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Monday, June 21, 2004 |
The Senate voted 52-38 to adopt the Warner Amendment. The Senate will now vote on a Lautenberg Amendment regarding the same issue.
6:05:40 PM 
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The Senate will now vote on an amendment by Senator Warner regarding the press coverage of the return of caskets at Dover Air Forec Base.
5:33:22 PM
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Senator Durbin of Illinois is speaking about the issue of dietary supplements and the debate over the merits of the amendments offered by himself and Senators Hatch and Harkin. Senator Durbin noted that over 30 active duty soldiers died as a result of using Ephedra and that the Department of Defense removed the product from military bases before it was removed from drugstore shelves.
During a back and forth session, Senators Durbin and Hatch agreed to withdraw their amendments in order to pursue another avenue with which to require the submission of adverse advent reports.
5:10:42 PM
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Senator Hatch is speaking on the issue of dietary supplements. He said that the Durbin amendment is extraneous and the wrong approach at the wrong time especially at a time of war. The Senator said that if there is an issue with dietary supplements, that is should be considered on behalf of the military but for the entire industry. He also noted that the Department of Defense banned the sale of Ephedra long before it was banned by the FDA and that he is currently not aware of any problems with dietary supplements at military bases.
4:29:54 PM
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Senator Harkin on Iowa is introducing a second degree substitute amendment to the Durbin amendment. He noted that he is a little uneasy because he so frequently agrees with the Senator from Illinois, yet in this situation he believes they share the same goals but have different thoughts on how to approach these objectives. Senator Harkin said that he has fought towards ensuring the FDA has enough resources to monitor the adverse advents that result from ingestion of dietary supplements. He does not support the Durbin amendment because he believes that a more comprehensive approach must be taken. The Harkin-Hatch amendment that he is proposing advocates for full funding for enforcement of the DSHEA law and that adverse advent reporting be required for both dietary supplements and prescription medications.
4:07:14 PM
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Senator Dayton is speaking on his amendment that would require Buy America provisions to be included in the Defense Authorization bill. He said that many of the exemption provisions in the Defense Authorization bill effectively destroy the Buy America provisions. Senator Dayton challenged the Bush Administration and all others that believe that we will be better off without Buy America provisions to say why they believe we will be better off without the protections.
3:09:46 PM
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Senator Warner is reading through Senator Bingaman's amendment, mentioning at specific points the problems he has with the language of the amendment. His proposed modifications are mostly of a technical nature, such as ensuring any report about detainees remains classified. Senator Warner suggested that there is a problem with creating a document that would have essential information that is not relevant to the Congress in their investigation of the detainees.
2:53:14 PM
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Senator Bingaman is speaking about an amendment that he is offering that would require the Department of Defense to report to the Senate Intelligence Committee about the enemy combatants that are currently being detained. The Senator noted that there have been a number of news articles about this issue as it has become public that many detainees have been released as there has been insufficient evidence to warrant their continued detention. He believes that it is appropriate for Congress to request information that would clarify the status of the current detainees.
2:34:26 PM
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Senator DeWine is speaking about the current crisis in Sudan. He mentioned that he spoke on this subject a few weeks ago, and it is now estimated that 30,000 people have been killed and 341 villages have been completely destroyed, leaving somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 million people without homes. He continued to say that this ethnic cleansing has been promoted by the Sudanese government and that despite claims by the government that they are going to bring those responsible for these atrocities to justice. The Senator said that humanitarian aid must be delivered and the Sudan government must not delay this aid from getting to the needy recipients.
2:10:06 PM
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Senator Dorgan said that he will offer an amendment pertaining to the issue of broadcast ownership because the junior Senator from Kansas has insisted on offering other telecommunications related provisions to the Defense Authorization bill. Senator Dorgan noted that the new regulations by the FCC will allow a handful of media organizations to dominate what most Americans see, hear and read in the media. He said that this is of concern because the airwaves belong to the American people and that they are licensed to companies. The Senator also outlined two ploys "Voice Casting" and "Center Casting" in which radio and TV stations make it appear that a news team or announcer is in the town of the station, but in reality they are in a completely different part of the country.
1:51:21 PM
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The Majority Leader and the Minority Whip each spoke briefly about the schedule of the Senate for the week. Senator Frist noted that there will be at least one vote on an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, with additional votes possible. He also mentioned that the official photograph of the 108th Senate will be taken tomorrow.
1:07:52 PM
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The Senate reconvenes this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. to resume consideration of S.2400, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. Votes are expected to occur on amendments to this bill around 5:30.
7:51:06 AM
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