A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to pursue and complete actions related to the implementation of a U.S. District Court Consent Decree.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 15, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a markup of S. 811, the ``American Dream Downpayment Act'', of S. 300, the ``Jackie Robinson Congressional Gold Medal bill.'' The committee will also vote on the nominations of Mr. Harvey S. Rosen, of New Jersey, and Ms. Kristin J. Forbes, of Massachusetts, to be members of the Council of Economic Advisors; Ms. Julie L. Myers, of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement; and Mr. Peter Lichtenbaum, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration.

Following the votes, the Subcommittee on Securities and Investment will meet in open session to conduct a hearing on ``The Future of the Securities Markets.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet on Wednesday, October 15, at 9:30 to conduct a business meeting to consider legislation S. 1643, S. 1066, S. 1663, and S. 1669, and the nomination of Michael O. Leavitt, to be Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The meeting will take place in SD 406, hearing room.

committee on finance

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 10 a.m., to hear testimony on ``Company Owned Life Insurance.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 2 p.m. to hold a hearing on The Middle East Road Map: Overcoming Obstacles to Peace.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

committee on indian affairs

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 10 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a Hearing on S. 550, the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2003.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a Judicial Nominations hearing on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. in the Dirksen Office Building room 226.

Agenda

Panel I: Senators.

Panel II: D. Michael Fisher to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit.

Panel III: Dale S. Fisher to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Gary L. Sharpe to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. on ``Indecent Exposure: Oversight of DOJ's Efforts to Protect Pornography's Victims,'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226.

Witness List

Panel 1: Mr. John Malcolm, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, Washington D.C., Mr. J. Robert Flores, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice, Washington D.C.; Mr. Lawrence E. Maxwell, Inspector in Charge, Fraud and Dangerous Mail Investigations, United States Postal Inspectors, Washington D.C.; Honorable Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. Attorney

for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA.

Panel 2: Mr. Bruce A. Taylor, President and Chief Counsel, National Law Center for Children and Families, Fairfax, VA; Mr. Victor Cline, Emeritus Professor, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Mr. Steve Takeshita, Officer in Charge, Pornography Unit, Organized Crime and Vice Division, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles, CA.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 943, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into one or more contracts with the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the storage of water in the Kendrick project; S. 1027 and H.R. 2040, bills to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the States of Wyoming and Nebraska; S. 1058, a bill to provide a cost-sharing requirement for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado; S. 1071, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a feasibility study on a water conservation project within the Arch Hurley Conservancy District in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes; S. 1307, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to assist in the implementation of fish passage and screening facilities at non Federal water projects, and for other purposes; S. 1308, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to pursue and complete actions related to the implementation of a U.S. District of a U.S. district court consent decree; S. 1355, a bill to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in the rehabilitation of the Wallowa Lake Dam in Oregon, and for other purposes; S. 1577, a bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming; H.R. 1284, a bill to amend the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to increase the Federal share of the costs of the San Gabriel Basin Demonstration Project; and S. Res. 183, a resolution commemorating 50 years of adjudication under the McCarran amendment of rights to the use of water.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Women's Health Office Act with my colleague, Senator Olympia Snowe. The Women's Health Office Act authorizes and strengthens women's health offices or officers at Federal health agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services. This legislation will make sure that men and women get equal benefit from Federal investments in medical research and health care services.

Today, doctors, scientists, Members of Congress, and the American public know that women and men have different bodies and different health care needs. Diseases like ovarian cancer and endometriosis affect only women. High blood pressure is two to three times more common in women than men. Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. The number of uninsured women has grown three times faster than the number of uninsured men over the past 5 years. Women make three-quarters of all health care spending decisions for themselves and their families.

For decades, despite these differences, men's health needs set the standard for our health care system and our health care research agenda. Women were systematically excluded from medical research because decisionmakers said that our hormone cycles complicated the results. One study on heart disease risk factors was conducted on 13,000 men--and not 1 woman. But the results of studies like these were applied to both men and women. This neglect put women's health and lives at risk.

That's why my colleagues and I took action. More than a decade ago, I worked with Olympia Snowe, Ted Kennedy, Tom Harkin, and other women in the House to get an Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health, NIH. In 1993, I worked with these same women and Galahads in Congress to make sure that the women's health office would stay at NIH by putting it into law.

This office at NIH has made a real difference in how women are treated for certain illnesses. We now know that men and women often have different symptoms before a heart attack. Women's symptoms are more subtle, like nausea and back pain. Knowing these systems means women can get to the hospital sooner and can be treated earlier. That's turning women's health research into life-saving information.

I am proud that there are now women's health offices or officers at nearly every Federal health agency at the Department of Health and Human Services. Like the one at NIH, women's health offices mean that women's health needs are always at the table. These offices at the Food and Drug Administration, (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration, (HRSA) make sure women are included in clinical drug trials, reach out to low-income and minority women to make sure they are getting vaccines and cancer screenings, and work with health care providers to put research on women's health into practice. Recent questions about the risks and benefits of mammography and hormone replacement therapy remind us that women's health offices are as important as ever.

Right now, many of these offices and the important work they do could be eliminated or cut back without the consent of Congress. That is why this bill is so important. This bill would put women's health offices into our Nation's law books.

The Women's Health Office Act does more than protect the status quo. It keeps us moving forward on women's health. It gives women's health offices a clear, consistent framework throughout the Department. By writing them into law, it gives women's health offices the stature they need to be strong, effective advocates for women's health within the Federal Government. This legislation coordinates women's health activities within each agency, to identify needs and set goals. The women's Health Office Act centralizes overall coordination throughout the Department of Health and Human services, to clarify lines of accountability and chart a clear course on women's health. Finally, it authorizes funding for these women's health offices or officers, to make sure that we put our Nation's priorities in the Federal checkbook as well as the Federal law books.

This bill has strong bipartisan support. During the 107th Congress, the Women's Health Office Act passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, HELP, Committee unanimously as part of a comprehensive women's health bill that would have expanded women's health research and improved women's access to health care. It also passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly during the 107th Congress. I am disappointed that Congress was not able to pass this bipartisan legislation, but I am hopeful that last year's momentum will help us get to women's Health Office Act signed into law this year.

I would like to thank Senator Olympia Snowe for leading the way on this important legislation. As Dean of the Senate women, I will continue to fight to get this bill signed into law and to make progress to improve the health of American women.

Mr. President, I rise today along with my good friend and colleague from Arkansas, Senator Lincoln, in support of the Emergency Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003 to assist those in the agriculture community who have been devastated by natural disaster across our country.

I hold in my hand a June 19th article from the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette that describes one of the countless stories of farmers across my State and the hardships they have faced due to unusually large amounts of rainfall their farms have received during the absolute worst possible time. In the past month, some areas have received in excess of twenty inches of rain. Arkansas, along with many other States across the Midwest and South, has been pelted continuously by rain and numerous tornadoes. As many as three dozen tornadoes have touched down in Arkansas alone. Bob Bevis, a farmer in Lonoke County, AR hasn't been able to work for three weeks due to soggy fields. In the meantime, wheat crops that were expected to bring record yields rot in the field, waiting for water to recede before the wheat can be harvested. Over fifty percent of Arkansas' wheat crop remains in the field, and with every passing day, the prospects for a successful harvest of wheat diminish. If current weather conditions abate, our farmers may be able to harvest five hundred fifty thousand acres, the lowest total in over seventeen years.

The harvest of winter wheat has been greatly affected by weather. But winter wheat, generating $112.1 million in sales last year, represents only the fourth largest field crop in Arkansas. Rice, soybeans, and cotton represent our top three field crops. During the time wheat is being harvested, these other crops are being planted. Thus, while wheat has been affected, soybeans, cotton, rice, and numerous other crops have been devasted just as they are being put into the ground. Fields are under water. Crops that were planted early have been wiped out. Over 1.3 million acres of farmland across Arkansas have been affected by the excessive rainfall. Many of these acres had to be replanted, and just as quickly as our farmers began to have hopes of a decent crop, those hopes were dashed by disasters beyond their control. As you and many of our colleagues know, this is the critical time for planting crops. The later crops get in the ground, the later they will be harvested. The later they are harvested, the greater the chance insect problems, weed problems, and a whole host of other problems will damage these crops become likely. Yields will be dangerously low. Our farmers cannot suffer this burden alone. Our farmers provide our citizens around the country with an abundant food supply, greater than any other country in the world. We have the safest, least expensive food in the world, because farm families who are suffering through excessively tough times now work from dawn to dusk in the fields to make sure that we do. As a country, and as a government, I hope that my colleagues will show these dedicated Americans the support they deserve. They need our help, and they have asked for our help. I consider this a matter of national and homeland security, and I hope that my colleagues will see it this way as well.

This bill will provide farmers in disaster areas designated by the President who experience a thirty-five percent yield loss with disaster assistance. I would like to thank my colleague from my home state for her hard work and collaboration on this bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure our farmers get the support and help they need to keep America's food supply safe, inexpensive, and the best in the world.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m. in Room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 943, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into one or more contracts with the city of Cheyenne, WY, for the storage of water in the Kendrick Project; S. 1027 and H.R. 2040, bills to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the States of Wyoming and Nebraska; S. 1058, a bill to provide a cost-sharing requirement for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado; S. 1071, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a feasibility study on a water conservation project within the Arch Hurley Conservancy District in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes; S. 1307, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to assist in the implementation of fish passage and screening facilities at non-Federal water projects, and for other purposes; S. 1308, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to pursue and complete actions related to the implementation of a U.S. District of a U.S. District Court consent Decree; S. 1355, a bill to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in the rehabilitation of the Wallowa Lake Dam in Oregon, and for other purposes; S. 1577, a bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming; H.R. 1284, a bill to amend the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to increase the Federal share of the costs of the San Gabriel Basin demonstration project; and S. Res. 183, a resolution commemorating 50 years of adjudication under the McCarran Amendment of rights to the use of water. Contact: Shelly Randel 202-224-7933, Kellie Donnely, 202-224- 9360, Erik Webb 202-224-4756 or Meghan Beal at 202-224-7556.

Because of the limited time available for the hearings, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send two copies of their testimony to the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510- 6150.

committee on indian affairs

Mr. President, I am introducing legislation today with Senators Hatch, Baucus, Conrad, Breaux, Snowe, Lincoln and Smith that will provide thousands of our Nations' automobile dealerships with needed additional flexibility to re-invest franchise termination payments so that taxes are not unfairly imposed. This legislation has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate and was included in the Chairman's modified mark in last year's small business tax bill.

At the end of 2000, GM notified their 2,801 Oldsmobile dealers that they were phasing out the 100 year-old Oldsmobile brand and its complete line-up of vehicles shortly after the dealers had signed a new agreement with a commitment of up to five years on this

product line. With this surprising elimination of the Oldsmobile product line, many family-owned dealerships are facing an increased threat to the viability of other product lines at their dealerships and, in some cases, a complete loss of their business.

GM is in the process of compensating these dealers to minimize the impact, as many of these dealers are facing a significant and previously unforeseeable financial burden, through no fault of their own, in connection with their efforts to continue in the automobile retail business. The legislation we are introducing today seeks to lessen that burden by allowing these dealerships up to two years to re- invest their GM's financial assistance payments in other dealership properties and defer payment of taxes under IRC Section 1031. Under current law, the dealerships would only have 6 months to identify and purchase a similar business or property. This time restriction would make it difficult, if not impossible, for most of these businesses to re-invest these payments because, as is the case with most franchises, there are very few businesses or investments that are similar enough to be considered ``like kind'' and hence qualify for tax deferral. The failure to do so results in the owner paying taxes on the payment, even if they are ultimately re-invested in a business that would have qualified. Since the dealers did not want to forfeit their rights to sell Oldsmobiles, this seems like a particularly harsh result.

In rural States like New Mexico, family-owned businesses supply the majority of jobs and services in the State. This legislation gives these small businesses an opportunity to continue their family-owned businesses and, at the same time, give a boost to the local economy. I look forward to working with my colleagues on advancing this legislation.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.