Floor Statements

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I will ask a couple of things: One, that the time for quorum calls run off of the time equally against everybody. I suggest that those people who have time come over and use it. Senator Byrd will be here at 12:30. That time is locked in for 2 hours. I think this is fair and reasonable. I will also ask the distinguished majority leader if we will be able to-- this vote is not close or controversial in any way, and nobody is trying to do anything untoward. People on both sides may not be here at whatever time the vote begins.

I ask unanimous consent that the quorum calls--when they are in effect--be charged against everyone except Senator Byrd at 12:30. After 12:30, it would be charged against him also. So the time during quorum calls I ask be charged against all speakers equally. Otherwise, we are going to wind up with more people----

It would not if it is done on a proportionate basis. Well, if the vote does not occur until 7 o'clock, I don't really care. I will withdraw that request and we will let things fall where they may.

Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President: If in fact we don't lock in a time for the vote, and Senators decide not to come and speak, we cannot have a vote until they finish their time; is that right?

Well, so there is no confusion, it is my understanding this adds up to about 3:45 this afternoon.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur no later than 4 o'clock, and that it could occur more quickly if the time is used up.

Reserving the right to object, Senator Durbin would like to speak after Senator Specter.

Mr. President, the United States of America today is the greatest military force in history. Our men and women in uniform are second to none. Nobody disputes our military superiority. And yet, military might alone will not win the war on terror.

Military might alone will not win because our enemies will never meet us face to face. Instead, they will try to hit us when we aren't looking. That is why good, solid intelligence is one of our most important weapons in the war on terror.

Our enemies caught us off guard on September 11, 2001. And even as we vowed that it must never happen again, we realized that we needed to make some fundamental changes in our intelligence agencies. The creation of the 9/11 Commission was a major step toward needed change. There was initially some political opposition to this Commission, but mainly because of the unrelenting support of the families of 9/11 victims, we created the Commission.

One of these family members is Denise Keasler of Las Vegas, who lost her daughter, Karol Keasler, in the twin towers. Karol worked on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center. After the first plane hit the north tower, she called her mother to tell her that she was OK. Then the line went dead.

Like many of the people who lost loved ones that day, Denise has dedicated herself to reforming our intelligence system. And was because of the dedication of people like her that the 9/11 Commission was created. Once the Commission was in place, its members rose above partisan politics. They unanimously passed a report that contained comprehensive recommendations to make our intelligence better and our country safer. The Senate responded to the Commission's work and on October 6 overwhelmingly passed a reform bill that enjoyed the support of the commission and the families.

This conference report also enjoys the strong support of the 9/11 Commission, and the families who lost loved ones. Most important of all, it enjoys the strong support of the American people. This bill creates a strong National Intelligence Director and a Counterterrorism Center, as well as an independent board to protect our civil liberties.

These reforms will make it harder for information to slip through the cracks of our intelligence system. They will make it easier for our intelligence officials to connect the dots and see the kind of warnings that could have prevented the tragic events of 9/11. They will make it easier to coordinate the efforts of the 15 different agencies that are responsible for providing the good intelligence we must have to win the war on terror.

Along with the Congressional reforms we achieved in October, we have improved our intelligence operations and followed the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

I appreciate the hard work of the Commission and its co-chairs Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, who endorsed this conference report. I appreciate the House leadership for allowing a vote on this bill, despite opposition from many members of the majority parry. And of course our Nation owes a debt of gratitude to Denise Keasler and all the other Americans who lost loved ones on 9/11, and who fought tirelessly for these reforms.

Denise said today that she is so glad this bill is passing, because she doesn't want a single other American to endure the kind f pain that she has suffered since her daughter was killed on 9/11. That is the goal we all share. This bill will move us closer to making our country safer.

I announce that the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Hollings), and the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin) would vote ``aye.''

Mr. President, over the last 17 days we have all watched with interest as the human yearning for freedom surged through the streets of Ukraine.

After an election marred by vast fraud and corruption, hundreds of thousands of supporters of the opposition candidate, Mr. Yushchenko, have raised their voices for democracy, legitimacy and fairness.

The Senate has condemned the widespread fraud in the November 21 runoff between Mr. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yanukovych, and called for a peaceful resolution to the political situation in Ukraine.

The rule of law must prevail. Fair and free elections are what the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian demonstrators have been demanding. I am pleased that the Senate is going to pass this resolution expressing support for a peaceful and legal outcome that represents the will of the Ukrainian people.

Mr. President, the hour is late, but let me say that I have some real mixed emotions tonight. I have had this desk for 6 years and it has been a great experience for me to serve as the assistant leader, the whip, of the Senate Democrats. I have learned so

much being on the floor regarding procedures of this very classic body. I am now going to move over one desk. As I have said on this floor previously, I will miss very much my dear friend, my brother, Tom Daschle. My ability to function here these past 6 years has been based upon my relationship with Senator Daschle.

I look forward to my new job. I look forward to working with my friend, the distinguished Republican leader. I have said publicly and privately what a good experience this will be for me. He has dedicated 12 years of his life, at least, to public service after having been a very distinguished transplant surgeon. I look forward to our relationship. I hope we can do some good things for the country. I am certainly going to try.

I know that the experience of these past 6 years has been made much more interesting as a result of the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Stevens, the President pro tempore of the Senate. He is here tonight and this legislation that just passed is an indication of his tenaciousness and the role model he sets for all of us. Six hours ago, none of us could have thought we would have accomplished this. A couple of hours ago, we wished he had not tried. But it is over with now.

I thank the staff very much for working as hard as they do and putting up with our many delays which are necessary to move things forward. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mr. President, while the distinguished Republican leader is on the floor, I wish to make a couple of statements. It is good we finished, finally, the bill on which the Presiding Officer worked so hard, the Omnibus spending bill. It will now be sent to the President. It is a few weeks overdue, but at least it is done right.

The provision dealing with the Internal Revenue Service is out of that bill. We learned how it was put in the bill. I am confident and hopeful that will not happen in the future.

I extend my appreciation to the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Representative Pelosi, for making sure there was a vote on this measure. It sends a good message to the people of America.

I also extend my congratulations to Senators Lieberman and Collins for their brilliant work on this 9/11 bill. We had a true conference on that bill. No one can dispute there was anything done in the darkness of night. The people appointed to that conference committee worked long and hard to come up with what we will vote on either tonight or tomorrow.

There have been times when, on this side, we have complained how the conferences have worked. On that bill, it worked the way it is supposed to work. Senators Lieberman and Collins have worked well together. This legislation, while imperfect, is still in keeping with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, and the American people are going to be safer as soon as this legislation is signed by the President.

I say to my distinguished colleague, the Republican leader, on our side the only two requests for speeches I have on the 9/11 bill are Senator Leahy, who wants to speak for a relatively short period of time, and Senator Byrd, who will want to speak for a fairly long period of time.

In addition, I have had requests from Senator Dorgan and Senator Graham of Florida that they want to be able to speak sometime during the day as in morning business.

Those are the only indications we have today on this side of the aisle. As I indicated, Senator Byrd may want to speak for an extended period of time. I do not know if that means an hour, 2 hours, or 3 hours, whatever it is. We will check with him and find out when he will be able to speak.

It is my understanding we could get the bill from the House sometime as early as this afternoon. If that is the case, then I hope there is a decision made by those who, in the past, have said they want a vote on this measure whether they are going to require a vote. If they do, as I indicated to the Democrats, some people have to fly a long way to get back here for a vote tomorrow. We will keep the Republican leader advised during the day as to what we have on our side.

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

Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes talking about the Senators who will not be here when the Senate starts over again this January. The first I ever heard about Senator Fritz Hollings was while watching a TV program where Senator Hollings was running for President, and he said, during a Presidential debate, when the issue of the day was whether there should be a nuclear freeze, which had been propounded by Alan Cranston, another candidate, when asked about the nuclear freeze, Senator Hollings said, ``Until a few days ago, I thought this was a new kind of dessert.'' That wit is typical of Fritz Hollings.

Mr. President, Fritz Hollings is a man who is, as far as I am concerned, the epitome of what it means to be a Senator. He is a person who looks the role and is everything that I am not--tall, handsome, with flowing white hair, and very articulate. This is a man who was one of the original southern politicians who thought it was appropriate to start talking about the evils of segregation. Fritz Hollings is tall, handsome, with a great voice, a great sense of humor; and he is somebody for whom I have the greatest respect. I will miss him so much.

He, Peatsy, and I have traveled. He is someone who has been so good to the State of South Carolina. I have been to his home. He has given me a tour of Columbia, SC, where he is a legend in his own time. He showed me the place where he was born.

I want to extend through the magic of this television to everyone within the sound of my voice the fact that Fritz Hollings is a great Senator and will go down in the history of the Senate as one of the great Senators.

I also want Fritz and Peatsy to know how much I care for them, and I appreciate very much their generosity and friendship to Landra and me over these many years.

John Breaux

John Breaux and I came to the Senate together. We served in the House together. He comes from a State that, of course, is famous for unpredictable politics, and John has done every bit of his work to make sure that tradition is upheld.

When he was running for the Senate, as only John Breaux could do, his opponent raised a question, and his opponent, who was somebody who also had served in the House of Representatives, said John Breaux can be bought. They would rush out to John Breaux and would say: Your opponent said you could be bought. How do you respond to that? John Breaux said: Well, I can be leased but I can't be bought. Who else, other than John Breaux, could get away with something like that?

He is a great person, a person of integrity, a person who came to the House of Representatives way back in 1972. He served in the Congress for 32 years. There is no one who is better at making a deal than John Breaux. I say this in the most positive way. Legislation is the art of compromise, consensus building, and John Breaux understood that to a T. We need more people such as John Breaux with the ability to reach across the aisle.

We will miss John Breaux, Mr. Problem Solver. I appreciate his and Lois's friendship over these years. I will miss him very much.

Bob Graham

Bob Graham and I came to the Senate together in 1986. He first ran for Governor 26 years ago. Since that time, and even before, he has spent hundreds of days working with regular Floridians in their jobs.

The thing we all see in Bob Graham is the little notebooks he carries and everything he does he writes down. I am sure some day after we are long gone, a historian will review those, and Bob Graham will be well known in the history books because he wrote the history of everything he has done for the last 25 or 30 years.

He was a great Governor for the Sunshine State. He has been a tremendous Senator. I served with him from the time we came here on the Environment and Public Works Committee. He has certainly been tremendous on that committee. He is a detail man. He is a person, for example, who worked on the Everglades. He was tireless, persistent, and so smart. He has become an expert on foreign affairs and foreign intelligence. He served as chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He has written a book on the subject. His knowledge and contributions in that area will be hard to replace.

I certainly will miss the Senator from Florida. It is just too bad he decided not to run for reelection.

John Edwards

I ask everyone to pull out this week's People magazine, if they have one--if not, get a copy of it--because that tells the story of John and Elizabeth Edwards. The story is directed toward Elizabeth because she has now been stricken with breast cancer, but it tells in some detail about this wonderful family.

He was the Vice Presidential candidate and is someone who has tremendous ability. I am a trial lawyer. He is a trial lawyer. He has made such a distinct impression on the country with his oratorical skills. We know why he was a great trial lawyer.

People magazine is so filled with information and inspiration. The last sentence in that People magazine article talks about Elizabeth Edwards. She knew she had breast cancer in the last week of the campaign. She did not tell anybody, but she tells in this People magazine article that was so well written that somewhere at a place she stopped, they were having a cancer survivor program, and one of them asked her: Are you a cancer survivor? She did not answer but, of course, thought to herself, as the article says: We'll see.

We will see. We certainly hope for the Edwards family, which has already had a lot of personal problems due to the death of their 16- year-old son, we really do hope--all of us, all Americans hope for Elizabeth Edwards, this wonderful woman, to recover.

I will miss John Edwards in the Senate. He only served here 6 years, but he certainly left his mark as a great Senator from the State of North Carolina. North Carolina is going to benefit, however, from the defeat of the Kerry-Edwards ticket because he is returning to North Carolina.

Don Nickles

Don Nickles and I have done some things together in the Senate that I will always remember. There are laws on the statute books of this country. One of the things we did, and people said we could not do, resulted because we were concerned about regulations and how burdensome and overbearing they can become. So we introduced legislation that basically said if the administration promulgates a regulation that we do not think helps the country, then we can overturn that regulation. That is the law.

We have overturned regulations that have been burdensome to this country. I have not always liked the result of the legislation that has been overturned, but it is my law along with Senator Nickles'. He is a great legislator.

We worked together on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch. We really did some things that have changed what goes on. We have changed things a great deal, such as how Members of the House and Senate do their franking. We changed that.

Senator Nickles and I were the first to talk about how bad the east front of the Capitol looked, and we did a number of things. We got the automobiles removed from the east front of the Capitol. This was what first got me interested in doing something about having a visitor center on the east front of the Capitol, which is now in the process of being completed.

I have so much respect for Senator Nickles. He and I have a different political philosophy, no question about that, but I think the work we have done together sets an example of how Democrats and Republicans of totally different political philosophy can work together for the betterment of this country.

Don Nickles is a good man. He is a young man. He has a great future in the private sector. I personally will miss him a lot. I care a great deal about Don Nickles and wish him the very best.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Everyone has heard me talk about Searchlight, NV, the place of my birth and where I still live. The only Senator who has ever been to my home in Searchlight is Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Ben Nighthorse Campbell one day called my wife and said: I will be in Searchlight and want to come visit you. I will be there in about 40 minutes.

I was out doing a little jog. I thought something was wrong when I came back. She said: Nighthorse is on his way.

He had a vehicle that was so big--I live a little bit off the beaten path--it could not get into my yard. We went up and met him and brought him back to my home. We had a wonderful visit.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell is, among other things, a great artist. He makes jewelry. I wanted to get my wife something very special for Christmas a couple years ago, and I went to Ben Nighthorse Campbell to see if he could do something unique. He said he was making his daughter a belt, and he would make one just like it for my wife.

He did that. It is a beautiful piece of jewelry. There are two of them in the world. My wife has hers, and if you go to the Museum of the American Indian, which is right down the way and just opened, you will see my wife's silver belt in the museum. Actually, it is not hers, it is his daughter's, but there is only one identical to my wife's. Ben Nighthorse Campbell is a great guy, a tremendous athlete.

I have great admiration for his physical prowess. I have always disagreed with his motorcycle riding but he believes he should continue doing that. He is a man who has written a book. I have read his book. It is a wonderful rags-to-riches story. He will be missed and that is an understatement.

Tom Daschle

There is no way I can, on the Senate floor in the few minutes I am going to take, convey to my colleagues and the people within the sound of my voice the feelings I have about Tom Daschle. He and I came to the Senate together 18 years ago. We served in the House of Representatives before that. The last 6 years we have worked together daily. There may be a day or two that went by without our talking but they were rare. We spoke even during the time we were on break. We have virtually been together every day. The only time we really did not spend a lot of time communicating is when he was in South Dakota and I was in Searchlight. Our BlackBerrys would not work. My BlackBerry now works in Searchlight. His still does not work in South Dakota.

Tom's legislative record is certainly there. It is apparent. He has done wonderful things for the State of South Dakota and this country. I could, but it is really unnecessary, explain what he has done for the farmers, the environment, the military, including the veterans, but what I can try in a very inadequate way is to express to him, through this manner, the things I have tried to say personally to him in the last couple of weeks, and that is express my appreciation to him for the opportunities he has given me.

Tom Daschle is a totally unselfish person. I can remember about 6 years ago when I was selected by my peers to be assistant leader I went to Senator Daschle and said: What is this job going to be? He said: Whatever you make it.

I took him at his word, and this job is what I thought the assistant leader or the whip should be. I could never have done what I have done and had the good fortune of being in the places I have been and had the freedom to do things on this Senate floor but for the support and authorization of Senator Daschle.

I do not think I have ever raised my voice to Senator Daschle. We both grew up with three brothers. We are the first to really go to school of any depth in our families. I have learned a lot from Senator Daschle.

As I have told everyone, I am not Tom Daschle and I am going to be a different kind of person in the new duties I have beginning at the first of the year.

I told Tom Daschle earlier this week that earlier this year I lost my best friend. His name was Mike O'Callaghan. He was someone who taught me in high school. He taught me how to fight in the ring and in other places. When I went to law school, he helped me. He was a disabled Korean veteran but he gave me part of his pension money to help me through tough times in school. I was allowed to take the bar before I graduated from law school. I was married and had two children, was desperate for money. I came back to Reno and there was Michael O'Callaghan. He gave me a $50 bill. That was in the fall of 1963. He gave me a $50 bill. I had never seen one before but he gave that to me. He knew I was desperate for money.

Then I held a few offices, and as a very young man I ran for Lieutenant Governor. People kind of thought I was going to win that. He moved back from California to Nevada to run for Governor because there was no Democrat to run sitting for Lieutenant Governor. They knew O'Callaghan had no chance, but he did. He became the Governor of the State of Nevada.

I am trying to paint a picture for this man and how close he was to me. He was so good to me, able to give me advice and counsel. He told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear, and I did not make a decision important in nature unless I discussed it with my friend Mike O'Callaghan.

He went to church early one morning this summer and died. It was a very

painless death. He went to church every day. He was a devoutly religious man, and somebody whom I have missed more than words can describe.

I told my friend Tom in his office a day or two ago that he was now my Mike O'Callaghan, that I have somebody I will call just as I did my friend Mike, that I will call him often. He said: That is fine. You could not call me too many times.

So Tom Daschle and I have developed a relationship that can best be described as two brothers. I have three brothers, one of whom is dead. So Tom replaces my brother Dale. I will call Tom and I will talk to him when I feel it necessary, knowing he will continue to give the advice and counsel to me that he has for the last 6 years.

There are additional things I would like to say, but I will suffice to say that for the 22 years I have known Tom Daschle, which has been culminated in the 6 years of intense personal contact where we have dealt with the problems of the country and the world in great depth, that there will never be an opportunity and an experience like that again. I am grateful to Tom and to his wonderful wife Linda for their friendship and Tom's service to our country.

Mr. President, I thank the majority leader for making this agreement and allowing the Senate to complete its work this year. I commit to the Senator from California that I will ensure the agreement that is reached today will be upheld.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), and the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Hollings), are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) would vote ``no.''

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Jeffords), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize National American Indian Heritage Month, an important celebration that acknowledges the tremendous contributions of native peoples to our Nation.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 ``National American Indian Heritage Month.'' The origins of this celebration, however, can be traced back to 1915, when the Annual Congress of the American Indian Association directed its president to call upon the Nation to observe a day honoring Native Americans. In 1916, New York became the first State to declare an official American Indian Day.

Over the years, our Nation has moved toward a greater appreciation of the role of native peoples in American cultural, social, political, and economic life. This is reflected not only in the celebrations around the country associated with National American Indian Heritage Month, but also by the opening of the Museum of the American Indian as part of the Smithsonian Institution earlier this year.

As we celebrate the rich heritage and continuing contributions of native peoples this month, it is also important to acknowledge the challenges that many native communities face today. As a member of the Indian Affairs Committee, I am all too familiar with these challenges, and I believe we must empower native communities so every member can reach his or her full potential. That means respecting the sovereignty of tribes, strengthening education, improving health care, and enhancing economic opportunities for native peoples.

I look forward to working on these issues in the 109th Congress, and I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating National American Indian Heritage Month.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Juan Gabriel as one of Mexico's leading vocalists and songwriters. He is well known internationally for his musical talent and as a leader of philanthropic causes.

Born Alberto Aguilera Valadez, Juan Gabriel is a six-time Grammy nominee, twice inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame. He has entertained sold-out audiences throughout the world, and last Sunday--November 14, 2004--he played to an energetic and enthusiastic crowd at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Juan has sold more than 30 million copies of his own albums. He is also a successful producer who has worked with artists such as Rocio Durcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltran, and Paul Anka.

Mr. Gabriel has reflected that ``My hope for a better world and my love for music are my inspiration.'' And he has lived by those words, using his fame and success to establish SEMJASE, an organization that provides living assistance and schooling for orphaned and underserved children in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Juan Gabriel for sharing his tremendous musical talents with the citizens of Las Vegas this past week, and for his passion and commitment to help the less fortunate through charitable programs such as SEMJASE.

Mr. President, I rise today for myself and Senator Ensign to introduce the Southern Nevada Limited Transition Area Act, which enhances the ability of a rapidly growing community to diversify its economy, gainfully employ its residents, and achieve fiscal sustainability.

The bill I am introducing today would convey 547 acres of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the city of Henderson, NV, for development as an employment and business center.

BLM has designated this parcel for disposal because of its urban surroundings and its isolation from other public land, which renders it difficult for the agency to manage.

The parcel is located in a rapidly growing area of the city, but is impacted by aircraft noise and overflights from the nearby Henderson Executive Airport that make it unsuitable for residential use.

But rather than cringing from these impediments, the city of Henderson sees opportunity. The city's land-use planning department envisions a business center that provides diverse employment opportunities for the region, while helping to pay for public infrastructure in nearby residential areas.

This bill establishes the conditions to make that vision come true.

The bill would convey the land to the city by patent. The city would then subdivide and sell lots at fair market value. As in previous conveyances of Federal land designated in the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act for disposal, 85 percent of the proceeds from sales would return to the BLM's Special Account for acquiring environmentally sensitive land. Five percent of the proceeds would fund the State of Nevada's general education program. And the city of Henderson could use the remaining 10 percent to cover expenses associated with subdividing the property and providing infrastructure.

Henderson, NV, is a new and rapidly growing city. Its leaders are dedicated to making the city a national model of logical development, diversified employment, and fiscal sustainability. This bill establishes the conditions needed to realize that vision.

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

Mr. President, on this vote, I have a live pair with the Senator from New York, Mrs. Clinton. If she were present and voting, she would vote ``nay.'' If I were permitted to vote, I would vote ``yea.'' I, therefore, withhold my vote.

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) is necessarily absent.

I also announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) is absent attending a funeral.

On this vote, the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Reid) is paired with the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton).

If present and voting, the Senator from New York would vote nay and the Senator from Nevada would vote aye. I therefore withhold my vote.

I further announce that, if present and voting the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) would each vote no.

Mr. President, last month we lost a great American, Christopher Reeve. Since a riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, Christopher Reeve has been an inspiration to all Americans, particularly to those living with paralysis as a result of spinal cord injury.

In the years following his accident, Christopher Reeve made tremendous progress. He regained sensation and movement in some parts of his body and was able to breathe for periods of time without a ventilator. Watching Christopher Reeve achieve these milestones gave hope to individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, researchers and just about everyone.

We lost Christopher Reeve, but we cannot lose sight of his dream for a cure. We must do everything we can to ensure that Federal researchers have the tools they need to further advance paralysis research, and to ultimately find a cure.

I am pleased that today we are honoring the legacy of Christopher Reeve by passing the Research Review Act. This legislation includes a provision that will advance the goals of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act.

There is no stronger voice in the Senate for individuals with disabilities than Senator Tom Harkin. And for the last several years, Senator Harkin has worked with the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation to pass legislation that would further advance the science needed to promote spinal regeneration and build quality-of-life programs for individuals with paralysis and other mobility impairments.

The Research Review Act supports the intent of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act by directing the National Institutes of Health to draft a report on ways they have encouraged the use of multi-disciplinary research teams to advance treatments, develop new therapies, and collaborate on clinical trials with respect to spinal cord injury and paralysis research.

The Research Review Act is an important step in the right direction, but we must do everything we can to pass and fund the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act during the next session of Congress.

The Research Review Act also includes important provisions related to inflammatory bowel disease. I am the proud sponsor of legislation in the Senate known as the ``IBD Act'' which is designed to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. I am pleased that 36 Members of the Senate, including Senator Cochran, have cosponsored this bipartisan legislation.

Inflammatory bowel disease, which includes both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal tract which afflicts approximately 1 million Americans, 100,000 or 10 percent of whom are children under the age of 18. IBD can cause severe abdominal pain, fever, and intestinal bleeding. Complications related to the disease include: Arthritis, osteoporosis, anemia, liver disease, and colon cancer. Inflammatory bowel disease represents a major cause of morbidity from digestive illness, and although it is not fatal, IBD can be devastating.

I am pleased that the Research Review Act contains three important provisions related to inflammatory bowel disease. The first provision directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to report to the Congress on the status of its inflammatory bowel disease epidemiology study. This much needed study is being conducted by CDC through financial support provided by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). Over the past 2 years, CCFA has provided the CDC with $750,000 to establish the epidemiology project. I am pleased that the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee has provided $800,000 for Fiscal Year 2005 to continue this important study.

The second provision of interest to the IBD community directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the coverage standards of Medicare/Medicaid for the therapies that IBD patients need to manage their disease. If there are gaps in coverage that negatively impact the health and quality of life of IBD patients on Medicare or Medicaid, we need to know about them, and take steps to address the problem.

The bill provides for a GAO study on the challenges that IBD patients encounter when applying for Social Security Disability. This study will include recommendations for improving the application process for IBD patients. This is critical to our effort to ensure that every patient who deserves disability coverage, receives it.

I am pleased to inform my colleagues that this is the first piece of authorizing legislation to pass the United States Congress that addresses inflammatory bowel disease. I would like to extend my appreciation to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America for their tremendous advocacy in support of this bill and the ``IBD Act'' in the 108th Congress. Over the past 2 years, tens of thousands of IBD patients have made their voice heard on Capitol Hill. I am pleased that a disease that for so long has been in the shadows of our society is starting to receive much needed attention and support. We would not be here today if it wasn't for the commitment of these patients and their family members.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Breaux) are necessarily absent.