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From: Bill Turenne, Jr., [log in to unmask] I wanted to first thank Mike Claeys for his excellent synopsis of the current status of the Udall Bill. I'm sure it was very helpful to many of you. I just got back from the House/ Senate Conference on The Labor HHS Appropriations Bill for FY'98. The Conferees met at 11:00 am EDT for about an hour in a pro-forma, (or informal and introductory) session where members made brief opening statements. I have not been able to get transcripts of their opening statements (yet), and did not hear the Udall Amendment or even PD referred to, but I did receive some information regarding their upcoming Conference schedule. It appears that the Conferees will reconvene on Tuesday, September 30th with the hopes of finalizing report language by the middle to end of next week. This is when the fate of the Udall Amendment will be decided. As soon as they are finished agreeing on language, the Labor HHS Conference Report (hopefully with the Udall Amendment safely in tow) will be voted on, and passed by both Houses. I will be attending the Conference daily, gathering information and posting it on this listserve. If you have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me or call the NPF Washington office toll-free at 1-888-331-4673. The countdown begins! Bill