A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the transition of Iraq to a constitutionally elected government.

Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues Senators Hutchison and Landrieu to submit a resolution to convey the deepest sympathy of the Senate to the families of the young women who have been tragically murdered in Ciudad Juarez and throughout the State of Chihuahua, and urge the governments of Mexico and the United States to work together to address this issue. This is an issue that has not only affected the people of Mexico, but has long troubled the communities in my home State and across the entire Southwest region. A similar resolution, H. Res. 466, has been introduced by Representative Hilda Solis and enjoys the bipartisan support of 125 cosponsors.

In 1993, the bodies of women began appearing in the deserts outside the city of Juarez, Mexico, marking the beginning of a horrendous epidemic that has plagued the United States-Mexico border region for more then 10 years. Since then, more than 370 women have

been killed. Many of the young women were abducted in broad daylight in well-populated areas, held captive for several days and subjected to physical violence, humiliation, and sexual torture, before having their mutilated bodies discovered days, or sometimes years, later in deserted areas.

Unfortunately, these murders have continued into this year. Most recently, on May 28, 14-year old Luisa Rocio Chavez Chavez was found murdered in the city of Chihuahua after disappearing the previous morning on her way home from the store. She had been raped and strangled to death, and her body was found partially clothed. And before that, on April 26, a 33-year old factory worker, Teresa Torbellin, was found after being beaten to death and dragged through bushes and desert, eventually being dumped in a deserted area outside the city. Like these deaths, nearly all of the cases remain unsolved. In fact, many of the bodies of victims have yet to be positively identified. One can only imagine how much pain and suffering this has caused the families and friends of these young women. I want to make sure that these deaths are never forgotten, and that the governments on both sides of the border continue to give this issue the attention that it so rightly deserves.

National and international human rights groups, as well as Mexico's own special prosecutor, Maria Lopez Urbina, have reported that many times bodies were misidentified, evidence was contaminated or lost, key witnesses were not properly interviewed, and autopsies were inadequately performed. Some reports have even suspected local, state, and federal authorities of being involved or complicit in the women's murders.

It is my understanding that President Vicente Fox has taken steps to address this issue, by setting up the Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women, which is responsible for coordinating Federal and State efforts in preventing violence of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, and appointing a special prosecutor for punishing those responsible for the murders in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua. Although I am pleased that President Fox has taken the initiative on these fronts, I continue to believe that there needs to be a more coordinated effort on the part of the Mexican and U.S. governments. That is why I stand here today to submit this vitally important resolution.

Specifically, this resolution would condemn the abductions and murders of young women in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, express the sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy of the Senate to the families of the young women, and urge a continued multilateral effort on the part of the governments of Mexico and the United States to address this issue.

To this end, it would urge the governments of Mexico and the United States to support efforts to further develop a DNA database that would allow families to positively identify the remains of the victims, and encourage the Secretary of State to continue to facilitate U.S. participation with such a DNA database.

It would also encourage the Secretary of State to urge the Mexican government to ensure fair and proper judicial proceedings for the individuals accused of these abductions and murders, and to impose appropriate punishment for those individuals found guilty of such crimes. Additionally, it would condemn the use of torture as a means of investigation.

Lastly, this resolution would condemn all senseless acts of violence against women across the world and express the solidarity of the people of the United States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic and senseless acts.

This problem cannot be ignored. We have the chance to help end the suffering of these innocent families, and I hope that the Senate will join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate

proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 397, which was submitted earlier today by Senators Frist and Daschle.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I do want to make a very brief statement on this resolution submitted by Senator Daschle and myself expressing the sense of the Senate on the transition of Iraq to a constitutionally elected government.

This resolution does a number of things. I will mention a couple. First, it congratulates Iraq on its transition to a free and constitutionally elected government. All of this is in reference to Iraq's assumption of full sovereignty on June 30, which will occur while we are on recess, and its transition to democracy in the months ahead.

Secondly, it expresses the Senate's appreciation for the service, courage, and commitment of the Iraqi interim government to a free and a democratic Iraq. It commends all members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families for their noble and courageous service in this cause. It affirms that success in Iraq is a global priority that demands cooperation from all States and international organizations. It calls on the international community to assist Iraq in the training of police and security forces. It calls on NATO to respond positively to Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi's request of NATO to assist Iraq in the training and equipping of Iraq security forces. It urges countries that cannot provide security forces or similar resources to assist Iraq in other ways such as providing financial assistance or forgiving Iraq's debt.

The resolution thanks the U.S. coalition partners and other countries that

have joined us in Iraq for their efforts in promoting Iraq's security, stability, reconstruction, and transition to democracy.

In particular, I also thank Senator Sessions for originating the idea of this resolution and for turning it into real language for his colleagues to consider. He initially proposed such a resolution that provided certain language. At that time, he was working in a bipartisan manner with Senator Lieberman and other Members of both sides of the aisle on this bipartisan resolution. He later joined with Senators Lindsey Graham, Joe Biden, Tom Daschle, and myself--most of us have actually been in Iraq recently--to hammer out a resolution that not only celebrates the liberation of Iraq and its transition to full sovereignty but also prescribes a number of steps that should be taken in the coming months to ensure those fruits of our efforts are realized.

I thank Senator Daschle and his colleagues for their help in fine- tuning this resolution so the entire Senate can endorse it. It is a good resolution. The importance of its passage I do not think can be underscored given the fact we are about a week before Iraq's transition to full sovereignty. It sends a timely message, the right message, of thanks to our coalition partners and our support to the Iraqi interim government and the Iraqi people who are endeavoring to defeat terrorism and secure the blessings of democracy.

I will just add to the comments of my friend from Nevada that I had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister a little over 2 weeks ago when we were in Baghdad.

I know Senator Daschle and Senator Biden and Senator Graham also had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister on their recent trip. I mention that because 4 weeks ago nobody knew that he was going to be Prime Minister. In fact, he didn't know. It was not a position that he had asked for. The interim government, through this selection process, asked him to step forward, and he did just that. Uniformly, the people who met him and who have talked with him since he has assumed this position have been impressed with his courage, his determination, and his understanding of the role that is before him.

I should also add the distinguished assistant Democratic leader and I had the opportunity to meet with the President of Iraq who will be working with the Prime Minister. He, too, is very impressive in terms of his leadership and his vision, and the boldness we know is going to be required.

Mr. President, last week my colleague Senator Jay Rockefeller and I had the privilege of introducing the Advanced Directives Improvement and Education

Act of 2004, which would improve an individual's understanding of the importance of advance directives and give people the opportunity to discuss their options with their doctor.

The goals of the legislation are important. But as we make advance directives more accessible, we must also reach out to the many Americans who feel uncomfortable discussing serious illness and death and help them learn how to make their end-of-life health care plans.

Accordingly, today I am pleased to introduce a Resolution designating the second week of December 2004 to be ``Conversations Before the Crisis Week.'' During this week, there will be town hall meetings, television and radio shows, educational events, newspaper articles, legal clinics, and other activities taking place in communities across the country. This coordinated effort will bring the discussion of dying out of the shadows and into the public square. There are difficult questions to ask and the answers are neither simple nor universal. But it is essential that we discuss them and that each of us find the best answer we can for ourselves and our families.

The alternative is unacceptable: once a terminal illness or tragedy strikes, it is infinitely more difficult to sort through the complex and confusing emotional, spiritual, legal, and medical concerns. We must begin having these conversations before the crisis because it is important to plan for end-of-life care without the anger, sadness, fear, and pain that may accompany a terminal diagnosis, and because knowing what you want is the greatest gift you can give to those who love you and may have to make medical decisions for you.

It is my hope that as we talk more we will learn more; and as we learn more, we will demand more. If we demand better end-of-life care, we will get it. One example: Medicare has an excellent hospice benefit but only 25-30 percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries use this service. Even people who do use the hospice benefit stay for an average of 28 days--too short to provide maximum benefit. Since Medicare allows people who need it to have over 180 days of hospice care, this is very surprising. By supporting this resolution, and creating a ``Conversations Before the Crisis Week,'' we can generate important public attention--attention that will help explain this mystery, and attention that will be crucial to helping people end their lives in a way that is as peaceful and as meaningful as possible.

If the distinguished majority leader will yield, following the meeting with the President this morning, which I had the good fortune of being able to attend, the one message that came out of the meeting to me is that the hero today in Iraq is the Prime Minister of Iraq. He is a man of great courage who has had a number of assassination attempts on his life, even when he did not live in Iraq, because of the people who were trying to get rid of him, and I wish him well. He is a man of courage. To take on this responsibility knowing that the evil forces that are in that country are out to dispense with him says a lot about the kind of man he is.

Speaking personally of the meeting at the White House this morning, I repeat the one thing that came out of that meeting today is the forceful nature of the man who is leading that country as of next Wednesday.