Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 108 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 108 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 150 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2004 No. 56 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was have a period of morning business for AGRICULTURAL ISSUES FACING called to order by the President pro up to 60 minutes. The first 30 minutes THE COUNTRY tempore (Mr. STEVENS). of that time will be under the control Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I want of the majority side, and the second 30 to talk today about several agricul- PRAYER minutes will be controlled by the mi- tural issues. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- nority side of the aisle. Following First, last week, I met with John fered the following prayer: morning business, the Senate will re- Stewart and Bill Fielding. They run a Let us pray. sume consideration of S. 150, a bill re- company called Creekstone Farms that O Lord our God, we exalt Your Name, lating to taxation of Internet access. sells premium Black Angus beef cattle. for You are great and highly to be Yesterday, we made a little progress Creekstone had a good marketing praised. We praise You because Your on the bill by debating and disposing of idea: In the wake of the mad cow scare, power is unlimited and You are able to one amendment related to the defini- Creekstone thought that one way to re- do immeasurably more than we can tions in the bill. Unfortunately, fol- open the Japanese markets, which had imagine. You rule over the heavens and lowing the vote we were sidetracked accounted for 28 percent of our Na- the Earth and hold in Your power our with an amendment related to a com- tion’s beef exports, would be to pri- breath and our destiny. pletely different subject than Internet vately test all of their cattle for BSE, Thank You, Lord, for Your sov- access. or mad cow disease, at no cost to the ereignty over the days of our lives. Ex- Currently, we are scheduled for clo- taxpayers. ercise Your gracious authority over ture votes beginning Thursday on the The Japanese markets have been our Nation as You guide our law- Daschle energy-related first-degree closed for several months, but they have said that they would re-open their makers in the tasks of freedom. Give amendment to the underlying bill, the markets for Creekstone’s beef. them an awareness of Your presence Domenici second-degree amendment on Creekstone has built a top-notch lab- energy, and finally the McCain sub- and Your willingness to be an ever- oratory at their headquarters in Kan- stitute which is on the Internet access present help for life’s challenges. sas, and they have hired several full- tax subject. Help each of us to labor, not only for time animal health experts. But they The chairman of the committee will time, but also for eternity. Let our wanted to do this the right way, so be here shortly this morning, and I be- words and thoughts be acceptable in they asked USDA to support them in Your sight, for You are our strength lieve it will be his desire to try to their efforts. and our Redeemer. reach agreements to consider amend- The Department actually said ‘‘no.’’ Amen. ments relating to the underlying bill. They said Creekstone could not test. f Hopefully that will be possible and You see, USDA doesn’t want to set a therefore rollcall votes will occur on precedent that all beef needs to be test- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE amendments today. ed. They suggest that large meat pack- The PRESIDENT pro tempore led the The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The ers might essentially be forced into Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: deputy minority leader. testing all animals. That, USDA con- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Mr. REID. Parliamentary inquiry: If tends, would be expensive and, well, in- United States of America, and to the Repub- I do not reserve the Democratic lead- convenient. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, er’s time, he can use that time But nobody is suggesting that the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. throughout the day or do I need to re- Government mandate 100 percent test- f serve it? ing. If a meat packer wanted to test, LEADER TIME The PRESIDENT pro tempore. You however, it might be a good marketing may reserve it. tool for them. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Mr. REID. The leader is here, so I But the packers say testing would be the previous order, there will now be a will not do that. too cumbersome, that consumers don’t period of leader time under the stand- want and don’t need testing informa- ing order. f tion. The Senator from Texas. All of those arguments ring very fa- f miliar and very hollow. Remember, the RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY packers and the Bush administration SCHEDULE LEADER opposed another marketing tool—coun- Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, on be- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The try-of-origin labeling for those very half of the leader, this morning we will Democratic leader is recognized. same reasons. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4445 . VerDate jul 14 2003 04:44 Apr 29, 2004 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A28AP6.000 S28PT1 S4446 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 28, 2004 USDA says that mad cow disease, or ers. It is important for our export mar- agencies involved to develop a com- BSE, isn’t even a public health issue. kets and consumers of U.S. beef. prehensive legislative proposal to ad- They say it is only an animal health Another issue I want to discuss today dress weather-related natural disasters issue, but tell that to the more than 120 is what I see as an emerging drought in that impact our Nation’s farmers, people who died from the human form many parts of the country. The ranchers, and rural communities. of BSE in Britain. It was a food safety Drought Monitor—a government map If he does this now, and receives a re- issue for them. It is a public health that documents the ongoing extent of port back within 45 to 60 days, the Con- issue. drought—already shows some problem gress will still have time this summer Creekstone even acknowledges, and I areas. to enact meaningful disaster assist- agree, that the science does not now The yellow here—and you can see ance. suggest that all cattle need to be test- this on the map—denotes conditions In my letter to the President sent ed for BSE. They acknowledge that. across the Southeast, conditions which earlier today, I pledged that, once he Most experts do. have continued to deteriorate for most has provided Congress with such a pro- But consumers don’t always base of that region. Southern California, the posal, I will work with him and all of their purchasing preferences on area in Oklahoma, Arkansas, through my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion science. The Japanese, who, by the southern Missouri and into southern Il- to approve whatever disaster-related way, test all of their beef for BSE, linois, and up all the way through Indi- assistance is necessary to adequately want their imported beef tested, and ana and Ohio and Michigan. You can compensate producers and keep our na- Creekstone was willing to do so, but see that there is abnormal dryness oc- tion’s rural communities vibrant. USDA said ‘‘no.’’ curring in that area, even getting into We can prepare now for what looks Isn’t this the administration that the lower parts of the northern regions like another very bad year for agri- wants the free market to prosper? of Texas. culture. Yet, here we have a willing buyer, While there were some rains in parts Drought victims are no less deserving the Japanese, a willing seller, of the upper-Midwest recently, they of Federal assistance than those who Creekstone, and the Government says missed the western part of Minnesota. are impacted by a flood, tornado, or ‘‘no.’’ And you can see here this is where the hurricane. As Federal officials, we have Government is telling a U.S. business extraordinary conditions are now be- an obligation to respond more effec- what they can and can’t do to add coming even more adverse, creating tively than we have in the past. value to their product and create a what the Drought Monitor categorizes Working together, with the leader- market. as ‘‘severe drought’’ conditions, rep- ship of this administration, I hope we It is kind of like the Government resented of course in the areas here in can. telling automakers they can’t have the orange and darker areas. The dark- leather seats. Leather seats aren’t er the color, the more severe the f needed, but they add value to the cars drought. RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME and make the product more market- In my State of South Dakota, we Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask able. have been able to avoid some of the unanimous consent that the Repub- So I am hopeful that USDA will re- most severe parts, but you talk to lican leader’s time be reserved for his visit this issue. Creekstone and other ranchers and farmers today and it is use later in the day.