Rick Santorum

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Michael A. Napp from Milton, Pennsylvania for achieving the honored rank of Eagle Scout. Scouting is recognized around the world as one of the premiere citizenship and leadership training activities. I am proud of the young people in Pennsylvania, like Michael, who go the extra mile to achieve this honorable rank. Eagle Scouts learn valuable lessons in leadership, honor and pride in their communities. Since joining the scouts as a Tiger, Michael has served in several leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and Historian. In addition to his involvement in scouting, Michael has assisted in a cleanup day in the borough of Milton and participated in an Adopt-A-Highway program. He is also active in high school track and field and a member of the Junior National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and the Key Club. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join with me in commending Michael Napp for his outstanding community involvement. He has provided an excellent example for youth in Pennsylvania, and throughout the country.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to return the compliment to my colleague from Colorado, Senator Allard, who has been magnificent in introducing legislation, working with Senator Enzi from Wyoming, and coauthoring a letter with myself and sending a correspondence a couple of weeks ago complaining about this regulation. He mentioned a couple of the concerns. Actually, an interesting concern was brought up yesterday. If you are not aware or are you aware, Mr. Hawke, who is the head of the OCC, testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, yesterday and raised a concern. These are his regulations, but he raised some concerns, from all the feedback he had received, that he believed that these regulations were inadvertently undermining confidence in the banking system, because it violated the trust and the right of privacy between the banker and the customer. There are serious consequences to this. It is not just moving it from your bank to your savings and loan, but literally, it undermines the customer-banker relationship and that privacy relationship that is expected. I will quote Mr. Hawke: Law-abiding citizens . . . will understandably be apprehensive that their banks will report any transactions that may be the least out of the ordinary . . .'' A widespread loss of confidence in the privacy of bank accounts could lead to widespread withdrawals and ``do lasting damage to our banking system. . . .'' That is from the regulator who has proposed these. I think he has now understood. Over 140,000 people have written, with, to my understanding, 33 in favor, and the other 139,900-plus were against it. I can tell you, in my office we have received 200 to 300 letters, all against, and almost all from individuals. The few thrifts and banks that have written us did not write us to complain about the regulatory burden, but wrote us to reflect all the complaints they are getting from their customers about the invasion of privacy here. This has some serious constitutional issues, and, I think, very serious ramifications for the banking industry. I would like your comment on that.

Mr. SANTORUM. So it is your desire to try to get a vote on this, have the Senate express itself in an up-or-down fashion in the next few minutes?

Mr. SANTORUM. Will the Senator from Texas yield?

Mr. SANTORUM. As I understand procedurally what has happened, we tried to call up a bill on the floor, which I introduced with Senator Allard and Senator Enzi, and tried to get a vote to express the will of the Senate that we are against the ``Know Your Customer'' regulations. My understanding is the other side objected to bringing that bill up. So you have had to offer an amendment to the Ed-Flex bill to try to get the Senate on record in opposition, because there will be some decision--the end of the comment period will be, I think, on Monday; is that correct?

Mr. SANTORUM. They are going to do a profile on every individual's transactions within their bank?

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, the month of February has been designated as African-American History Month, however, African-American history is American history. The contributions of African-Americans to America encompass almost every area of American life. African-Americans are recorded in America as early as 1619, one year before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. The oldest established African-American family are descendants of William Tucker, born in Jamestown, Virginia in 1624. Unfortunately for many of our youth, African-American role models are limited to those known for their achievements in the world of sports and entertainment. Although their accomplishments in this field are substantial and important, few of our youth know, for instance, about the many African-Americans who, throughout history, displayed tremendous courage and honor in times of war. Cripus Attuk, an African- American, was killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770, becoming the first casualty of the American Revolution. Most of the 5,000 blacks that fought in the Revolutionary War were slaves that fought in place of their owners. After the war had been won, they were immediately put back to work on their plantations, still slaves. More than 200,000 African-Americans served in the Civil War. After the Civil War, many of these trained soldiers were sent west and were reorganized as the 9th & 10th Cavalries, where they were called the ``Buffalo Soldier'' by the Indians they were fighting. The Tuskeegee Airmen of World War II, an air squadron, had the most impressive war record in their theater of action, never losing a bomber they were assigned to escort. Against almost insurmountable odds and racial discrimination, African-Americans have faithfully served America. Significant in another aspect of America's history are the African- Americans whose endeavors helped fuel the industrial revolution, contributing to the economic prosperity and standard of life all Americans enjoy today. George Washington Carver discovered over 500 products with the peanut, the sweet potato, and corn. Many important inventions were made by African-Americans with thousands of patents made that have benefitted not only America, but the world. Jan Matzeliger invented the first shoe making machine. Elijah McCoy had forty-two patents, most for lubricating different types of steam engines and machines, as well as the first graphite lubricating device. Garrett A. Morgan invented the three-way traffic light which he sold to General Electric. Frederick McKinley Jones invented a workable way to refrigerate trucks and railroad cars, as well as manufactured movie sound equipment. George R. Curruthers invented image converters for detecting electromagnetic radiation. He was also one of the two people responsible for the development of the lunar service ultraviolet camera/specter graph. Dr. Charles R. Drew is credited with the discovery of blood plasma which supplants blood in transfusions, as was the first person to set up and establish blood banks. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams is the first doctor to successfully perform open heart surgery. Some of the people mentioned played an important role in America's past wars. Many African-Americans I encounter today, however, are the unsung heroes of a different kind of war. They battle for the hearts and minds of our inner city youth. For example in Philadelphia, The Reverend Herb Lusk, and ``People for People,'' are providing welfare to work training, after school tutoring for grade school children, as well as GED and computer training for the poor and disadvantaged. The Reverend Dr. Ben Smith's Deliverance Church, which owns and operates a shopping mall and sixty-five outreach ministries, has long served the greater community. C. Delores Tucker currently organizes the largest Martin Luther King Center for Non-violence in the nation. One of the many things she does for the community is to arrange for many to gather and celebrate our great Civil Rights leader on his birthday at an annual luncheon. It is fitting that all Americans salute the invaluable services and contributions of African-Americans and the role that they have played and continue to play in American History.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the Women's Resource Center of Lackawanna and Susquehanna Counties in Pennsylvania for providing more than 20 years of shelter and counseling to adults and children who have been victims of violence at the hands of family members, partners or someone else they know. The Center will display a memorial exhibit, ``An Empty Place at the Table,'' in the Rotunda of the Senate Russell Building on February 24 and 25 to ensure that the brutal deaths of women and children are not forgotten. In the United States a woman is beaten by her partner or former partner every 12 seconds, and, according to the FBI, 26 percent of all female murder victims are killed by their husbands or boyfriends. The Women's Resource Center, established in 1977, has demonstrated a commitment to their community by providing more than 18,000 hours of crisis services. These services include a 24 hour hotline, an emergency shelter, crisis counseling and advocacy to more than 2,000 adults and children each year, as well as numerous hours of educational programming with the legal system, schools, businesses, professionals and faith communities on the dynamics of abuse and assault. The Center provides their services under the strictest confidentiality and free of charge and discrimination. Mr. President, the Center's memorial exhibit reveals how violence undeniably leaves an empty place at the table. I ask my colleagues to join with me in commending the Women's Resource Center for its leadership and commitment to restoring the fundamental right to live free from fear in our own homes.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Paul Phillips for his eight years of service representing Upper Providence Township on the Spring-Ford Area School Board in Collegeville, PA. Dr. Phillips has been active in educational activities for more than 50 years. His extensive experience includes serving as former superintendent in the Morrisville School District in Bucks County and former principal in the Haverford and Lower Merion school districts. Recently, he has served as a president of the Spring-Ford school board and as School Director. While School Director, Dr. Phillips' goal was to raise Spring-Ford High School SAT scores by 100 points. Not only did Dr. Phillips attain that goal, he exceeded it. During his tenure, Dr. Phillips also saw the construction of two elementary schools and a high school, as well as renovations to the middle school. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join with me in commending Dr. Phillips for his outstanding service on the Spring-Ford School Board, as well as his years of active involvement in educational activities in Pennsylvania.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, on January 29, the World War II Historical Preservation Federation will dedicate a monument to Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. This monument will honor 600,000 Americans who, in World War II, fought three German armies in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg and won the largest land battle ever fought by the U.S. Army. Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge is an educational veterans organization made up of veterans who fought in the battle as well as their families and history buffs. The organization was founded to perpetuate the memory of the sacrifices involved during the battle, to preserve historical data and sites relating to the battle, to foster international peace and good will and to promote friendship among the battle's survivors and descendants. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join with me in saluting the veterans who fought through the fog, snow, rain and ice in the bitter cold winter of 1944-1945, in what Sir Winston Churchill deemed an ``ever-famous American victory.''

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the Pennsylvania Association of Student Assistance Professionals (PASAP), who will be holding their ninth annual conference in Pittsburgh from March 14-16. The PASAP is a state-wide organization comprised of school officials, teachers, treatment center and medical personnel, psychologists and other professionals who address the influence of alcohol, drugs and mental health issues on students in the 501 Pennsylvania school districts. The theme of this year's conference, ``Help is Just Down the Hall-- Building Resilience, Building Partners, Building America's Future,'' will focus on parental involvement, crisis response in a school setting and other issues focusing on the at-risk student population. According to state statistics, more than 61,000 students were directly helped during the last school year as a result of the Student Assistance program process. The PASAP provide a state forum for sharing resources, common needs, experience and outcomes and promote the development of joint school and community programs for youth. The PASAP also provide leadership and training on national, regional, state and local levels as well as advocate for increased local, state and federal support for student assistance programs, treatment services and related personnel in the public and private sector. Mr. President, the PASAP has altered the course of many lives among Pennsylvania's youth. I ask my colleagues to join with me in commending the PASAP for their committed efforts to the well-being of the youth in Pennsylvania and the future of our country.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. I thank the Senator from Virginia and would be happy to engage in a colloquy. The conferees noted the Navy's progress with the Advanced Technology Avionics Subsystems project as exemplified by its recent demonstration using Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) technologies for avionics applications. The conferees were aware of the difficulties associated with using and integrating commercial technologies and recognized the merit of the project which is designed to develop viable solutions for transitioning affordable technologies.

Mr. SANTORUM. Yes, for the reasons that the Senator from Virginia gave, I recommend that the Department of the Navy consider reprogramming funds to provide for the current year's shortfall for the Advanced Technology Avionics Subsystems project and to fund the project at its prior years' level.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the Schuylkill Training & Technology Center on celebrating its 30th year of graduates in their Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Program. In June, the program marked 30 years of graduations with its 62nd daytime class and ninth part-time evening class commencement. Since its start, the program's class size has increased from 33 graduates in 1968 to 55 graduates this year. To mark the 30th anniversary of the program the Schuylkill Training & Technology Center will hold a celebration of the program and the success of its graduates on October 18. Over the past 30 years, acceptance of LPNs by other health-care professionals has increased dramatically. Today students are enrolling in the LPN Program because of multiple job opportunities, and I am proud to say that a large percentage of all graduates find job opportunities in Pennsylvania. Mr. President, I commend the Schuylkill Training & Technology Center for its excellence in job training, and I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating them on their 30th year of graduates.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, this year marks the 225th anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. Today I rise to congratulate the church on their many years of faithful service. The First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh has a long and esteemed history of reaching out and ministering to those in need. Over the years, the congregation has faithfully given themselves to advance the good of the city. Their impact is evident in the many lives they have so graciously touched along the way. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join with me in extending the Senate's best wishes to the people of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh and commending them on their 225 years of dedicated service to the city of Pittsburgh. With God's help, their legacy will carry on for another 225 years.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, Communities across our nation are being plagued by the numerous problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse, and this disease is playing an increasing role in the lives of our children. I rise today to commend Somerset County in Pennsylvania for its efforts to raise awareness and show our children that by choosing a drug-free lifestyle, they can reach their full potential. The Somerset County Red Ribbon Committee is sponsoring its annual Red Ribbon Campaign, which offers citizens throughout Pennsylvania the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to a drug-free lifestyle. The Committee has designated October 23-31 Red Ribbon Week. Businesses, schools, churches and community organizations across the state will play an active role by participating in drug education and prevention activities throughout the week. Our children are the future of our country. By joining together to fight the war on drugs we are investing in that future. I commend Somerset County for their efforts in confronting this difficult challenge. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join Pennsylvania in recognizing Red Ribbon Week so that all of our children's futures may be promising, healthy and drug-free.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the fine work of Guide Dogs and Working Dogs who, through demonstrated intelligence and dependability, have made life so much easier for their owners. Today Guide Dogs and Working Dogs assist not only individuals suffering vision loss, but also those suffering hearing loss and those with orthopedic problems. The intense training program that Guide Dogs and Working Dogs endure enables them to assist their owners with courtesy and confidence. These well-trained dogs have not only won the respect of their owners but the public as well. They have allowed countless individuals to enjoy freedom and independence and lead richer lives. I would like to mention that the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Legislature have also recognized these exceptional animals. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join with me in paying tribute to these remarkable dogs who have afforded their owners a better life in their community.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I yield myself the remainder of the time.

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Arizona for his terrific statement. I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that the time be taken off the other side.

Mr. SANTORUM. I thank the Senator from New Hampshire and thank him for his tremendous leadership on this issue. I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from Indiana, who is leaving this Chamber after many years of distinguished service. He has been the champion here for life, Senator Coats from Indiana.

Mr. SANTORUM. I thank the Senator from Indiana.

Mr. SANTORUM. Let me respond directly to the Senator from California. Let me quote from the 39,000 OB/GYNs letter that was sent up here. It says that the policy committee of this select panel--``could identify no circumstances under which this procedure would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the mother.'' They went on to say that, ``However, it may [I underline may] be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of the mother.'' However, after more than a year, ACOG has given no specific example of any circumstance under which a partial-birth abortion would be the most appropriate procedure in any circumstance. The silence from that organization is deafening. And the reason they cannot give a circumstance is because there is no circumstance. There is no circumstance where this is the best procedure. There is no circumstance where this is needed to be performed for the health of the mother. This is the last, which I thought was the last, of a series of misinformation that has been spewed out here on the Senate floor and across the country on the issue of partial-birth abortion. I will chronologically go through the lies that have been told by all of the abortion rights organizations, to stop the passage of this bill. The first lie, when Bob Smith and Charles Canady introduced the bill they maintained in a letter, the National Abortion Federation did, that illustrations of this procedure are ``highly imaginative and artistically designed, but with little relationship to the truth or to medicine.'' They denied it existed, denied it was ever done. What was the truth? Three years prior to this statement, Dr. Haskell, who performs this procedure, appeared before the National Abortion Federation meeting and described the procedure shown in the drawings that Bob Smith used here on the floor of the Senate, and talked about partial-birth abortion to this very group. Lie No. 1. Lie No. 2, they said that this was a procedure where the fetus would feel no pain because of the anesthesia. I will combine No. 2 and No. 3. Lie No. 3, they went on to say the ``anesthesia ensures fetal death.'' Planned Parenthood, in a factsheet of October 1995 says, ``The fetus dies after overdose of anesthesia given to the mother intravenously.'' That is just absurd. Dr. Martin Haskell, again, who is one of the great users of this procedure, in the American Medical News: Let's talk about whether or not the fetus is dead beforehand. . . . Dr. Haskell. No, it's not. It really is not. In fact, a group of anesthesiologists came up to the Senate and pleaded to testify to debunk this myth that somehow anesthesia kills, or somehow could anesthetize the baby in the womb, because women were refusing to get anesthesia for fear that they would harm their baby. Lie No. 4, this was a great one: Partial-birth abortion is ``rare.'' Testimony after testimony, a letter signed by the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood, National Organization of Women, Zero Population Growth, Population Action, National Abortion Federation and a myriad of organizations said there are fewer than 500 cases in America. None of the reporters here or across America challenged them on it, except one little reporter in Bergen County, New Jersey, who called an abortion clinic and they found out at that clinic 1,500 were done, in that clinical alone. Another lie debunked. Lie No. 5, another doozy of a lie. This lie said that partial-birth abortion is used only to save the woman's life or health or when the fetus is deformed. Ron Fitzsimmons on ABC Nightline: ``The procedure was used only on women whose lives were in danger or whose fetuses were damaged.'' Ron Fitzsimmons, fast forward, 2 years later, ``What the abortion rights supporters failed to acknowledge is that the vast majority of these abortions are performed in the 20-plus week range on healthy fetuses and healthy mothers. The abortion rights folks know it, the anti- abortion folks know it, and so, probably, does everyone else.'' Another great lie but, by the way, that lie continues to be perpetrated here on the Senate floor, that this procedure is necessary for the health of the mother. Let's move on to the last great lie, No. 6, partial-birth abortion protects the health of women. Let me tell you what the American Medical Association said when they endorsed this legislation. They say: ``Thank you for the opportunity to work with you towards restricting a procedure that we all agree is not good medicine.'' There is no reason--there is no reason, this goes on to say in another publication, ``There is no health reason for this procedure. In fact, there is ample testimony to show that all of the health consequences are more severe for this procedure than any other procedure used.'' If you are really concerned about the health of the mother, then look at all of the information that has been put out there by a variety of different organizations that says that this procedure is dangerous. It would never be used to protect the life of the mother. It is a 3-day procedure. If a mother presents herself in an emergency situation, you don't wait 3 days to evacuate the uterus. You do the procedure immediately. This is not. Just think, common sense, we are delivering a baby. It is almost born. It is this far away from being born. Why is it healthier for the mother to insert a pair of scissors into the baby's skull, fracturing and shattering that skull inside the mother, causing potential harm to that mother by doing so? It is a blind procedure. Why don't you just let the baby live? The baby is almost outside the mother. Let the baby live. There can be no rationale, can be no rationale for destroying this little baby by executing this little baby at that point in time, when it is almost born. Let me show you a couple of pictures, because the Senator from California has shown many pictures here on the floor of the Senate of women who have had partial-birth abortions as the reason this procedure needs to be kept legal. Let me show you the picture of a young man who is here in Washington today, Tony Melendez, who is a Thalidomide baby. People like Tony Melendez, came here to the House and the Senate to testify. It was said we need to keep partial-birth abortion legal because of people like Tony Melendez, who don't have arms or don't have legs or may be blind, those people should be aborted--those people who are not worthy to live. That is why we need to keep this, because of those poor deformed babies. Yes, Tony Melendez was disabled in the sense that he had no arms, but Tony Melendez has been an inspiration to millions across the world in his ability to sing and play the guitar, yes, with his feet, as he did for us this morning downstairs in the Capitol. The Senator from California will have women standing out there in the hall. Tony will also be there as a stark reminder that this bill is aimed at people like him, people who just are not perfect enough for us to deserve to be born. I find it absolutely incredible that last year when we debated this bill, right before this bill came up, we had a vote on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Passionate people on the other side of the aisle, whom I respect greatly for their defense of the disabled, got up and talked about how it was so important to give these people meaningful lives. They gave impassioned speeches, and yet, in the very next vote, they said that while they want to give them the right to education, they don't want to give them the right to live in the first place. The Bible says, ``A house divided against itself cannot stand.'' You cannot in any way conceivably fit in that you are willing to fight for the disabled, but only after they survive birth; you won't fight for them--in fact, you point the finger at them and say that those, in particular, should not be born. The Democratic Party, over the last 100 years, has had a wonderful, wonderful reputation for fighting for those who are the least among us, for civil rights, for rights for women, rights for minorities, rights for the disabled. They have continued to try to open the American family, and I salute them for that. But they do a great disservice to that legacy when they turn their backs on people like Tony Melendez and Donna Joy Watts. One of the cases that is cited often by the President is cases of children with hydrocephaly. Donna Joy Watts had hydrocephaly with no chance to live. Her mother had to go to three hospitals just to get Donna Joy delivered. They wouldn't deliver her. They would abort her, everyone would abort her, but they wouldn't deliver her. And Donna Joy is here today at 6 years of age. She just earned her white belt in karate. Mr. President, I have been asked many times what pulled me to the Senate floor to debate this issue, because I had never spoken a word in the House or Senate about the issue of abortion, and I have given a lot of answers as to why I joined Bob Smith in this fight. I finally realized after the birth of my son and the death of my son, Gabriel; it finally came to me what pulled me to the Senate floor. What pulled me here was something that my son revealed to me in his short life--that we draw lines that don't exist in our society with respect to life. He revealed to me, in the love that I had for him, that what pulled me to the Senate floor was the love that I have for little children like Donna Joy and Tony and so many others. I ask my colleagues today if they will open their hearts and love them, too. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I yield 3 minutes from our time to the champion and initial author of this bill in the Senate, Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire.

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I ask unanimous consent that the time run off the time of the opposition.

Mr. SANTORUM

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, but also to express disappointment with the manner in which it is being considered by the Senate. While I support the reauthorization of the federal nutrition and feeding programs, I had hoped for the opportunity to offer an amendment to the bill. The amendment I had hoped to offer would enable the United States Department of Agriculture to purchase lower-priced, non-quota peanuts for use in school feeding programs. Adoption of this amendment would make school feeding programs more cost effective and free up funds to buy additional peanuts and other foods for both the school lunch program and other federal food assistance programs. The amendment would save $14 million for the federal nutrition programs, money that could be put to use feeding more children and families. I want to offer an explanation for why the amendment will not be considered and also to express my appreciation to those who were prepared to support it. Several Senators were ready to debate the merits of the amendment, and I appreciate their support. Other supporters include nutrition advocacy groups who have worked very hard on behalf of the amendment. After our return from the August break, the Senate tried to clear this bill for action. Several Senators executed holds on the bill as a result of the amendment I intended to offer. Given the inability to remove those holds and given the few days that remain in the legislative calendar, I asked my Agriculture Committee Chairman, Senator Lugar, to proceed with the bill so that he may get it to conference and hopefully enacted before adjournment in October. For the benefit of my colleagues who know my longstanding opposition to the peanut program, let me make clear that my amendment would have done nothing to improve the price of peanuts for manufacturers of peanut products. Instead, it simply aimed to improve the operation of the school nutrition programs. Generally speaking, peanuts cannot be grown and sold for human consumption in the United States unless the grower has a quota. This quota is really a license, and it enables growers to obtain a premium price for their production. Non-quota peanuts grown in America are no different than their quota cousins, except for the price. Non-quota peanuts that are grown in the U.S. for the export market have an approximate price of $350 per ton, whereas quota peanuts run as much as $650 per ton. My amendment would simply allow the United States government to buy non-quota peanuts at the same price that we sell American peanuts to foreign countries. This step is not without precedent. In fact, the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, which Congress authorized in 1996, has a similar provision to allow schools to be exempt from paying the artificially higher milk prices that are the result of the dairy compact. Additionally, Congress has weighed this step in the past. The House Committee on Appropriations twice called attention to this problem in FY 1994 and FY 1995 Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee Reports. The Subcommittee found that USDA would save approximately $14.4 million in peanut and peanut product purchases for the food assistance program if USDA purchased non-quota peanuts. In these two committee reports for the FY 1994 and FY 1995 Agriculture Appropriations' bills, the Committee directed the USDA to prepare and submit legislation to the appropriations committees of Congress to amend the peanut program. That legislation would require USDA to purchase non-quota peanuts at world prices for use in domestic feeding programs. To this point, I am not aware that the USDA has ever responded to the Committee's direction. Mr. President, passage of this amendment makes sense. Peanut products are an extremely popular and nutritious food for millions of people, especially children. High concentrations of important minerals and valuable nutrients make this food an especially important one. If we provide a means for the federal government to buy peanuts for American school children for the same price that we sell American peanuts to consumers in other countries, we can save millions of dollars and enable the government to purchase nutritious food to help additional people. Moreover, we can improve the school nutrition programs with a minimal cost to growers. Despite the suggestion of doom and gloom from the defenders of the peanut program, the amount of quota peanuts purchased for government food assistance programs is less than 2 percent of the national peanut quota production. Thus, this amendment would have a negligible effect on peanut quota holders--many of whom, I hasten to add, do not grow peanuts themselves. Mr. President, federal feeding programs are very price sensitive. In times of high prices for specific commodities, it is not uncommon for USDA to seek substitutes for even the most popular food items. in the early 1990s, for example, USDA temporarily suspended feeding program purchases of peanut butter because peanut prices had risen sharply. If the primary goal of the National School Lunch Program and food assistance programs is to alleviate this nation's malnutrition and hunger, it is wrong for the federal government to waste limited financial resources on buying quota peanuts to further support a small special interest group of peanut quota holders who are already subsidized by the American consumer. Again, Mr. President, I support passage of the child nutrition reauthorization, but am disappointed in not being able to offer my amendment. I thank those that have worked so hard on its behalf. While the opportunity is not available today to offer the amendment, I have every intention of offering this proposal to relevant legislation in the future.