S5944 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 2, 1995 

The U.S. Department of Defense supported this proposition. It will allow 

Guantanamo to return to its role as an 

important part of our hemispheric security. It will not serve as a magnet for 

future buildup and diversion from its 

military use. It will stop almost $1 million a day of expenditure that we have 

been making at Guantanamo. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time 

of the Senator has expired. 

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent for an additional 2 

minutes. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, there 

were some difficult decisions that had 

to be made around that core judgment. 

The result of the series of decisions 

will be: First that there will be no increase of total Cuban immigration into 

the United States, legal Cuban immigration, beyond that to which the 

United States was already committed. 

Second, that immigration will now 

come from two streams, partially from 

Havana and partially from those persons who are at Guantanamo. 

Third, the American people will be 

assured that only people from either 

place—Havana or Guantanamo—who 

will enter the United States will be 

those who meet our standards for 

entry. 

Fourth, steps have been taken to demagnetize Guantanamo for further 

population buildup. 

Within that policy, the American 

principle of recognition of political 

asylum and provision for those persons 

who seek freedom to make the case 

that they are seeking freedom out of 

the basis of a legitimate fear of political persecution will be maintained. 

They will be afforded that opportunity. 

The Attorney General outlined in summary form today what those steps will 

be. 

So, Mr. President, I appreciate the 

leadership which the President has 

taken in making a difficult decision. I 

believe this Senate should appreciate 

the fact that he has responded to our 

request for leadership on this matter; 

that the U.S. Department of Defense 

will now be able to return its personnel 

and facilities to their intended purpose 

of security of the United States; and 

that we will be able to say that our 

policy of respecting human rights, and 

particularly respecting the rights of 

those claiming political asylum, will 

be maintained. 

They are difficult choices, but in my 

judgment, choices that had to be made. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina. 

MOTION TO RECONSIDER VOTE ON AMENDMENT

NO. 603

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, was a 

motion to reconsider the vote on 

amendment No. 603 made? 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion was not made. 

Mr. HELMS. I make such a motion 

and I move to table the motion. 

The motion to lay on the table was 

agreed to. 

The Senator from Pennsylvania is 

recognized. 

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent I may speak for 5 

minutes as in morning business. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

THE NOMINATION OF DR. HENRY 

FOSTER 

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have 

sought recognition to urge the Senate 

to consider the nomination of Dr. 

Henry Foster to be Surgeon General, to 

consider that nomination ultimately 

on the Senate floor. I urge that this be 

done for two reasons: First, out of 

basic fairness to Dr. Foster and, second, as an important sign that men and 

women can place themselves up for 

nomination for important positions 

without fear of being, in effect, railroaded out of town without having an 

opportunity for their positions and 

their cases and their records to be 

heard. 

This morning, Dr. Foster testified before the Committee on Labor and 

Human Resources and the preliminary 

reports are that Dr. Foster has been an 

impressive witness on his own behalf. 

After Dr. Foster’s name was submitted 

for the position of Surgeon General, I 

met with him extensively to discuss his 

record, after having reviewed his educational record, his record as a practicing physician, the work that he had 

done against teenage pregnancy, the 

work he had done for poor people, and 

the work he had done in a community 

context. 

Let us strip away the facade, Mr. 

President. What has really occurred on 

Dr. Foster’s nomination is an objection 

to his having performed abortions, and 

it seems to me that when Dr. Foster 

has performed abortions, however 

many, a medical procedure permitted 

by the U.S. Constitution, that ought 

not to be a reason for his disqualification. 

Before any other consideration had 

arisen as to issues about performing 

hysterectomies or an issue about 

syphilis in studies of African-Americans or the question about how many 

abortions he had performed, there was 

an immediate cry that Dr. Foster was 

disqualified because he had performed 

abortions. 

I think that is totally inappropriate, 

that is just wrong, to disqualify a 

nominee for Surgeon General because 

that person has performed a medical 

procedure which is permitted by the 

U.S. Constitution. 

With respect to the issue of how 

many abortions he had performed and 

what information had come from the 

White House—and it appears at one 

point the White House made a representation of only one abortion; that 

was not what Dr. Foster had represented—that ought not to be held 

against him and ought not to be a 

smokescreen or a red herring for saying that he is disqualified. Whatever 

Dr. Foster has said about the number 

of abortions, that ought to be a question for the full Senate to consider. 

And whatever the contentions are 

about the performance of 

hysterectomies or about the syphilis 

testing on African Americans, that 

again is a question for consideration by 

the full Senate. 

Now, I know, Mr. President, there 

have been statements by some that 

they are going to filibuster the nomination. Well, if they choose to filibuster the nomination, so be it. Let us 

have it out on the Senate floor. And 

there are some who say that if the 

nomination is voted out by committee, 

and it is not brought to the floor, they 

are going to tie up the Senate. I do not 

think we need those kinds of threats 

for the Senate to consider its business 

and decide whether Dr. Henry Foster is 

qualified to be Surgeon General. 

It is my hope that the committee 

will report Dr. Foster to the floor for 

consideration by the Senate, and that 

can be done in a variety of ways. It can 

be done on an affirmative vote by a 

majority saying he is qualified, it 

could be done on a vote by the committee saying that he ought to be considered without recommendation, or it 

can even be done if the committee 

votes Dr. Foster down, as we have had 

with nominees. Judge Bork was voted 

down by the committee but it was 

voted to the Senate floor. Or Judge 

Thomas, later Justice Thomas, was a 

tie vote in the committee and was 

voted to the Senate floor. 

It seems to me, in fairness to Dr. 

Foster, he ought to be considered by 

the full Senate, and in fairness to the 

system where we are asking people to 

come to Washington under very difficult circumstances as a matter of 

precedent somebody ought not to be, in 

effect, railroaded out of town without 

having the Senate consider his nomination. 

So as this matter is being considered 

today by the committee, I wanted to 

make these comments because the core 

question here, Mr. President, stripped 

away from all the subterfuge, stripped 

away from all the smoke, stripped 

away from all the red herrings is 

whether Dr. Foster ought to be disqualified for performing abortions, 

however many, a medical procedure authorized by the U.S. Constitution. I 

think the Senate ought to face up to 

that squarely. If the balance of the testimony shows qualification, as I think 

it will, based upon my examination of 

the record and my detailed conversations with Dr. Foster in questioning of 

him, then I think he ought to be confirmed. 

I thank the Chair and yield the floor. 

f 

RECESS UNTIL 2:15 P.M. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under 

the previous order, the Senate will now 

stand in recess until 2:15 p.m. 

mmaher on MIKETEMP with SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS