Floor Statements

Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, and for the information of all Senators, tomorrow the Senate will begin its 10th day of consideration of the Estrada nomination. Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to prevent us from proceeding to a final vote on this extremely talented and well- qualified nominee. The majority leader has said Members should prepare for full days and evenings as we hope to bring to a close debate on this nomination. Rollcall votes are, therefore, expected during tomorrow's session.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. President, I rise first of all in support of the Estrada nomination and to say a word or two about it. Mr. Estrada's qualifications are excellent. I reviewed them the other day and it struck me that the man is so smart it is almost scary: Harvard Law School, Phi Beta Kappa graduate, clerk of the court of appeals, clerked on the Supreme Court, argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court.

I clerked on a court of appeals, and I mean no disrespect to the members of the Federal judiciary when I say I wish every Judge had Mr. Estrada's qualifications when he or she went on the bench. Mr. Estrada is competent, qualified, honest, and he deserves to be on the court of appeals.

I regret the filibuster that is currently underway to prevent his confirmation. It is unfair to him. It is bad for the country. Worst of all, it introduces a note of discord into the Senate that makes me discouraged about our ability to do the other things we need to do for this country--to pull together behind a prescription drug plan, behind a jobs bill, behind a strong defense that will protect our men and women in uniform, protect our country, create jobs in Missouri and around the country. It will also inhibit our ability to accomplish what we need to do in health care for small business.

Will the Senator yield for just a moment? I certainly will not delay the Senator from Massachusetts. He has been very kind in allowing me to speak, but I wanted to thank the Senator for his kind remarks about me and many kindnesses to me, and especially coming out on the floor. I also want to say, because I see the senior Senator from Massachusetts and the Senator from Nevada and the Senator from Utah, how impressed I have been and how much I feel welcomed by the many senior Members of this body who took a moment to come over on their own and say hello to me. I am just grateful for that. It is a real mark of the congeniality of the Senate. I appreciate it.

I thank my friend and colleague from Missouri for yielding.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 11 a.m., Thursday, February 13. I further ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then return to executive session to resume the consideration of the nomination of Miguel Estrada to be a circuit judge for the DC Circuit.

Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, and for the information of Senators, tomorrow the Senate will once again resume debate on the nomination of Miguel Estrada. We have now spent 5 days, over 35 hours, debating this well-qualified and capable nominee. During this debate, every Senator should have had the opportunity to speak on the nomination of Miguel Estrada if they desired. We will continue consideration of this qualified nomination tomorrow morning.

In addition, the omnibus conference report will be filed in the House tonight. The House is expected to act on that conference report tomorrow. Therefore, it is the leader's hope that the Senate will be able to complete action on that measure on Thursday or Friday. Rollcall votes are therefore possible during Thursday's session.

That is correct. It would be in the morning.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

I wonder if my colleague read the statement by former Congressman Herman Badillo from New York who called the opposition to block Mr. Estrada ``grandstanding'' and ``this treatment of Mr. Estrada is demeaning and unfair not only to the nominee but the confirmation process and the integrity of the Senate.''

I wonder if my colleague believes that is a pretty remarkable statement coming from a former Democratic Member of Congress about the opposition being mounted to a fellow Hispanic.

Mr. President, I think the Senator from Nevada spoke with his usual eloquence and none of us could tell he was up that early in the morning.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period for morning business.

Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of February as American Heart Month. As a strong supporter of the American Heart Association, I want to make clear that prevention of heart disease should be a priority of health care funding. I have always believed that focusing resources on prevention will save lives as well as taxpayers dollars.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Missouri and in the United States. Almost 18,000 people in Missouri died of heart disease in 1999.

Many women believe that heart disease is a man's disease, so they fail to perceive it as a serious health threat. Every year since 1984, cardiovascular diseases have claimed the lives of more women than men. And, the gap between male and female deaths continues to grow wider. The national statistics are even more startling. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, claiming more than 250,000 women per year.

Sadly, an American dies from cardiovascular disease approximately every 33 seconds. More than 61 million Americans--one in five males and females--suffer from heart disease, stroke or another cardiovascular disease. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Missouri and in the United States. Almost 4,000 people in Missouri died of stroke in 1999. Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases claim more lives each year than the next five leading causes of death combined.

We know the causes of cardiovascular disease--one of them is high blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Approximately 42 million Americans have total blood cholesterol levels of 240 milligrams per deciliter and higher. These individuals are considered at high risk for developing coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack.

I know that something can be done to combat heart disease and save American lives, and that is why I joined Senator Dorgan in cosponsoring of The Medicare Cholesterol Screening Coverage Act of 2003. This legislation adds blood cholesterol screening as a covered benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, at a frequency and in a manner determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, (HHS). This is consistent with guidelines issued by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which recommend that all Americans over the age of 20 be screened for high cholesterol at least once every five years. Currently, Medicare only covers cholesterol and other lipid testing for patients who already suffer from known disease such as heart disease, stroke, or other disorders associated with elevated cholesterol levels.

This bill also provides flexibility to allow the Secretary of HHS to cover future cardiovascular screening tests that might become the standard of care in the future, so that Medicare can keep pace with changes in medicine. Congress has already acted to cover other screening tests such as bone mass measurement, glaucoma screenings, and screenings for colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer. Now is the time to also extend Medicare coverage for cholesterol screening.

In recognizing February as American Heart Month, I urge my colleagues to act on The Medicare Cholesterol Screening Coverage Act of 2003, and I thank Senator Dorgan for his leadership on this issue. I also urge my colleagues to join me to prioritize legislation to help prevent heart disease.

Mr. President, in 1996 the Congress promised agriculture producers that they would no longer be penalized for heeding market signals and raising crops the market demanded.

Two-hundred farmers in my home State of Missouri responded to strong domestic and foreign demand and planted acres of popcorn. Now, with the passage of the 2002 farm bill, these producers are greatly disadvantaged compared to farmers that stayed with traditional program crops.

Under the provisions of the 2002 farm bill, producers who opted to grow popcorn since 1996 on acreage traditionally dedicated to program crops or soybeans are severely penalized if they attempt to update their program acreage history or yield history.

Unless corrected, this will cause a substantial, potential loss to both farm income and land value. I believe that this problem should be corrected in the most expeditious manner, as the April 15 deadline for signup into the new farm programs is quickly approaching. Senator Lugar and I have introduced an amendment to allow producers to include popcorn in their program base acres. I am grateful to managers on both sides for addressing this issue in a managers amendment.

The correction is simple. Popcorn is simply treated as a variety of the traditional corn for the purposes of determining bases and yields. I urge my colleges to support my amendment and allow the Department of Agriculture to consider popcorn equivalent to corn for the purpose of computing base acreage. There are 278,000 acres of land nationwide normally devoted to production of popcorn. We should not penalize those who farm this land because they believed the promises of the 1996 act. Popcorn growers in Missouri and across the Nation deserve equitable treatment when determining base acres.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of the agriculture disaster assistance funding included in the fiscal year 2003 omnibus appropriations bill. The farmers and ranchers in Missouri have suffered through bad weather and depressed prices, threatening their ability to stay in business. Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Missouri economy and I am pleased that the Senate was able to provide much needed assistance to these producers.

Over the past 3 years, the agriculture community has faced droughts, flooding and insect infestations that have damaged yields and reduced profits. This package provides a responsible level of assistance to those who have suffered or continue to suffer substantial losses as a result of natural disasters.

After months of political maneuvering, the Senate finally passed a new farm bill last year. This legislation provided increased economic resources, certainty, and stability across a wide range of agricultural and rural programs. However, the new farm bill is incapable of predicting and adequately dealing with natural disasters. The floods and droughts have deteriorated Missouri's agriculture production and exposed the shortcomings of these new farm programs.

I have heard from producers around Missouri. Our farmers need this additional assistance to secure their operating loans for the 2003 crop year. Agriculture producers and lenders can include this assistance in cashflow projections. This $3.1 billion will give farmers great assistance as they make planting decisions for the upcoming crop year.

Depressed prices, falling farm income, weather disasters and unstable global markets present a host of challenges to production agriculture. This assistance, made through direct payments and the additional funds for the livestock compensation program, enables farmers in Missouri and across the country, to continue to produce the safest, most abundant and affordable food in the world.

I support this targeted disaster assistance measure that would bring great equity to Missouri's farmers and ranchers.