Floor Statements

Mr. President, I am pleased today to bring to the floor an amendment to H.R. 3204, The State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2005. The Senate companion, S. 288, sponsored by Senators Gregg and Baucus, was approved unanimously in February by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. A similar bill also unanimously passed the full Senate in the last Congress.

The amendment to H. R. 3204 that I bring before us today reflects much careful and bipartisan work, not only within the Senate, but with the House as well. After we pass this amendment and send it to the House, I expect our colleagues in that Chamber will approve it quickly, thus paving the way for a swift trip to the President's desk and into law.

This legislation extends and makes improvements in the Federal Health Insurance High Risk Pool Grant Program originally enacted in 2002 as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act, TAA. This grant program provides critical assistance States both for the start-up of new risk pools and for the continued operation of existing ones.

State high risk pools are State-created nonprofit entities that provide access to health insurance for persons who are not covered under an employer plan or a government program, and whose medical profile makes it very difficult or impossible for them to find coverage in the individual insurance market.

These individuals are often the sickest and most vulnerable among us, and who, without access to high risk pools would otherwise fall through the cracks and be forced to bankrupt themselves onto the Medicaid rolls.

Nearly 200,000 people have purchased health insurance policies through high risk pools nationwide. In my home State of Wyoming more than 650 people have comprehensive health insurance thanks to the Wyoming Health Insurance Pool.

This insurance covers doctor visits, prescription drugs, home health visits, rehabilitation services, mental health, physical therapy, and maternity care. It is meaningful insurance coverage for people who would otherwise be uninsurable.

Under these programs, individuals pay capped premiums for their coverage, but such premiums generally cover only 50 to 60 percent of the total cost of their care. The rest of the expense must be made up by other revenues, typically through an annual assessment of insurance companies.

The current Federal Risk Pool Grant Program authorized up to $40 million annually to help existing State high risk pools ease the steep losses requiring subsidies that they incur in these programs each year. Last year alone, total combined losses in State risk pools was more than $539 billion, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year.

The legislation before us today would increase authorization for grants to existing risk pool programs from $40 million to $75 million per year through 2009. It would also extend through 2006 authorization for $15 million annually for seed grants to States without risk pools that wish to establish them. Under this program, States would be eligible for grants of up to $1 million for the creation and initial operation of a risk pool.

It is critical that Congress act swiftly on this important bill. Authorization for the current grant program expired at the end of fiscal year 2004, and all remaining funds will be exhausted upon the expiration of fiscal year 2005. Moreover, many State legislatures are assessing whether or not to move ahead with risk pool programs. Passage of this legislation would send to the States a strong signal of continued and renewed Federal commitment to such programs.

In addition to extending and increasing authorization for Federal grant assistance, our legislation also makes a certain targeted improvements in how the Federal risk pool grants operate. For example, the bill would allow States a greater degree of flexibility in how they apply Federal grant dollars to their risk pool programs, and in the requirements for qualifying for grants. In part, this greater flexibility is an acknowledgement that State programs do vary and that a number of States are experimenting with new and innovative approaches in how they set up and administer their risk pool programs--approaches that in some cases may not fit easily into the Federal grant parameters as they are currently drafted.

The legislation also makes some adjustments in the way grant funds are allocated, such that each State will now receive a sufficient incentive to establish or improve its high risk pool. At the same time, the revised allocation system recognizes that some states have greater numbers of uninsured than others, and provides extra assistance to States that operate the largest risk pools.

The bill also includes a new bonus pool that can be tapped by States to offer lower premiums or improved benefits in connection with their high-risk pool, rather than requiring that all funds go to help defray operational losses. Up to one third of State's annual grant award could be used for this purpose.

The legislation before us today is the same as that which drew unanimous and bipartisan support in our committee, both in this Congress and the last. It would extend and improve a program that has helped thousands of medically vulnerable Americans maintain lifesaving health coverage and avoid potentially devastating financial ruin. It is an important part of this Congress's comprehensive efforts to make health care and health insurance more affordable and accessible for everyone.

I commend Senators Gregg and Baucus for their effective leadership on this important legislation, and to our committee's ranking member, Senator Kennedy, for his hard work and commitment. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in giving this much needed legislation our full support.

Finally, credit should go as well to a number of current and past Senate staff, some of whom have worked for several years to bring this bill to fruition. We greatly appreciate the work of many, including David Bowen, David Fisher, Kim Monk, Stephen Northrup, Andrew Patzman, Stacey Sachs, Conwell Smith, and Vince Ventimiglia.

I urge the Senate to give this much needed legislation the strong support it deserves.

Mr. President, I yield back time on our side.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today with mixed feelings on what I heard because this was brought up under the Defense authorization bill. I talked to the Senator from Illinois, and we agreed that we would work on something--that would actually do something. We have been doing that, but with a slight interruption from Katrina. Now it is being offered again. And in the same way, I have mixed emotions because I probably ought to suggest to the Senator from Alaska to take this amendment because it will not achieve anything. We have an opportunity to do something and to achieve something. But this amendment will not do that.

Of course, it brings some attention to the fact that there may be some adverse reaction to dietary supplements. That is important. The discussion is important. If we had more time for discussion, we ought to have a lot of discussion on it, but we don't have a lot of time. I will try to keep my remarks brief on this.

This amendment would withhold funding from any store on a military installation or a commissary store--most of those are on military installations as well--that sells any dietary supplement containing a stimulant unless the manufacturers of the supplement submits reports on serious adverse events associated with the supplement. If they don't, we shut down the action on the base. But that is definitely not the only place you can buy dietary supplements. What we merely do is invite military people to go off base to get their dietary supplements--and they will.

It is important that we get reporting done so people will know if something is having an adverse effect on their health.

I recognize the Senator from Illinois has strong concerns about adverse reporting for dietary supplements, and so do several other Senators. Senator Hatch and Senator Harkin have been working diligently on this. Both of them are on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and that is the committee of jurisdiction on this particular issue.

We have been working on it. I share his interest on the issue. It is important that we maintain the safety of dietary supplements that benefit so many Americans. I mention that this isn't the first time this has been offered.

I hope he will withdraw his amendment, and we may move on without having to go through the difficulty of a vote.

As I said, I question the effectiveness of achieving such reporting by withholding legal products only from men and women in uniform and their families while the same products are available to the civilian population. That is unfair to our soldiers and we should not support it. Punishing our soldiers is not the way to ensure the safety of dietary supplements. A piecemeal approach does nothing to protect the civilian population from products that are being withheld from the military population.

This amendment places the regulation of dietary supplements in the hands of the Secretary of Defense and cuts the Food and Drug Administration out of the loop.

I would like to point out that the FDA is already taking aggressive steps to regulate stimulants that are dietary supplements, including the banning of ephedra.

We should be sure that requiring additional reporting does not inadvertently derail those enforcement efforts.

Finally, the Appropriations Committee has included for fiscal year 2006 funding of approximately $5.5 million for the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition Adverse Events Reporting System. That includes approximately $1.7 million for dietary supplements. That is over $1 million more than the amount in the budget request. The Senate is already moving in the right direction on this issue.

I wish to point out that the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is squarely within the HELP Committee's jurisdiction.

I know that Senator Durbin has worked with Senators Hatch and Harkin and myself to develop a proposal on mandatory adverse events reporting for dietary supplements. I wish to work with the Senator from Illinois and my fellow committee members, especially Senators Hatch and Harkin, to see how we might address the issue in my committee through regular order.

I respectfully ask the Senator from Illinois to withdraw his amendment and work with the HELP Committee on this issue. If not, I will have to oppose the amendment. I think it will take up unnecessary time when we can do it considerably more effectively and without punishing in a big way the servicemembers in uniform while we allow the civilian population to do whatever they want.

Yes.

I said before that I think it is very important for us to come up with a piece of legislation that does that on and off military bases, so there is a reporting of adverse events so that FDA can take action when it is affecting people, and have enough information to be able to tell whether they are acting properly or not. We do have an agency that is designed to do that. It is not the Department of Defense.

I can give the Senator assurances that we will deal with this issue. If you check with members of my committee, you will find that because of Katrina and pensions and all of the health issues that we have now, and all of the education, higher education and Head Start we are trying to work our way through, that we have gone to a system of roundtables instead that allows us to bring in more people with more information so we can learn more from them in order to be able to deal with these issues in a knowledgeable way.

It has been working. I appreciate the cooperation of Senator Kennedy, who is ranking member on my committee, for this approach of being able to gather information so that we can do effective legislation quicker. As the Senator probably noticed, we have a lot of bills which we are working on, and it is because we have gone through a mechanism where we are working in a very bipartisan way to gather information. This is a bill of some priority for us.

I assure the Senator that we can work together, and it will be put into the prioritization. It is already in the prioritization of the committee. We are handling the emergencies first.

I apologize for the 2-week delay we had while we are working on Katrina. Staff is working on this one, along with the staff of the Senator from Illinois. We will do it.

Mr. President, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to pass H.R. 3863, which would provide the Secretary of Education with the authority to reallocate campus-based aid program funds to institutions of higher education that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, or that have enrolled affected students. The bill also extends the deadline by which funds have to be reallocated, as they are currently scheduled to expire on September 30.

In addition, this bill automatically waives institutional matching requirements for the Federal work-study, supplemental educational opportunity grant and Perkins loan funds for affected institutions that participate in these programs in the 2005-2006 academic year. As a result, affected institutions that have scarce resources will be able provide immediate assistance to their eligible students to enable them to meet their higher education expenses this year.

I am pleased that we are able to take this step to assist institutions and students that have been affected by the gulf hurricanes by redirecting program funds that would otherwise lapse. We continue to explore other ways in which to meet the immediate needs of affected institutions of higher education and their students.

Mr. President, I wish to continue the discussion we were having. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that the first amendment on the Department of Defense appropriations bill is one dealing with avian flu. If that is the most important amendment the other side of the aisle has for the Department of Defense bill, we ought to go ahead and vote on the appropriations bill as a whole right now. That is not the appropriate place to put it.

To make it sound as though nobody is working on this issue and no money is available is a total disservice to the agencies that work on it and this body as a whole. We have been working on it. We have been working on it partly through the Katrina episode, making sure vaccines and other items that were needed for whatever would be available down there in a timely manner. Fortunately, we already had some laws in effect that allowed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take some emergency action to put items in place and get things done. We will be reviewing that to see if they worked as well as they could.

We have had a bioshield fund in place for a while. That bioshield fund has money in it to do what needs to be done on any kind of terrorism or pandemic that comes up. What we have lacked is the plan. Actually, the plan falls under the jurisdiction of my committee, and we have been working on it. I divided the committee up--and Senator Harkin is on the committee--to more closely follow the acronym of our office. We are the HELP Committee, and we are in charge of health and education and labor and pensions.

Of course, we have been devoting a tremendous amount of time recently to getting a pensions bill ready so it can be debated on the floor on a moment's notice. It is ready to go. There is a lot of agreement on both sides of the aisle, so we can get that out of here pretty

fast and protect hard-working Americans' pension funds. But we need to do the Department of Defense appropriations bill first.

A more appropriate place to debate this issue would be on almost anything that comes up later. As the Senator from Iowa knows, if there is a lot of debate on a bill that comes up, it probably is not going anywhere at this time of the year and with the crises we face. So perhaps that is why he decided he would put it on this bill.

We are working on it. Again I assure everybody we are working on it in the subcommittee that deals with public health and bioterrorism, under the jurisdiction of Senator Burr. He has been doing an outstanding job with that subcommittee. He hired some spectacular people who have a depth of understanding that I don't think we have seen for a long time in regard to those particular issues. He has held hearings on those issues and gathered valuable information. He has gone pretty far afield to make sure we are covering all of the things that could happen.

He has a bill that is virtually ready to go. It will include the capability and the plan for handling a pandemic, as well as any unexpected event. It greatly compresses the time for dealing with those issues from anything we have had before. It provides a coordination basis that is necessary for unexpected events.

I congratulate him for his efforts and for how widely he has researched it, and for the number of fellow Senators he has involved in it.

Yesterday, there was a briefing he helped set up so we would know more about, particularly, avian flu. That kind of thoroughness should be congratulated. We ought to be working with him to make sure we are getting the bill done.

I have to say, whether the threat is made by man or one that occurs naturally, we need to be prepared, and I agree with Senator Harkin on that point.

Senator Harkin, Senator Burr, and I serve on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. All of us also serve on the Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness. As I said, Senator Burr is chairman of that subcommittee. He has held six hearings and roundtables on what we need to do to have a strong national biodefense.

As chairman of the full committee, I am looking forward to working with Senator Burr, Senator Harkin, and the rest of the committee members to pass a bill this fall that will develop our capabilities to develop defenses against avian flu and a host of other biological threats we face--some known and some unknown--regardless of whether they are manmade or naturally occurring.

Senator Burr has been working on that comprehensive bill to build on Project BioShield. His bill will address everything from liability protection to biosurveillance, from the threat of terrorism to the threat of a normal disease.

As committee chairman, I fully intend to report that legislation to the floor this year to create a viable and innovative biodefense industry. We do need to create incentives and eliminate barriers to develop this industry because we cannot count on the Government alone to supply us with the countermeasures, the antidotes, and the detection tools we have to have to ensure our safety against biological threats.

Most importantly, we already have billions of dollars available in Project BioShield to do what Senator Harkin wants to do. What we need to do is create an environment that will encourage business into this industry before we discourage them out of the industry. We need to get them back in. We need the innovativeness of small business and big business, and we need to make it more attractive so the drug and biotechnology companies will want to be engaged.

We have the money. What we need is a plan, and that plan is what we have been working on diligently. I do ask Senator Harkin to work with me, to work with Senator Burr, to work with our majority leader, and to work with Senator Kennedy, the ranking member on the HELP Committee, to make that happen. We have the capability to do it. We should be able to put together a package that should take relatively short debate on the floor, the House can match up to it, and we can do a conference and get it into effect. That would be better than having a full-blown debate on the Department of Defense appropriations bill, holding that bill up interminably when the money is needed, and creating difficulty in the conference committee, which will undoubtedly result in this measure being thrown out of the conference committee because it is not applicable to this bill and, therefore, that conference committee.

I appreciate the attention he has brought to the issue. It has brought attention to the issue. We need to do it the right way, and that is to include it in the development of a comprehensive bill that will deal with public health and bioterrorism.

Again, I congratulate Senator Burr and all those who have been working with him on developing that bill. I don't think anybody could have put it together in a shorter time period than he has. We are just 9 months into this term, and he is already delivering. That is a tremendous statement on our part of his capability. Again, I cannot express how thorough it has been. Let's do it right. Let's do it through a stand-alone bill on which both sides of the aisle can join. Let's get this done, solved, and eliminate it as a problem under the Department of Defense.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President I rise to introduce the Pension Flexibility in Natural Disasters Act of 2005. The bill provides appropriate waivers, suspensions or exemptions from the provisions of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, with respect to individual account plans affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have brought terrible devastation in the gulf coast. Not only have so many homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas been destroyed but many businesses have been destroyed as well.

Any business that maintains a pension or retirement plan for their workers is subject to certain reporting, disclosure and fiduciary provisions of ERISA as well as being subject to the pertinent provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. ERISA sets up many requirements and deadlines that businesses simply cannot meet due to the devastation of their businesses and the destruction of all of their records.

This bill postpones reporting requirements for businesses that have been adversely affected by storms in these presidentially-declared disaster areas. It also will facilitate getting individuals access to their retirement savings in the form of hardship loans or distributions by allowing plan fiduciaries flexibility in making those distributions in view of these terrible disasters.

I hope my colleague will join me in supporting this important bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President I rise to introduce the Pension Flexibility in Natural Disasters Act of 2005. The bill provides appropriate waivers, suspensions or exemptions from the provisions of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, with respect to individual account plans affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have brought terrible devastation in the gulf coast. Not only have so many homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas been destroyed but many businesses have been destroyed as well.

Any business that maintains a pension or retirement plan for their workers is subject to certain reporting, disclosure and fiduciary provisions of ERISA as well as being subject to the pertinent provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. ERISA sets up many requirements and deadlines that businesses simply cannot meet due to the devastation of their businesses and the destruction of all of their records.

This bill postpones reporting requirements for businesses that have been adversely affected by storms in these presidentially-declared disaster areas. It also will facilitate getting individuals access to their retirement savings in the form of hardship loans or distributions by allowing plan fiduciaries flexibility in making those distributions in view of these terrible disasters.

I hope my colleague will join me in supporting this important bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

I rise today to share my thoughts on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Like most Americans, I watched the Judiciary Committee hearings with great interest and curiosity. Judge Roberts could potentially be the 17th Supreme Court Chief Justice in the history of the United States. It is amazing to consider that only 16 other people have shared that honor. It is a much shorter line than the number of Presidents back to George Washington--42.

Considering this tie with history, I was thrilled to be watching the proceedings. However, I am also aware of my serious responsibility as a U.S. Senator at this time. The Senate has the duty to give its advice and consent to the President's nomination. Given the comparative youth of Judge Roberts, the vote this week could affect the dispensation of constitutional questions for many decades.

During over 20 hours of questions, I had ample opportunity to consider the qualities and character of Judge Roberts. I observed Judge Roberts' keen intelligence and modesty regarding his accomplishments. I also enjoyed his sense of humor in the midst of intense and repetitive questioning. He convinced me that he is qualified to serve on the highest Federal bench.

During the hearings, I was reminded of a common fallacy where people think judges are politicians. Judges are not politicians. It has been easy to slip into the thinking that we need to know their political allegiance so that we can know what their decisions will be. We also begin thinking that judges should make decisions based on good policy. Finally, we believe that judges have to make us promises on the future decisions so they can win our votes. Judges are not politicians. We need to know their qualifications, not their political allegiances. We need to know that their decisions will be made on the rule of law, not on good policy. We need to know that judges will not make promises to prejudge future cases in order to win votes. Judges are not politicians. A judge's only constituent should be the U.S. Constitution. If the people were the constituents of judges, our confidence in an impartial hearing and ruling on our case would collapse.

A judge should be an intelligent, impartial, open, and unbiased executor of the law. I believe that Judge Roberts meets these qualifications and is fit to serve as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I am pleased that a bipartisan majority of the Judiciary Committee passed him through the committee. I go home to Wyoming most weekends. It lets me personally poll my constituents. That is an advantage of being from the least populated State. I can assure you they are impressed with Judge Roberts. That is probably not a surprise. However, during the week when I am in DC, I visit with the janitors, electricians, picture hangers, and others around the offices. To a person they had comments like ``this man really knows his stuff.'' ``He answers their questions without a single note or staff person whispering in his ear. I bet he could take the bar exam tomorrow and still pass it. This guy is good'' and I think that is the opinion of mainstream America. I look forward to voting on his nomination later this week.

Even after the vote, the Senate's work to fill the Supreme Court will not be complete. We are waiting for another nomination from President Bush to replace retiring Justice O'Connor. I am pleased with the recent precedent set by the Judiciary Committee.

In a bipartisan and timely manner, they voted out a nominee based on his qualifications. They voted him out based on his stated devotion to applying the rule of law. As the Senate prepares to consider the next Supreme Court nomination, it is my hope that the same process will be followed--a timely consideration based upon the qualifications of the nominee and not on scoring political points.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to provide solutions to the health care challenges wrought by Hurricane Katrina. As chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, I am proud to be joined by my friend Senator Kennedy, the ranking minority member of the committee, in introducing this legislation. I am also honored that several fellow committee members are sponsoring this bill as well, including Senators Alexander, Dodd, Burr, Mikulski, DeWine, and Clinton. This bill is truly committee product in the best sense of the term.

We are introducing this legislation in response to the information that has been shared with us from a variety of sources. Some of the provisions of this bill were added as a result of the testimony that we received during a roundtable discussion before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Others spring from the suggestions that were forwarded to us or were posted on our committee's Web site. Others came from our discussions with local, State and Federal officials who shared their firsthand knowledge and experience with us. Still others were added as a result of our visit to the area. This legislation will not accomplish everything that must be done, but it will provide another valuable step in the effort to provide a comprehensive package to address the needs of those whose lives were forever changed by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

Just a few days ago, several of my colleagues and I traveled to the New Orleans area to see the damage that was done by the storm for ourselves. I don't think any of us were fully prepared for what we saw. As startling as the images were that we had seen in the paper and on television, they didn't fully portray what had happened and the reality that confronted us on the ground. The devastation that the storm had brought to the lives of those who lived there was readily apparent. It was a tragedy that was even worse than any of us had thought was possible. It will not be easy to use the limited resources we have at our disposal to meet the almost unlimited need, but we are all determined to try.

Nationwide, there are people from the gulf coast region spread throughout the country who have had to rely on the kindness and goodwill of people they have never met before. Wyoming and so many other States have welcomed these people with open arms and open hearts. Seeing so many Americans, from all walks of life, respond as they have and reach out to other Americans in need, gives me a clearer picture than I have ever seen before of what is right with America. It is a scene that gives me confidence that we will be able to rebuild what was lost and breathe new life into the communities that were devastated by the storm.

Now, here in Congress, we will continue to do our part, and one of the most important things we can do is to assure mothers and fathers all over the country that the health care needs of their family will be met, that they will not have to go without or navigate through a complex bureaucracy to get the care they need, and that their Federal Government has the necessary authority to respond to this crisis.

The Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005 will strengthen and improve America's ability to address the ongoing public health and mental health needs faced by the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. It will also help those evacuees and their employers continue to afford their health insurance premiums as they put their lives and their businesses back together.

As we know, the public health emergency created by Hurricane Katrina will take months to resolve. That means we need to cut whatever Federal redtape might stand in the way of a long-term public health recovery effort.

In this legislation, therefore, we strengthen the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive laws that hinder the fullest possible response to a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina. These laws include vaccination eligibility laws and requirements related to State and local matching funds, as well laws that limit the Secretary's flexibility in designating health professional shortage areas.

To ensure a comprehensive public health response in the months ahead, this critical legislation facilitates long-term Federal-State cooperation and coordination in a public health emergency, and assists with expanding and strengthening the health care safety net by increasing access to and resources for sites at which people displaced by Hurricane Katrina can receive primary and preventive care. It ensures immediate availability of mental health funding in the event of major disasters by directing special emergency mental health funding to affected areas, and directs additional outreach and assistance to individuals with disabilities, including funds to States during an emergency to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to advocacy and support services.

Additionally, the bill we are introducing today clarifies appropriate protocols for emergency response by requiring additional data collection and analysis for use in this and future responses to major disasters.

Finally, my committee has also worked diligently to create a solution to another crisis created by Hurricane Katrina. This devastating natural disaster has changed lives and disrupted businesses all across the gulf coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Families and employers are going to need our help getting the basic necessities of food, water, shelter, and clothing while they decide how to move forward and rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Hundreds of thousands of the gulf coast evacuees have health insurance that they purchased on their own or that their employer provided and funded. Many of these people are now without a job, and many of these businesses are hanging on as they clean up and wait for their customers to return to the region. Some people have lost almost everything they owned, and now

they are in danger of losing their health insurance if they can't pay their premiums.

Congress can and will help them. The bill we are introducing will provide short-term premium relief to people displaced by Hurricane Katrina so they can keep their private health insurance.

Under this bill, the Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with State insurance commissioners, will administer a program to provide 3 months of health insurance premium relief to individuals who have purchased their own policies, and to small businesses and their employees. Such individuals and businesses will be eligible if, as of the date of the hurricane, they held health insurance in counties federally designated major disaster areas and their ability to pay premiums has been severely disrupted. Enrollment in the program will occur automatically upon either nonpayment of premiums or if communication to an insurer or policyholder indicates distress.

To facilitate swift enrollment, there is no prospective application process. However, the program does provide for a retrospective randomized audit process, whereby HHS may retroactively seek collection of premium assistance if such assistance was made in error.

To complete this short-term protection for those individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina, the bill will prohibit insurers from canceling policies or raising rates during the 3-month emergency period.

The Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005 will provide immediate health insurance premium relief for individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina, and provide the Federal Government the authority it needs to respond effectively to the public health needs of people displaced by this terrible disaster.

After we pass this bill, our work in response to Hurricane Katrina is not over. This is our emergency response. In the upcoming months, working with Senator Burr, the chairman of our Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness, and my other committee colleagues, I want to examine fully our preparedness and response capabilities as they relate to public health, mental health, and health care. I also want to focus on how best to rebuild the critical health care and public health infrastructure that was destroyed as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

These are some of the long-term challenges we must tackle. But in the short term, we must address the immediate needs and emergent challenges imposed by Hurricane Katrina. I urge my colleagues to join me as sponsors of the Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005, and I look forward to seeing the Senate pass this bill in the very near future.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce The Katrina Worker Safety and Filing Flexibility Act of 2005.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina we face a nearly unprecedented recovery and reconstruction process along our Gulf Coast. This is a challenge that we will meet. We are a people that always act with strength and purposefulness when circumstances such as this demand.

While we undertake this massive effort, we must bear in mind the safety of the men and women who will be on the front lines of recovery and reconstruction. These individuals will face numerous and uncommon worksite hazards; and ones with which they will have little training and experience.

To address this situation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has deployed its safety and health professionals to the affected areas to provide necessary technical assistance. Their efforts in this regard are being guided by the Worker Health and Safety Annex contained in the National Response Plan as adopted by the Department of Homeland Security.

I am pleased today to be introducing this legislation with my distinguished colleague and ranking member of the Committee, Senator Kennedy. He and I share a commitment to protecting the health and safety of all workers, including those engaged in the hurricane recovery effort.

The legislation we are introducing today not only encourages the implementation of all aspects of the Worker Safety Annex, it encourages OSHA to play a central role in communicating the nature of these unique worksite hazards, and in cooperating with State, local and tribal governments, as well as other Federal agencies to enhance the safety of recovery and reconstruction personnel. In addition, the legislation grants the Secretary of Labor authority to extend the deadline for filing certain forms with the Department until March of 2006 in light of the difficulties in meeting any earlier deadlines as a result of the hurricane.

We believe the bill is an important step in providing the necessary protection to recovery and reconstruction workers; and providing the necessary degree of flexibility with regard to required Federal filings.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to provide solutions to the health care challenges wrought by Hurricane Katrina. As chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, I am proud to be joined by my friend Senator Kennedy, the ranking minority member of the committee, in introducing this legislation. I am also honored that several fellow committee members are sponsoring this bill as well, including Senators Alexander, Dodd, Burr, Mikulski, DeWine, and Clinton. This bill is truly committee product in the best sense of the term.

We are introducing this legislation in response to the information that has been shared with us from a variety of sources. Some of the provisions of this bill were added as a result of the testimony that we received during a roundtable discussion before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Others spring from the suggestions that were forwarded to us or were posted on our committee's Web site. Others came from our discussions with local, State and Federal officials who shared their firsthand knowledge and experience with us. Still others were added as a result of our visit to the area. This legislation will not accomplish everything that must be done, but it will provide another valuable step in the effort to provide a comprehensive package to address the needs of those whose lives were forever changed by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

Just a few days ago, several of my colleagues and I traveled to the New Orleans area to see the damage that was done by the storm for ourselves. I don't think any of us were fully prepared for what we saw. As startling as the images were that we had seen in the paper and on television, they didn't fully portray what had happened and the reality that confronted us on the ground. The devastation that the storm had brought to the lives of those who lived there was readily apparent. It was a tragedy that was even worse than any of us had thought was possible. It will not be easy to use the limited resources we have at our disposal to meet the almost unlimited need, but we are all determined to try.

Nationwide, there are people from the gulf coast region spread throughout the country who have had to rely on the kindness and goodwill of people they have never met before. Wyoming and so many other States have welcomed these people with open arms and open hearts. Seeing so many Americans, from all walks of life, respond as they have and reach out to other Americans in need, gives me a clearer picture than I have ever seen before of what is right with America. It is a scene that gives me confidence that we will be able to rebuild what was lost and breathe new life into the communities that were devastated by the storm.

Now, here in Congress, we will continue to do our part, and one of the most important things we can do is to assure mothers and fathers all over the country that the health care needs of their family will be met, that they will not have to go without or navigate through a complex bureaucracy to get the care they need, and that their Federal Government has the necessary authority to respond to this crisis.

The Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005 will strengthen and improve America's ability to address the ongoing public health and mental health needs faced by the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. It will also help those evacuees and their employers continue to afford their health insurance premiums as they put their lives and their businesses back together.

As we know, the public health emergency created by Hurricane Katrina will take months to resolve. That means we need to cut whatever Federal redtape might stand in the way of a long-term public health recovery effort.

In this legislation, therefore, we strengthen the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive laws that hinder the fullest possible response to a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina. These laws include vaccination eligibility laws and requirements related to State and local matching funds, as well laws that limit the Secretary's flexibility in designating health professional shortage areas.

To ensure a comprehensive public health response in the months ahead, this critical legislation facilitates long-term Federal-State cooperation and coordination in a public health emergency, and assists with expanding and strengthening the health care safety net by increasing access to and resources for sites at which people displaced by Hurricane Katrina can receive primary and preventive care. It ensures immediate availability of mental health funding in the event of major disasters by directing special emergency mental health funding to affected areas, and directs additional outreach and assistance to individuals with disabilities, including funds to States during an emergency to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to advocacy and support services.

Additionally, the bill we are introducing today clarifies appropriate protocols for emergency response by requiring additional data collection and analysis for use in this and future responses to major disasters.

Finally, my committee has also worked diligently to create a solution to another crisis created by Hurricane Katrina. This devastating natural disaster has changed lives and disrupted businesses all across the gulf coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Families and employers are going to need our help getting the basic necessities of food, water, shelter, and clothing while they decide how to move forward and rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Hundreds of thousands of the gulf coast evacuees have health insurance that they purchased on their own or that their employer provided and funded. Many of these people are now without a job, and many of these businesses are hanging on as they clean up and wait for their customers to return to the region. Some people have lost almost everything they owned, and now

they are in danger of losing their health insurance if they can't pay their premiums.

Congress can and will help them. The bill we are introducing will provide short-term premium relief to people displaced by Hurricane Katrina so they can keep their private health insurance.

Under this bill, the Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with State insurance commissioners, will administer a program to provide 3 months of health insurance premium relief to individuals who have purchased their own policies, and to small businesses and their employees. Such individuals and businesses will be eligible if, as of the date of the hurricane, they held health insurance in counties federally designated major disaster areas and their ability to pay premiums has been severely disrupted. Enrollment in the program will occur automatically upon either nonpayment of premiums or if communication to an insurer or policyholder indicates distress.

To facilitate swift enrollment, there is no prospective application process. However, the program does provide for a retrospective randomized audit process, whereby HHS may retroactively seek collection of premium assistance if such assistance was made in error.

To complete this short-term protection for those individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina, the bill will prohibit insurers from canceling policies or raising rates during the 3-month emergency period.

The Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005 will provide immediate health insurance premium relief for individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina, and provide the Federal Government the authority it needs to respond effectively to the public health needs of people displaced by this terrible disaster.

After we pass this bill, our work in response to Hurricane Katrina is not over. This is our emergency response. In the upcoming months, working with Senator Burr, the chairman of our Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness, and my other committee colleagues, I want to examine fully our preparedness and response capabilities as they relate to public health, mental health, and health care. I also want to focus on how best to rebuild the critical health care and public health infrastructure that was destroyed as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

These are some of the long-term challenges we must tackle. But in the short term, we must address the immediate needs and emergent challenges imposed by Hurricane Katrina. I urge my colleagues to join me as sponsors of the Public Health and Health Insurance Emergency Response Act of 2005, and I look forward to seeing the Senate pass this bill in the very near future.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce The Katrina Worker Safety and Filing Flexibility Act of 2005.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina we face a nearly unprecedented recovery and reconstruction process along our Gulf Coast. This is a challenge that we will meet. We are a people that always act with strength and purposefulness when circumstances such as this demand.

While we undertake this massive effort, we must bear in mind the safety of the men and women who will be on the front lines of recovery and reconstruction. These individuals will face numerous and uncommon worksite hazards; and ones with which they will have little training and experience.

To address this situation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has deployed its safety and health professionals to the affected areas to provide necessary technical assistance. Their efforts in this regard are being guided by the Worker Health and Safety Annex contained in the National Response Plan as adopted by the Department of Homeland Security.

I am pleased today to be introducing this legislation with my distinguished colleague and ranking member of the Committee, Senator Kennedy. He and I share a commitment to protecting the health and safety of all workers, including those engaged in the hurricane recovery effort.

The legislation we are introducing today not only encourages the implementation of all aspects of the Worker Safety Annex, it encourages OSHA to play a central role in communicating the nature of these unique worksite hazards, and in cooperating with State, local and tribal governments, as well as other Federal agencies to enhance the safety of recovery and reconstruction personnel. In addition, the legislation grants the Secretary of Labor authority to extend the deadline for filing certain forms with the Department until March of 2006 in light of the difficulties in meeting any earlier deadlines as a result of the hurricane.

We believe the bill is an important step in providing the necessary protection to recovery and reconstruction workers; and providing the necessary degree of flexibility with regard to required Federal filings.

Mr. President, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to pass H.R. 3784, which would provide for a temporary extension of the Higher Education Act of 1965. As my colleagues are aware, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved legislation unanimously that would reauthorize Federal higher education programs for another 6 years. However, as many of these programs will expire on September 30, it is important that we extend the programs authorized by this act until the Congress can successfully complete work on the reauthorization legislation.

I am pleased to have been able to report that legislation with a unanimous vote out of committee. I am hopeful that the Senate will take action on that legislation quickly, either in the context of budget reconciliation or on its own, and that we can continue the commitment of Congress to support the access and affordability of higher education in this country.

Mr. President, in response to that question, I would like to assure my colleague from Utah that the HELP Committee intends to keep this a high priority and we are hopeful of having a bill signed into law before December 31, 2005.