CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—APR. 13, 2000 114 STAT. 3167 (1) over 1.2 million men and women work as fire and emergency services personnel in 32,000 fire and emergency medical services departments across the Nation; (2) over 80 percent of those who serve do so as volunteers; (3) the Nation's firefighters responded to more than 18 million calls in 1998, including over 1.7 million fires; (4) an average of 100 firefighters per year lose their lives in the course of their duties; and (5) the Federal Government has a role in protecting the health and safety of the Nation's fire fighting personnel. (b) SENSE OF THE HOUSE. — It is the sense of the House that— (1) the Nation's firefighters and emergency services crucial role in preserving and protecting life and property should be recognized, and such Federal assistance as low-interest loan programs, community development block grant reforms, emergency radio spectrum reallocations, and volunteer fire assistance programs, should be considered; and (2) additional resources should be set aside for such assistance. SEC. 324. SENSE OF THE HOUSE ON ADDITIONAL HEALTH-RELATED TAX RELIEF. It is the sense of the House that the reserve fund set forth in section 213 assumes $446,000,000 in fiscal year 2001 and $4,352,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005 for health-related tax provisions comparable to those contained in H.R, 2990 (as passed by the House). Subtitle C—Sense of the Senate Provisions SEC. 331. SENSE OF THE SENATE SUPPORTING FUNDING LEVELS IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ACT. It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this resolution assume that of the amounts provided for elementary and secondary education within the Budget Function 500 of this resolution for fiscal years 2001 through 2005, such funds shall be appropriated in proportion to and in accordance with the levels authorized in the Educational Opportunities Act, S. 2. SEC. 332. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON ADDITIONAL BUDGETARY RESOURCES. It is the sense of the Senate that the levels contained in this resolution assume that— (1) there are billions of dollars in wasted expenditures in the Federal Government that should be eliminated; and (2) higher projected budget surpluses arising from reductions in Government waste and stronger revenue inflows could be used in the future for additional tax relief or debt reduction, SEC. 333. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON REGARDING THE INADEQUACY OF THE PAYMENTS FOR SKILLED NURSING CARE. It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this resolution assume that— (1) the Administration should identify areas where they have the authority to make changes to improve quality, including analyzing and fixing the labor component of the skilled nursing facility market basket update factor; and
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