Congressional Record—Senate S11404
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S11404 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 7, 2006 Your heavenly grace, and give them as far as we are concerned there is no creates a national sex offender reg- courage to face perils with trust in need for a cloture vote. We look for- istry, strengthens measures to prevent You. Give them a sense of Your abiding ward to working with the distinguished child pornography, and reinforces laws presence, wherever they may be. majority leader today, maybe tomor- against child porn. We pray in Your sovereign Name. row, maybe Saturday, to try to get as We passed the Trafficking Victims Amen. much cooperation out of Senators as Protection Reauthorization Act, which f possible. I know the finance folks have renewed the first federal law to worked long and hard to try to come strengthen prosecution efforts against PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE up with something that is very impor- human traffickers. The PRESIDENT pro tempore led the tant for the country. We will continue We passed legislation securing the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: to monitor that and do everything we right to prayer in U.S. military acad- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the can as we try to move this legislative emies. United States of America, and to the Repub- agenda forward. We passed legislation protecting the lic for which it stands, one nation under God, PROTECTING AMERICAN VALUES Mount Soledad Memorial Cross. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be We passed the Broadcast Decency En- f very brief. I want to speak on another forcement Act, which allows for the 10- fold increase of FCC fines for indecency RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME matter. I know we want to get to the hour of pre-vote time here shortly. violations. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Hopefully, tomorrow will officially We passed Cord blood legislation that the previous order, the leadership time end the 109th Congress. At the end of harnesses the power of stem cells in is reserved. the day tomorrow, if we do our work cord blood to develop new cures for f today successfully, and tonight, the life-threatening diseases. We passed the Fetus Farming Prohi- EXECUTIVE SESSION Senate will be able to adjourn. That will also mark, once we adjourn, this bition Act, which prohibits the gesta- official change in leadership and tion of fetal tissue in order to use it for NOMINATION OF ANDREW VON change in the Senate agenda. I know research. ESCHENBACH TO BE COMMIS- many of my colleagues and many of my We passed the Stem Cell Research Al- SIONER OF FOOD AND DRUGS, conservative allies view this change ternatives bill, which provides federal DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND with a bit of trepidation, but change is funding for a variety of stem cell re- HUMAN SERVICES good, change is constructive. It can be search that do not involve destroying human embryos. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under difficult, it can be painful, and it can be messy, but change forces us all to And perhaps most notably . we the previous order, the Senate will pro- confirmed John Roberts Chief Justice ceed to executive session to consider reexamine who we are, where we are, and where we want to go; what we of the Supreme Court . and Samuel the nomination of Andrew von Alito as an associate Justice of the Su- Eschenbach, of Texas, which the clerk know, what we believe. I believe it is our responsibility to preme Court. will report. We confirmed 18 Circuit court nomi- The legislative clerk read the nomi- protect traditional, commonsense American values. I believe when we nees and 87 District court judges, in- nation of Andrew von Eschenbach to be cluding six previously obstructed nomi- Commissioner of Food and Drugs, De- give the American people the freedom to invest their money as they choose, nees. America needs judges who are partment of Health and Human Serv- the economy is going to flourish. It is fair, independent, unbiased, and com- ices. going to have more freedom to grow. mitted to equal justice under the law RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER At the end of the day, I believe good . and we made sure that’s what The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The leaders don’t talk about principles— America got. majority leader is recognized. don’t talk about them—but good lead- Over the past 12 years, what Repub- SCHEDULE ers lead on principle. They act, and licans have done has changed our econ- Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morn- they act with solutions, even if they omy, our country, and our way of life ing the Senate will vote on the motion don’t know that the outcome is going for the better. to invoke cloture on the nomination of to be 100-percent successful every time Our record of success, combined with the FDA Commissioner, Andrew von a bill is taken to the floor. the lessons of November’s election, en- Eschenbach. Senators can expect to I think that is one of the things that sures that our party will rededicate have this vote around 10:30 to 10:45 this at least I tried to do, is not say let’s itself to serving the interests of Amer- morning, following the 1 hour for de- only take to the floor what will nec- ica, both here at home and around the bate. As I mentioned yesterday morn- essarily pass but what is the right world. ing, this is a very important position, thing to do, on principle; what is the That vision—optimistic, forward- and to have this confirmation finally right thing for us to be considering. looking, hopeful—will be grounded in being accomplished will be a great During my tenure in public office, it the fundamentals of commonsense con- achievement for this Congress. is what I tried to do, to lead on prin- servative values best found on Main Once cloture has been invoked, we ciple and act with solutions. It does Street and in families with whom we will try to schedule that vote on con- come from that surgical approach of have the privilege of interacting all firmation early in the day. There are fixing things, of operating, of action. across the country. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under several critical items the Senate must For example . for 10 years, we the previous order, there will be 60 act on before we adjourn sine die, and grappled with the issue of Internet minutes for debate prior to the cloture therefore Senators should adjust their gambling. We watched the industry vote, with time divided as follows: the travel plans to be here voting over the mushroom from a $30 million industry Senator from Wyoming, Mr. ENZI, or coming days. in 1996 to a $12 billion industry today. his designee, 30 minutes; the Senator I will be working with colleagues on We watched an addiction undermine from Iowa, Mr. GRASSLEY, 20 minutes; both sides of the aisle to wrap up our families, dash dreams, and fray the fab- the Senator from Louisiana, Mr. business for the Congress, and I appre- ric of a moral society. VITTER, 10 minutes. ciate Senators’ willingness to work to- So we acted with a solution . by passing the Internet Gambling Prohibi- Who yields time? The Senator from gether on a number of legislative and Wyoming is recognized. executive matters. tion and Enforcement Act to provide new enforcement tools to prosecute il- Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to dis- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER legal Internet gambling. cuss the pending nomination of Dr. An- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Let me give you a few more recent drew von Eschenbach to be the Com- minority leader is recognized. examples of how we have led on prin- missioner of Food and Drugs. The FDA MOVING THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA ciple, and acted with solutions. has a very broad and critical mission in Mr. REID. Mr. President, Andrew von We passed the Adam Walsh Child protecting our public health. The Com- Eschenbach is cleared on this side, so Protection and Safety Act . which missioner of Food and Drugs is in VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:19 Dec 08, 2006 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.001 S07DEPT1 hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMSENATE December 7, 2006 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S11405 charge of an agency that regulates $1 But, in light of the trillion dollars lieve we need to send a message to the trillion worth of products a year. The worth of drugs and products overseen executive branch that it is not OK to FDA ensures the safety and effective- by the FDA and hundreds of drug ap- impede congressional investigations. It ness of all drugs, biological products provals reviewed every year, I think we is not OK to limit the Senate’s access such as vaccines, medical devices, and would be setting a dangerous precedent to documents, information, and em- animal drugs and feed. Let me repeat if any of us hold up the President’s ployees of the executive branch. In his that: the safety and effectiveness of all choice for FDA Commissioner over de- book on congressional government, drugs, biological products such as vac- cisions made involving one product or Woodrow Wilson, before he was Presi- cines, medical devices, animal drugs one issue or something extraneous, dent, when he was a professor at and feed. It also oversees the safety of even, to the Food and Drug Adminis- Princeton, wrote, in 1885: ‘‘Quite as im- a vast variety of food products, as well tration.