The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S10795-S10797 on Oct. 17, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Ms. SNOWE:
S. 1559. A bill to amend the Ports and Waterways Safety Act to provide that certain information be provided before a vessel arrives in United States waters; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Transparent Sea Act of 2001.
The Coast Guard is a multi-mission agency charged with maintaining our national defense and the safety of our citizens. This is an extraordinary time in our Nation's history and we need to act now and provide the Coast Guard with all of the tools and information necessary to protect our Nation's waterways. This bill allows the Coast Guard to gather vital information about incoming vessels before they reach our ports. This allows them to be pro-active and prevent potential threats from reaching our shores. The sum total of all of our available resources and knowledge must be brought to bear in the defense of our country.
Specifically, my bill would authorize the Coast Guard to obtain the information needed to achieve a greater awareness of possible maritime threats. The bill requires vessels to submit to the Coast Guard prearrival messages not later than 96 hours prior to entering U.S. waters, or such time as deemed necessary by the Secretary of Transportation. This will provide the Coast Guard time to thoroughly examine the information, including the name and flag-country of the vessel, a detailed crew and passenger list, the vessel's cargo, and the port the vessel last departed from. Such a database allows the Coast Guard to track patterns and identify potential problems. The Coast Guard could then deny entry to any vessel that does not meet the notification or listing requirements and intercept any vessels that may pose a threat.
The American people place very high expectations on the Coast Guard. It is incumbent upon us to provide them with the information they need to fulfill those expectations. The Transparent Sea Act of 2001 has the support of the Coast Guard and I look forward to moving the bill to the Senate floor at the earliest opportunity.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1559
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transparent Sea Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. PREARRIVAL MESSAGES FROM VESSELS DESTINED TO UNITED
STATES PORTS.
Section 4(a)(5) of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1223(a)(5)) is amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
``(5)(A) may require the receipt of prearrival messages from any vessel destined for a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, not later than 96 hours before the vessel's arrival or such time as deemed necessary under regulations promulgated by the Secretary to thoroughly examine all information provided, which shall include with respect to the vessel--
``(i) the route and name of each port and each place of destination in the United States;
``(ii) the estimated date and time of arrival at each port or place;
``(iii) the name of the vessel;
``(iv) the country of registry of the vessel;
``(v) the call sign of the vessel;
``(vi) the International Maritime Organization (IMO) international number or, if the vessel does not have an assigned IMO international number, the official number of the vessel;
``(vii) the name of the registered owner of the vessel;
``(viii) the name of the operator of the vessel;
``(ix) the name of the classification society of the vessel;
``(x) a general description of the cargo on board the vessel;
``(xi) in the case of certain dangerous cargo--
``(I) the name and description of the dangerous cargo;
``(II) the amount of the dangerous cargo carried;
``(III) the stowage location of the dangerous cargo; and
``(IV) the operational condition of the equipment under section 164.35 of title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations;
``(xii) the date of departure and name of the port from which the vessel last departed;
``(xiii) the name and telephone number of a 24-hour point of contact for each port included in the notice of arrival;
``(xiv) the location or position of the vessel at the time of the report;
``(xv) a list of crew members onboard the vessel including with respect to each crew member--
``(I) the full name;
``(II) the date of birth;
``(III) the nationality;
``(IV) the passport number or mariners document number; and
``(V) the position or duties;
``(xvi) a list of persons other than crew members onboard the vessel including with respect to each such person--
``(I) the full name;
``(II) the date of birth;
``(III) the nationality; and
``(IV) the passport number; and
``(xvii) any other information required by the Secretary; and
``(B) any changes to the information required by subparagraph (A), except changes in the arrival or departure time of less than six hours, must be reported as soon as practicable but not less than 24 hours before entering the port of destination.
The Secretary may deny entry of a vessel into the territorial sea of the United States if the Secretary has not received notification for the vessel in accordance with paragraph
(5).''.
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By Mr. AKAKA:
S. 1560. A bill to strengthen United States capabilities in environmental detection and the monitoring of biological agents; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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By Mr. AKAKA (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
S. 1561. A bill to strengthen the preparedness of health care providers within the Department of Veterans Affairs and community hospitals to respond to bioterrorism; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce two separate but related bills that address the crucial issue of our national preparedness for acts of bioterrorism. I plan to introduce a third bill next week. As we have learned firsthand over the past two weeks, bioterrorism preparedness is a topic where we have a considerable set of available resources combined with an urgent need for additional legislative action. The Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services held hearings in July to learn what the Federal Government is doing to better prepare our communities for acts of bioterrorism.
This morning, the Committee and Subcommittee held a joint hearing. We heard from Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on the government's role in lateral coordination of response efforts between federal agencies and vertical coordination of efforts with the local and State agencies that are the first to respond to acts of bioterrorism. All our witnesses provided excellent testimony on the progress in national bioterrorism preparedness since the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.
The bills I introduce today address a set of key issues in our national response to acts of terrorism. First, I am sponsoring legislation to increase funding for research and development of new technologies to detect the use of biological weapons against this nation. Second, I am offering a bill with Senator Rockefeller to strengthen cooperation between the hospital network of the Department of Veterans Affairs and community healthcare workers across the Nation. And, third, I will introduce a measure next week to establish stronger safeguards for our Nation's agricultural system and protection of our crops and livestock from agricultural terrorism.
The first piece of legislation, the Biological Agent Environment Detection Act, authorizes appropriations totaling $40 million to support research and development of technologies to detect organisms in the air, water, and food that cause disease in humans, livestock, and crops. This mirrors the President's request of $40 million to support early detection surveillance to identify potential bioterrorism agents, announced by Secretary Thompson at today's hearing. Funds are necessary to encourage cooperative research agreements between the Federal Government, industry, and academic laboratories. The anthrax events of the past two weeks underscore the need for new detection methods and information-
gathering systems. These funds will also support ongoing efforts to develop satellite-based remote sensing technologies to identify weather patterns that contribute to the spread of infectious disease and biological or chemical attacks. Finally, this funding is necessary to support the rigorous testing, verification, and calibration of new biological detection technologies.
The second piece of legislation, sponsored with my friend from West Virginia, Senator Rockefeller, will provide the Department of Veterans Affairs with additional funds to develop training programs with community health care providers. We need to enhance the cooperation between crucial elements of our health care system included in the National Medical Disaster System. These increased funds will support expanded use of existing telecommunications systems to implement a telemedicine training program for VA staff and their community public health counterparts. Remote regions of our Nation need the assurance that local public health responders will have the training and information they need to protect and treat citizens in instances of biological terrorism.
The third bill, the Biosecurity Agriculture Terrorism Act, will enhance Federal efforts to prepare for and respond to acts of agricultural terrorism or naturally-occurring agricultural epidemics by prioritizing efforts, authorizing funding and establishing new policy guidelines. Planning, training, and communication are three cornerstones of the preparedness and mitigation measures that will support the people who initially respond to any agricultural terrorism incident. This bill tasks the Federal Emergency Management Agency to create an emergency response function for agricultural disaster within the Federal Response Plan. This would result in having response and recovery plans in effect in the unfortunate event of an actual agricultural terrorism incident.
Together, these three bills will make significant and necessary contributions to the urgent task of protecting our Nation from all forms of bioterrorism. We can discourage and detect the manufacture, distribution, and use of biological weapons. We can use the existing emergency communication infrastructure, emergency response training programs, and community partnerships within the 173 VA hospitals across the Nation to train both VA staff and local health care providers for bioterrorism response. And, we can protect our national agriculture industry from attack with biological agents. I strongly encourage my colleagues' support as we move forward with this legislation.
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By Mr. SANTORUM:
S. 1562. A bill to amend title 39, United States Code, with respect to cooperative mailings; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that will protect the right of charities, faith-based organizations, and other nonprofit groups to use the nonprofit mail rate for their fundraising activities.
The legislation clarifies ambiguities in the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, PRA, which established a nonprofit mail rate for charities. In recent years, the United States Postal Service, USPS, has increasingly applied PRA regulations that disqualify nonprofits from entering into agreements with commercial printing and mailing businesses to produce and administer mailings. Because of this misapplication, the USPS has been forcing charities to pay the full commercial rate on some fundraising letters merely because they hire third parties to print and prepare them. The result is a 40 percent increase in postal costs for these charities.
My legislation would allow charities and faith-based organizations to share ownership of their mailing with commercial printing and mailing businesses and still qualify for the nonprofit mailing rate. In effect, it would permit charities to mail at nonprofit rates whether they prepare the mailing themselves or hire someone else to do it for them since the purpose of the mailing remains a nonprofit one. Representative Dan Burton has introduced similar bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1169.
It is important to point out that this bill maintains existing federal law that prohibits unauthorized parties from using the nonprofit rate to sell goods or services by mail. Moreover, the legislation does not limit the USPS' authority to enforce any other section of federal postal law. The USPS has been consulted as a part of the development of the legislation.
This legislation will enable charities, churches, synagogues, educational, advocacy, and other nonprofit organizations to negotiate the best agreements they can for their fundraising programs. The net result will be lower fundraising costs and more funds being available for nonprofits to serve others. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join me in support of this initiative.
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By Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. Miller, and Mrs. Feinstein):
S. 1563. A bill to establish a coordination program of science-based countermeasures to address the threats of agricultural bioterrorism; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, along with my colleagues Senators Cochran, Miller, and Feinstein, the Agricultural Bioterrorism Countermeasures Act of 2001.
Due to the growing concerns about threats aimed at America's food supply and vital agricultural economies, I am introducing this legislation to identify, prepare for, and respond to such bioterrorist threats to our farms, ranches, livestock, poultry, crops, and food processing, packaging, and distribution facilities and systems.
As we continue the fight against terrorism, it is critical that we dedicate sufficient resources to bioterrorism, a growing threat which has the potential of putting the safety of the U.S. food supply at risk. The United States currently boasts the world's safest and most abundant and affordable food supply, which benefits our citizens and helps bolster our economy. Clearly, it would be devastating for the public to lose confidence in the safety of our food. We, as a Nation, must respond by developing the technology and implementing the countermeasures necessary to identify and quickly control these risks.
The potential threat of bioterrorism to the U.S. population and to our food supply has been recognized over the years, from the cold war to the gulf war. During the cold war, it was known that the former Soviet Union had a bio-weapons program that included bio-agents aimed at agriculture, while during the gulf war our own soldiers have shown evidence of possible use of biological weapons. Meanwhile, in Japan, terrorists have already tried once to use chemical and bioagents on the subways. In addition, the recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Europe and ``mad-cow disease'' have increased public awareness and concern about exotic diseases that may affect the public through agricultural infection.
The Agriculture Bioterrorism Countermeasures Act of 2001 will authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, to strengthen its capacities to identify, prepare for, and respond to a bioterrorist threat including an attack on the United States' food supply and agriculture. This bill will expand the capacity of the USDA to enhance inspection capability, implement new information technology, and develop methods for rapid detection and identification of plant and animal disease.
This legislation will also strengthen America's research and development capacity by promoting collaboration between organizations that are addressing the use of agricultural bioterrorism, such as the federal government, universities, and private sector. The USDA will establish a Consortium for Countermeasures Against Agricultural Bioterrorism to form long-term programs of research and development to enhance the biosecurity of U.S. agriculture. America's institutes of higher education that have a demonstrated expertise in animal and plant disease research, strong linkages with diagnostic laboratories, and strong coordination with state cooperative extension programs will provide the resources and expertise that will prove invaluable in the war on agricultural bioterrorism.
Protecting our agriculture is critical to my home state. Food production and agriculture make up some of Texas' largest and most diverse economies. Countless amounts of food products, grains, livestock, and poultry travel across our 1200 mile border with Mexico and through our ports of the Gulf of Mexico. We--along with other major agriculture states included Mississippi, Georgia and California--are vulnerable to a bioterrorist attack. However, we will also serve as the first lines of defense for our entire country.
To protect our food supply, our citizens, and our economy, I urge my colleagues to support the Agricultural Bioterrorism Countermeasures Act of 2001.
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By Mr. COCHRAN (for himself, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Leahy):
S.J. Res. 26. Providing for the appointment of Patricia Q. Stonesifer as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am submitting a Senate Joint Resolution appointing a citizen regent to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. I am pleased that my fellow Smithsonian Institution Regents, Senators Frist and Leahy are cosponsors.
The Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents recently recommended the following distinguished individual for appointment to a six year term effective December 8, 2001: Patricia Q. Stonsifer of Washington.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of her biography be included in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Patty Stonesifer, Co-Chair and President, Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
Patty Stonesifer leads the foundation's mission to improve access to advances in global health and learning for all people as we move into the 21st century.
She serves on the Board of the Vaccine Fund, launched in 1999 to address the need for vaccines among the world's poorest countries, as well as on the Board of the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership, a multi-sectoral approach to slowing the spread of AIDS in Botswana. Stonesifer served as an official member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS.
In addition to her responsibilities with the foundation, Stonesifer is an active community volunteer, donating both time and resources to a number of regional nonprofit organizations, and serves on the board of directors of the YWCA of King County and the Seattle Foundation. She is also on the board of directors of Amazon.com and Viacom Inc.
Prior to being asked by Bill and Melinda Gates to launch the work of the Gates Learning Foundation in 1997, Stonesifer held a senior vice president position at Microsoft and ran her own management consulting firm, working with such corporations as Dream Works SKG.
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