October 2, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10423 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 

resolution be agreed to, the preamble 

be agreed to, the motion to reconsider 

be laid upon the table, and that any 

statements related to the resolution be 

printed in the RECORD. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

The concurrent resolution (H. Con. 

Res. 378) was agreed to. 

The preamble was agreed to. 

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RECOGNIZING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 

OF THE MINORITY AIDS INITIATIVE 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 426, which was received from the House. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title. 

The legislative clerk read as follows: 

A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 426) 

recognizing the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Minority AIDS Initiative. 

There being no objection, the Senate 

proceeded to consider the concurrent 

resolution. 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. I ask 

unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be 

agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 

laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the RECORD. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

The concurrent resolution (H. Con. 

Res. 426) was agreed to. 

The preamble was agreed to. 

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REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged from 

further consideration of S. Res. 616 and 

the Senate proceed to its immediate 

consideration. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 

will report the resolution by title. 

The legislative clerk read as follows: 

A resolution (S. Res. 616) reducing maternal mortality both at home and abroad. 

There being no objection, the Senate 

proceeded to consider the resolution. 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. I ask 

unanimous consent the Lincoln amendment to the resolution, which is at the 

desk, be agreed to, the resolution as 

amended be agreed to, the preamble be 

agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 

laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the RECORD. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

The amendment (No. 5694) was agreed 

to, as follows: 

On page 3, line 4, strike ‘‘greater’’ and insert ‘‘more effective’’. 

On page 3, lines 6 and 7, strike ‘‘maternal 

health as a human right’’ and insert ‘‘that 

the right to access quality and affordable 

health care is essential to improving maternal health’’. 

The resolution (S. Res. 616), as 

amended, was agreed to. 

The preamble was agreed to. 

The resolution, as amended, with its 

preamble, reads as follows: 

S. RES. 616 

Whereas more than 536,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth every year 

which is one every minute; 

Whereas in 15 percent of all pregnancies, 

the complications are life-threatening; 

Whereas girls under 15 are 5 times more 

likely to die in childbirth than women in 

their 20s; 

Whereas nearly all these deaths are preventable; 

Whereas survival rates greatly depend 

upon the distance and time a woman must 

travel to get skilled emergency medical care; 

Whereas care by skilled birth attendants, 

nurses, midwives, or doctors during pregnancy and childbirth, including emergency 

services, and care for mothers and newborns 

is essential; 

Whereas the poorer the household, the 

greater the risk of maternal death, and 99 

percent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries; 

Whereas newborns whose mothers die of 

any cause are 3 to 10 times more likely to die 

within 2 years than those whose mothers survive; 

Whereas more than 1,000,000 children are 

left motherless and vulnerable every year; 

Whereas young girls are often pulled from 

school and required to fill their lost mother’s 

roles; 

Whereas a mother’s death lowers family income and productivity which affects the entire community; 

Whereas in countries with similar levels of 

economic development, maternal mortality 

is highest where women’s status is lowest; 

Whereas the United States ranks 41st 

among 171 countries in the latest UN list 

ranking maternal mortality; 

Whereas the overall United States maternal mortality ratio is now 11 deaths per 

100,000 live births, one of the highest rates 

among industrialized nations; 

Whereas United States maternal deaths 

have remained roughly stable since 1982 and 

have not declined significantly since then; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control 

estimates that the true level of United 

States maternal deaths may be 1.3 to 3 times 

higher than the reported rate; and 

Whereas ethnic and racial disparities in 

maternal mortality rates persist and in the 

United States maternal mortality among 

black women is almost four times the rate 

among non-Hispanic white women: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Senate— 

(1) makes a stronger commitment to reducing maternal mortality both at home and 

abroad through more effective financial investment and participation in global initiatives; and 

(2) recognizes that the right to access quality and affordable health care is essential to 

improving maternal health. 

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PRESERVATION OF RELIGIOUS 

AND CULTURAL SITES 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 

Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 705, which was submitted earlier today. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will report the resolution by 

title. 

The legislative clerk read as follows: 

A resolution (S. Res. 705) expressing the 

sense of the Senate on the commitment of 

the United States to the preservation of religious and cultural sites. 

There being no objection, the Senate 

proceeded to consider the resolution. 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be 

agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 

laid upon the table. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

The resolution (S. Res. 705) was 

agreed to. 

The preamble was agreed to. 

The resolution, with its preamble, 

reads as follows: 

S. RES. 705 

Whereas the Senate is committed to protecting and preserving the cultural heritage 

of all national, religious, and ethnic groups, 

including cemeteries and other sacred sites 

of those groups in the United States and 

abroad; 

Whereas the Holocaust annihilated much 

of the Jewish population of Europe, and in 

many countries in Europe, no Jewish people 

were left to care for the communal properties that represent a historic culture in the 

area and constitute an integral part of the 

Jewish religion; 

Whereas the Holocaust and 45 years of 

atheistic, Communist governments in Eastern Europe created a critical need that led to 

the establishment of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s 

Heritage Abroad under section 1303 of the 

International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 469j); 

Whereas the United States Commission for 

the Preservation of America’s Heritage 

Abroad is tasked with identifying and reporting on cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with the heritage of 

United States citizens and obtaining assurances from the governments in those regions 

that those properties will be protected and 

preserved; 

Whereas many of those properties continue 

to be endangered and governments and communities continue to face fundamental and 

compelling challenges in the preservation of 

those properties; 

Whereas experts within Lithuania and 

from around the world believe that the cemetery located in the Snipiskes area of Vilnius, 

Lithuania, is an historic Jewish cemetery 

and is sacred ground; 

Whereas, in 2005, municipal authorities in 

Vilnius, Lithuania, approved the construction of an apartment building at the outer 

edge of that Jewish cemetery; 

Whereas that cemetery dates to the 15th 

century and is known by scholars in Lithuania and around the world as the first Jewish cemetery in Vilnius; 

Whereas it is believed that, before the Government closed the cemetery in the early 

1800s, more than 50,000 Jews were buried 

there; 

Whereas, in December 2006, several months 

after experts and groups from around the 

world expressed grave concern about the 

desecration of the Snipiskes cemetery, the 

Prime Minister of Lithuania established a 

working group to define the cemetery’s borders and to consider how to memorialize it; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with SENATE