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These funding inadequacies not only create instability in the program, but they pose negative consequences for each state over the long-haul due to the uncertainty of federal commitment to SCHIP. The likely result will be that states will either have to cap enrollment in their SCHIP programs, push children out of their programs, or scale back benefits to make up for these budget shortfalls. The end result

[Page: S7928]  GPO's PDF

   Our bill will remedy these funding problems. It will do so by fixing the ``CHIP-Dip'' and by extending the life of expiring funds to states that need the assistance to take care of funding shortfalls. This legislation is crucial to my state of Rhode Island. Without this legislative remedy, Rhode Island is set to run out of SCHIP funds by FY 2004. At 4.5 percent, Rhode Island currently has the lowest uninsured rate of any state in the nation for children. This bill will enable Rhode Island to continue offering health coverage to this vulnerable population.

   I urge my colleagues to join Senator Rockefeller and me in supporting this important legislation. It is a crucial step in ensuring that our nation's children will have long-term access to quality health insurance.

   Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Children's Health Improvement and Protection Act today, along with my good friends Senator Orrin Hatch, Senator Jay Rockefeller, and Senator Lincoln Chafee. This bill will provide needed funding to keep children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program and to allow the program to grow. Without this legislation, hundreds of thousands of children will lose their CHIP coverage and rejoin the ranks of the uninsured.

   Monday is the fifth anniversary of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Senator Hatch and I have worked together on many proposals, but none has had more lasting benefit for millions of American children than our legislation to create CHIP. We first proposed CHIP after we became acutely aware of the health defects facing children and the need to assure that every child got a healthy start in life. Before we passed CHIP, 500,000 children with asthma never saw a doctor. Another 600,000 children with earaches and 600,000 with sore throats never received medical care.

   A sick child can't learn. A child who can't hear the teacher can't learn. A child who can't see the doctor when they're sick can't learn. That's why uninsured children are more likely to fall behind or drop out of school altogether.

   We also became aware of the ravages of smoking on health, and that the key to addressing this problem was to discourage children from starting to smoke. In my own state of Massachusetts, there had been a very successful campaign to raise money to expand children's health coverage by raising the cigarette tax. This united anti-tobacco activists and child health advocates.

   So Senator Hatch and I decided that the winning, fiscally responsible, right health policy approach was to develop a major expansion of children's health insurance and finance it with an increase in the tobacco tax.

   And what a success CHIP has been. This legislation has touched every community in America. Last year, over 4.5 million children received health insurance through either Children's Health Insurance Program or through Medicaid expansions under the CHIP program. Last year, 105,000 children in Massachusetts were covered through these programs, and many other states have had similar successes.

   Despite the clear evidence that health insurance provides children with a healthier start, funding cuts to the CHIP program of more than $1 billion this year and each of the next two years puts the gains we have made in insuring children at risk. This ``CHIP dip'' is a result of the budget constraints when CHIP was enacted in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act. This funding cut comes at the same time enrollment in the program is rising and will cause 900,000 children to lose the health insurance they have today through CHIP.

   While states are facing a drop in funding that will cause them to drop insured children, almost $3 billion in unspent CHIP funds will be lost if we do nothing. CHIP funds must be spent within three years of allocation. Because of a mismatch between the time unspent funds were reallocated to the states and when the states needed the funds, some states will not be able to use all of their CHIP funds within the allocation period.

   It makes no sense to have funds expire and revert to the Treasury when we know states will be facing a funding drop that will cause them to cut children from their programs. One of this nation's most fundamental guarantees should be that every child has the opportunity to succeed in life. But that commitment rings hollow if children are doomed to a lifetime of disability and illness because they lack needed health care in their early years.

   That is why we are introducing the Children's Health Insurance Program. This bill will allow states to maintain and expand their CHIP programs. It lets states keep a portion of their unspent funds that would otherwise expire. It also establishes a new caseload stabilization pool with funds that would otherwise expire. The pool will direct unspent funds to states that are expected to use up all their CHIP funds. Finally, the bill provides additional CHIP funding for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 so that CHIP enrollment can be maintained and expanded. This legislation will move us one important step closer to fulfilling the promise that no child in America will be left behind because of inadequate health care coverage.

   I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

   Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today, Senators Rockefeller, Chafee, Kennedy, and I are introducing legislation to make certain that States have adequate funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, otherwise known as CHIP.

   I cosponsor this legislation to reflect my concern that, unless the Congress addresses this issue, thousands of children may risk losing their health insurance coverage. CHIP has proven to be an enormously popular program, which has provided much needed health insurance to literally millions of low-income children. It helps the poorest of the poor families who are not Medicaid-eligible.

   We cannot afford to stand back now and watch those efforts be undermined because of funding problems that Congress should correct. That is the intent, as I understand it, of the Rockefeller-Chafee bill.

   As most of my colleagues are aware, when CHIP was established in 1997, Congress committed $20 billion over five years and a total of $40 billion over 10 years for the program. For each fiscal year 1999 through 2001, Congress allocated $4.3 billion; yet for the fiscal years 2002 through 2004, Congress allocated $3 billion per year for CHIP programs. This so-called ``CHIP'' dip may reduce funding levels in States that are just beginning to ramp up their programs.

   I am concerned that while States will have some unspent CHIP moneys available to them, that those funds still might not be enough to address the ``CHIP dip'' and the expanding CHIP population. We need to deal with this issue and we need to deal with the nearly $3 billion in federal CHIP moneys scheduled to revert back to the Treasury in fiscal year 2002 and 2003.

   My cosponsorship of this legislation reflects my commitment to address these issues, although I recognize that there are a number of issues associated with this legislation that will need to be worked out. I accept the assurances of my fellow cosponsors that they will work with me to address those issues as the bill moves forward in the Finance Committee.

   Let me also add that I am aware that many of my colleagues have additional policy issues regarding the CHIP program that they feel should be addressed. Know I do. I am particularly concerned by recent legislation, approved by the Finance Committee, which would extend coverage under the CHIP program to pregnant women. Now, I wholeheartedly support providing expectant mothers health care assistance. But, I believe that before we extend coverage under CHIP to any adult, States need to demonstrate that they are covering, to the greatest extend possible, all eligible children.

   The CHIP program is one of my proudest accomplishments. I want to continue to maintain the integrity of this program. The only purpose of CHIP was to extend access to health insurance to poor kids. As one of the prime authors of the legislation, I can assure my colleagues that it was not our intent that the program be expanded to address the entire problem of health care for the uninsured a piece at a time. Covering the uninsured is a worthy goal and one which we need to address, but that was not the purpose

[Page: S7929]  GPO's PDF

   By Mr. INHOFE:

   S. 2861. A bill to empower States with authority for most taxing and spending for highway programs and mass transit programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

   Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President; I introduce The Transportation Empowerment Act which will allow states to keep a majority of the federal gas tax dollars raised in their state. Similar to legislation introduced by our former colleague Connie Mack, ``The Transportation Empowerment Act'' restores to states and local communities the ability to make their own transportation decisions without the interference of Washington.

   This proposal is very straightforward. It streamlines the federal-aid highway program into four core areas: Interstate, Federal Lands, Safety and Research. The proposed bill provides for continued general fund support for transit grants and authorizes states to enter into multi state compacts for planning and financing regional transportation needs.

   The federal tax is kept in place for a four-year transition period, beginning in FY04. After funding the core programs and paying off outstanding bills, the balance is returned to the states in a block grant. At the end of the transition period, in FY07, the federal tax is reduced to two cents per gallon.

   I have long believed that the best decisions are those made at the local level. Unfortunately, many of the transportation choices made by cities and states are governed by federal rules and regulations. This bill returns to states the responsibility and resources to make their own transportation decisions.

   By Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. HOLLINGS, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. BIDEN):

   S. 2862. A bill to provide for the establishment of a scientific basis for new firefighting technology standards, improve coordination among Federal, State, and local fire officials in training for and responding to terrorist attacks and other national emergencies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation .

   Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators HOLLINGS, CANTWELL, and BIDEN in introducing the Firefighting Research and Coordination Act. This legislation would provide for the establishment of the scientific basis for new firefighting technology standards; improved coordination between Federal, state, and local fire officials in training and response to a terrorist attack or a national emergency; and authorize the National Fire Academy to offer training to improve the ability of firefighters to respond to events such as the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

   The purpose of this legislation is to act upon some of the lessons learned from the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and address other problems faced by the fire services. On September 11, the New York City fire fighters and emergency service personnel acted with great heroism in selflessly rushing to the World Trade Center and saving the lives of many Americans. Tragically, 343 firefighters and EMS technicians paid the ultimate price in the service of their country. While we strive to prevent any future attack in the United States, it is our duty to ensure that we are adequately prepared for any future catastrophic act of terrorism. In addition, we must recognize that many of the preparations we make to improve the response to national emergencies will also prepare our firefighters for their everyday role in protecting our families and homes.

   Today's firefighters use a variety of technologies including thermal imaging equipment, devices for locating firefighters and victims, and state-of-the-art protective suits to fight fires, clean up chemical or hazardous waste spills, and contend with potential terrorist devices. The Federal government's Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement, FIRE, program is authorized for $900 million this year to assist local fire departments in purchasing this high-tech equipment. It is important that the American taxpayers' money is used for effective new equipment that will protect our local communities.

   Unfortunately, there are no uniform technical standards for this new equipment for combating fires. Without such standards, local fire companies may purchase equipment that does not satisfy their needs, or even purchase faulty equipment. For example, Montgomery County, MD, spent $40,000 on ``Level B'' protective suits that they cannot use, because these suits have ``booties'' that are not compatible with the firefighter's boots. Currently, local fire departments also have problems using each other's fire hoses and air bottles for self-contained breathing apparatuses because of inconsistent equipment standards. It is important that new equipment performs properly and is compatible with older equipment.

   This bill seeks to address the need for new equipment standards by establishing a scientific basis for voluntary consensus standards. It would authorize the U.S. Fire Administrator to work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Inter-Agency Board for Equipment Standardization and Inter-Operability, and other interested parties to establish measurement techniques and testing methodologies for new firefighting equipment. These new techniques and methodologies will act as a scientific basis for the development of voluntary consensus standards. This bill would allow the Federal government to cooperate with the private sector in developing the basic uniform performance criteria and technical standards to ensure that effectiveness and compatibility of these new technologies.

   Many issues regarding coordination surfaced on September 11. Titan Systems Corporation recently issued an after-action report, on behalf of the fire department of Arlington County, VA, which highlighted problems between the coordination of Washington D.C., and Arlington County fire departments. The report also cited the confusion caused by a large influx of self-dispatched volunteers, and increased risk faced by the ``bonafide responders.'' These conclusions are consistent with an article by the current U.S. Fire Administrator, R. David Paulison, in the June 1993 issue of Fire Chief magazine, where he described being overwhelmed by the number of uncoordinated volunteer efforts that poured into Florida after Hurricane Andrew. Additionally, many fire officials and the General Accounting Office have highlighted the duplicative nature of many Federal programs and the need for better coordination between federal, state, and local officials.

   The bill also seeks to address these problems by directing the U.S. Fire Administrator to work with state and local fire service officials to establish nationwide and state mutual aid systems for responding to national emergencies. These mutual aid plans would include collection of accurate asset and resource information to ensure that local fire services could work together to deploy equipment and personnel effectively during an emergency. This legislation would also establish the U.S. Fire Administrator as the primary point of contact within the Federal government for state and local firefighting units, in order to ensure greater Federal coordination and interface with state and local officials in preparing and responding to terrorist attacks, hurricanes, earthquakes, or other national emergencies. In addition, the bill would direct the U.S. Fire Administrator to report on the need for a strategy for deploying volunteers, including the use of a national credentialing system. Currently, there is a system for credentialing volunteers to fight wildfires that has proven effective, and the development of a similar system may prevent some of the confusion that occurred at the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11.

   Finally, the bill would improve the training of state and local firefighters. The bill would authorize the National Fire Academy to offer courses in building collapse rescue; the use of technology in response to fires caused by

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   This bill would also direct the U.S. Fire Administrator to coordinate the National Fire Academy's training programs with the Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies to prevent the duplication in training programs that has been identified by the General Accounting Office.

   I am pleased to announce that this legislation is supported by the National Volunteer Fire Council; the Congressional Fire Services Institute; the National Fire Protection Association; the International Association of Fire Chiefs; the International Association of Fire Fighters; the International Association of Arson Investigators; and the International Fire Service Training Association. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure passage of this legislation. I am aware that some issues, including funding of this legislation, need to be addressed.

   Last year, we were caught unprepared and paid a terrible price as a result. We must ensure that future firefighters are adequately equipped and trained, and are working in coordination to respond to any future national emergencies. Every day firefighters rush into burning buildings to save the lives of their fellow Americans. It is our duty to adequately equip and protect them.

   Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I introduced legislation designating the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the Year of the Blues and requesting that the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe the ``Year of the Blues'' with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and educational programs. I am joined by Senators COCHRAN, THOMPSON, and FRIST and ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the RECORD.

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