I thank those Members who are here again timely this week. At our last three meetings in July we were relatively efficient in completing our agenda. Credit is due in large part to the Members who were in attendance. I hope that I can expect that type of cooperation today in what is an ambitious agenda for the Committee.

We have very little time in which to complete our work in light of the joint session of Congress scheduled for this morning involving President Fox of Mexico. Indeed, I will have to adjourn these proceedings by 10:30 in order to serve as part of the Senate delegation designated to accompany President Fox.

Nominations
We have a number of nominations, for both the judicial and executive branches.
The two judicial nominations on the agenda participated in unprecedented hearings on August 22 and August 27, during the August recess of the Senate. On Tuesday, the President renominated them. I am asking all Members of the Committee to cooperate in expediting the reporting of the nominations of Sharon Prost to the Federal Circuit and Judge Walton to the District Court for the District of Columbia.

Ms. Prost will be the third Court of Appeals nominee reported by the Committee since July, which matches the total number of court of Appeals nominees reported all last year.

Although the reorganization of the Senate was delayed through June and our Committee membership was not set until July 10, we are now ahead of the pace of Committee consideration of judicial nominations in the first year of the first Bush Administration and ahead of the pace of consideration of judicial nominations in the first year of the Clinton Administration. In addition, today I intend to notice our fifth hearing including judicial nominations to be held next week.

With respect to the Justice Department, we have two nominations ready for Committee consideration. Deborah Daniels in nominated to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs and participated in a hearing in late July. Her written responses to follow up questions were supplemented recently and I will move to report her nomination to the Senate.

Richard Nedelkoff has been nominated to be Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance and was included in the hearing on August 22. With respect to our progress of executive branch nominations, I have already noticed a hearing for next Tuesday on the nomination of John Walters to be the drug czar. That will be the fifth hearing on important executive branch nominations since the Committee was set in July.

Drug Competition Act, S.754
I remain gratified by the interest that Senator Grassley is showing in our Drug Competition Act, S.754. Working with him and Senator Hatch, with the FTC, consumer groups and industry representatives I understand we have a substitute that has been circulated and I expect us to take action on it as the first item of business next week. We have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to achieve consensus on this item. I am hopeful that we have achieved that consensus and will have a good bill to report to the Senate at our next business meeting.

S.304, Drug Abuse Education, Prevention and Treatment Act of 2001
This is an important bill with provisions that Senator Hatch and I worked out at the beginning of this session and that a number of Members have supported. Senators Biden, DeWine, Thurmond and Feinstein have all been very helpful and supportive. Our March hearing on the provisions of the bill was excellent and demonstrated a strong justification for proceeding.

However, a problem was pointed out in the June hearing – the "so-called" charitable choice provisions which is controversial and needs to be fixed. That is a process that includes not only this bill but involves an across-the-board approach that a number of Senators and others are confronting. I expect that whatever consensus solution is ultimately found for the President's initiative will apply as well to programs in this bill.

The problems of drugs are so important that I hope the other Members of the Committee will agree with me that we need to move forward on the core provisions of this bill, provisions which can begin to make a difference immediately in our communities and States.

Accordingly, in order to make progress without further delay I intend to move a substitute for the bill that strikes the controversial charitable choice provision. There has been a request that we hold this matter over for action at our next business meeting.

S.703, Interstate Compact relating to Atlantic Salmon
This is a bipartisan bill supported by all the Senators from New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts regarding an extension of the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission. I believe there is no opposition and that it can be reported without delay.

S.1319/ H.R. 2137, DOJ Authorization
Working with Senator Hatch, the Department of Justice and Chairman Sensenbrenner we have worked out an authorization for the Department of Justice. If we can pass this bill, we will have passed an authorization for the Department for the first time in more than 20 years. I think that is worth doing and hope that all Members will cooperate by withholding amendments and allowing this measure to be reported in the form of the substitute circulated. This matter will be held over until next week.

S.1140, the Motor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act of 2001
This arbitration bill is one supported by a majority of Committee Members and is bipartisan. It was a bill Senator Hatch tried to take up toward the end of last year and that he said would be the first item of business this year. I look forward to the Committee considering this measure and reporting it to the Senate for action. There has been a request to hold this matter over until the next business meeting.

S.1233, the Product Packaging Protection Act of 2001
This is a bill with bipartisan cosponsorship on which Senator Kohl held a hearing in July. I think that everyone has been accommodated and we should be prepared to report this measure today, as well.

Having given this brief outline of the agenda, I now recognize Senator Hatch, our Ranking Republican, for his opening remarks.

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