Final Push for Progress as Congress Winds Down

WEEKLY SENATE UPDATE
By U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe

November 5, for the week of November 7 through November 13, 2004

FINAL PUSH FOR PROGRESS AS CONGRESS WINDS DOWN

As the U.S. Senate returns to Washington for what is known as a "lame duck" session, I am preparing for what will surely be an 11th hour sprint to conclude lingering legislative business. I will be focusing on major issues of concern to Mainers and all Americans, particularly those needing immediate action like passing the remaining appropriations bill and increasing funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. I also believe the Congress must vote on the final conference report to comprehensively reform our nation's intelligence community. These bills are critical for our entire nation, and should be considered before the 108th Congress adjourns.

As the cold winter months quickly approach, we must secure additional funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which provides vital assistance for those in most need. Last year alone, 45,000 Maine households were able to meet their home energy needs with help from LIHEAP. Working with Senator James Jeffords (I-VT), I will work to increase the annual funding for LIHEAP from $2.0 billion to $3.4 billion for the next three fiscal years. I remain committed to protecting the long-term strength of this essential program which keeps hundreds of families in Maine and across the nation warm through the harsh cold.

As LIHEAP is most critical during the winter months, another issue needing immediate attention is equally seasonal. This year's devastating flu shortage illustrates, once again, the vulnerability of a system with few sources for critical drugs and vaccines. I have called upon the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to not only evaluate international sources for additional flu vaccine, but to also allocate our available doses to the states appropriately so that those with a greater proportion of their population in the high risk groups established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will receive vaccine. I have encouraged the CDC to work together with our experts at the NIH and FDA to leave no stone unturned in order to assure that we obtain the maximum possible protection from the vaccine available. I have also joined with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and others in the Senate to enact legislation to assure that the response of our government improves, and even more important, we will work together to address the conditions that lead to this crisis.

The flu vaccine shortage, however, raises an opportunity to address the over-arching issue of prescription drug importation. Joining with Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), we introduced bipartisan legislation, "The Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act" to allow the safe, regulated importation of prescription drugs from Canada within 90 days of enactment, and from additional industrialized countries after one year. I am working closely with Senator Dorgan and our 30 Senate colleagues who cosponsored this bill in securing consideration - and passage - of drug importation legislation by the full Senate. Americans should no longer have to cross international borders to purchase affordable prescription drugs - drugs that frequently come from the very same manufacturing plants.

Finally, I will continue to work with my colleagues in the appropriations process to ensure that vital funding for initiatives
in Maine are included in the final bills sent to the President. Currently, the President has signed four of the mandatory thirteen appropriations bills into law, with critical funding for veterans, housing initiatives, small business programs, transportation improvements, energy and water projects, and agricultural programs still unfinished. We must take a bipartisan approach to build the consensus to complete the remaining fiscal year 2005 appropriations in the few remaining days before prior to adjournment,

These are just some of the major issues I will focus on when the Senate returns. As the saying goes, the unpredictability of the Senate is the only thing that is predictable-so I will continue to take an active role in legislation that rightly reflects the views and priorities of Maine.