator from Oklahoma then does not intend to table?

Ms. MIKULSKI

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am proud today to join with the Democratic leader in introducing the work first bill. It is the Democratic leadership's welfare reform bill. We Democrats believe that welfare should not be a way of life but a way to a better life. The people on welfare agree that it is a mess. The taxpayers who pay for welfare agree that it is a mess. All agree that the current system does not work, and all agree that it needs to be replaced. It discourages work and economic self-sufficiency. Therefore, the Democratic work first bill addresses these concerns. That is why we are absolutely firm on work. That is why the Democratic bill that we introduce today not only moves people off of welfare but helps them stay off. The Republican welfare bill simply pushes people off welfare and pushes them into poverty. The Democrats have a work first plan. It focuses on ending the cycle of poverty and the culture of poverty. How do we do it? Our bill ends AFDC and creates a temporary employment assistance program. We require job readiness assessments of each adult job placement, job search, and on-the-job work activity. We require them to sign a parent empowerment contract that requires them to take the steps they need to go to work and be responsible parents. Then we expect the individuals to go to work. But while being firm on work, we provide these individuals with the tools they need to get a job and keep a job. We also provide a safety net for children. That means quality day care for 2 years as parents go to work, the extension of health care protection, and making sure that a child has health care while their mothers are moving to work and self-sufficiency. This also means we look out for the food and nutrition programs. The Democratic bill also brings men back into the family. Sure, we are very tough on child support. We strengthen the child support rules. But we do not look at men only as a child support check. We want men back into the family. We want to remove the barriers to [[Page S 11327]] family, the barriers to marriage, because we believe the way the family is going to move out of poverty is the way people move to the middle class, with two-parent wage earners. That is why we will eliminate the man-in-the-house rule and other barriers to men being in the family. The Democratic plan also tackles the growing problem of teenage pregnancy. Under our bill, teen mothers must stay in school and stay at home as a condition of receiving benefits. If they stay in a home that is not desirable, where they are a victim of abuse, or where there is alcoholism or drug abuse, we create a network of second-chance homes. The work first plan also gives broad flexibility to States, administrative simplification and helps with those issues that Governors have complained about. Finally the Democratic welfare bill saves money and lowers the deficit. Through a series of reforms in the current system and the elimination of fraud and waste, our bill will have a net savings of $21 billion over a 7-year period. This work first bill is an act of tough love. Sure it is tough, but we have a lot of love in it. As we approach welfare reform, we ask people to take charge of their lives and go to work. In exchange for that, we give them the tools to stay at work, the opportunity for a better life, enable them to marry. And I believe that our bill brings about real reform because we do not have requirements, we have results and resources. I hope that this bill will attract bipartisan support and we can truly end welfare as we know it. Mr. President, I will yield the floor to the Senator from Louisiana.