J. Thurmond

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I wish to thank the able Senator from New Mexico for withdrawing the amendment. NATO Security Investment Program

Mr. THURMOND. Has the Senator proposed the amendment yet?

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, we have no objection.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise in support of this amendment to be proposed by the able Senator from Connecticut, and I ask unanimous consent that I be listed as a cosponsor.

Mr. THURMOND

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I wish to commend the able Senator from Texas for offering this amendment. I think he is doing a great service to the people, in the military establishment especially. Mr. President, I rise in support of this amendment. Legislation which would enable Medicare eligible military retirees to enroll in the military health care system is the issue about which I receive the most mail from South Carolina. Military retirees and their families become very comfortable with the military health care system during their many years of service. In many cases, these veterans first experience with health care as adults came at the hands of an Army, Navy, or Air Force physician. Their children were born in military hospitals, untold numbers of colds, bouts of flu, broken bones, and other medical maladies have been treated within the military health care system. Once these retired personnel reach age 65 and become eligible for Medicare, their status in the military system changes dramatically. Suddenly, through no fault of their own, they are no longer welcome except on a space-available basis. When these veterans of 20 or more years of dedicated, selfless service to the Nation discover that they are not welcome in the military health care system, it is a terrible shock. When servicemembers are recruited, they are told that one of the benefits of their service is health care for life. Throughout their career, when they reenlist, this benefit is reinforced by the career counselors. Whether or not these statements are true or even authorized by the military departments, they are made. Clearly, military personnel believe that health care for life is a benefit of their service. As Members of Congress, we are accustomed to reading the details of the statutes. We know that there is no statuatory basis for a promise of health care for life if someone serves a full career in the military. We also know that when every American reaches age 65, Medicare becomes the primary health care provider. All of these laws notwithstanding, recruiters, career counselors, commanders, first sergeants, and the military support associations continue to lead servicemembers to believe that they can receive medical care within the military system forever. We have a commitment to live up to the promises made by representatives of the Nation. This amendment goes a long way toward accomplishing that goal. Mr. President, I want to acknowledge the leadership, vision, and energy that Senator Dole brought to the issue of Medicare subvention. Senator Dole clearly took the lead within the Senate to make Medicare subvention a reality. If he were here today, this would be his amendment. He would be the champion leading the effort not only in the Senate but in discussions with our colleagues in the House of Representatives. I wish he could be here to share his passion for our veterans and to see the amendment move forward. I am sure he is following the issue where ever he is. I am proud to have worked with him to achieve the progress we have. I promise him and our veterans to continue the effort to get Medicare subvention fully implemented. Mr. President, let me be clear. This amendment is not the end game. I had hoped that we could pass legislation which would have directed implementation of a Medicare subvention demonstration within 90 days of enactment. Unfortunately, the details could not be worked out to the satisfaction of all parties who must agree. We will get there and this amendment moves the effort forward. I congratuate Senator Gramm again for his persistence in pushing his amendment. I thank Senator Roth, chairman of the Finance Committee, for his cooperation and commitment to work with us to achieve Medicare subvention. I am confident that, together, we will pass Medicare subvention that will permit the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fully implement this important program. Only then will we have fulfilled our commitment to our retired military personnel and their families. I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment. Mr. President, I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, we have cleared the Gramm amendment now on both sides, and we are ready to vote on it. I call for a vote.

Mr. THURMOND. I suggest we have a voice vote.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Privilege of the Floor

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a staff member of Senator Kyl, Kim Wold, be granted the privilege of the floor this afternoon.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I yield to the distinguished Senator from Rhode Island.

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

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the nomination.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise in favor of this amendment. It is very similar to WIPP legislation introduced last year in the House. That legislation was agreed to by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency and goes a long way toward breaking down the regulatory log jams that are holding up this much needed facility. The story of WIPP is a story of false starts and needless delays. The delays in opening WIPP have created a massive backlog of materials that are currently being stored at DOE sites throughout the country--often in drums and boxes--at a very high cost to the taxpayers. These wastes need to be stabilized and prepared for shipment to a permanent and safe repository. The WIPP facility provides a safe and permanent disposal option and we should move forward as rapidly as possible with its opening. Mr. President, we need this facility. We need it now. This amendment will help move this facility forward and I wholeheartedly support its passage.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, do we have a time agreement?

Mr. THURMOND. What does the Senator suggest as a time agreement?

Mr. THURMOND. Equally divided?

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, could we pause long enough to let him send the amendment to the desk?

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, the Pryor amendment concerns the complex interrelationship among the GATT Treaty, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and the Patent Code. We considered this very issue last December on the Senate floor when Senator Pryor attempted to have this matter attached to the bill to ban partial birth abortions. The Senate voted at that time to have the Judiciary Committee--that is the committee with proper jurisdiction--to consider this important issue. The Judiciary Committee held a comprehensive hearing on this matter on February 27 of this year and Senator Pryor testified at that time. Mr. President, following the hearing in the Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, the committee amended a proposal similar to Senator Pryor's amendment with a bipartisan compromise. The Judiciary Committee approved the compromise. This bill will be available for Senate floor consideration in due course. It would be most appropriate to consider Senator Pryor's amendment at that time. The Department of Defense reauthorization bill is not--and I want to repeat, is not--the proper vehicle on which to debate the Pryor amendment. Unfortunately, we are now having to debate this contentious intellectual property issue. Our second-degree amendment would reflect a bipartisan compromise agreed upon by the Judiciary Committee. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, has spoken today on the practical effect of this amendment which he drafted with others when this matter was before his committee. Mr. President, as I noted earlier, this is a very difficult and complex issue which addresses how certain transition rules contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act apply to the pioneer pharmaceutical patents which have been extended by the act. The overall approach to this issue is to find an appropriate balance to encourage research and development of breakthrough innovator drugs while making low cost generic equivalents available to the public. The Judiciary Committee approved one approach which many believe reaches the goal of encouraging research and development but also expediting their generic equivalents to the marketplace. It would be my preference to debate the Pryor amendment when the full Senate turns to consideration of the bill recently approved by the Judiciary Committee. That would seem to me to be the appropriate time to consider the Pryor amendment. Yet, here we are on the Defense bill debating the Pryor amendment in a compressed manner. We should proceed on this Defense bill, which is vital to our national security. Several Senators addressed the Chair.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, these nominations have been before us for quite a time. They all meet the requirements. They should be approved. They are needed in their respective services. I hope that we could get those up as quickly as possible and get them approved. There is one that is being objected to by a Senator. Maybe we can act on the rest of them. I would like to see all of them acted on, including that one. But maybe we can act on the rest of them so they can go about performing their duties.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. I think it is well for them to understand, we are going to take no recess until we get this bill accomplished.

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, there is no more important legislation before this Congress than to get this Defense authorization bill passed. We have been pleading with the Members to come in with their amendments. They have been delayed, delayed. Now the time has come to act. We ask everyone who has an amendment to come forward and present their amendment by Tuesday at 4 o'clock. We are going to begin acting. We would like to have the amendments all in at that time. I urge all of the Members to do that, especially those on the Republican side. Senator Nunn has spoken about the Democratic side. He and I are working together. We are working together for the good of the country with this bill. It is nonpartisan. We want to get action. We want to get results. We want to help this Nation. To do it, we ought to pass this Defense authorization bill as soon as possible. Mr. President, I also want to commend our able majority leader for all he is doing to help us get this bill passed. He was a member of this committee at one time, a very stalwart, able member. I am sure he will continue his commitment on this bill. We thank him very much. Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.

Mr. THURMOND

Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, how much time remains?