Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation be authorized to meet on Tuesday, July 24, 2001, at 2:30 p.m. on prescription drugs.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 24, 2001, for a hearing on prescription drug issues in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 2:30 p.m.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I would tell the Senator that we have been working diligently all day long to move the Transportation appropriations bill. There are a number of Members on his side who have some concerns about the underlying provisions regarding safety of Mexican trucks, and we have been unable to move forward on that issue at this time. We hope to continue to work to resolve that issue and to move this bill forward.

Mrs. MURRAY. I cannot answer that question at this time. Senator Daschle has indicated he would like a number of votes, but I don't know the answer to that. I will ask the leader.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Monday, July 23, 2001, at 1 p.m. on E-Health and Consumer Empowerment: How Consumers Can Use Technology Today and in the Future To Improve Their Heath.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services be authorized to meet on Monday, July 23, 2001, at 2 p.m. for a hearing regarding ``FEMA's Role in Managing a Bioterrorist Attack and the Impact of Public Health Concerns on Bioterrorism Preparedness.''

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent the Senate move to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for 5 minutes.

Ms. MURRAY

Ms. MURRAY. I thank the distinguished Senators from Michigan, and I will be happy to work with them in conference on this important corridor project.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I urge the adoption of the amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 1039

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask the pending amendment be set aside, and I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Mr. Thomas. I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled vote for 5:55 now occur at 5:50 under the same conditions as previously ordered.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Reid amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Murray amendment be laid aside, and I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Sarbanes and Senator Mikulski and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I send another amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am pleased to present to the Senate the Transportation appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. This bill was reported unanimously by both the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation as well as the full Appropriations Committee. This bill has been carefully crafted with the regular input of Senator Shelby and his staff. The tradition of this subcommittee has always been one of bipartisanship. So long as I have the privilege of chairing this subcommittee, I intend to continue that tradition. The bill as approved by the Appropriations Committee totals $60.1 billion in total budgetary resources. That includes obligations released from the highway and airway trust funds as well as appropriations from the general fund. This funding level is higher than the level requested by the President. There are four reasons why this bill exceeds the President's request. First, the administration's budget--rather than requesting appropriated dollars for railroad safety and hazardous materials safety--asks us to impose new user fees on the transportation industry. Some opponents of this approach have called these proposals ``George W. Bush's new taxes.'' The committee bill rejects these new user fees and provides the funds necessary for these critical safety functions. Second, the bill increases funding for highways above the level requested by the President. Under the administration's budget, the President launches two new initiatives at the expense of highway construction dollars to the States. They are the New Freedom Initiative for the disabled and an investment in new truck safety inspection stations at the United States-Mexico border. The bill before you fully funds these two new initiatives. In fact, the bill adds $15 million to the level requested by the administration for border truck safety activities. However, in order to ensure that funding for these initiatives is not provided at the expense of highway construction funds in all 50 States, the bill increases funding for highways to a level that holds all States harmless. Under the committee bill, every State will receive more highway construction funding than they would receive either under the President's budget or under the levels assumed in TEA-21. Third, the bill includes a number of small but important safety initiatives that were not included in the President's budget. Within the Federal Aviation Administration, the bill includes funding to hire an additional 221 safety inspectors. Following the ValuJet crash in May 1996, the Transportation subcommittee has been increasing the inspection work force every year in order to get to the level of 3,300 inspectors. That was the minimum level identified as necessary by the panel of experts that was convened following that crash. It was also the level identified by the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, which was chaired by now-Secretary Norm Mineta. While the funds for these additional inspectors were not included in the President's budget this year, the bill as approved by the committee does provide them. In the area of highway safety, the bill includes funds that were not requested to boost seat belt use, especially among at-risk populations. The Administration has articulated a very aggressive goal to increase seat belt use. Unfortunately, when our subcommittee reviewed the budget, we found no additional resources were requested to match the rhetoric. Today, it is a tragic fact that African-American children, ages 5 to 12, face almost three times the risk of dying in a car crash than white children. The bill before us includes additional, unrequested funds to tackle that problem. The committee has also provided funding above the President's request in the area of pipeline safety. I became involved in this issue after a tragic liquid pipeline accident that claimed three young lives in Bellingham, WA. The bill before us provides funding that is $11 million more than the level provided last year. Increased funding will be available to boost staffing for the Community Right to Know Initiative and other critical safety measures. I am proud that this bill provides record funding to make pipelines safer. It is the right thing to do. Finally, the funding in the bill is higher than the administration's request due to my insistence that we address chronic staffing, training, and equipment shortfalls at the Coast Guard's search and rescue stations. The bill provides the Coast Guard's operating budget with $45 million more than the administration's request in order to address these search and rescue deficiencies and fund the mandatory pay and benefit costs for our Coast Guard service members. Before I close, I would like to turn to the issue of Mexican trucks, which is explained in detail on page 85 of the committee report. Here, our challenge has been to make sure that commerce can move between our two borders while--at the same time--ensuring the safety of all who use our highways. President Bush requested $88 million to improve the truck safety inspection capacity at the United States-Mexico border. Unfortunately, the Transportation bill as passed by the House of Representatives does not include even one penny for that request. The bill before you includes $103 million--$15 million more than the level requested by the President--for these border truck safety activities. The House bill also includes a provision that prohibits the DOT from granting any Mexican trucking firm an operating certificate to begin the cross-border trucking activity that was anticipated by NAFTA. I believe we have found a good compromise that will promote free trade and ensure safety on our roads. We crafted a provision based on the serious safety risks cited by the inspector general, the General Accounting Office, and several state law enforcement authorities. Our provision, which is in this bill, is designed to ensure that a meaningful safety monitoring and enforcement regime is in place before Mexican trucks are allowed to travel anywhere in the United States. The provision establishes several enhanced truck safety requirements that are intended to ensure that this new cross-border truck activity does not pose a safety risk. This provision was adopted unanimously by both the Transportation Subcommittee and the full Appropriations Committee. My door is always open to Secretary Mineta and the White House, and I will of course listen to their concerns. But I believe that my provision--as it currently stands--will allow our mutual goals of free trade and safe highways to proceed side by side. This provision will substantially raise the safety standards that will have to be in place before cross-border trucking can begin. I believe that this is a far better approach than the one taken by the House bill--which has now drawn a veto threat by the administration. I want to thank Senator Shelby for all his input into this bill. I also want to thank Senator Byrd and Senator Stevens for granting our subcommittee an allocation that made it possible to fund the important safety initiatives in this bill. We could not have done it without their help. I thank the Chair, I yield the floor.