March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3201 not be considered to be a hazardous COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. ‘‘(3) the alleged offender is an alien law- substance, pollutant, or contaminant. 857, a bill to redesignate the project for fully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (as that term is defined in S. 821 navigation, Saco River, Maine, as an section 101 of the Immigration and Nation- At the request of Mr. SMITH, the anchorage area. ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)); name of the Senator from Illinois (Mr. S. 882 ‘‘(4) the alleged offender is a stateless per- DURBIN) was added as a cosponsor of S. At the request of Mr. MENENDEZ, the son whose habitual residence is in the United 821, a bill to amend section 402 of the names of the Senator from Illinois (Mr. States; or Personal Responsibility and Work Op- DURBIN) and the Senator from Massa- ‘‘(5) after the conduct required for the of- portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to chusetts (Mr. KERRY) were added as co- fense occurs, the alleged offender is brought provide for an extension of eligibility sponsors of S. 882, a bill to require a into, or found in, the United States, even if for supplemental security income that conduct occurred outside the United pilot program on the facilitation of the States.’’. through fiscal year 2010 for refugees, transition of members of the Armed Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I rise asylees, and certain other humani- Forces to receipt of veterans health today as the lead Republican sponsor of tarian immigrants. care benefits upon completion of mili- the Genocide Accountability Act of S. 831 tary service, and for other purposes. At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the 2007. I thank my colleague, Senator S.J. RES. 5 name of the Senator from Kansas (Mr. DURBIN, for introducing this important BROWNBACK) was added as a cosponsor At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the piece of legislation. of S. 831, a bill to authorize States and name of the Senator from Maryland Senator DURBIN serves as the chair- local governments to prohibit the in- (Mr. CARDIN) was added as a cosponsor man and I serve as the ranking member vestment of State assets in any com- of S.J. Res. 5, a joint resolution pro- of the new Subcommittee on Human pany that has a qualifying business re- claiming Casimir Pulaski to be an hon- Rights and the Law in the Senate Judi- lationship with Sudan. orary citizen of the United States post- ciary Committee. We held our first S. 844 humously. hearing, entitled ‘‘Genocide and the At the request of Mrs. FEINSTEIN, the S. RES. 65 Rule of Law,’’ on February 5, 2007. name of the Senator from Wisconsin At the request of Mr. BIDEN, the There could not be a more appropriate (Mr. KOHL) was added as a cosponsor of name of the Senator from Rhode Island way to begin examining the law as it S. 844, a bill to provide for the protec- (Mr. REED) was added as a cosponsor of relates to human rights than to deter- tion of unaccompanied alien children, S. Res. 65, a resolution condemning the mine what we can and must do to pre- and for other purposes. murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist vent and stop genocide. The United S. 849 and human rights advocate Hrant Dink States is a signatory of the Convention At the request of Mr. LEAHY, the and urging the people of Turkey to on the Prevention and Punishment of names of the Senator from Pennsyl- honor his legacy of tolerance. the Crime of Genocide. This convention vania (Mr. SPECTER), the Senator from S. RES. 95 provides that the contracting parties Wisconsin (Mr. FEINGOLD) and the Sen- At the request of Mr. SPECTER, the must ‘‘undertake to prevent and to ator from Massachusetts (Mr. KERRY) name of the Senator from Vermont punish’’ the crime of genocide. We have were added as cosponsors of S. 849, a (Mr. LEAHY) was added as a cosponsor also passed a law implementing the bill to promote accessibility, account- of S. Res. 95, a resolution designating Genocide Convention. ability, and openness in Government March 25, 2007, as ‘‘Greek Independence However, our hearing demonstrated by strengthening section 552 of title 5, Day: A National Day of Celebration of that there are changes that need to be United States Code (commonly referred Greek and American Democracy’’. made in law and foreign policy to re- to as the Freedom of Information Act), spond to the ongoing genocide in Sudan f and for other purposes. and to any genocide that may occur S. 852 STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED elsewhere in the future. Fortunately, At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS two of these changes can be accom- name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. plished right now. COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. COBURN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. The first change can be accomplished 852, a bill to deauthorize the project for CORNYN, and Mr. FEINGOLD): through a bill Senators DURBIN and navigation, Tenants Harbor, Maine. S. 888. A bill to amend section 1091 of CORNYN introduced last week, of which S. 853 title 18, United States Code, to allow I am a cosponsor. That bill, the Sudan At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the the prosecution of genocide in appro- Divestment Authorization Act of 2007, name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. priate circumstances; to the Com- will allow State and local governments COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. mittee on the Judiciary. to prohibit the investment of State as- 853, a bill to deauthorize the project for Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask sets in the Government of Sudan or navigation, Northeast Harbor, Maine. unanimous consent that the text of the companies with certain business rela- S. 854 bill be printed in the RECORD. tionships with Sudan, while the Gov- At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the There being no objection, the bill was ernment of Sudan is subject to sanc- name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as tions under U.S. law. The second COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. follows: change can be accomplished through 854, a bill to modify the project for S. 888 the bill we are introducing today, the navigation, Union River, Maine. Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- S. 855 resentatives of the United States of America in This act will ensure that our justice At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the Congress assembled, system has the authority to prosecute name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. someone who has committed genocide COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Genocide if that person is found or brought into 855, a bill to deauthorize a certain por- Accountability Act of 2007’’. the United States. tion of the project for navigation, SEC. 2. GENOCIDE. Under current law, the United States Rockland Harbor, Maine. Section 1091 of title 18, United States Code, can deny admission to and exclude S. 856 is amended by striking subsection (d) and in- aliens from the United States on At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the serting the following: human rights grounds. The Attorney name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. ‘‘(d) REQUIRED CIRCUMSTANCE FOR OF- General can also consider avenues for COLLINS) was added as a cosponsor of S. FENSES.—The circumstance referred to in the prosecution of aliens who have 856, a bill to terminate authorization subsections (a) and (c) is that— committed certain crimes, including for the project for navigation, Rock- ‘‘(1) the offense is committed in whole or in genocide. However, the Attorney Gen- part within the United States; port Harbor, Maine. ‘‘(2) the alleged offender is a national of eral can only prosecute a perpetrator S. 857 the United States (as that term is defined in of genocide if he committed his crimes At the request of Ms. SNOWE, the section 101 of the Immigration and Nation- within the United States or is a U.S. name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)); national.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 00:44 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.051 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3202 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 What does this mean? It means that sites in the District of Columbia. In and ended the Korean War. President if a person who plans or participates in 2005, it selected a site between the De- Eisenhower desegregated the District the genocide occurring right now in partment of Education and the Na- of Columbia and sent Federal troops Darfur travels to the United States on tional Air and Space Museum, two in- into Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce vacation, business, or even to live here stitutions resulting from and greatly school integration. He defused inter- for an extended period of time—as a influenced by President Eisenhower’s national crises and inaugurated the na- refugee or student, for instance—a leadership. tional security policies that guided the court in the United States cannot In 2006, Congress approved the memo- nation for the next three decades, lead- touch him. The best our justice system rial’s location within Area I, in compli- ing to the peaceful end of the Cold War. can do is deport him once his crime is ance with the Commemorative Works A career soldier, President Eisen- discovered. Act. The Commission secured full ap- hower championed peace, freedom, jus- Without question, it may be more ap- proval for the selected site following tice and security, and, as President, he propriate in some cases to extradite extensive review by the National Park stressed the interdependence of those someone who commits genocide to his Service, the National Capital Memorial goals. He spent a lifetime fulfilling his home country or turn him over to an Advisory Commission, the National duty to his country, always remem- international tribunal. However, there Capital Planning Commission, and the bering to ask: What is best for Amer- are also times when a person’s home Commission of Fine Arts. Since its in- ica? country may not be willing to pros- ception, the Commission has also President Eisenhower once said, ‘‘I ecute him and there is no viable alter- taken great care to study and analyze know that the American people share native for prosecution. In these cases, President Eisenhower’s legacy. It pro- my belief that if a danger exists in the extraditing a criminal would be no dif- duced a report by leading scholars and world, it is a danger shared by all; and ferent than setting him free. This bill experts on President Eisenhower that equally, that if hope exists in the mind will not force our justice system to provides a definitive statement on the of one nation, that hope should be prosecute those who commit genocide transcending elements of President Ei- shared by all.’’ President Eisenhower’s just because they are found on our senhower’s enduring legacy. He ranks legacy provides hope to all of us—like soil—it simply gives us the option. as one of the preeminent figures in the him, through education and public Nonetheless, in America we are blessed global history of the 20th century. service, we, as a nation and individ- with great resources and the most ef- The Eisenhower Memorial Commis- ually, can rise to meet any challenge. fective and just legal system in the sion now needs to move into the design Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to world. With these blessings comes phase. As design begins, the Commis- support this legislation. great responsibility. It is contrary to sion’s organization, specifically with I ask unanimous consent that the our system of justice to allow perpetra- regard to contracting and staffing, text of my bill be printed in the tors of genocide to go free without fear needs to be updated and revised to en- RECORD. of prosecution. able efficient management and respon- There being no objection, the text of It simply makes no sense to withhold sible stewardship. The proposed legisla- the bill was ordered to be printed in from our justice system the authority tion which I introduce today provides the RECORD, as follows: to prosecute someone who is found in for the necessary reorganization. I am S. 890 joined by Senators STEVENS, ROBERTS, the United States and who committed Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- a crime as atrocious as genocide just and HAGEL as original cosponsors of resentatives of the United States of America in because he is not American and did not the bill. Congress assembled, The legislation enables the Commis- commit the crime here. We have passed SECTION 1. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER MEMORIAL tough laws that ensure that we can sion to retain the services of full, part- COMMISSION. prosecute anyone found in the United time, and volunteer staff as govern- Section 8162 of the Department of Defense States who has committed terrorist ment employees, without the restric- Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–79; acts or supports terrorism. We do not tions of the competitive service re- 113 Stat. 1274) is amended— want to become a safe haven for terror- quirements. It also provides the au- (1) by striking subsection (j), and inserting ists, so I ask: Do we want to be a safe thority for the Commission’s Executive the following: Architect to manage technical and ad- ‘‘(j) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— haven for those who have committed ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— ministrative aspects of design and con- genocide? The answer should be clear. ‘‘(A) POWERS.—The Commission may— Fundamentally, we must decide if struction. It provides for staff to be re- ‘‘(i) make such expenditures for services genocide is a bad enough crime, no leased on the completion of the memo- and materials for the purpose of carrying out matter where it happens, that it war- rial and enables the Commission to this section as the Commission considers ad- rants the same treatment as terrorism- work in collaboration with federal visable from funds appropriated or received related crimes. I deeply believe that it agencies. as gifts for that purpose; is, and that is why I am proud to co- President Eisenhower spent his en- ‘‘(ii) solicit and accept contributions to be used in carrying out this section or to be sponsor this bill today. tire life in public service. His extraor- dinary contributions include serving as used in connection with the construction or other expenses of the memorial; By Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. Supreme Commander of the Allied Ex- ‘‘(iii) hold hearings and enter into con- STEVENS, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. peditionary Forces in World War II and tracts; HAGEL): as 34th President of the United States, ‘‘(iv) enter into contracts for specialized or S. 890. A bill to provide for certain but President Eisenhower also served professional services as necessary to carry administrative and support services for as the first commander of NATO and as out this section; and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial President of Columbia University. Dra- ‘‘(v) take such actions as are necessary to Commission, and for other purposes; to matic changes occurred in America carry out this section. the Committee on Energy and Natural during his lifetime, many of which he ‘‘(B) SPECIALIZED OR PROFESSIONAL SERV- ICES.—Services under subparagraph (A)(iv) Resources. participated in and influenced through may be— Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, the Ei- his extraordinary leadership as Presi- ‘‘(i) obtained without regard to the provi- senhower Memorial Commission was dent. sions of title 5, United States Code, including created by the U.S. Congress in 1999 as Although President Eisenhower grew section 3109 of that title; and a bipartisan commission for the pur- up before automobiles existed, he cre- ‘‘(ii) may be paid without regard to the pose of considering and formulating ated the Interstate Highway System provisions of title 5, United States Code, in- plans for the location, design and con- and took America into space. He cre- cluding chapter 51 and subchapter III of struction of a permanent memorial to ated the National Aeronautics and chapter 53 of that title; President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Space Administration, the Department ‘‘(2) GIFTS OF PROPERTY.—The Commission may accept gifts of real or personal property perpetuate his memory and his con- of Health, Education, and Welfare, and to be used in carrying out this section, in- tributions to the United States. Since the Federal Aviation Administration. cluding to be used in connection with the being fully appointed in 2001, the Com- He added the State of Hawaii and the construction or other expenses of the memo- mission considered twenty-six different State of Alaska to the United States rial.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.056 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3203 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—To ensure the ‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Com- school. This is clearly beyond their overall success of the efforts of the Commis- mission may enter into cooperative agree- area of expertise. Therefore, I am in- sion, the Commission may call upon any ments with Federal agencies, State, local, troducing this legislation to ensure Federal department or agency to assist in tribal and international governments, and that parents are not required by school and give support to the Commission. The private interests and organizations which head of each Federal department or agency will further the goals and purposes of this personnel to medicate their children. shall furnish such information or assistance section. The Child Medication Safety Act re- requested by the Commission, as appro- ‘‘(6) TEMPORARY, INTERMITTENT, AND PART- quires, as a condition of receiving priate, unless prohibited by law. TIME SERVICES.— funds from the Department of Edu- ‘‘(4) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may cation, that States develop and imple- ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If authorized by the obtain temporary, intermittent, and part- ment polices and procedures prohib- Commission, any member or agent of the time services under section 3109 of title 5, iting school personnel from requiring a Commission may take any action that the United States Code, at rates not to exceed child to obtain a prescription as a con- Commission is authorized to take under this the maximum annual rate of basic pay pay- section. able under section 5376 of that title. dition of attending the school. It ‘‘(B) ARCHITECT.—The Commission may ap- ‘‘(B) NON-APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN SERV- should be noted that this bill does not point an architect as an agent of the Com- ICES.—This paragraph shall not apply to prevent teachers or other school per- mission to— services under subsection (j)(1)(A)(iv). sonnel from sharing with parents or ‘‘(i) represent the Commission on various ‘‘(7) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.— guardians classroom-based observa- governmental source selection and planning ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section tions regarding a student’s academic boards on the selection of the firms that will 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Com- performance or regarding the need for design and construct the memorial; and mission may accept and utilize the services evaluation for special education. Addi- ‘‘(ii) perform other duties as designated by of volunteers serving without compensation. tionally, this bill calls for a study by the Chairperson of the Commission. ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Commission ‘‘(C) TREATMENT.—An authorized member may reimburse such volunteers for local the Comptroller General of the United or agent of the Commission (including an in- travel and office supplies, and for other trav- States reviewing: (1) the variation dividual appointed under subparagraph (B)) el expenses, including per diem in lieu of among States in the definition of psy- providing services to the Commission shall subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of chotropic medication as used in public be considered an employee of the Federal title 5, United States Code. education, (2) the prescription rates of Government in the performance of those ‘‘(C) TREATMENT.—A person providing vol- medication used in public schools to services for the purposes of chapter 171 of unteer services to the Commission shall be treat children with attention deficit title 28, United States Code, relating to tort considered an employee of the Federal gov- claims. ernment in the performance of those services disorder and other such disorders, 3) ‘‘(5) TRAVEL.—Each member of the Com- for the purposes of— which medications listed under the mission shall be allowed travel expenses, in- ‘‘(i) chapter 81 of title 5, United States Controlled Substances Act are being cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at Code, relating to compensation for work-re- prescribed to such children, and 4) rates authorized for employees of agencies lated injuries; which medications not listed under the under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, ‘‘(ii) chapter 171 of title 28, United States Controlled Substances Act are being United States Code, while away from their Code, relating to tort claims; and used to treat these children and their homes or regular places of business in the ‘‘(iii) chapter 11 of title 18, United States properties and effects. This GAO report performance of services for the Commis- Code, relating to conflicts of interest. is due no later than one year after the sion.’’; ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— (2) by redesignating subsection (o) as sub- There are authorized to be appropriated such enactment of this Act. section (q); and sums as necessary to carry out this sec- I believe this is an extremely impor- (3) by adding at the end the following: tion.’’. tant bill that protects the rights of our ‘‘(o) STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.— children against improper intrusion re- ‘‘(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—There shall be By Mr. INHOFE (for himself and garding health issues by those not an Executive Director appointed by the Com- Mr. COBURN): qualified. If a parent or guardian be- mission to be paid at a rate not to exceed the S. 891. A bill to protect children and lieves their child is in need of medica- maximum rate of basic pay for level IV of their parents from being coerced into tion, then they have the right to make the Executive Schedule. administering a controlled substance that decision and consult with a li- ‘‘(2) STAFF.— in order to attend school, and for other censed medical practitioner who is ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The staff of the Com- purposes; to the Committee on Health, qualified to prescribe an appropriate mission may be appointed and terminated Education, Labor, and Pensions. without regard to the provisions of title 5, drug. Please join us in support of this United States Code, governing appointments Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise legislation that protects the freedoms in the competitive service, and may be paid today, along with my colleague, TOM of our children. without regard to the provisions of chapter COBURN, to proudly reintroduce the 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that Child Medication Safety Act, a bill to By Mr. INHOFE: title, relating to classification and General protect children and their parents from S. 892. A bill to amend the Internal Schedule pay rates, except that an individual being coerced into administering a con- Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the appointed under this paragraph may not re- trolled substance or psychotropic drug indexing of certain assets for purposes ceive pay in excess of the maximum rate of in order to attend a school. of determining gain or loss; to the basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. Parents today face many challenges Committee on Finance. ‘‘(B) SENIOR STAFF.—Notwithstanding sub- paragraph (A), not more than 3 staff employ- when raising their children, one of Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise ees of the Commission (in addition to the Ex- which is ensuring that their children today to introduce the Capital Gains ecutive Director) may be paid at a rate not receive the best education possible. My Inflation Relief Act of 2007. The tax- to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for views on education come from a some- ation of inflation is one of the most un- level IV of the Executive Schedule what unique perspective in that my just practices of the tax code. This sim- ‘‘(3) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re- wife, Kay, was a teacher at Edison ple improvement will not only enhance quest by the Chairperson of the Commission, High School in Tulsa for many years the basic fairness and efficiency of the the Vice-Chairperson, or the Executive Di- and now both of our daughters are rector, the head of any Federal department tax code, but will also immediately in- or agency may detail, on a nonreimbursable teachers. I can assure you that I am crease the net return on capital invest- basis, any of the personnel of the department one of the strongest supporters of qual- ment. or agency to the Commission to assist the ity education. However, it has come to Under current law, a taxable capital Commission to carry out its duties under my attention that schools have been gain occurs whenever a capital asset is this section. acting as physicians or psychologists sold at a price higher than the original ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SUPPORT.—The Commission by strongly suggesting that children purchase price. However, the timing of shall obtain administrative and support serv- with behavioral problems be put imme- capital gains taxation sets it apart ices from the General Services Administra- diately on some form of psychotropic from other types of income. While tion on a reimbursable basis. The Commis- sion may use all contracts, schedules, and drugs. Schools and teachers are not wages are generally taxed on a yearly acquisition vehicles allowed to external cli- equipped to make this diagnosis and basis, the taxation on capital assets oc- ents through the General Services Adminis- should not make it mandatory for the curs at the time the capital asset hold- tration. student to continue attending the er chooses to sell his asset and realize

VerDate Aug 31 2005 00:44 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.056 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3204 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 his gains. The gains on capital assets Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I was SCHIP bill our legislation would deter- accrue over the course of the asset’s proud to help create the State Chil- mine funding based on State spending life, which is usually many years. This dren’s Health Insurance Program dur- and indexed to medical inflation and is generally favorable to the capital ing the Clinton Administration. It has child population growth so that states asset holder, because he can defer tax- provided health insurance for 6 million will get the funds they need. ation on his gains to a future year. children, including more than 425,000 in Every child deserves a healthy start This tax deferral is often cited as the New York. SCHIP was the biggest ex- in life. This goes to the heart of our primary reason for holding assets long pansion in providing health insurance values, our responsibility to one an- term. coverage in more than 30 years—a big other, the promise of our country. Far However, the value of tax deferral is first step to providing quality health too many children in our Nation—more often times overstated because current care coverage for all children. than 9 million—do not have health tax policy taxes the capital asset hold- And now it is time to take the next care. And, for the first time in nearly a er not only on real gains, but also on step. Today, I am introducing new leg- decade, between 2004 and 2005, the num- gains due to inflation. This creates a islation with my colleague from the ber of uninsured children in New York situation that is patently unfair to the House of Representatives, Chairman increased by 61,000—part of a trend na- American taxpayer. For example, an DINGELL: a plan to make quality af- tionally. American who purchased a share of fordable health care available to every It’s simply wrong that there are working parents who worry about their stock for $10 in 1950 and sold it for child in America. children playing sports because they twice that amount today would be sub- The Children’s Health First Act will can’t afford a doctor if their child gets ject to capital gains taxes on the nomi- make quality, affordable health care hurt. I’ve met parents who when their nal gain of $10, though the transaction available to all children, and will pave children get sick fret and worry about the way to cover the more than nine was a clear loss when one accounts for their children’s illness—but have the million children in our country with- inflation. Why should an American tax- added anxiety of wondering how they out health coverage. payer, who invested in a capital asset are going to pay for the doctor visit. Our bill cuts red tape to allow States in his youth, be forced to pay capital That just shouldn’t happen. gains taxes, on what can only be to provide affordable healthcare op- No child in America, the greatest, viewed as a loss, in his later years? In tions for all families to cover their richest Nation on Earth home to so spite of all our efforts to curb inflation, children. It gives States the financial much promise, should lack for the care it will remain a fact of life. This does incentives and resources to expand—ex- he or she needs to grow up to be a not mean we should tax hard-working isting State coverage and find and en- healthy, happy adult. Americans with long-term goals on roll the 6 million children who are cur- We can tackle this challenge—and gains that are due to inflation, gains rently eligible for health coverage but provide access to quality, affordable that they will never actually realize. are not enrolled. And it provides incen- health care for all children in America. Without an inflation index, the tax tives to expand employer sponsored It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the code incentivizes short-term specula- coverage for children. smart thing to do. tion and discourages long-term capital As individuals and as a Nation, an I am proud to introduce this legisla- investment. The current turmoil in the ounce of prevention is truly worth a tion. It will help us honor our values, subprime lending market is an example pound of cure. Health care accessible protect our children. We can meet this that demonstrates the perils of empha- and affordable for all children will keep challenge and that’s what I’ll be work- sizing short-term speculation over kids healthy, save lives, control costs, ing with Chairman DINGELL and my long-term capital investment. Though and end heartache and worry for so Senate colleagues to achieve this year. inflation has remained relatively mod- many parents. This plan is practical est recently, there is no guarantee of and fiscally responsible—it will honor By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, future stability. Inflation indexing our values and prevent kids from need- Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. STEVENS, and would instantly increase the net return ing more costly healthcare in the fu- Mr. SANDERS): S. 896. A bill to amend the Public on capital investment and con- ture. Health Service Act and the Social Se- sequently encourage more of it. Infla- Our bill will provide incentives for States to expand SCHIP to more chil- curity Act to increase the number of tion indexing would also restore core primary care physicians and medical principles of sound tax policy such as dren and provide health coverage for children up to 400 percent of poverty, residents serving health professional ‘‘horizontal equity,’’ wherein two tax- shortage areas, and for other purposes; payers in identical situations are treat- about $70,000 for a family of three. Parents whose incomes are above to the Committee on Health, Edu- ed identically by the tax system. In- cation, Labor, and Pensions. their State’s SCHIP eligibility levels dexing capital gains would improve the Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I basic fairness of the tax code with only and employers who want to provide rise again this evening to speak about a minor increase in administrative coverage to dependents will also have a growing crisis in rural America. This costs and a single step of simple mul- the option to buy-in to the SCHIP pro- crisis is found in rural New England, tiplication for taxpayer compliance. gram. This will ensure that all families throughout Appalachia, spans the The need for indexing is clear. It have access to affordable coverage and Great Plains, crosses the Western would help average Americans and im- aren’t forced into the private insurance deserts, and reaches the mountains of prove tax policy by enhancing both the market where affordable options for the great Northwest. It impacts the basic fairness and the pro-growth in- their children are often out of reach. seniors, children, the women, and the centive of the tax code. The merits of And while expanding coverage is crit- men of rural America. What I am the capital gains tax are themselves ical, enrolling children who are already speaking about today is a lack of ac- debatable, but if we are to tax capital eligible must also be part of our efforts cess to quality health care. gains let us make sure they are taxed to ensure every child has health insur- In rural America, patients have long fairly. Please join with me in sup- ance. gone without care. Despite the fact porting this legislation to free the Currently, there are 6 million unin- that one-fifth of the U.S. population American taxpayer from the unfairness sured children who are eligible for pub- lives in rural America, only 9 percent of the current tax policy. lic programs but not enrolled. In order of the Nation’s physicians are prac- to receive expanded Federal funding ticing in these areas. Over 50 million of By Mrs. CLINTON: under our bill, States must undertake these rural Americans live in areas S. 895. A bill to amend titles XIX and strategies designed to enhance out- that have a shortage of physicians to XXI of the Social Security Act to en- reach and enrollment of currently eli- meet their basic needs. sure that every child in the United gible children. Now, physician recruitment to rural States has access to affordable, quality In addition, the Children’s Health America is a big problem. Part of this health insurance coverage, and for First Act would prevent funding short- problem comes about through high stu- other purposes; to the Committee on falls like those that 14 States are cur- dent debt, which often forces many stu- Finance. rently facing. Unlike the original dents away from a rural practice and

VerDate Aug 31 2005 00:44 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.037 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3205 into urban specialty medicine where of your pregnancy because they do not A third gentleman from Kenai, AK, they can probably command higher sal- have the facilities, do not have the doc- writes: aries. tors available to take care of you in My mom has Medicare and she had to wait I recently held a Senate HELP Com- the event of an emergency. 5 months to be seen by a Neurologist because mittee field hearing in Alaska. This So we have lived with provider short- she had been put on a waiting list to be seen was during the February recess. I held ages for a long time. Because our State due to the fact she was a Medicare patient. this field committee hearing on the is larger than Texas and California and Another woman from Anchorage physician shortage crisis in rural Montana combined, ‘‘rural’’ brings on a says: America. At that hearing, I had a new meaning and the physician short- I just got through trying to find a physi- young woman come up and speak. She age crisis is even more amplified, as I cian for an elderly Medicare-dependent is a medical student who is currently have given in my two examples. But we friend. At this time I have found no one who have had some recent events in the will take her. Most physicians take no Medi- part of the WAMI Program, the West- care patients or have a quota which is full. ern States medical program. This State that have created a situation far The Providence health care provider list has young woman, Melissa Howell, is 26 worse than Alaska has known in the no one who takes Medicare. years old. She stated the student debt past. Currently, in the State, we have The last e-mail was from Anchorage she has accumulated is a huge concern the sixth lowest ratio of physicians to stating: population in the United States. That that hangs over the decisions she Almost no family practice office in An- makes as she decides where she is is when you take into account Anchor- chorage is accepting new Medicare patients. age, which is our largest population going to practice. Simply put, she said This is just a sample of what we get center. In rural Alaska, it is the worst that the $100,000 student debt she faces from constituents around the State of physician-to-population situation in is ‘‘kind of scary.’’ I have to admit, Alaska saying: I don’t have anyone the Nation. Alaska needs nearly 400 that is kind of scary. who can see my mother. I can’t get in more doctors to provide the same level A dozen States already report severe to see anyone myself. physician shortages. These shortages of care as elsewhere in the country. I mentioned in my comments this is One of our problems is we do not exist in the areas of cardiology, radi- a crisis that is growing. In Alaska, we have a medical school, and we are not ology, neurology, to name a few. But don’t often think of it as being a State likely to be getting a medical school in the greatest shortages persistently where we have a large senior popu- the near future. We also have the low- have been in primary care. In fact, the lation. We think of some of the South- est per capita number of medical shortage of primary care physicians in ern States as being the ones that at- school slots in the country and the rural areas of the United States rep- tract our seniors. But the fact is Alas- lowest number of residency slots. We resents one of the most intractable ka has the second fastest-growing sen- have two small but very successful pro- health policy problems of the past cen- ior population in the Nation, second grams; this is the University of Wash- tury. only to Nevada. It will only worsen. In 20 years, 20 ington Medical School Partnership and So again we ask the question: Why percent of the U.S. population will be the Alaska Family Residency Program. aren’t Alaska’s doctors able to provide 65 or older, and this is a percentage These two programs help train Alas- care to our seniors? Why are they say- larger than at any other time in our kans as physicians and also help us ing: No, we are not accepting any new Nation’s history. Just as this aging bring doctors to Alaska. But despite Medicare patients? Well, a lot of it has population places the highest demand the success of these programs, each is to do with the reimbursement rates. on our health care system, we have far too small to meet our population’s Recent Federal reductions in Alaska some experts who predict a national needs. Medicare reimbursement rates have Each week, without fail, I receive shortage of close to 200,000 physicians. been so severe that primary care physi- faxes, phone calls, letters, and e-mails If that becomes a reality, 84 million pa- cians report that Medicare pays them from Alaskan seniors who simply can- tients could be potentially left without only 37 cents—it is actually between 37 not find a doctor to treat them. I wish a doctor’s care. cents to 40 cents—for every dollar that to read a few excerpts from recent e- So the question has to be asked, it costs to treat a patient. So the doc- mails we have received. The first one is where are the doctors going? We are tor is spending a dollar in the care pro- from a gentleman in Anchorage. Keep losing some of our doctors through at- vided but is getting reimbursed about in mind, Anchorage is our largest popu- trition. One-third of physicians are 55 40 cents to every dollar. We had one lation center; about half the popu- years old and older and are likely to re- physician testify at the field hearing, lation of the State is here. tire as this baby boom generation He writes: and he said that in order for him to ba- moves into its time of greatest medical sically break even with his medical My mother . . . has had difficulty in the need. Additionally, for the last quarter extreme in getting a doctor who will take practice, he would have to see one of a century, medical schools have kept her on as she is a medicare patient . . . doc- Medicare patient every 7 minutes in their student enrollments virtually tors are telling potential patients that they order for him not to lose money. For flat. are no longer taking medicaid. My mother those of us who go into our doctor’s of- We are also losing a lot of our doc- has made in excess of 100 calls to physicians fice, if we only had 7 minutes in there tors, quite simply, through frustration. in Anchorage. with our medical provider, I don’t Low Medicare and Medicaid reimburse- Another constituent writes—and this think we would feel we were getting ment rates, coupled with complex regu- is also from Anchorage: the care and the attention our medical lations and paperwork, leave physi- During the past year, I’ve tried to find a issues deserve. cians aggravated, leave them dis- doctor that accepts Medicare. I used the An- Losing money by seeing Medicare pa- appointed with the practice of medi- chorage Yellow pages and called over 100 doc- tients has meant that many of our phy- cine. tors, only to be told that they won’t accept sicians have stopped accepting Medi- any more Medicare patients. In Alaska, we have lived with pro- care patients entirely. They are mak- vider shortages since statehood. I grew She then writes to say: ing a decision not to accept any new up in a part of the State down in the I’ll tell you ahead of time, we’ll be going to Medicare patients. Or if you have been southeastern area where you did not the hospital emergency rooms, to receive, a patient of a particular physician and even the basic medical care, i.e.: colds, flu, have doctors who were available to de- and other basic medical care, that could you turn 65, you may have had a good liver babies except on Tuesdays and have been treated through seeing a doctor, relationship with that physician, but if Thursdays. You hoped you could give at their established practice. This doesn’t he tells you: I am sorry, I am not ac- birth on a Tuesday or a Thursday. sound like good fiscal management. cepting any new Medicare patients, Still, in many parts of our State, we do Another constituent—and this was that date of your birthday comes and not have providers who can deliver. If actually in a letter to the editor in the all of a sudden you don’t have the care you are out in the Aleutian chain, you Anchorage Daily News—says: that you had relied on for some period are told by your physician’s attendant My friends telephoned more than 80 doc- of time. to come to Anchorage, some 600 miles tors recently, and not one was accepting new During this committee field hearing, away, to wait out the remaining month Medicare patients. we had testimony that revealed that

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By establishing a deduction So if you are lucky enough to find a This legislation will also allow rural for long-term care insurance pre- physician, it often takes weeks or and underserved physician residency miums, this legislation will help ac- months for an appointment. So when programs to expand by removing bar- complish that goal. In order to qualify you are faced with this kind of a delay, riers that prevent programs from de- for the deduction, the policy must in- you have one of two options. You ei- veloping rural training programs. clude several important consumer pro- ther go to the emergency room if the We will also double certain title VII tections recommended by the National conditions are severe enough or you go funding to create programs that target Association of Insurance Commis- without care entirely, putting it off disadvantaged youth in rural and un- sioners, NAIC. The DRA incorporated until perhaps it becomes even more derserved areas and nurture them to the same protections plus some addi- complicated down the road. create a pipeline to careers in health tional NAIC consumer protections into We had testify at the field hearing care. We need to get more people inter- the State long-term care partnership one gentleman who is from the city of ested in the field. policies. As this bill moves forward, I Bethel. Bethel is in the western part of Finally, we must bolster the corner- look forward to working with Senator the State. He said he was willing to fly stone of rural health care, which is the MIKULSKI to ensure consistency in the the 500-some-odd miles from Bethel to community health center, through ad- application of these consumer protec- Anchorage if only he could find a pri- ditional grants and by allowing them tions to long-term care policies. Spe- mary care doctor who would accept to expand their residency programs. cifically, I hope we can expand the con- him. He kind of joked because he said I would suggest that the prognosis sumer protections in this bill so they he counted himself lucky because he for the quality of health care in Amer- are in line with those included in the had a heart condition, and he was at ica is poor. Fifteen million Americans DRA. least able to get in to see a specialist in underserved areas across the Nation Finally, this legislation recognizes once in awhile. already do without care. Soon, with that individuals and their caregivers The chairman of the Alaska Commis- even greater physician shortages, it may need assistance in paying for med- sion on Aging, Mr. Frank Appel, called could mean that potentially another 84 ical supplies, nursing care, and other the lack of access to health care for million patients will be left without a long-term care expenses. The tax credit seniors ‘‘the most critical problem fac- physician’s care. called for in the bill, which increases ing Alaska’s seniors.’’ The time for Congress to act is now. from $1,000 to $3,000 in 2011 and beyond, I know Alaska is not alone. The cri- In fact, it is past time. I look forward will help defray these costs. sis is not just Alaska. It is nationwide. to working with my colleagues on this Mr. President, I have long supported We as a body, as a Congress, should issue that again is not just Alaska-spe- the policies included in this legislation find this situation intolerable. cific. I think the facts on the ground up and commend my colleague for her I haven’t been in the Senate for as North perhaps make the arguments work on this important issue. long as many of my other colleagues, more accentuated, but I think it points but I have been here long enough to to a situation in this Nation that we By Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. know that we fight a lot about health must deal with now before the crisis is MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. care. We debate the solvency issues, felt throughout the country. SANDERS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. the funding issues, the insurance, the I appreciate the attention of the LIEBERMAN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. benefit coverage, universal coverage, Chair. AKAKA, and Mr. LEVIN): health savings accounts, the prescrip- S. 899. A bill to amend section tion drug benefit. We debate and argue By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, 401(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of about a lot of these issues as they re- Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. BOND, Mrs. 1965 regarding the Federal Pell Grant late to health care, and each and every CLINTON, and Ms. COLLINS): maximum amount; to the Committee one of these issues is certainly worthy S. 897. A bill to amend the Internal on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- of great debate. But I would submit Revenue Code of 1986 to provide more sions. that not one of those very worthy de- help to Alzheimer’s disease caregivers; Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise bates matters in the least to one of the to the Committee on Finance. today, joined by my colleagues Sen- seniors I have mentioned in these let- Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am ators MIKULSKI, MURRAY, SANDERS, ters who can’t find a primary care doc- pleased to join in cosponsoring the Alz- DURBIN, LIEBERMAN, CANTWELL, AKAKA, tor after making 100 phone calls. heimer’s Family Assistance Act of 2007 and LEVIN, to introduce legislation to So instead of this body debating how introduced by my colleague, Senator amend the Higher Education Act to im- health care is delivered, it is time we MIKULSKI. prove access to college for low- and focus on the fact that it is not deliv- As much as we all would like to moderate-income students by raising ered in much of America. We have a think that we will remain healthy and the authorized maximum Pell grant to crisis that, simply put, cannot wait. strong throughout our lifetimes, many $11,600 within 5 years. This bill has the We have to do two things. We have to of us will need long-term care. The cost strong support of the American Asso- help current physicians stay in the of that care, whether provided in a ciation of Universities, American Jes- practice of medicine, and we must vast- nursing home, assisted living facility, uit Colleges and Universities, the ly increase our health care work force. or in one’s own home with the assist- American Association of Community Earlier this year, Senator STEVENS ance of health aides, can quickly add Colleges, the National Association of and I introduced the Rural Physician up. That is why we should do every- Independent Colleges and Universities, Relief Act, and this is a bill that pro- thing we can to make people aware of the American Council on Education, vides tax incentives for physicians to long-term care insurance and to ensure and The Higher Education Consortium practice in our most rural and frontier that policies are affordable. for Special Education. locations in the country. Today, along We need to encourage people to in- Pell grants were first established in with my colleagues, Senator SCHUMER, clude long-term care insurance in their the early 1970s by our former colleague, Senator STEVENS, and Senator SAND- planning, especially when people are Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell grants are ERS, we are introducing legislation en- younger and premiums would be lower. the largest source of Federal grant aid titled the ‘‘Physician Shortage Elimi- The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, for college students and make it pos- nation Act.’’ This legislation will dou- DRA, made good progress in that re- sible for millions of low- and moderate- ble the funding for the National Health gard by expanding State long-term income students to attend college. The Service Corps, a program that is dedi- care partnership programs. In addition, benefits of Pell grant aid cannot be cated to meeting the needs of the un- the DRA established an information overstated. Pell grants are beneficial

VerDate Aug 31 2005 00:44 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.071 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3207 to individual students as well as our There being no objection, the text of rancher would best be used as part of society as a whole. Often, our Nation’s the bill was ordered to be printed in Camp Thunder Ridge, while certain great innovators and creative minds the RECORD, as follows: parcels of the Scout Camp would be of sharpen their skills on college cam- S. 899 more use to the Ski Resort. puses. By increasing the Pell grant, we Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- The Boy Scouts of America Land make a college education more afford- resentatives of the United States of America in Transfer Act would allow the Boy able, and thus, make it more likely Congress assembled, Scouts to exchange 120 acres of their that qualified and hard working low- SECTION 1. FEDERAL PELL GRANT MAXIMUM land on the south end of the camp with and moderate-income students will at- AMOUNT. Brian Head for 120 acres on the eastern Section 401(b)(2) of the Higher Education side of the camp, including the 40 acres tend. It would be a significant loss to Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)) is amend- this great Nation if a generation of in- ed— located in the middle of the camp. Be- dividuals were not able to earn a col- (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as cause of the stipulations of the original lege degree simply because they could subparagraph (C); BLM patent given to the Scout Camp, not afford to pay for it. (2) by striking subparagraph (A) and in- legislation is required to authorize this In 1975, the maximum appropriated serting the following: exchange. Pell grant covered 80 percent of the av- ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph While Camp Thunder Ridge is located erage student’s tuition, fees, room, and (B), the amount of the Federal Pell Grant for in a steep, rough, mountainous area, a student eligible under this part shall be— board at 4-year public universities. In much of the land the Boy Scouts seek ‘‘(i) $7,600 for academic year 2007–2008; is flat, making it particularly impor- 2005–2006, the average Pell grant cov- ‘‘(ii) $8,600 for academic year 2008–2009; ered 33 percent of the total charges at ‘‘(iii) $9,600 for academic year 2009–2010; tant for the camp. Obtaining the land 4-year public universities. That’s not ‘‘(iv) $10,600 for academic year 2010–2011; would make it possible for the Scouts just a drop in aid, it’s a free-fall. For and to make the camp shooting area and low- and moderate-income families, the ‘‘(v) $11,600 for academic year 2011–2012, archery range safer and would allow cost of college has also increased as a less an amount equal to the amount deter- them to improve and expand their percentage of income. In 1999 it took 43 mined to be the expected family contribu- camping facilities. It would also allow tion with respect to that student for that percent of a low-income family’s in- for the installation of much-needed year.’’; and septic tanks. come to pay for a college education. In (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) (as 1972, it only took 27 percent. The cor- I am a strong supporter of the Boy amended by paragraph (2)) the following: Scouts of America. Scout camps, such nerstone of American democracy is ‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines that the as Camp Thunder Ridge, give young providing all citizens with access and increase from one academic year to the next men the opportunity to learn vital opportunities so that through hard in the amount of the maximum Federal Pell skills, fulfill merit badge requirements, work they can achieve the ‘‘American Grant authorized under subparagraph (A) and otherwise improve themselves. dream.’’ We must keep that dream does not increase students’ purchasing power (relative to the cost of attendance at an in- This small land exchange will allow alive by providing students the finan- stitution of higher education) by not less Camp Thunder Ridge to do a better job cial opportunity to attend college. than 5 percentage points, then the amount of In order to meet the cost of attend- in helping these young men learn and the maximum Federal Pell Grant authorized grow. ing college, many low- and moderate- under subparagraph (A) for the academic For its part, Brian Head Ski Resort income students are forced to take out year for which the determination is made is seeking to expand their operations an exorbitant amount in student loans. shall be increased by an amount sufficient to achieve such a 5 percentage point increase.’’. and have received preliminary approval Upon graduation these students are from local officials. The local Planning often faced with an unmanageable debt By Mr. HATCH (for himself and Commission, however, has required load. Surveys tell us that students with Mr. BENNETT): them to build an emergency exit for a significant amount of debt are post- S. 900. A bill to authorize the Boy their property. The only place to build poning marriage and having children. Scouts of America to exchange certain such a road is through land owned by Others are choosing their jobs based on land in the State of Utah acquired the Boy Scouts. The exchange will where they think they can afford to under the Recreation and Public Pur- allow Brian Head to construct the ac- work. Clearly, we do not want student poses Act; to the Committee on Energy cess road and comply with county fire loan debt to solely drive our young and Natural Resources. safety regulations. people’s goals and aspirations. Mr. .HATCH. Mr. President, I rise The Boy Scouts have been working Over the past several years, the ad- today to introduce the Boy Scouts of for more than 20 years to secure the ministration has not raised the max- America Land Transfer Act of 2007. lands in question, and Brian Head imum Pell grant. On top of leaving This important legislation will allow needs to build on lands currently millions of children behind by under- the exchange of two small parcels of owned by the Scouts. Therefore, it funding K–12 education, they are also land between the Utah Parks Council would be in the best interest of both leaving students behind who have done of the Boy Scouts of America and parties to authorize this land ex- well in school and want the chance to Brian Head Ski Resort. change. In fact, the exchange is des- go on to college. If we are serious about In 1983, the Bureau of Land Manage- perately needed by both parties, and I leaving no student behind—if we are se- ment granted the Boy Scouts of Amer- urge my colleagues to support this im- rious about having a society where ica roughly 1,300 acres in Parowan, portant legislation. equal opportunity for all is more than Utah. The land patent was granted just rhetoric—then we must increase with the stipulation that it be used ex- By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, the Pell grant. clusively for purposes of a Boy Scout Mr. HATCH, Mr. DODD, Mr. ROB- It has been said that investing in a camp. The Scout camp, known as Camp ERTS, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. BOND, student’s future is investing in our Na- Thunder Ridge, is situated in the Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. tion’s future. We can start investing in mountains adjacent to Brian Head Ski BINGAMAN, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. our Nation’s future by supporting this Resort and near Cedar Breaks National REED, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. bill to increase the maximum appro- Monument. CLINTON, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. priated Pell grant to $11,600. This bill When the land was given to the Scout OBAMA, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. won’t bring the Pell grant’s purchasing Camp, a local rancher owned a parcel BROWN, and Mr. BURR): power back to where it was in 1975, but of land adjacent to the camp and an- S. 901. A bill to amend the Public it is a critical first step. I hope that my other parcel in the middle of the camp. Health Service Act to provide addi- colleagues will join me in taking this Upon his retirement, the rancher tional authorizations of appropriations important step toward ensuring all turned over his parcels, totaling 120 for the health centers program under that have the ability to excel in college acres, to Brian Head Ski Resort. Thus, section 330 of such Act, tot he Com- are given that opportunity. the ski resort now owns land in the mittee on Health, Education, Labor, I ask unanimous consent that the middle of a Boy Scout Camp. and Pensions. text of the bill be printed in the The Boy Scouts and the Resort agree Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it’s an RECORD. that the land previously owned by the honor to join Senator HATCH and my

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.070 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3208 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 HELP Committee colleagues today in erage of mental health, dental, and (14) Health centers increase the use of pre- introducing this bill to reauthorize the pharmacy services to all centers, in- ventive health services, including immuniza- community health centers program. vest in information technology, and tions, pap smears, mammograms, and HBa1c The Health Centers Renewal Act ex- take other steps to improve health out- tests for diabetes screenings. comes. Our goal in the bill is to make (15) Expert studies have demonstrated the tends the program through 2012, it au- impact that these community-owned and pa- thorizes the funds needed to stabilize sure that health centers can provide tient-controlled primary care delivery sys- existing centers and enable them to in- high-quality care to their patients for tems have achieved both in the reduction of crease their capacity and funds for new years to come, and I look forward to its traditional access barriers and the elimi- centers in underserved areas that have enactment into law. nation of health disparities among their pa- no existing center. I ask unanimous request that the tients. The community health centers pro- text of the bill be printed in the SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS OF AP- gram has been a success story by any RECORD. PROPRIATIONS FOR HEALTH CEN- measure over the past 40 years. It There being no objection, the text of TERS PROGRAM OF PUBLIC HEALTH the bill was ordered to be printed in SERVICE ACT. began as a two-site demonstration Section 330(r) of the Public Health Service project for ‘‘neighborhood health cen- the RECORD, as follows: Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(r)) is amended by amend- ters’’ in 1965, with funds for Columbia S. 901 ing paragraph (1) to read as follows: Point in Massachusetts and Mound Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of car- Bayou in Mississippi. The health center resentatives of the United States of America in rying out this section, in addition to the Congress assembled, model was the brainchild of two young amounts authorized to be appropriated under SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. subsection (d), there are authorized to be ap- physicians and civil rights activists, This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Cen- propriated— Dr. H. Jack Geiger and Dr. Count Gib- ters Renewal Act of 2007’’. ‘‘(A) $2,188,745,000 for fiscal year 2008; son. Their model was intended to ad- SEC. 2. FINDINGS. ‘‘(B) $2,451,394,400 for fiscal year 2009; dress both health care and the roots of Congress finds as follows: ‘‘(C) $2,757,818,700 for fiscal year 2010; poverty, by giving communities a voice (1) Community, migrant, public housing, ‘‘(D) $3,116,335,131 for fiscal year 2011; and in their health care through a patient- and homeless health centers are vital to ‘‘(E) $3,537,040,374 for fiscal year 2012.’’. majority community board, by cre- thousands of communities across the United Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I ating jobs and investments in local States. (2) There are more than 1,000 such health am introducing the Health Centers Re- communities, and by focusing on pri- centers serving more than 16,000,000 people at newal Act with my colleagues, Sen- mary care and reducing health dispari- more than 5,000 health delivery sites, located ators KENNEDY, ROBERTS, DODD, BOND, ties among income groups. in all 50 States of the United States, the Dis- HARKIN, SNOWE, MIKULSKI, DOMENICI, Today, more than 1,000 health cen- trict of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, Guam, BINGAMAN, MURKOWSKI, REED, BEN- ters provide good health care to 16 mil- the Virgin Islands, and other territories of NETT, CLINTON, GRASSLEY, OBAMA, lion patients each year. They provide the United States. BURR and BROWN. safety nets in their communities for (3) Health centers provide cost-effective, The Health Centers program, created quality health care to poor and medically the most vulnerable Americans, and underserved people in the States, the Dis- over 40 years ago, has an outstanding bring care to 1 of every 4 Americans trict of Columbia, and the territories, includ- record of providing quality health care living in poverty. Nearly 70 percent of ing the working poor, the uninsured, and services to many Americans who do health center patients have incomes many high-risk and vulnerable populations, not have adequate health insurance. below the poverty line, and two-thirds and have done so for over 40 years. This ranges from children to parents are members of racial and ethnic mi- (4) Health centers provide care to 1 of and grandparents, in virtually every norities. Health centers give those who every 8 uninsured Americans, 1 of every 4 comer of the United States. In fact, are so often disenfranchised in our so- Americans in poverty, and 1 of every 9 rural Americans. Health Centers are a necessary compo- ciety a voice in their own health care (5) Health centers provide primary and pre- nent of our nation’s health care safety and in the care available in their com- ventive care services to more than 700,000 net—they supply health services to munity. Health centers are also an in- homeless persons and more than 725,000 farm over 15 million people in our country. centive for economic growth, providing workers in the United States. Health Centers include community 50,000 jobs across the country for resi- (6) Health centers are community-oriented health centers, which are local, not- dents in their communities. and patient-focused and tailor their services for-profit 50l(c)(3) corporations that As the number of uninsured and to fit the special needs and priorities of local give community-oriented health care underinsured persons grows each year, communities, working together with schools, businesses, churches, community organiza- and are governed by Boards of Direc- the need for health center services in- tions, foundations, and State and local gov- tors that are made up of at least 51 per- creases. More than 40 percent of health ernments. cent health centers patients, to ensure center patients have no health insur- (7) Health centers are built through com- that the patients and their commu- ance and their number is increasing. munity initiative. nities are well represented. Another 36 percent of patients have (8) Health centers encourage citizen par- From my work in Utah, I know how coverage through Medicaid or CHIP, ticipation and provide jobs for 50,000 commu- important Health Centers are. They and cuts in these programs affect nity residents. have made a tremendous difference for (9) Congress established the program as a health centers as well. As the number unique public-private partnership, and has Utah’s citizens with insufficient health of patients who rely on health centers continued to provide direct funding to com- coverage—Utah community health cen- continues to grow, we must provide the munity organizations for the development ters serve close to 85,000 patients. funds needed to open new centers in and operation of health centers systems that Whenever I come home to Utah, I al- areas that are underserved and to pro- address pressing local health needs and meet ways hear wonderful things about the vide additional funds to enable existing national performance standards. work of Community Health Centers. centers to meet the growing demand (10) Federal grants assist participating Since 2001, Congress has consistently for care. communities in finding partners and recruit- increased funding for Community The funding authorized in this bill ing doctors and other health professionals. (11) Federal grants constitute, on average, Health Centers to meet President will provide stability and expanded 24 percent of the annual budget of such Bush’s goal of having 1,200 new or ex- services in existing centers, and enable health centers, with the remainder provided panded centers. The new dollars have new centers to open in areas that have by State and local governments, Medicare, provided services to four million new no centers today. The legislation will Medicaid, private contributions, private in- patients and have added facilities in keep health centers on track to serve surance, and patient fees. over 750 communities across the coun- 20 million patients by 2010 and more (12) Health centers make health care re- try. By reauthorizing this program, than 23 million patients by 2012. It also sponsive and cost-effective through aggres- Health Centers will give low-cost provides the funds needed to expand ex- sive outreach, patient education, trans- lation, and other enabling support services. health care to many more deserving in- isting health centers to reach more un- (13) Health centers help reduce health dis- dividuals. insured and underinsured patients, parities, meet escalating health care needs, S. 901 I will reauthorize the Health open new centers in underserved areas and provide a vital safety net in the health Centers program for 5 more years; it with no current centers, expand cov- care delivery system of the United States. includes funding levels of: $2,188,745,000

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.068 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3209 in fiscal year 2008; $2,451,394,400 in fis- ployment, and with some deployments By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. cal year 2009; $2,757,818,700 in fiscal year being stretched out to 16 months, the BENNETT, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. 2010; $3,116,335,131 in fiscal year 2011; stresses on their families are acute. KERRY, and Mr. HARKIN): and $3,537,040,374 in fiscal year 2012. Their children are at greater risk for S. 903. A bill to award a Congres- These numbers are based on the Na- depression, behavioral disorders, or sional Gold Medal to Dr. Muhammad tional Association of Community academic problems. And long family Yunus, in recognition of his contribu- Health Centers; NACHC, growth plan— separations often result in financial tions to the fight against global pov- NACHC’s goal is for Community Health difficulties and troubled marriages. erty; to the Committee on Banking, Centers to serve 20 million patients a To address this quiet crisis, today I Housing, and Urban Affairs. year by 2010 and 30 million patients a am introducing legislation titled the Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise year by 2015. Coming Together for Guard and Re- today to honor Dr. Muhammad Yunus I believe that Community Health serve Families Act. This bill does sev- for his contributions to the fight Centers are worth every dime that our eral things. against global poverty. government invests in them. First, it expands and strengthens the Today, joined by my colleague Sen- Utah Health Centers have made a existing family assistance program. We ator BENNETT of Utah as well as Sen- tremendous difference in the lives of need to ensure that there is adequate ators CLINTON, KERRY and HARKIN, I in- many Utahns—66 percent of patients professional staff to work with Guard troduced the Muhammad Yunus Con- come from Utah’s urban areas and 27 and Reserve families and meet their gressional Gold Medal Act. percent are from the rural parts of the special needs at every point of the de- This bipartisan bill would award Dr. state. Ninety-six percent of Utah ployment cycle—as they prepare for de- Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal in Health Center patients’ incomes are ployment, during the long absence, and recognition of his efforts to fight pov- below 200 percent of the Federal Pov- during reunification and readjustment. erty and promote economic and social erty Level. Utah Health Centers have I am especially concerned that there opportunity. literally changed these patients’ lives, are few resources for the families of Along with the Grameen Bank, which serving as a link to the health care Guard and Reserve members who are he founded, Dr. Yunus was awarded the safety net system for the medically un- wounded or experience mental illness. Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for devel- derserved and uninsured. In rural My bill expands the VA’s Disabled oping the concept of microcredit. areas, Health Centers are often the Transition Assistance program to en- Through the Grameen system, Dr. only health care provider. sure that family members have access Yunus created an economically sound Community Health Centers have to family counseling and mental health model of extending very small loans, at made a huge impact on people’s lives. I services during this critical time. competitive interest rates, to the very poor. Through this system, he has been am pleased and proud to support them Children of deployed service members transforming lives, one loan at a time. by introducing this legislation today. often react to parental separation with He began in 1976 with a loan of just I urge my colleagues to cosponsor acting-out behaviors, anxiety, or de- $27, out of his own pocket, to 42 village this important bill, which not only pro- pression. My bill calls for outreach to craftspeople in Bangladesh. Over the vides people with essential health care professionals who serve children—in- past 30 years, his model has been emu- services, but also ensures that the cluding school administrators and Health Centers will continue to have lated around the world. teachers—to alert them to the special I met Dr. Yunus on my first trip to the funding necessary to provide these needs of kids in military families, espe- services. Bangladesh, and there I saw firsthand cially those with a parent deployed in the economic miracle that microcredit By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. a war zone. can help create. LEAHY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTEN- Forty-one percent of Guard members Nearly half the world’s population BERG, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. and Reservists report symptoms of lives on less than $2 a day. We can not LANDRIEU, and Ms. CANTWELL): mental illness—including post-trau- hope to achieve lasting global peace S. 902. A bill to provide support and matic stress disorder—within 6 months and stability until we find a means by assistance for families of members of of returning home from deployment. which the world’s poorest can begin to the National Guard and Reserve who Currently, mental health information lift themselves out of poverty. are undergoing deployment, and for is distributed to service members when The microcredit movement that Dr. other purposes; to the Committee on they return from deployment—and Yunus pioneered has made enormous Armed Services. often that’s it. But symptoms of PTSD strides towards that goal. Over 125 mil- Mr. HARKIN. Mr President, Ameri- may not appear for months after re- lion households have already been cans are divided over the Iraq war, but turn. My bill will ensure that families transformed by microcredit loans, and we are 100 percent united in our deter- receive mental health information 6 more are joining them every day. mination to support the troops in the months post-deployment. Dr. Yunus’ work has had a particu- field and their families back home. Finally, my bill creates a family-to- larly strong impact on improving the But just as we have seen short- family mentoring program to enable economic prospects of women. Women comings in the treatment of wounded military spouses to serve as peer coun- disproportionately shoulder the burden warriors at Walter Reed, it is clear to selors to other spouses and family of poverty. They also make up over 95 me that we are falling short in sup- members. It can be extremely valuable percent of microcredit borrowers. porting the families of Guard and Re- for a military spouse to consult with I have long believed that if you want serve personnel who serve in Iraq and someone who has gone through a simi- to predict the economic prospects of a Afghanistan. These families are espe- lar experience. country, ask how it treats its women. cially vulnerable because of their isola- The role of our Guard and Reserve If a country sends its daughters to tion, their distance from military members in defending our national se- school, if its wives and mothers have bases, and their lack of access to the curity abroad has significantly in- economic and political rights and op- services that active-duty military fam- creased. In turn, we have an expanded portunities, then it is likely to prosper. ilies can draw upon. obligation to care for their spouses and But if it treats its women as second- This is a new era for our National children, who are facing tremendous class citizens, its chances for develop- Guard and for the Reserves. They are stresses, often alone and with no one to ment diminish dramatically. Micro- shouldering a huge share of the combat turn to. credit opens doors for women and in so burden in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus a The aim of my bill is to address the doing it creates new opportunities for stepped-up role in homeland security. unmet needs of Guard and Reserve fam- their sons and daughters alike. More than four times as many Guard ilies before this becomes the kind of Muhammad Yunus’s work has also members have been killed in Iraq as full-fledged crisis we witnessed at Wal- affected the lives of millions of Ameri- during the entire Vietnam war. ter Reed. I urge my colleagues to sup- cans. Although Dr. Yunus launched his With many Guard and Reserve mem- port this urgent and important legisla- movement in 1976 in Bangladesh—a bers on their third or even fourth de- tion. long time ago and a long way away—it

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.065 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3210 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 has come home to us here in America vate (nonfarm) employment in the United most is that it all began with a loan of and is still relevant today. States), and the Small Business Administra- 27 U.S. dollars. The beauty of micro- There are now an estimated 21 mil- tion has made over $318,000,000 in microloans credit is that such a small amount of lion microentrepreneurs in the U.S., to entrepreneurs since 1992; money can have such tremendous and (8) Dr. Yunus, along with the Grameen accounting for approximately 16 per- Bank, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in lasting effects to foster entrepreneur- cent of private employment in the 2006 for his efforts to promote economic and ship among those who would not qual- country. Over $318 million worth of social opportunity and out of recognition ify for typical bank loans. By offering microloans have been made to Amer- that lasting peace cannot be achieved unless loans at competitive interest rates, or ican entrepreneurs in the past 15 years. large population groups find the means, such no interest, Dr. Yunus’s Grameen Bank Culminating with his Nobel Peace as microcredit, to break out of poverty; and has been able to give individuals suf- Prize, Dr. Yunus has been recognized (9) the microcredit ideas developed and put fering from poverty the power to deter- around the world as a leading figure in into practice by Muhammad Yunus, along mine their own futures. with other bold initiatives, can make a his- Last year, Dr. Yunus and his the effort to fight poverty and promote torical breakthrough in the fight against economic and social opportunity. poverty. Grameen Bank were honored with a It is time that we properly recognize SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. Nobel Peace Prize for his economic him here in Congress with our most (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The imagination. Dr. Yunus’s innovation distinguished honor. Speaker of the House of Representatives and and entrepreneurship are certainly Dr. Yunus would join a long and il- the President pro tempore of the Senate commendable and worthy of such an lustrious line of Congressional Gold shall make appropriate arrangements for the honor, as well as the distinction of a Medal recipients that stretches back to presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold Congressional Gold Medal. In accepting 1776, when the award was created. Al- medal of appropriate design, to Dr. Muham- his Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Yunus chal- though most of the recipients have mad Yunus, in recognition of his many en- lenged the world to think of an entre- during contributions to the fight against been American, many have not: Prime global poverty. preneur as not only being motivated by Minister Tony Blair, Pope John Paul (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of profit, but also by ‘‘doing good to peo- II, and His Holiness, the Fourteenth the presentation referred to in subsection ple and the world.’’ Dalai Lama, are just a few. We hope (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred The effectiveness of microcredit pro- that Dr. Yunus will join them. to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall grams is evident by the success stories I want to thank Senator BENNETT strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, they have inspired all around the and my other colleagues for joining me devices, and inscriptions, to be determined world. As chairman of the Small Busi- today in honoring Dr. Yunus. Dr. Mu- by the Secretary. ness and Entrepreneurship Committee, hammad Yunus is a great man who de- SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. I have seen first hand the power of serves our admiration and our thanks. The Secretary may strike and sell dupli- microcredit in this country, through cates in bronze of the gold medal struck pur- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- suant to section 3, under such regulations as the SBA’s—Small Business Adminis- sent that the text of the bill be printed the Secretary may prescribe, at a price suffi- tration’s—microloan programs. In my in the RECORD. cient to cover the cost thereof, including home State of Massachusetts, Thondup There being no objection, the text of labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and and Dolma Tsering, two Tibetan refu- the bill was ordered to be printed in overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold gees in the United States, were able to the RECORD, as follows: medal. start their own restaurant in 2005, with S. 903 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. assistance from the Massachusetts (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- Small Business Development Center pursuant to this Act are national medals for resentatives of the United States of America in and financing from the Western Massa- purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United Congress assembled, chusetts Enterprise Fund. Through fi- States Code. SECTION 1. FINDINGS. (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of nancing and support, otherwise not Congress finds that— sections 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United available to them from the banking (1) Dr. Muhammad Yunus is recognized in States Code, all medals struck under this community, they are now the success- the United States and throughout the world Act shall be considered to be numismatic ful owners of Lhasa Cafe in North- as a leading figure in the fight against pov- items. ampton. As small business owners, the erty and the effort to promote economic and SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; Tserings are socially responsible and social change; PROCEEDS OF SALE. (2) Muhammad Yunus is the recognized de- support local farmers and their com- (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.— munity. veloper of the concept of microcredit, and There are authorized to be charged against Grameen Bank, which he founded, has cre- From Dr. Yunus’s first microloans to the United States Mint Public Enterprise 42 entrepreneurs in Bangladesh in 1976, ated a model of lending that has been emu- Fund, such amounts as may be necessary to lated across the globe; pay for the costs of the medals struck pursu- the concept of microcredit has come a (3) Muhammad Yunus launched this global ant to this Act. long way. Here in the United States, movement to create economic and social de- (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received where SBA has had a similar program velopment from below, beginning in 1976, from the sale of duplicate bronze medals au- since 1992, more than $328 million in with a loan of $27 from his own pocket to 42 thorized under section 4 shall be deposited crafts persons in a small village in Ban- microloans have been made to deserv- into the United States Mint Public Enter- ing entrepreneurs. gladesh; prise Fund. (4) Muhammad Yunus has demonstrated I have long been a supporter of fund- the life-changing potential of extending very Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise ing microloan programs, which offer small loans (at competitive interest rates) to today to recognize Dr. Muhammad current and potential small business the very poor and the economic feasibility of Yunus. For those who don’t already owners the opportunity to achieve fi- microcredit and other microfinance and know, Dr. Yunus is a modest man of nancial independence, financial secu- microenterprise practices and services; great ideas, now revered around the rity, and dignity through work. Some- (5) Dr. Yunus’s work has had a particularly world, as the father of microcredit and times they use it to work their way out strong impact on improving the economic the founder of the Grameen Bank. His prospects of women, and on their families, as of poverty, but sometimes they use it over 95 percent of microcredit borrowers are concept of microcredit has helped to patch together income when they women; thousands of people work their way out need more money, lose a job, want to (6) Dr. Yunus has pioneered a movement of poverty. For his work to beat global buy a house or car, or maybe pay for with the potential to assist a significant poverty, I am very proud to join my college or send a child to college. These number of the more than 1,000,000,000 people, colleagues, Senators DURBIN and BEN- entrepreneurs create jobs, provide serv- mostly women and children, who live on less NETT, in introducing a bill to honor Dr. ices and products to our communities, than $1 a day, and the nearly 3,000,000,000 Yunus with a Congressional Gold and generate tax revenue to benefit the people who live on less than $2 a day, and Medal. which has already reached 125,000,000 house- economy. Funding microloan programs holds, by one estimate; When I look at the success of Dr. not only makes economic sense; it (7) there are now an estimated 21,000,000 Yunus’s idea and the microenterprise makes social sense as well. microentrepreneurs in the United States (ac- programs it has inspired over the past In spite of growing support for counting for approximately 16 percent of pri- 30 years, one thing that amazes me the microloan programs, and in spite of the

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.069 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3211 return on investment to our economy, SBA’s, Military Reservist Economic In- counted against the time limitation microenterprise does not get the sup- jury Disaster Loan, MREIDL, program. participation in the SBA’s programs. port in this country that it does in Additionally, this bill increases pro- The Veterans Small Business Oppor- other countries. In 2005, the adminis- curement opportunities, capital access, tunity Act amends the Small Business tration provided approximately $211 and other types of business develop- Act by allowing small businesses million for the development of foreign ment assistance for veterans and serv- owned by veterans and service-disabled microenterprise programs through the ice-disabled veterans. veterans to extend their SBA program Agency for International Development, We all know today’s small business participation time limitations by the USAID. In fiscal year 2006, we are told men and women play a vital role in the duration of their owners’ active duty that the administration provided more economic stability and prosperity of service after September 11, 2001. than $54 million for microloans in Iraq: our Nation. Quite often, these same en- Additionally, this bill will allow the The efforts of the U.S. government in its trepreneurs are the veterans who have SBA Administrator, either directly or assistance to Iraq have been broad based. . . protected our Nation in years past, or through banks, to offer loans up to For example, over $54 million in micro-loans who serve in the Armed Forces today. $25,000 without requiring collateral have been disbursed, resulting in 26,700 loans When our Nation’s patriotic men and from a loan applicant. Currently, the in twelve cities, and the program is set to ex- women are called to duty, they often SBA offers military reservist loans up pand to even more areas. Also, a Loan Guar- leave behind thriving small businesses, to $5,000 without collateral. This provi- antee Corporation is currently being estab- lished to encourage private banks to make and as a result, many of these busi- sion would increase that level to eligi- loans to small businesses.—Ambassador nesses experience production slow- ble small businesses. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, downs and lost sales, or incur addi- The bill will also require the Admin- May 9, 2006. tional expenses to compensate for an istrator to give military reservist loan And for fiscal year 2007, we are told employee’s absence. applications priority for processing and that the administration is requesting In recent years, the Department of ensure that Guard and Reserve mem- supplemental funding for Iraq that in- Defense has placed a greater reliance bers are adequately assisted with their cludes at least $160 million for on our country’s Guard and Reserve loan application by incorporating the microloans. Forces. In fact, since September 2001, support and expertise of SBA entrepre- We will help local leaders improve their ca- nearly 600,000 Guard and Reserve mem- neurial development partners, such as pacity to govern and deliver public services. bers have been called up in support of Small Business Development Centers Our economic efforts will be more targeted current operations, comprising nearly and Veterans Business Outreach Cen- on specific local needs with proven records of one-third of deployed service members ters. success, like micro-credit programs. And we in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, This legislation increases the author- will engage with leading private sector en- Guard and Reserve members were ization of appropriations for the SBA’s terprises and other local businesses, includ- charged with assisting recovery efforts Office of Veteran Business Develop- ing the more promising state-owned firms, to in the gulf coast region in the after- ment to $2 million for fiscal year 2008, break the obstacles to growth.—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Relations math of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. $2.1 million for fiscal year 2009 and $2.2 Committee hearing on the administration’s In my 4 years as chair of the Senate million for fiscal year 2010. Increased plan for Iraq, January 11, 2007. Committee on Small Business and En- funding for SBA’s Office of Veterans At the same time, the President has trepreneurship, and now as ranking Business Development help them bet- proposed for fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, member, I have fought to support our ter assist our Nation’s veterans and and 2008 eliminating all funding for the patriotic small businesses affected by provide the business services they SBA’s microloan programs. the Guard and Reserve call-ups. My need. Today I not only honor and recognize home State of Maine has one of the This legislation will also strengthen the genius of Dr. Yunus, but also call highest Guard and Reserve deployment the access of veterans and service-dis- attention to President Bush’s lack of levels in the country—over 50 percent abled veterans to Federal contracts support for U.S. microloans and call on have been deployed to Iraq and Afghan- and subcontracts. Under the Small the administration to reverse its pol- istan. In response to this I commis- Business Act and the President’s Exec- icy. If we can support microloans in sioned a Congressional Budget Office, utive Order 13360, Providing Opportuni- Baghdad, we should support microloans CBO, study which found that 35 percent ties for Service-Disabled Veteran Busi- in Boston, and every other city that’s of Guard and reservists work for small nesses To Increase Their Federal Con- home to a would-be entrepreneur. busineses or are self-employed. In addi- tracting and Subcontracting, Federal I am honored to add my name in sup- tion, the small businesses that employ agencies must award at least 3 percent port of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, and I them may be ‘‘paying’’ a dispropor- of prime contracts and subcontracts to am gratified to see the support he has tionate and unfair share of the burden small businesses owned by service-dis- received among my colleagues. But I of increased Guard and Reserve mem- abled veterans. The order states that, also implore my colleagues to pay trib- ber call-ups. The burden is further to achieve these goals, Federal agen- ute to American entrepreneurs and to magnified when it is the small business cies ‘‘shall more effectively’’ use the fund the SBA’s microloan program. We owner or a key employee who is de- authorities in the Small Business Act must honor Dr. Yunus’s ingenuity with ployed. to reserve and award contracts to serv- more than words; we must honor him Our legislation will raise the max- ice-disabled veterans. During the Sen- with our actions. imum MREIDL amount from $1,500,000 ate Small Business and Entrepreneur- to $2,000,000. A maximum military re- ship Committee hearing held in Janu- By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. servist loan amount of $2,000,000 is the ary, it became very clear that Federal PRYOR, and Mr. CRAIG): same level as many of the SBA’s other agencies have been short-changing S. 904. A bill to provide additional re- loan programs, including: 7(a) loans, service-disabled veteran-owned small lief for small business owners ordered international trade loans, and 504 Cer- businesses to the tune of over $7.5 bil- to active duty as members of reserve tified Development Corporation loans lion a year in government contracts components of the Armed Forces, and that serve a public policy goal. during fiscal year 2003 through fiscal for other purposes; to the Committee Currently, some of the SBA’s con- year 2005. To remedy this unacceptable on Small Business and Entrepreneur- tracting and business development pro- situation, our legislation puts the force ship. grams have defined time limits for par- of a congressional statute behind the Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise ticipation. If the firm’s time for par- requirements of the President’s Execu- today to introduce the Veterans Small ticipation expires prematurely, then tive order. Business Opportunity Act of 2007. Sen- competitive opportunities, invest- In addition, our legislation ensures ators PRYOR, CRAIG, and I are intro- ments, and jobs become lost. Today, that veterans and service-disabled vet- ducing this legislation to assist vet- small business owners who get called- erans do not face confusing and dupli- erans and small businesses that employ up to active duty in the National cative red tape before they can be eligi- Guard and reservists. Our bill improves Guard or Reserve are effectively penal- ble to access the Federal procurement the Small Business Administration’s, ized because their active duty time is market. Currently, the Department of

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.083 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3212 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 Veterans Affairs and the SBA both op- Act of 2007. I am proud to join with pletion for oil and natural gas produced erate registration databases for small Senator SNOWE and Senator PRYOR as from marginal properties; to the Com- businesses owned by veterans and serv- an original cosponsor of this important mittee on Finance. ice-disabled veterans. A veteran must bill. Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, the inde- often register in both databases to be This legislation will benefit patriot pendent producers of oil and gas are properly considered for bidding. Surely, ‘‘citizen-soldiers’’ who are called from the backbone of our domestic supply of in this information age, we can have a their employment at America’s small energy. They have played and continue better process. Registration data can businesses to serve our country in uni- to play a critical role in meeting our easily be made to migrate from one form. In States across the Nation, domestic needs, especially as the big database to the other. Our legislation small businesses are being affected by oil companies’ focus mainly offshore. requires that a single registration the mobilization of our Guard and Re- In fact, independents develop 90 per- point for both of these databases be es- serve personnel. In my home State, the cent of our Nation’s wells. According tablished within a year. Such one-stop Idaho National Guard’s 116th Brigade to the Department of Energy, inde- registration must be reliable and com- Combat Team returned in 2005 from an pendent producers supply 68 percent of pliant with statutory provisions con- 18-month deployment to Iraq. I visited American oil production and 82 percent cerning veteran and service-disabled members of the 116th while they were of overall American natural gas. veteran status certifications for small in Iraq and discovered that a good Therefore, I rise today to introduce businesses. number had left jobs at small busi- legislation that eliminates the taxable To increase the capacity of service- nesses across Idaho. I also held a hear- income limit on percentage depletion disabled veteran-owned firms, my leg- ing in Idaho during the 109th Congress for oil and natural gas produced from islation permits the SBA, in coopera- to examine the reemployment rights of marginal wells; wells producing 15 bar- tion with the Department of Veterans returning Guard and Reserve members. rels of day and less than 90 thousand Affairs, to develop a business develop- At that hearing, it was emphasized cubic feet of natural gas. ment assistance program, including that, although legal rights to reem- Under current law, the percentage mentor-prote´ge´ assistance, to be ad- ployment are critical, they do little for depletion method is limited to only ministered by the SBA. Our legislation those who have no employer, or no independent producers and royalty contains a strict fairness requirement small business, to return to. To me, it owners. It is a form of cost recovery for capital initially invested toward pro- that any such program must be devel- was clear that we should do more to duction of oil and gas wells. Generally, oped in such a way as to ensure success help small businesses in coping with the percentage depletion rate is 15 per- of other small business contracting the financial hardships of frequent and cent of the taxpayer’s gross income programs. Within a year, the SBA is re- lengthy mobilizations of its employees from an oil and gas producing property quired to submit a report to Congress or owners during the war on terrorism. and is limited to a daily average of on its proposals for this program. In I believe we can provide some of that 1,000 barrels of oil or 6,000 thousand 2004, I succeeded in amending the De- needed assistance with this legislation, cubic feet of natural gas. However, partment of Defense Mentor-Prote´ge´ which includes key provisions from under the net income limitation, per- Program statute by expanding it to The Patriot Loan Act of 2006, a bill centage depletion is limited to 100 per- service-disabled veterans. Since then, that Senator SNOWE and I introduced cent of the net income from an indi- over $204 million in contracts and sub- last year. vidual property. In the case of mar- contracts have been awarded to serv- This bill would enhance the U.S. ginal wells, where total deductions ice-disabled veteran-owned small busi- Small Business Administration’s Mili- often do exceed this net-income, this nesses as a result of the $17 million in tary Reservist Economic Injury Dis- limitation discourages producers from mentor-Prote´ge´ assistance. This rep- aster Loan, or MREIDL, Program. That investing in the continued production resents a stunning $12 return for every program provides loan assistance to from marginal wells. $1 in assistance investment. I believe small businesses to help them meet or- As a result Congress has suspended the success of this initiative should be dinary and necessary operating ex- the net-income limitation for 1998 replicated. The SBA is already admin- penses after essential employees are through 2005; and again for 2006 and istering a Mentor-Prote´ge´ Program as called to active duty in their roles as 2007, with the passage of the Tax Relief part of the 8(a) business development citizen-soldiers. and Health Care Act of 2006, H.R. 6111. program for small disadvantaged busi- This bill would raise the maximum My bill would simply clarify the pol- nesses, and both the SBA and the DOD military reservist loan amount from icy by doing away with the taxable net programs would provide useful exam- $1.5 million to $2 million. It would also income limitation altogether. ples for helping our disabled veterans allow the Small Business Administra- In my own State of Oklahoma, it is succeed. tion, by direct loan or through banks, the small independents, basically Finally, our legislation creates an to offer unsecured loans of up to mom-and-pop operations, producing interagency task force among Federal $25,000, an increase from the current the majority of oil and natural gas, agencies charged with improving pro- $5,000 limit. In addition, this bill would with 85 percent of Oklahoma’s oil com- curement opportunities for service-dis- ensure proactive outreach to Guard ing from marginal wells. abled veterans. The scope of this task and Reserve members about the Because marginal wells supply such a force will, in addition to procurement, MREIDL Program and other small significant amount of our oil and gas, include franchising, capital access, and business programs by requiring SBA it is vital we keep them in operation. other types of business development as- and the Department of Defense to de- According to the Energy Department, sistance. In examining the implemen- velop a joint Web site and printed ma- between 1994 and 2003, we lost 110 mil- tation of Executive Order 13360 and terials with information about those lion barrels of crude oil due to plugged other veterans business development programs. marginal wells. Thus, when we lose initiatives, our committee found that For the brave men and women who marginal wells, we become more de- the responsible agencies were not talk- serve our Nation in the Guard and Re- pendent upon foreign sources of energy, ing to each other on a regular basis, serve, we must do what we can to en- at a time when virtually all agree that and that no overall ‘‘game plan’’ was in sure that their sacrifices do not place U.S. policies should encourage reliance place to coordinate various Federal ef- them in financial harm’s way when upon domestic sources. Furthermore, forts. they return home. I urge my colleagues we lose domestic jobs to foreign na- I would like to thank Senators to support these measures, and I thank tions. PRYOR and CRAIG for working with me Senator SNOWE for her leadership in in- My bill would allow independents the on this critical issue and I urge my col- troducing this bill. necessary capital to continue to leagues to support this bill. produce from these existing marginal Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise to By Mr. INHOFE: wells—which is critical to the Nation’s comment on a bill that is being intro- S. 905. A bill to amend the Internal overall energy security. I ask unani- duced by Senator SNOWE today, the Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the mous consent that the text of the bill Veterans Small Business Opportunity taxable income limit on percentage de- be printed in the RECORD.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.085 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3213 There being no objection, the text of For those of us who like fish, it make recommendations on the issues the bill was ordered to be printed in causes us to pause when we first learn associated with the development of a the RECORD, as follows: of the range of species with high mer- permanent repository of mercury col- S. 905 cury levels. For pregnant women and lected as a result of an export prohibi- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- other at-risk groups, however, this tion. Mercury is not like spent nuclear resentatives of the United States of America in doesn’t just cause pause, it creates se- fuel, or other substances that may cre- Congress assembled, rious concerns about health con- ate community concerns, in that when SECTION 1. ELIMINATION OF TAXABLE INCOME sequences. Meanwhile, experts tell us mercury is stored in stainless steel LIMIT ON PERCENTAGE DEPLETION that fish is an excellent source of crit- FOR OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRO- containers in refrigeration, it remains DUCED FROM MARGINAL PROP- ical nutrients and other compounds in- benign. Every community must be pro- ERTIES. dispensable for good health. More of us vided the opportunity to evaluate for (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (H) of sec- should eat more fish. themselves if and when mercury is tion 613A(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code So the real long-term solution is not stored nearby in secure and stable stor- of 1986 (relating to oil and natural gas pro- to eat less fish, or to criticize those duced from marginal properties) is amended age. I do believe, however, that when who commercially provide us with fish mercury is safely and permanently to read as follows: as food. It’s not about issuing ‘‘(H) NONAPPLICATION OF TAXABLE INCOME stored, it means less microscopic mer- advisories, or printing labels on tuna LIMIT WITH RESPECT TO MARGINAL PRODUC- cury on one’s dinner plate, less mer- cans, or posting placards at the super- TION.—The second sentence of subsection (a) cury in our kids’ tuna fish sandwiches, market, or creating inspection bu- of section 613 shall not apply to so much of and less mercury in the air we breathe. the allowance for depletion as is determined reaucracies, or collecting statistics. If Last month, a United States delega- under subparagraph (A).’’. we’re serious about eliminating mer- tion, led by the State Department, par- (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment cury from fish, we need to reduce mer- made by this section shall apply to taxable ticipated in an international meeting cury in the environment. in Kenya, sponsored by the United Na- years beginning after December 31, 2006. Half of mercury settles where it is tions Environmental Programme, emitted, and the other half gets trans- By Mr. OBAMA (for himself and where world representative discussed Ms. MURKOWSKI): ported around the globe where we lose track of it, and it winds up in oceans, how to reduce mercury pollution. Two S. 906. A bill to prohibit the sale, dis- years ago, the U.S. Government could tribution, transfer, and export of ele- lakes, and rivers nowhere near mercury sources. From there, up it goes, have taken a bolder stance, and did mental mercury, and for other pur- not. This time, with the decision of the poses; to the Committee on Environ- through the food chain. If mercury is both local, and global, then the solu- E.U. to ban mercury exports, the ment and Public Works. United States had an opportunity to Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I am tion is not up to one state, or one na- partner with its allies to eliminate a pleased to be joined today by my es- tion, but up to all states and nations. major part of worldwide elemental teemed colleague from Alaska, Ms. The bill we introduce today was crafted mercury contamination. Again, the MURKOWSKI, in introducing the Mer- based on that premise. State Department did not. cury Market Minimization Act of 2007. The Mercury Market Minimization As most of us in this Chamber know, Act, or M3 Act, establishes a ban on It is not often that policy options, elemental mercury is a poisonous U.S. exports of mercury by the year such as this, might be considered ‘‘low- neurotoxin that can cause serious dis- 2010. Such a ban, when coupled with hanging fruit’’—in that a small act of ability or death if ingested. Unfortu- goal of the European Union to ban mer- international leadership by the United nately, many people in the United cury exports by 2011, and the insuffi- States government could have far States, and many millions more world- cient capacity in the world’s mercury reaching benefits for the health of our wide, do indeed ingest mercury—unin- mines to respond, will result in a tight- kids, as well as millions of low-income tentionally, however, as a result of in- ening of the global supply of commer- hardworking artisanal gold miners dustrial emissions or practices, or poor cially available elemental mercury in whom we will never meet. But the waste management and storage tech- sufficient quantities that developing United States, so far, has not acted. niques. When mercury enters into the nations that still use mercury will be This bill, the M3 bill, is designed to environment, it often shows up in compelled to switch to the affordable change that course and the mark the plants and animals, and that means a alternatives that are already wide- beginning of the end of a global market major source of mercury ingestion for spread in industrialized nations. of an outdated and obsolete poison. I humans comes as a result of eating cer- The M3 Act also requires those Fed- hope my colleagues will support this tain types of fish. That, in turn, causes eral agencies that now hold mercury in bill, and I ask unanimous consent that serious developmental problems in half stockpiles to keep that mercury. Right a copy of this legislation be printed in a million children in our country, and now, the Department of Energy, and the RECORD. similar health problems in adults, es- the Department of Defense, possess There being no objection, the text of pecially women at childbearing age. tons of mercury left over from various the bill was ordered to be printed in Last year, an investigative report operations over the years. While it is the RECORD, as follows: published in the Chicago Tribune out- the policy of these agencies to keep S. 906 lined the extent of mercury contamina- this mercury—not to sell it, not to Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- tion in fish. After concluding that the transfer it, not to release it from their resentatives of the United States of America in fish sampling efforts conducted by the possession—it is not the law. The M3 Congress assembled, Federal Government were limited and act codifies these policies. In December SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. outdated, the Tribune conducted its of 2006, it was widely understood that This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury own sampling, and the results showed the Department of Energy was consid- Market Minimization Act of 2007’’. surprisingly high levels of mercury ering the sale of its mercury stock- SEC. 2. FINDINGS. concentrations in freshwater and salt- Congress finds that— piles. After various inquiries into the (1) mercury and mercury compounds are water fish purchased by consumers in matter, the Department of Energy ulti- highly toxic to humans, ecosystems, and the Chicago region—higher levels than mately announced that it would not wildlife; had been documented by the Federal sell its stockpiles. That underscores (2) as many as 10 percent of women in the Government. Mercury was found in why a prohibition of stockpile sales United States of childbearing age have mer- both freshwater and saltwater species— must be enacted into law by the M3 act cury in the blood at a level that could put a tuna, swordfish, orange roughy, and if we are to be assured that mercury re- baby at risk; walleye, to name a few examples. The mains safely stored, away from the en- (3) as many as 630,000 children born annu- Tribune also reported on how existing vironment, and not sold overseas to ally in the United States are at risk of neu- rological problems related to mercury; programs at the Food and Drug Admin- places where tracking and emissions (4) the most significant source of mercury istration and the Environmental Pro- and waste disposal laws may be inad- exposure to people in the United States is in- tection Agency have failed to ade- equate. gestion of mercury-contaminated fish; quately test and evaluate mercury lev- Finally, the M3 Act calls for the cre- (5) the Environmental Protection Agency els in fish. ation of a committee to explore and reports that, as of 2004—

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(A) 44 States have fish advisories covering ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MERCURY COM- Committee shall hold the initial meeting of over 13,000,000 lake acres and over 750,000 POUNDS.— the Committee. river miles; ‘‘(A) REPORT.— ‘‘(D) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall (B) in 21 States the freshwater advisories ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year meet at the call of the Chairperson. are statewide; and after the date of enactment of the Mercury ‘‘(E) QUORUM.—A majority of the members (C) in 12 States the coastal advisories are Market Minimization Act of 2007, the Admin- of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. statewide; istrator shall publish and submit to Congress ‘‘(F) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after (6) the long-term solution to mercury pol- a report on mercuric chloride, mercurous the date of enactment of this subsection, the lution is to minimize global mercury use and chloride or calomel, mercuric oxide, and Committee shall submit to Congress a report releases to eventually achieve reduced con- other mercury compounds, if any, that may describing the findings and recommenda- tamination levels in the environment, rather currently be used in significant quantities in tions of the Committee, if any, relating to— than reducing fish consumption since products or processes. ‘‘(i) the environmental, health, and safety uncontaminated fish represents a critical ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The report shall include requirements necessary to prevent— and healthy source of nutrition worldwide; an analysis of— ‘‘(I) the release of elemental mercury into (7) mercury pollution is a transboundary ‘‘(I) the sources and amounts of each mer- the environment; and pollutant, depositing locally, regionally, and cury compound produced annually in, or im- ‘‘(II) worker exposure from the storage of globally, and affecting water bodies near in- ported into, the United States; elemental mercury; dustrial sources (including the Great Lakes) ‘‘(II)(aa) the purposes for which each of the ‘‘(ii) the estimated annual cost of storing compounds are used domestically; and remote areas (including the Arctic Cir- elemental mercury on a per-pound or per-ton ‘‘(bb) the quantity of the compounds cur- cle); basis; (8) the free trade of mercury and mercury rently consumed annually for each purpose; ‘‘(iii) for the 40-year period beginning on compounds on the world market, at rel- and the date of submission of the report, the op- atively low prices and in ready supply, en- ‘‘(cc) the estimated quantity of the com- timal size, number, and other characteristics courages the continued use of mercury out- pounds to be consumed for each purpose dur- of Federal facilities required to store ele- side of the United States, often involving ing calendar year 2010 and thereafter; mental mercury under current and antici- highly dispersive activities such as artisinal ‘‘(III) the sources and quantities of each pated jurisdictions of each Federal agency; gold mining; mercury compound exported from the United ‘‘(iv) the estimated quantity of— (9) the intentional use of mercury is declin- States during each of the preceding 3 cal- ‘‘(I) elemental mercury that will result ing in the United States as a consequence of endar years; from the decommissioning of mercury cell process changes to manufactured products ‘‘(IV) the potential for the compounds to chlor-alkali facilities in the United States; (including batteries, paints, switches, and be processed into elemental mercury after and measuring devices), but those uses remain export from the United States; and ‘‘(II) any other supplies that may require substantial in the developing world where re- ‘‘(V) other information that Congress storage to carry out this Act; leases from the products are extremely like- should consider in determining whether to ‘‘(v) for the 40-year period beginning on the ly due to the limited pollution control and extend the export prohibition to include 1 or date of submission of the report, the esti- waste management infrastructures in those more of those mercury compounds. mated quantity of elemental mercury gen- countries; ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— erated from the recycling of unwanted prod- (10) the member countries of the European ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in ucts and other wastes that will require stor- Union collectively are the largest source of clause (ii), for the purpose of preparing the age to comply with the export prohibitions mercury exports globally; report under this paragraph, the Adminis- under this Act; (11) the European Union is in the process of trator may use the information gathering ‘‘(vi) any legal, technical, economic, or enacting legislation that will prohibit mer- authorities of this title, including sections 10 other barrier that may prevent the private cury exports by not later than 2011; and 11. sector from storing elemental mercury pro- (12) the United States is a net exporter of ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b)(2) of sec- duced by the private sector during the 40- mercury and, according to the United States tion 11 shall not apply to activities under year period beginning on the date of submis- Geologic Survey, exported 506 metric tons of this subparagraph. sion of the report, including a description of mercury more than the United States im- ‘‘(3) EXCESS MERCURY STORAGE ADVISORY measures to address the barriers; ported during the period of 2000 through 2004; COMMITTEE.— ‘‘(vii) the advantages and disadvantages of and ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established consolidating the storage of mercury pro- (13) banning exports of mercury from the an advisory committee, to be known as the duced by public and private sources under United States will have a notable affect on ‘Excess Mercury Storage Advisory Com- mittee’ (referred to in this paragraph as the the management of the public or private sec- the market availability of mercury and ‘Committee’). tor; switching to affordable mercury alternatives ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.— ‘‘(viii) the optimal plan of the Committee in the developing world. ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be for storing excess mercury produced by pub- SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, composed of 9 members, of whom— lic and private sources; and OR TRANSFER OF MERCURY BY DE- PARTMENT OF DEFENSE OR DE- ‘‘(I) 2 members shall be jointly appointed ‘‘(ix) additional research, if any, required PARTMENT OF ENERGY. by the Speaker of the House of Representa- to determine a long-term disposal option for Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control tives and the Majority Leader of the Sen- the storage of excess mercury. Act (15 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at ate— ‘‘(G) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— the end the following: ‘‘(aa) 1 of whom shall be designated to ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(f) MERCURY.— serve as Chairperson of the Committee; and ‘‘(I) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR ‘‘(bb) 1 of whom shall be designated to of the Committee who is not an officer or TRANSFER OF MERCURY BY FEDERAL AGEN- serve as Vice-Chairperson of the Committee; employee of the Federal Government shall CIES.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), ‘‘(II) 1 member shall be the Administrator; be compensated at a rate equal to the daily effective beginning on the date of enactment ‘‘(III) 1 member shall be the Secretary of equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay of this subsection, no Federal agency shall Defense; prescribed for level V of the Executive convey, sell, or distribute to any other Fed- ‘‘(IV) 1 member shall be a representative of Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United eral agency, any State or local government State environmental agencies; States Code, for each day (including travel agency, or any private individual or entity ‘‘(V) 1 member shall be a representative of time) during which the member is engaged in any elemental mercury under the control or State attorneys general; the performance of the duties of the Com- jurisdiction of the Federal agency. ‘‘(VI) 1 member shall be a representative of mittee. ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not the chlorine industry; ‘‘(II) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of apply to a transfer between Federal agencies ‘‘(VII) 1 member shall be a representative the Committee who is an officer or employee of elemental mercury for the sole purpose of of the mercury waste treatment industry; of the Federal Government shall serve with- facilitating storage of mercury to carry out and out compensation in addition to the com- this Act.’’. ‘‘(VIII) 1 member shall be a representative pensation received for the services of the SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF MERCURY. of a nonprofit environmental organization. member as an officer or employee of the Fed- Section 12 of the Toxic Substances Control ‘‘(ii) APPOINTMENTS.—Not later than 45 eral Government. Act (15 U.S.C. 2611) is amended— days after the date of enactment of this sub- ‘‘(ii) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘sub- section, the Administrator, in consultation Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, section (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) with the appropriate congressional commit- including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at and (c)’’; and tees, shall appoint the members of the Com- rates authorized for an employee of an agen- (2) by adding at the end the following: mittee described in subclauses (IV) through cy under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF MERCURY.— (VIII) of clause (i). United States Code, while away from the ‘‘(1) ELEMENTAL MERCURY.—Effective Janu- ‘‘(C) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 home or regular place of business of the ary 1, 2010, the export of elemental mercury days after the date on which all members of member in the performance of the duties of from the United States is prohibited. the Committee have been appointed, the the Committee.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.075 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3215 ‘‘(H) STAFF AND FUNDING.—The Adminis- The GEDI Act will provide funding Health Care Act of 2006, TRHCA, signed trator shall provide to the Committee such for projects to assist health care pro- into law December 20, 2006, included funding and additional personnel as are nec- viders, as well as for communities to some amendments to the DRA citizen- essary to enable the Committee to perform find ways to reach out to women so ship documentation requirement, pri- the duties of the Committee. marily to exempt certain groups. Prior ‘‘(I) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall that they understand how their own terminate 180 days after the date on which good health during pregnancy can de- to enactment of the DRA, States were the Committee submits the report of the crease serious health risks for their permitted to use their discretion in re- Committee under subparagraph (F). children. quiring such citizenship documenta- ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY OF UNREASONABLE The GEDI Act would expand research tion. RISK REQUIREMENT.—Subsection (a) shall not to determine and develop interventions Under Section 6036 of the DRA, citi- apply to this subsection.’’. to lower the incidence of gestational zens applying for or renewing their diabetes. We need to alert women to Medicaid coverage must provide ‘‘satis- By Mrs. CLINTON: factory documentary evidence of citi- S. 907. A bill to establish an Advisory the risk before this condition becomes zenship or nationality.’’ The DRA Committee on Gestational Diabetes, to an epidemic and, as we have seen so specifies documents that are accept- provide grants to better understand many times before, education is crit- able for this purpose and authorizes the and reduce gestational diabetes, and ical. HHS Secretary to designate additional for other purposes; to the Committee We should be doing everything we acceptable documents. No Federal on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- can to address the impact of obesity matching funds are available for serv- sions. during pregnancy and to reduce the Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I am prevalence of gestational diabetes in ices provided to individuals who de- pleased to introduce the Gestational pregnant women. The GEDI Act is an clare they are citizens or nationals un- Diabetes Act of 2007 with my colleague important step in assuring that women less the State obtains satisfactory evi- Senator COLLINS, to bring attention to understand this critical issue and that dence of their citizenship or deter- an important health issue facing we fully understand how to equip preg- mines that they are subject to a statu- women and children. nant women to make the best choices tory exemption. I don’t need to tell anyone that we for their health. It is important to note that citizen- have an obesity epidemic in the United The GEDI Act is supported by the ship documentation requirements do States. Many of us realize that as par- American Diabetes Association, Amer- not affect Medicaid rules relating to ents, it is our responsibility to pass on ican College of Obstetricians and Gyne- immigrants—they apply to individuals good nutritional habits to our children. cologists, National Research Center for claiming to be citizens. Most new legal But many women may not realize that Women & Families, International Com- immigrants are excluded from Med- watching what you eat, exercising reg- munity Health Services, American As- icaid during their first 5 years in the ularly, and having control of your sociation of Diabetes Educators, and U.S. and undocumented immigrants re- blood sugar levels are serious health the American Association of Colleges main eligible for Medicaid emergency considerations during pregnancy. In of Pharmacy. services only. fact, these factors are serious enough The legislation I am introducing that they can affect both the health of By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, would make several very important the mother and the life of the child Mr. AKAKA, Mr. KERRY, and changes to current law to ensure that into adulthood. Mrs. CLINTON): U.S. citizens receive the Medicaid to More women than ever are entering S. 909. A bill to amend title XIX of which they are entitled. their pregnancies overweight but with- the Social Security Act to permit First, the legislation would restore out an understanding of how their own States, at their option, to require cer- citizenship verification to a State op- weight and nutritional habits can trig- tain individuals to present satisfactory tion. Specifically, States would be per- mitted to determine when and to what ger gestational diabetes—a type of dia- documentary evidence of proof of citi- extent citizenship verification is re- betes that only occurs during preg- zenship or nationality for purposes of quired of U.S. Citizens. States would nancy. Women who are overweight be- eligibility for Medicaid, and for other also be permitted to utilize the stand- fore pregnancy are not only at greater purposes; to the Committee on Fi- ards most appropriate to the their pop- risk of having gestational diabetes but nance. ulation as long as such standards were are also more likely to have a c-section Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, the no more stringent than those currently and are at an increased risk for other legislation I am introducing today is used by the Social Security Adminis- serious pregnancy complications. designed to make several very impor- In New York, gestational diabetes is tration and includes native American tant changes to current law to ensure on the rise. In New York City alone, tribal documents when appropriate. that U.S. citizens receive the Medicaid gestational diabetes has risen by near- Second, the legislation would ensure to which they are entitled. ly 50 percent in about 10 years. This that individuals are afforded a reason- Since July 1, 2006, most U.S. citizens means that gestational diabetes affects able time period to provide citizenship and nationals applying for or renewing 1 in 25 women, about 400 women per documentation utilizing the same rea- their Medicaid coverage face a new month. But across the Nation, between sonable time period standard that is 4 and 8 percent of pregnant women in Federal requirement to provide docu- available to legal immigrants to pro- the United States are affected by ges- mentation of their citizenship status. vide satisfactory evidence of their im- tational diabetes. Infants of women Recent reports indicate that tens-of- migration status. who have gestational diabetes are at thousands of U.S. citizens, and in par- Third the legislation protects chil- increased risk for obesity and devel- ticular children, inappropriately are dren who are U.S. citizens by virtue of oping type 2 diabetes as adolescents or being denied Medicaid benefits simply being born in the United States from adults. because they don’t have access to being denied coverage after birth be- As women, we need to pay attention newly required documentation. The ar- cause of citizenship verification re- to our health. We are always worrying ticles below and report by the Center quirements. about the health of our children, our on Budget and Policy Priorities high- Fourth, the legislation also clarifies husbands, and our parents, but we light this very serious problem. Hos- ambiguities in federal law to ensure often forget to take care of ourselves. pitals, physicians, and pharmacies may that these citizen children, regardless Today, I am introducing the Gesta- not be willing to treat these individ- of the immigration status of their par- tional Diabetes Act, also known as the uals until they have a source of pay- ents, are treated like all other low-in- GEDI Act. This legislation will in- ment, but they cannot qualify for Med- come children born in the United crease our understanding of gestational icaid until they produce a birth certifi- States and are deemed eligible to re- diabetes by determining the factors cate and ID. ceive Medicaid services for one year. that contribute to this condition and This new Federal requirement was Finally, the legislation also ensures help mothers who had gestational dia- added to Medicaid by the Deficit Re- that the thousands of citizen children betes reduce their risk of developing duction Act of 2005, DRA, enacted Feb- and adults, who were erroneously de- type 2 diabetes post-pregnancy. ruary 8, 2006. The Tax Relief and nied Medicaid coverage, may receive

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.075 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3216 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 retroactive Medicaid eligibility for (2) in subsection (x) (as amended by section [From the Associated Press, Nov. 29, 2006] 405(c)(1)(A) of division B of the Tax Relief coverage they were inappropriately de- KS: SEBELIUS: NEW MEDICAID RULES COULD and Health Care Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– nied because of citizenship verification COST STATE MILLIONS 432))— requirements. (By John Hanna) I urge my colleagues in the Senate to (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (3); (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para- The state could face millions of dollars in support this critical legislation, which graph (1); protects low-income U.S. citizens from additional costs because of federal rules re- (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, by quiring Medicaid recipients to verify their being inappropriately denied Medicaid striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec- citizenship, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said coverage because of lack of documenta- tion 1902(a)(46)(B)’’; and Wednesday. (D) by adding at the end the following new tion. Sebelius said she’s worried the state will paragraph: I ask unanimous consent that the have to pick up the full cost of caring for text of the bill and supporting docu- ‘‘(2) In the case of an individual declaring to be a citizen or national of the United some poor, frail and elderly Kansans who are mentation be printed in the RECORD. States with respect to whom a State requires living in nursing homes, instead of sharing There being no objection, the text of the presentation of satisfactory documen- the cost with the federal government. Also, the bill was ordered to be printed in tary evidence of citizenship or nationality she said, she will propose adding state em- the RECORD, as follows: under section 1902(a)(46)(B), the individual ployees to verify the citizenship status of S. 909 shall be provided at least the reasonable op- Medicaid recipients and applicants. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- portunity to present satisfactory documen- The governor told reporters she hopes Con- resentatives of the United States of America in tary evidence of citizenship or nationality gress reviews the issue and other attempts to Congress assembled, under this subsection as is provided under prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining clauses (i) and (ii) of section 1137(d)(4)(A) to SECTION 1. STATE OPTION TO REQUIRE CERTAIN social services or using driver’s licenses as INDIVIDUALS TO PRESENT SATIS- an individual for the submittal to the State identification. FACTORY DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE of evidence indicating a satisfactory immi- ‘‘There was no input from the states on OF PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP OR NA- gration status.’’. how realistic these were or what the cost TIONALITY FOR PURPOSES OF ELI- SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF RULES FOR CHIL- was,’’ Sebelius said during a brief news con- GIBILITY FOR MEDICAID. DREN BORN IN THE UNITED STATES ference following an unrelated meeting. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1902(a)(46) of the TO MOTHERS ELIGIBLE FOR MED- Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(46)) is ICAID. Under Medicaid requirements that took ef- amended— Section 1903(x) of such Act (42 U.S.C. fect July 1, recipients must provide either a (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(46)’’; 1396b(x)), as amended by section 1(c)(2), is passport or two other documents, such as a (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; amended— birth certificate and a driver’s license, to and (1) in paragraph (1)— verify citizenship. (3) by adding at the end the following new (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ While the measure is targeted at illegal subparagraph: at the end; immigrants, some advocates for the needy ‘‘(B) at the option of the State and subject (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as have worried that citizens will either lose or to section 1903(x), require that, with respect subparagraph (E); and be denied services because they have trouble to an individual (other than an individual de- (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the finding the necessary documents. scribed in section 1903(x)(1)) who declares to following new subparagraph: State officials say the number of Kansans be a citizen or national of the United States ‘‘(D) pursuant to the application of section covered by Medicaid dropped almost 7 per- for purposes of establishing initial eligibility 1902(e)(4) (and, in the case of an individual cent since July 1, down to 253,000 from for medical assistance under this title (or, at who is eligible for medical assistance on 271,000. They believe much of the decline can State option, for purposes of renewing or re- such basis, the individual shall be deemed to be attributed to the new requirements. determining such eligibility to the extent have provided satisfactory documentary evi- Typically, every $1 the state spends on that such satisfactory documentary evidence dence of citizenship or nationality and shall Medicaid is matched by about $1.50 from the of citizenship or nationality has not yet been not be required to provide further documen- federal government. If someone loses their presented), there is presented satisfactory tary evidence on any date that occurs during coverage, then the state faces paying the en- documentary evidence of citizenship or na- or after the period in which the individual is tire bill for their services, Sebelius said. tionality of the individual (using criteria de- eligible for medical assistance on such basis); or’’; and ‘‘You’re at 100 percent state dollars or push termined by the State, which shall be no them out the door,’’ she said. more restrictive than the criteria used by (2) by adding at the end the following new the Social Security Administration to deter- paragraph: Also, Sebelius said, the state needs to mine citizenship, and which shall accept as ‘‘(3) Nothing in subparagraph (A) or (B) of ‘‘ramp up’’ its staffing to handle the addi- such evidence a document issued by a feder- section 1902(a)(46), the preceding paragraphs tional verification work. The governor is ally-recognized Indian tribe evidencing mem- of this subsection, or the Deficit Reduction working on the budget proposal she’ll submit bership or enrollment in, or affiliation with, Act of 2005, including section 6036 of such to the 2007 Legislature, which convenes Jan. such tribe (such as a tribal enrollment card Act, shall be construed as changing the re- 8. quirement of section 1902(e)(4) that a child or certificate of degree of Indian blood, and, ‘‘We’re certainly going to put some of born in the United States to an alien mother with respect to those federally-recognized them in place,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re trying to for whom medical assistance for the delivery Indian tribes located within States having make a careful analysis of how many we of such child is available as treatment of an an international border whose membership need.’’ emergency medical condition pursuant to She said that if the state refuses to comply includes individuals who are not citizens of subsection (v) shall be deemed eligible for with the law, it could face the loss of all fed- the United States, such other forms of docu- medical assistance during the first year of mentation (including tribal documentation, such child’s life.’’. eral health care dollars. if appropriate) that the Secretary, after con- SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. ‘‘We don’t have a lot of latitude to say sulting with such tribes, determines to be (a) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—The we’re not going to do this,’’ she said. ‘‘There satisfactory documentary evidence of citi- amendments made by this Act shall take ef- are literally hundreds of millions of dollars zenship or nationality for purposes of satis- fect as if included in the enactment of the at stake.’’ fying the requirement of this subpara- Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Public Law Meanwhile, Sebelius expressed concern graph));’’. 109–171; 120 Stat. 4). about a federal law on driver’s licenses (b) LIMITATION ON WAIVER AUTHORITY.— (b) RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—In the passed last year. Notwithstanding any provision of section case of an individual who, during the period Starting in 2008, federal agencies won’t 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. that began on July 1, 2006, and ends on the 1315), or any other provision of law, the Sec- treat a state’s licenses as valid ID unless a date of enactment of this Act, was deter- state requires license applicants to docu- retary of Health and Human Services may mined to be ineligible for medical assistance not waive the requirements of section ment that they’re living in the United States under a State Medicaid program solely as a legally. Lack of ID could prevent someone 1902(a)(46)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. result of the application of subsections (i)(22) 1396a(a)(46)(B)) with respect to a State. from entering a federal building or boarding and (x) of section 1903 of the Social Security a plane. (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section Act (as in effect during such period), but who 1903 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b) is amend- would have been determined eligible for such Sebelius said the law will require local ed— assistance if such subsections, as amended driver’s licenses offices to certify that some- (1) in subsection (i)— by sections 1 and 2, had applied to the indi- one has the proper documentation and to (A) in paragraph (20), by adding ‘‘or’’ after vidual, a State may deem the individual to store the information. the semicolon; be eligible for such assistance as of the date ‘‘Exactly how that’s going to happen, we’re (B) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and that the individual was determined to be in- not quite sure,’’ Sebelius said. ‘‘We don’t ba- inserting a period; and eligible for such medical assistance on such sically have any of the equipment that’s re- (C) by striking paragraph (22); and basis. quired to do that in any of the rural areas.’’

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.067 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3217 [From the Associated Press, Nov. 29, 2006] said Laurie Norris, an attorney with the searched birth certificate records for about KS: THOUSANDS IN KANSAS OFF MEDICAID Public Justice Center. ‘‘The people who are 600,000 Medicaid enrollees at the cost of $12 FOLLOWING CITIZENSHIP RULES on Medicaid in Maryland are supposed to be per search, said Lehman. on Medicaid.‘‘ But the effort has not gone as smoothly as Thousands of low-income Kansans have The announcement of the regulations last hoped, said Norris, with the Public Justice lost or been denied state health care cov- June sparked an uproar among advocates Center. For instance, the databases are not erage because of new rules requiring them to and state health officials, who were given a automatically synched—staff must print out prove they are American citizens, state offi- July 1 deadline to enforce the mandate or the information and check it by hand. cials say. risk losing federal funding. The officials ‘‘The state has been severely hampered in Since the federally mandated rules took ef- complained they were not given enough time information technology,’’ she said. fect July 1, the number of Medicaid recipi- to train staff and inform Maryland’s approxi- Norris alerted state lawmakers to the ents in Kansas has decreased by about 18,000, mately 650,000 affected Medicaid recipients problem at a briefing in Annapolis last week. to 253,000. While officials can’t determine ex- that they must furnish such identification as The problems come during a push by advo- actly how much of the 7 percent drop can be birth certificates, driver’s licenses and pass- cates and some lawmakers and business attributed to the new rules, they believe ports. groups to expand Medicaid and help about much of it can. Nationwide, advocates feared huge enroll- 780,000 uninsured Marylanders. ‘‘The impact to the consumer has been se- ment declines, saying many of Medicaid’s Officials with local agencies have increased vere,’’ said John Anzivino, a vice president neediest recipients don’t possess the nec- outreach and said they have allowed people for MAXIMUS, a Reston, Va., company that essary documents and would have to struggle extra time to provide the documents they helps administer the joint federal-state Med- to come up with the money to obtain them. need. icaid program in Kansas. ‘‘From our perspec- Maryland, for instance, does not automati- Nevertheless, in Anne Arundel County, for tive, this has possibly been the most dra- cally issue birth certificates, which may be example, denial rates for the state’s Med- matic change and challenge to the Medicaid ordered for $12. icaid program for pregnant women and chil- program since its inception.’’ Last summer, the federal government ex- dren have jumped from an average of 18 per- The new rules were included in last year’s empted from the requirement elderly and cent from June through December 2005 to 42 federal deficit reduction law and were de- disabled Medicaid recipients who receive percent for the same period in 2006. signed to prevent illegal immigrants from Supplemental Security Income from Social ‘‘It’s really shocking,’’ said Frances Phil- enrolling in the state programs providing Security, and last month it extended the ex- lips, the county’s health officer. ‘‘This is so health coverage. emption to foster children. Still, states such serious because the people we are talking But consumer advocates said many vulner- as Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin and New Hamp- about are either children with no insurance able people who legitimately were eligible shire noted plunging Medicaid enrollment and no way to access health care, or preg- for assistance would lose coverage because figures and backlogs related to the regula- nant women.’’ they couldn’t produce the necessary docu- tion, according to a report released earlier Many applicants eventually produce the mentation. this month by the Kaiser Family Founda- documents and get back on Medicaid, Phil- ‘‘We expect that many of these that have tion’s Commission on Medicaid and the Un- lips noted. But for vulnerable populations, lost coverage will regain coverage once they insured. In Virginia, 12,000 children have any discontinuation in coverage can be have gathered and provided the necessary been dropped from Medicaid rolls in the re- harmful, she said. documentation,’’ Marcia Nielsen, executive quirement’s first four months of implemen- A health department program in which director of the Kansas Health Policy Author- tation, the report stated. nurses make home visits to women with at- ity, told the Lawrence Journal-World. ‘‘They In Maryland, Medicaid enrollment num- risk pregnancies has focused on educating will, however, experience a gap in coverage bers are down overall, but state health offi- women on the documentation. ‘‘We just feel that could prove to be significant for some.’’ cials say they are unsure whether the drop is that this is so critical,’’ said Phillips. ‘‘ ... Medicaid applicants can prove their citi- due to the new rule, a point that has frus- We touch base with the women, find out zenship by providing a passport. Or they can trated county health officers eager for evi- what is going on with them and make sure provide other documents that verify both dence of the regulation’s impact that they they get insurance.’’ their citizenship, such as a birth certificate, could use to push for change. In Baltimore, outreach workers with Balti- and their identities, such as a driver’s li- From August through December 2006, the more HealthCare Access Inc., which assists cense. state Department of Health and Mental Hy- some of the city’s estimated 200,000 Medicaid Anzivino said most people seeking benefits giene recorded about 6,000 fewer Medicaid en- enrollees, are making home visits and con- don’t have a passport and are left scrambling rollees statewide compared with the same tacting state agencies on applicants’ behalf. to find birth certificates and other docu- period in 2005. Maryland officials say the en- The agency received $5,000 from the Abell ments. rollment computer system is not configured Foundation to help applicants cover the cost The number of calls each month to a Kan- to determine the exact cause of the decline. of documents. sas Medicaid clearinghouse has more than ‘‘It is imperative that the state disclose ‘‘We are plowing away that money pretty doubled to 49,000 from 23,000, official said. data to demonstrate the impact of this law,’’ quickly,’’ said Kathleen Westcoat, the orga- Meanwhile, Rep. Dennis Moore, a Demo- said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore health nization’s president. crat whose district is centered on the state’s commissioner. ‘‘There are warning signs that The funding helped Brenda Kent, 36, pay portion of the Kansas City area, said federal a major erosion in health coverage could be for her birth certificate last month. She lost officials were aware of states’ problems with happening as a result of this new law. This is her wallet two months before she was due to the new rules and probably would work on it really concerning. . . .’’ apply for Medicaid benefits for herself, her when the new Congress takes office in Janu- Charles Lehman, who oversees eligibility twin sons and a daughter. ary. issues in the state’s Medicaid office, said the ‘‘I didn’t know how I was supposed to get agency has concentrated its limited re- it,’’ said Kent, who does not work. ‘‘If they [From the Baltimore Sun, Jan. 22, 2007] sources on ‘‘keeping people on Medicaid didn’t help me with the cost, it would have taken me longer to do it.’’ MD: MEDICAID CALLED HARDER FOR POOR; rather than tracking the people going off.’’ ‘‘It may not sound like we are doing every- HEALTH ADVOCATES FEAR DOCUMENT RULES [From the Associated Press, Sept. 1, 2006] CAUSE MANY TO LOSE COVERAGE thing we can, but really, we are, with the re- sources we have,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not just the NC: U.S. CITIZENSHIP PROOF REQUIRED FOR (By Kelly Brewington) clients, not just the caseworkers, everyone MEDICAID IN N.C. Public health advocates fear that a new has been impacted by this.’’ A requirement that Medicaid recipients in federal regulation requiring Medicaid appli- Officials said while applicants are typi- North Carolina prove they hold U.S. citizen- cants to supply proof of identity and citizen- cally allowed a 30-day grace period, case- ship probably won’t uncover a large amount ship has resulted in thousands of poor Mary- workers will not discontinue the insurance if of fraud, a state official says. landers losing their health insurance. applicants are ‘‘making a good-faith effort’’ Starting Sept. 1, new Medicaid applicants The requirement, part of the federal Def- to obtain the documents. and nearly every current beneficiary must icit Reduction Act that went into effect in ‘‘I think we have done a good job applying provide documentation of their citizenship Maryland in September, was designed to pre- the law appropriately but not in a way that as part of a new federal law designed to pre- vent illegal immigrants from fraudulently arbitrarily cuts people off,’’ said Lehman. vent illegal immigrants from receiving the receiving Medicaid, the nation’s premier ‘‘We have made our best effort to keep peo- health care coverage. health insurance program for the poor. ple on.’’ ‘‘I would be very surprised if we had a prob- But advocates and health officers in some The department has spent $1 million for a lem in our state with any large number of Maryland counties insist the rule has bur- toll-free number to help applicants, 866–676– people receiving benefits who were not enti- dened citizens who need health care the most 5880. tled to receive them,’’ said Mark Benton, and is likely responsible for thousands of The state health department has also senior deputy director for the state Division Marylanders being kicked off the Medicaid partnered with other state databases to of Medical Assistance. rolls. verify the citizenship and identity of bene- The law was to have taken effect nation- ‘‘It’s a completely unnecessary law and ficiaries, without requiring recipients to wide July 1, but North Carolina delayed its Congress made a big mistake in passing it,’’ hand over documents. In July, the agency start while it prepared for the changes.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.077 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3218 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 Under the old rules, social services workers ‘‘We’ve delayed coverage for those chil- requirements. The new Medicaid citizenship were supposed to ask applicants about their dren, and if those children need medical documentation requirement now appears to citizenship status. They were permitted to care, there’s going to be ramifications for be pushing states in the opposite direction, accept an applicant’s word unless there was them,’’ said Donna Cohen Ross, outreach di- by impeding access to Medicaid. Families reasonable doubt. rector for the Center on Budget and Policy must furnish more documentation and may Now, the person seeking Medicaid will Priorities. be required to visit a Medicaid office in per- have to provide a U.S. passport, or an origi- But the agency that oversees Medicaid son to apply or renew their coverage, bypass- nal birth certificate with a driver’s license, questioned claims that would link enroll- ing simpler mail-in and on-line enrollment or other combinations of eligible documents. ment declines to the new documentation re- opportunities, because they must present Regardless of citizenship, people who need quirements. original documents such as birth certificates emergency care will continue to receive it ‘‘We believe we’ve given the states tools that can take time and money to obtain. through Medicaid, although this type of care they need to both implement the law and This is likely to cause the most difficulty for is for a limited time period. provide sufficient flexibility to assist indi- working-poor families that cannot afford to Officials say there is no way to know how viduals in establishing their citizenship,’’ take time off from work to visit the Med- many illegal immigrants are on Medicaid. said Jeff Nelligan, spokesman for the Centers icaid office and for low-income families re- Some argue illegal immigrants aren’t enroll- for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ‘‘We siding in rural areas. ing in large numbers in a government pro- continue to monitor state implementation The new citizenship documentation re- gram like this for fear of being deported. and are not aware of any data that shows quirement—which the Bush Administration Illegal immigrants received emergency there are significant barriers to enrollment. did not request and the Senate initially did care of nearly $53 million in 2005, more than ‘‘If states are experiencing difficulties, not adopt, but which the House of Represent- double the amount from 2000, according to they should bring them to our attention as atives insisted upon in conference—was pre- the division. we certainly want to understand why they sented by its proponents as being necessary The changes nationwide will save Med- are not using the flexibilities we have pro- to stem a problem of undocumented immi- icaid, the government-run health care pro- vided.’’ grants securing Medicaid by falsely declar- gram for the poor and disabled, about $735 After Congress passed the documentation ing themselves to be U.S. citizens. The new million by 2015, according to Congressional requirements, Medicaid officials released requirement was adopted despite the lack of Budget Office estimates. rules that established which documents evidence that such a problem existed. In re- would suffice in meeting the law. sponse to a report in 2005 by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and CHILDREN DROPPING OFF MEDICAID ROLLS Primary evidence, namely a U.S. passport or a certificate of U.S. citizenship, is consid- Human Services, Mark McClellan, then the (AP) For several years, there has been a ered the ideal. Secondary evidence or lower- Administrator of the Centers for Medicare steady increase in the number of children en- tier evidence must be accompanied by a doc- and Medicaid Services at HHS, noted: ‘‘The rolling in Virginia’s health insurance pro- ument showing identity. Such evidence in- [Inspector General’s] report does not find gram for the poor. Beginning July 1, state of- cludes birth certificates, insurance records, particular problems regarding false allega- ficials say, an unprecedented slide began. and as a last resort, written affidavits. tions of citizenship, nor are we aware of any. Over the following five months, about Original documents or copies certified by IMPACT OF THE CITIZEN DOCUMENTATION RE- 12,000 children dropped off the state’s Med- the issuing agency are required by the regu- QUIREMENT ON MEDICAID APPLICANTS AND icaid rolls. lation. Copies are not acceptable. The federal BENEFICIARIES: THE EARLY EVIDENCE ‘‘An entire year’s growth has been wiped government excluded millions of seniors and out,’’ said Cynthia Jones, chief deputy direc- Medicaid enrollment figures for all states disabled people from the new documentation tor for the state’s Department of Medical As- for the period since the new requirement was requirements. In December, Congress also sistance Services. implemented on July 1 are not yet available. approved an exception for foster children. The drop-off, Jones points out, began about By contacting several individual states that the time a new federal law took effect. The do have such data, however, we were able to NEW MEDICAID CITIZENSHIP DOCUMENTATION law states that U.S. citizens applying for secure enrollment information from Wis- REQUIREMENT IS TAKING A TOLL: STATES Medicaid or renewing their participation consin, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Virginia REPORT ENROLLMENT IS DOWN AND ADMINIS- must present proof of their citizenship and and New Hampshire. The data show the fol- TRATIVE COSTS ARE UP identity. The law emerged out of concern lowing: All six states report a significant drop in that illegal immigrants were obtaining ac- (By Donna Cohen Ross) enrollment since implementation of the re- cess to health insurance coverage sponsored INTRODUCTION quirement began. by the government. A new federal law that states were re- Medicaid officials in these states attribute But some officials say that’s not who is quired to implement July 1 is creating a bar- the downward trend primarily or entirely to losing coverage. rier to health-care coverage for U.S. citi- the citizenship documentation requirement. Besides Virginia, some other states are zens—especially children—who are eligible Two types of problems are surfacing: also reporting declines in children enrolled for health insurance through Medicaid. The Medicaid is being denied or terminated be- in Medicaid or a decline in applications. new law, a provision of the Deficit Reduction cause some beneficiaries and applicants can- They include Iowa, Louisiana, New Hamp- Act of 2005, requires U.S. citizens to present not produce the specified documents despite, shire and Wisconsin. Health researchers say proof of their citizenship and identity when from all appearances, being U.S. citizens; they don’t know if the states are representa- they apply for, or seek to renew, their Med- and tive of a nationwide pattern. icaid coverage. Prior to enactment of the Medicaid eligibility determinations are The states singled out as experiencing en- law, U.S. citizens applying for Medicaid were being delayed, resulting in large backlogs of rollment declines were included in a report permitted to attest to their citizenship, applications, either because it is taking time issued Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foun- under penalty of perjury. for applicants to obtain the required docu- dation, which conducts health research, and In the six months following implementa- ments or because eligibility workers are by the Center on Budget and Policy Prior- tion of the new requirement, states are be- overloaded with the new tasks and paper- ities, a liberal think tank. ginning to report marked declines in Med- work associated with administering the new The states experiencing declines are ada- icaid enrollment, particularly among low-in- requirement. mant that U.S. citizens and certain legal im- come children. States also are reporting sig- Some states have designed mechanisms migrants are dropping off the Medicaid rolls, nificant increases in administrative costs as specifically to track enrollment changes re- not illegal immigrants. a consequence of the requirement. sulting from the new procedures. Wisconsin, ‘‘There is no evidence that the decline is This analysis presents the data available for example, has established computer codes due to undocumented aliens leaving the pro- so far on this matter. The available evidence to distinguish when Medicaid eligibility is gram,’’ said Anita Smith of the Iowa Depart- strongly suggests that those being adversely denied or discontinued due to a lack of citi- ment of Human Services. ‘‘Rather, we be- affected are primarily U.S. citizens other- zenship or identity documents. In other lieve that these new requirements are keep- wise eligible for Medicaid who are encoun- states, a comparison of current and past en- ing otherwise eligible citizens from receiving tering difficulty in promptly securing docu- rollment trends strongly suggests that the Medicaid because they cannot provide the ments such as birth certificates and who are new requirement is largely responsible for documents required to prove their citizen- remaining uninsured for longer periods of the enrollment decline. For example, in ship or identity.’’ time as a result. many states aggressive ‘‘back to school’’ Medicaid is a health insurance program The new requirement also appears to be re- outreach activities conducted in August and serving about 55 million people that is fi- versing part of the progress that states made September usually result in increased child nanced by the federal government and the over the past decade in streamlining access enrollment in September and October. In states. The declines cited would indicate to Medicaid for individuals who qualify, and 2006, however, states such as Virginia and that just a fraction of the people enrolled in especially for children. For example, to im- Louisiana reported that child enrollment de- the program have dropped out as a result of prove access to Medicaid and reduce admin- clined despite vigorous promotional cam- the documentation requirements, but they istrative costs, most states implemented paigns, indicating that the new requirement do represent vulnerable populations, such as mail-in application procedures, and many undermined the value of the outreach ef- pregnant women and children. states reduced burdensome documentation forts.

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The Medicaid enrollment declines identi- years that the state has experienced an en- IMPACT ON STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS fied in this memo do not appear to be driven rollment decline for three consecutive Data on state Medicaid administrative by broader economic trends or a change in months. costs for the months since July 1 are not the employment of low-income families. If Although other factors may contribute to available from CMS or any other national that were the case, parallel enrollment de- the recent decrease in enrollment, state offi- source. Several states, however, have exam- cline trends would appear in the Food Stamp cials point out the state is now experiencing ined the impact of the new Medicaid citizen- Program, which is the means-tested program a more severe effect on enrollment than it ship documentation requirement on their ad- whose enrollment levels are most responsive has following any of the Medicaid changes ministrative expenditures. Their findings are to such developments. Instead, Food Stamp that have occurred over the past several as follows: caseloads have been increasing slightly in re- years. The state’s conclusion that the citi- Illinois: Illinois is projecting $16 million to cent months. Moreover, each of the states zenship documentation requirement is driv- $19 million in increased staffing costs in the identified in this memo as having sustained ing the decline is supported by the fact that first year of implementation of the require- a drop in Medicaid enrollment saw its food enrollment has dropped among the popu- ment. stamp caseload rise during a similar period. lations subject to the requirement (children Arizona: The Arizona legislature has allo- Both Medicaid and the Food Stamp Pro- and families) but has remained steady among cated $10 million to implement the citizen- gram serve similar populations of low-in- groups not affected by the requirement (indi- ship documentation requirement. This in- come families and are often administered by viduals receiving Medicare and SSI). cluded the costs associated with staffing, the same agencies and caseworkers. A key Louisiana: In two months—September and training and payments for obtaining birth difference is that the citizenship documenta- October of 2006—Louisiana experienced a net records. Colorado: The FY07–08 budget request for tion rules were applied to Medicaid but there loss of more than 7,500 children in its Med- were no such changes in the Food Stamp the Colorado Department of Health Care Pol- icaid program despite a vigorous back-to- Program. It thus appears that the changes in icy and Financing includes a request for an school outreach effort and a significant in- Medicaid enrollment are a result of changes additional $2.8 million for county adminis- crease in applications during the month of in Medicaid policies—particularly citizen- tration costs. This request is based on an as- September. ship documentation—that do not affect eligi- sumption by the Centers for Medicare and According to state officials, the enroll- bility for food stamps. Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will take an The following states have documented de- ment decline is not driven by population loss additional 5 minutes per application for a clines in Medicaid enrollment since the im- from Hurricane Katrina and contrasts dra- caseworker to process citizenship and iden- plementation of the Medicaid citizenship matically with enrollment spikes that usu- tity documents. The Department stated in a documentation requirement: ally occur in September and have reached up Joint Budget Committee Hearing that this Wisconsin: In five months—between Au- to 13,000 in the past. The reason for the drop- amount ‘‘may not be sufficient for Colorado gust and December 2006—a total of 14,034 off is two-fold, according to the state: for counties and special record storage needs. Medicaid-eligible individuals were either de- some people, Medicaid is being denied or ter- Washington: Washington State is pro- nied Medicaid or lost coverage as a result of minated because they have not presented the jecting additional costs associated with hir- the documentation requirement. The loss of required citizenship or identity documents. ing 19 additional FTEs in FY07 due to the Medicaid coverage occurred despite Wiscon- In addition, the additional workload gen- new requirement, and retaining seven of sin’s efforts to minimize the impact of the erated by the new requirement is diverting them in FY08 and FY09. The state estimates requirement by obtaining birth records elec- the time and effort eligibility workers nor- that the costs will be $2.7 million on FY07 tronically from the state’s Vital Records mally would spend on activities to ensure and $450,000 in each of the succeeding two agency. Obtaining proof of identify, rather that Medicaid beneficiaries do not lose cov- years. than proof of citizenship, was the major erage at renewal. Wisconsin: Wisconsin is expecting in- problem for people in Wisconsin who were Virginia: Since July, enrollment of chil- creased costs of $1.8 million to cover the in- otherwise eligible during this period: 69 per- dren in the state’s Medicaid program has de- creased workload associated with admin- cent of those who were denied Medicaid or clined steadily each month. By the end of istering the requirement in FY07 and $600,000 who lost Medicaid coverage due to the new November, the total net decline stood at to $700,000 per year for the two years after requirement did not have a required identity close to 12,000 children. During the same pe- that. document, as compared to 17 percent who did riod, enrollment of children in the state’s Minnesota: Minnesota is estimating that it not provide the required citizenship docu- separate SCHIP program, not subject to the will spend $1.3 million in FY07 for new staff, ments and 14 percent who were missing both new requirement, increased. Virginia also re- birth record fees and other administrative a citizenship and identity document. This in- ported a substantial backlog in application expenses. dicates that most of those who were denied processing at its central processing site, CONCLUSION were, in fact, U.S. citizens. with 2,600 cases pending approval for Med- Based on these findings and reports, and Kansas: The Kansas Health Policy Author- icaid in September, when normally no more strong anecdotal evidence, it seems increas- ity (KHPA) reports that between 18,000 and than 50 such cases are pending at the end of ingly clear that the new Medicaid citizenship 20,000 applicants and previous beneficiaries, a month. documentation requirement is having a neg- mostly children and parents, have been left After the plunge in children’s Medicaid en- ative impact on Medicaid enrollment, espe- without health insurance since the citizen- rollment over several months, a small in- cially among children. Insufficient informa- ship documentation requirement was imple- crease occurred in December 2006 (although tion is available to determine the precise ex- mented. About 16,000 of these individuals are Medicaid enrollment for children then began tent to which individuals whose Medicaid ‘‘waiting to enroll’’ or ‘‘waiting to be re-en- dropping again in January). State officials eligibility has been delayed, denied or termi- rolled;’’ the state says these eligibility deter- say the December ‘‘up-tick’’ suggests that nated are U.S. citizens, eligible legal immi- minations are being delayed because of a some families are finally ‘‘getting over the grants, or ineligible immigrants. However, large backlog of applications related to the hurdles’’ imposed by the new law and chil- the fact that significant numbers of individ- difficulties confronting individuals and eligi- dren (who were eligible at the time they ap- uals are being approved for Medicaid after bility workers alike who are attempting to plied but lacked the required documenta- delays of many months, during which they comply with the new rule. Documents on the tion) are getting health coverage after a sig- were uninsured, demonstrates that the re- KHPA website state that the ‘‘majority of nificant delay during which they were with- quirement is adversely affecting substantial families with pending applications will qual- out coverage. numbers of U.S. citizens, especially children ify for coverage under the new requirements New Hampshire: Data from the New Hamp- who are citizens. Moreover, a large body of when we are able to complete processing.’’ In shire Healthy Kids Program, a private orga- research conducted over a number of years the meantime, these children and parents nization that processes mail-in applications has conclusively shown that increasing docu- are barred from getting the health coverage for the state’s Medicaid and SCHIP pro- mentation and other administrative burdens for which they qualify and are, in most grams, indicate that the percentage of appli- generally results in eligible individuals fail- cases, uninsured. cations submitted with all necessary docu- ing to obtain coverage as a result of the en- Iowa: Iowa has identified an unprecedented ments in September of this year dropped by rollment and renewal processes having be- decline in Medicaid enrollment that state of- almost half compared to the percentage of come more complicated to understand and ficials attribute to the Medicaid citizenship complete applications submitted in Sep- more difficult to navigate. Regarding the documentation requirement. Prior to July 1, tember 2005. If applicants do not supply miss- Medicaid enrollment declines, Anita Smith, 2006, overall Medicaid enrollment had stead- ing documentation within 28 days, New Chief of the Bureau of Medical Supports for ily increased for the past several years. Hampshire closes the application. The per- the Iowa Department of Human Services, has While sporadic declines occurred in rural centage of applications closed due to missing stated: ‘‘There is no evidence that the [en- counties, no county in the state’s larger pop- documents has also increased significantly: rollment] decline is due to undocumented ulation centers experienced a decline in the from around 10 percent of applications before aliens leaving the program. Rather, we be- months leading up to the implementation of the new requirement to 20 percent in August lieve that these new requirements are keep- the new requirement. However, between July 2006. In addition, New Hampshire Healthy ing otherwise eligible citizens from receiving and September 2006, Medicaid enrollment Kids reports that between June 2006 and Sep- Medicaid because they cannot provide the sustained the largest decrease in the past tember 2006, enrollment of children in Med- documents required to prove their citizen- five years; this also was the first time in five icaid dropped by 1,275. ship or identity.’’

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:48 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.097 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3220 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 A number of governors across the nation This lack of protection is especially sick children go to school, they don’t are announcing their intentions to push new difficult for working women with chil- learn well, and they are likely to infect initiatives to cover the uninsured, particu- dren. Women have moved into the their fellow students. larly children. These proposals are being de- workforce in record numbers, but they We also heard this week from Caro- signed to build upon existing public coverage lyn Duff, a nurse in an elementary programs, of which Medicaid is the largest, continue to have primary responsi- and invariably these proposals call for the bility for their children’s health. Near- school in South Carolina. She treated a enrollment of individuals who are currently ly 80 percent of mothers say they are fifth grader she suspected had strep eligible for existing programs but remain un- solely responsible for their children’s throat. His parents did not have paid insured. Success will depend, in large meas- medical care. Yet they can’t take a day sick days and could not take him to ure, on policies and procedures that facili- off to care for a sick child. the doctor. After 4 days, his condition tate rather than frustrate such efforts so If we truly care about families, we worsened. He developed scarlet fever that eligible individuals can obtain the bene- and a rash covered his entire body—all fits for which they qualify. The Medicaid have to change those facts. Americans want to be responsible employees and because his parents, for fear of losing citizenship documentation requirement, their jobs, weren’t able to take time off which appears to be an extremely blunt in- responsible parents. We need workplace strument, stands to undercut such efforts by laws that allow workers the time need- to care for him. As Carolyn Duff said, placing a daunting administrative obstacle ed to care for themselves or family the child not only suffered without the in the way of many low-income U.S. citizens members when they are sick without care of his parents, he also lost 10 pre- who otherwise have shown that they qualify losing payor risking their jobs. cious days of his studies at school. or by discouraging potentially eligible citi- That is why today I am introducing Paid sick days will result in signifi- zens from applying because the process ap- cant savings to our economy and our pears too complex or intimidating. The re- the Healthy Families Act, to give American workers up to seven paid health care system. That is why em- quirement also appears to be deflecting state ployers support paid sick days too. human and financial resources away from ac- days of sick leave a year. Now Con- Dancing Deer Bakery—a small business tivities designed to reach eligible children gresswoman ROSA DELAURO is intro- Boston—sent me a letter making this and families and to enroll them in the most ducing the legislation in the House of important point: efficient and effective manner. Representatives. Earlier this week, she and I met with A national paid sick days law creates a By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, level playing field for all businesses.... We hundreds of workers and parents from Mr. DODD, Mr. HARKIN, Ms. MI- hope that a bill will move through both around the country, representing tens KULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. Chambers and be on the President’s desk. of thousands of parents asking Con- Paid sick days should be a non-partisan CLINTON, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. SAND- gress to take action. issue. A healthy nation is a productive na- ERS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. DURBIN, I am talking about hard-working peo- tion. Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. ple such as Bertha Brown, who spoke to Paid sick days are good for families, LEVIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. hundreds of us in front of the Capitol. good for our public health, and good for ROCKEFELLER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Bertha is a home healthcare aide. She our economy. Our people have waited Mr. AKAKA, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. has spent her life caring for America’s long enough for this need to be met. It FEINGOLD, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. sick and elderly, yet she herself has no is time to pass the Healthy Families LAUTENBERG, Mr. MENENDEZ, paid sick days to care for herself or her Act. and Mr. CASEY): children. She told us how she had to I ask unanimous consent that the S. 910. A bill to provide for paid sick text of the bill be printed in the leave to ensure that Americans can ad- leave her sick daughter at home when RECORD. dress their own health needs and the she went to work. Paid sick days aren’t just a family There being no objection, the text of health needs of their families; to the issue—they are also a public health the bill was ordered to be printed in Committee on Health, Education, issue. When sick people go to work, the RECORD, as follows: Labor, and Pensions. S. 910 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President day in they are likely to infect their cowork- and day out across America, millions ers and the public. Every day, we hear Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- reports of stomach illnesses breaking resentatives of the United States of America in of men and women go to work in jobs Congress assembled, that are the backbone of our economy. out in restaurants or on cruise ships. We learn of flu outbreaks leading to SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. They make our country great and pros- This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy perous. They work hard to provide for hospitalization of the elderly. Such ill- Families Act’’. their families and care for them. nesses are contagious, but their spread SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Often, however, they have to miss can be minimized if sick people stay at Congress makes the following findings: days of work because of illness. Every home. (1) Working Americans need time to meet parent knows what it’s like to care for However, a high proportion of work- their own health care needs and to care for a sick child, and every child knows the ers who have constant contact with the family members, including their children, importance of a parent taking care of public have no paid sick days—85 per- spouse, parents, and parents-in-law, and other children and adults for whom they are them when they are ill. Yet, every day, cent of food service workers and 55 per- cent of workers in the retail industry caretakers. countless Americans find their pay- (2) Health care needs include preventive checks or even their jobs at risk when are denied that benefit; 30 percent of health care, diagnostic procedures, medical illness strikes. health care workers can’t take paid treatment, and recovery in response to As Members of Congress, we don’t time off when they are ill. short- and long-term illnesses and injuries. lose our pay or risk our jobs if we stay That is why nurses and doctors sup- (3) Providing employees time off to meet home because of illness. But millions port paid sick days. When our Health health care needs ensures that they will be of our fellow citizens are not so fortu- Committee held a hearing on this issue healthier in the long run. Preventive care nate. last month, we heard from pediatri- helps avoid illnesses and injuries and routine Mr. President, 57 million Ameri- cians at Boston Children’s Hospital and medical care helps detect illnesses early and shorten their duration. cans—nearly half of all private-sector a public health expert in San Francisco (4) When parents are available to care for workers in the United States—do not about the significant health benefits their children who become sick, children re- have paid sick days. Seventy percent and reduction of medical costs that re- cover faster, more serious illnesses are pre- don’t have paid sick days they can use sult from paid sick days. We all know vented, and children’s overall mental and to care for family members. They can’t that preventive care helps reduce med- physical health improve. Parents who cannot take a day off to recover from the flu. ical costs. Giving people the oppor- afford to miss work and must send children They can’t leave work to care for a tunity to obtain medical treatment for with a contagious illness to child care or child who is running a fever. illnesses or chronic medical conditions school contribute to the high rate of infec- Among workers in the lowest income tions in child care centers and schools. before their conditions worsen is com- (5) Providing paid sick leave improves pub- quarter, the numbers are even worse— mon sense. lic health by reducing infectious disease. percent do not have the right to take Paid sick days also are important to Policies that make it easier for sick adults time off for illness without losing their help children stay healthy and in and children to be isolated at home reduce payor even their jobs. school so that they can learn. When the spread of infectious disease.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.099 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE March 15, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3221 (6) Routine medical care reduces medical to Congress’ power to enforce that provision (III) includes any ‘‘public agency’’, as de- costs by detecting and treating illness and under section 5 of that amendment— fined in section 3(x) of the Fair Labor Stand- injury early, decreasing the need for emer- (A) to accomplish the purposes described in ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)); and gency care. These savings benefit public and paragraphs (1) and (2) in a manner that mini- (IV) includes the Government Account- private payers of health insurance, including mizes the potential for employment dis- ability Office and the Library of Congress. private businesses. crimination on the basis of sex by ensuring (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes of clause (7) The provision of individual and family generally that leave is available for eligible (i)(III), a public agency shall be considered to sick leave by large and small businesses, medical reasons on a gender-neutral basis; be a person engaged in commerce or in an in- both here in the United States and else- and dustry or activity affecting commerce. where, demonstrates that policy solutions (B) to promote the goal of equal employ- (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub- are both feasible and affordable in a competi- ment opportunity for women and men. paragraph: tive economy. Measures that ensure that em- SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. (I) COMMERCE.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’ ployees are in good health and do not need to In this Act: and ‘‘industry or activity affecting com- merce’’ mean any activity, business, or in- worry about unmet family health problems (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means a bio- help businesses by promoting productivity logical, foster, or adopted child, a stepchild, dustry in commerce or in which a labor dis- and reducing employee turnover. a legal ward, or a child of a person standing pute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include (8) The American Productivity Audit found in loco parentis, who is— ‘‘commerce’’ and any ‘‘industry affecting that presenteeism—the practice of employ- (A) under 18 years of age; or commerce’’, as defined in paragraphs (1) and ees coming to work despite illness—costs (B) 18 years of age or older and incapable of (3) of section 501 of the Labor Management $180,000,000,000 annually in lost productivity. self-care because of a mental or physical dis- Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)). Studies in the Journal of Occupational and ability. (II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has Environmental Medicine, the Employee Ben- (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ the same meaning given such term in section efit News, and the Harvard Business Review means an individual— 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 show that presenteeism is a larger produc- (A) who is— (29 U.S.C. 203(e)). tivity drain than either absenteeism or (i)(I) an employee, as defined in section 3(e) short-term disability. (III) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 same meaning given such term in section (9) The absence of paid sick leave has U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not covered under forced Americans to make untenable choices 3(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 clause (v), including such an employee of the (29 U.S.C. 203(a)). between needed income and jobs on the one Library of Congress, except that a reference (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in this hand and caring for their own and their fam- in such section to an employer shall be con- ily’s health on the other. paragraph to an employer shall include a ref- sidered to be a reference to an employer de- erence to any predecessor of such employer. (10) Nearly half of Americans lack paid scribed in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph leave for self-care or to care for a family (4) EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘em- (3)(A); or ployment benefits’’ means all benefits pro- member. For families in the lowest quartile (II) an employee of the Government Ac- of earners, 79 percent lack paid sick leave. vided or made available to employees by an countability Office; employer, including group life insurance, For families in the next 2 quartiles, 46 and 38 (ii) a State employee described in section health insurance, disability insurance, sick percent, respectively, lack paid sick leave. 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights leave, annual leave, educational benefits, Even for families in the highest income Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); and pensions, regardless of whether such quartile, 28 percent lack paid sick leave. In (iii) a covered employee, as defined in sec- benefits are provided by a practice or written addition, millions of workers cannot use paid tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability policy of an employer or through an ‘‘em- sick leave to care for ill family members. Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301), other than an ap- ployee benefit plan’’, as defined in section (11) Due to the roles of men and women in plicant for employment; 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Se- society, the primary responsibility for fam- (iv) a covered employee, as defined in sec- curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(3)). ily caretaking often falls on women, and tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or (5) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term such responsibility affects the working lives (v) a Federal officer or employee covered ‘‘health care provider’’ means a provider of women more than it affects the working under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, who— lives of men. United States Code; and (A)(i) is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy (12) An increasing number of men are also (B) who works an average of at least 20 who is authorized to practice medicine or taking on caretaking obligations, and men hours per week or, in the alternative, at surgery (as appropriate) by the State in who request leave time for caretaking pur- least 1,000 hours per year. which the doctor practices; or poses are often denied accommodation or pe- (3) EMPLOYER.— (ii) is any other person determined by the nalized because of stereotypes that care- (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ Secretary to be capable of providing health taking is only ‘‘women’s work’’. means a person who is— care services; and (13) Employers’ reliance on persistent (i)(I) a covered employer, as defined in sub- (B) is not employed by an employer for stereotypes about the ‘‘proper’’ roles of both paragraph (B), who is not covered under sub- whom the provider issues certification under men and women in the workplace and in the clause (V); this Act. home continues a cycle of discrimination (II) an entity employing a State employee (6) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a and fosters stereotypical views about wom- described in section 304(a) of the Government biological, foster, or adoptive parent of an en’s commitment to work and their value as Employee Rights Act of 1991; employee, a stepparent of an employee, or a employees. (III) an employing office, as defined in sec- legal guardian or other person who stood in (14) Employment standards that apply to tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability loco parentis to an employee when the em- only one gender have serious potential for Act of 1995; ployee was a child. encouraging employers to discriminate (IV) an employing office, as defined in sec- (7) PRO RATA.—The term ‘‘pro rata’’, with against employees and applicants for em- tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or respect to benefits offered to part-time em- ployment who are of that gender. (V) an employing agency covered under ployees, means the proportion of each of the (15) It is in the national interest to ensure subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United benefits offered to full-time employees that that all Americans can care for their own States Code; and are offered to part-time employees that, for health and the health of their families while (ii) is engaged in commerce (including gov- each benefit, is equal to the ratio of part- prospering at work. ernment), in the production of goods for time hours worked to full-time hours SEC. 3. PURPOSES. commerce, or in an enterprise engaged in worked. The purposes of this Act are— commerce (including government) or in the (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ (1) to ensure that all working Americans production of goods for commerce. means the Secretary of Labor. can address their own health needs and the (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— (9) SICK LEAVE.—The term ‘‘sick leave’’ health needs of their families by requiring (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph (A)(i)(I), means an increment of compensated leave employers to provide a minimum level of the term ‘‘covered employer’’— provided by an employer to an employee as a paid sick leave including leave for family (I) means any person engaged in commerce benefit of employment for use by the em- care; or in any industry or activity affecting com- ployee during an absence from employment (2) to diminish public and private health merce who employs 15 or more employees for for any of the reasons described in para- care costs by enabling workers to seek early each working day during each of 20 or more graphs (1) through (3) of section 5(d). and routine medical care for themselves and calendar workweeks in the current or pre- (10) SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘spouse’’, with re- their family members; ceding calendar year; spect to an employee, has the meaning given (3) to accomplish the purposes described in (II) includes— such term by the marriage laws of the State paragraphs (1) and (2) in a manner that is (aa) any person who acts, directly or indi- in which the employee resides. feasible for employers; and rectly, in the interest of an employer to any SEC. 5. PROVISION OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (4) consistent with the provision of the of the employees of such employer; and (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall pro- 14th amendment to the Constitution relating (bb) any successor in interest of an em- vide for each employee employed by the em- to equal protection of the laws, and pursuant ployer; ployer not less than—

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:07 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR6.080 S15MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3222 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2007 (1) 7 days of sick leave with pay and em- issued by the health care professional of the SEC. 6. POSTING REQUIREMENT. ployment benefits annually for employees eligible employee or of an individual de- (a) IN GENERAL.—Each employer shall post working 30 or more hours per week; or scribed in subsection (d)(3), as appropriate, if and keep posted a notice, to be prepared or (2) a pro rata number of days or hours of the leave period covers more than 3 consecu- approved in accordance with procedures sick leave with pay and employment benefits tive workdays. specified in regulations prescribed under sec- annually for employees working less than— (ii) TIMELINESS.—The employee shall pro- tion 13, setting forth excerpts from, or sum- (A) 30 hours per week on a year-round vide a copy of such certification to the em- maries of, the pertinent provisions of this basis; or ployer in a timely manner, not later than 30 Act including— (B) 1,500 hours throughout the year in- days after the first day of the leave. The em- (1) information describing leave available volved. ployer shall not delay the commencement of to employees under this Act; (b) ACCRUAL.— the leave on the basis that the employer has (2) information pertaining to the filing of (1) PERIOD OF ACCRUAL.—Sick leave pro- not yet received the certification. an action under this Act; (3) the details of the notice requirement for vided for under this section shall accrue as (B) SUFFICIENT CERTIFICATION.— foreseeable leave under section 5(f)(1)(B); and determined appropriate by the employer, but (i) IN GENERAL.—A certification provided not on less than a quarterly basis. under subparagraph (A) shall be sufficient if (4) information that describes— (2) ACCUMULATION.—Accrued sick leave it states— (A) the protections that an employee has in exercising rights under this Act; and provided for under this section shall carry (I) the date on which the leave will be (B) how the employee can contact the Sec- over from year to year, but this Act shall not needed; retary (or other appropriate authority as de- be construed to require an employer to per- (II) the probable duration of the leave; scribed in section 8) if any of the rights are mit an employee to accumulate more than 7 (III) the appropriate medical facts within days of the sick leave. violated. the knowledge of the health care provider re- (3) USE.—The sick leave may be used as ac- (b) LOCATION.—The notice described under garding the condition involved, subject to crued. The employer, at the discretion of the subsection (a) shall be posted— clause (ii); and employer, may loan the sick leave to the em- (1) in conspicuous places on the premises of (IV)(aa) for purposes of leave under sub- ployee in advance of accrual by such em- the employer, where notices to employees section (d)(1), a statement that leave from ployee. (including applicants) are customarily post- work is medically necessary; (c) CALCULATION.— ed; or (bb) for purposes of leave under subsection (1) LESS THAN A FULL WORKDAY.—Unless the (2) in employee handbooks. employer and employee agree to designate (d)(2), the dates on which testing for a med- (c) VIOLATION; PENALTY.—Any employer otherwise, for periods of sick leave that are ical diagnosis or care is expected to be given who willfully violates the posting require- less than a normal workday, that leave shall and the duration of such testing or care; and ments of this section shall be subject to a be counted— (cc) for purposes of leave under subsection civil fine in an amount not to exceed $100 for (A) on an hourly basis; or (d)(3), in the case of leave to care for some- each separate offense. (B) in the smallest increment that the em- one who is not a child, a statement that care SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS. ployer’s payroll system uses to account for is needed for an individual described in such (a) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— absences or use of leave. subsection, and an estimate of the amount of (1) EXERCISE OF RIGHTS.—It shall be unlaw- (2) VARIABLE SCHEDULE.—If the schedule of time that such care is needed for such indi- ful for any employer to interfere with, re- an employee varies from week to week, a vidual. strain, or deny the exercise of, or the at- weekly average of the hours worked over the (ii) LIMITATION.—In issuing a certification tempt to exercise, any right provided under 12-week period prior to the beginning of a under subparagraph (A), a health care pro- this Act, including— sick leave period shall be used to calculate vider shall make reasonable efforts to limit (A) discharging or discriminating against the employee’s normal workweek for the the medical facts described in clause (i)(III) (including retaliating against) any indi- purpose of determining the amount of sick that are disclosed in the certification to the vidual, including a job applicant, for exer- leave to which the employee is entitled. minimum necessary to establish a need for cising, or attempting to exercise, any right (d) USES.—Sick leave accrued under this the employee to utilize paid sick leave. provided under this Act; section may be used by an employee for any (C) REGULATIONS.—Regulations prescribed (B) using the taking of sick leave under of the following: under section 13 shall specify the manner in this Act as a negative factor in an employ- (1) An absence resulting from a physical or which an employee who does not have health ment action, such as hiring, promotion, or a mental illness, injury, or medical condition insurance shall provide a certification for disciplinary action; or of the employee. purposes of this paragraph. (C) counting the sick leave under a no- (2) An absence resulting from obtaining (D) CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE.— fault attendance policy. professional medical diagnosis or care, or (i) PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION.—Noth- (2) DISCRIMINATION.—It shall be unlawful preventive medical care, for the employee ing in this Act shall be construed to require for any employer to discharge or in any subject to the requirement of subsection (e). a health care provider to disclose informa- other manner discriminate against (includ- (3) An absence for the purpose of caring for tion in violation of section 1177 of the Social ing retaliating against) any individual, in- a child, a parent, a spouse, or any other indi- Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–6) or the regu- cluding a job applicant, for opposing any vidual related by blood or affinity whose lations promulgated pursuant to section practice made unlawful by this Act. close association with the employee is the 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability (b) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR IN- equivalent of a family relationship, who— and Accountability Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 QUIRIES.—It shall be unlawful for any person (A) has any of the conditions or needs for note). to discharge or in any other manner dis- diagnosis or care described in paragraph (1) (ii) HEALTH INFORMATION RECORDS.—If an criminate against (including retaliating or (2); and employer possesses health information about against) any individual, including a job ap- (B) in the case of someone who is not a an employee or an employee’s child, parent, plicant, because such individual— child, is otherwise in need of care. spouse or other individual described in sub- (1) has filed an action, or has instituted or (e) SCHEDULING.—An employee shall make section (d)(3), such information shall— caused to be instituted any proceeding, a reasonable effort to schedule leave under (I) be maintained on a separate form and in under or related to this Act; (2) has given, or is about to give, any infor- paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (d) in a a separate file from other personnel informa- manner that does not unduly disrupt the op- mation in connection with any inquiry or tion; erations of the employer. proceeding relating to any right provided (II) be treated as a confidential medical (f) PROCEDURES.— under this Act; or record; and (1) IN GENERAL.—Paid sick leave shall be (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in (III) not be disclosed except to the affected provided upon the oral or written request of any inquiry or proceeding relating to any employee or with the permission of the af- an employee. Such request shall— right provided under this Act. fected employee. (A) include a reason for the absence in- (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section volved and the expected duration of the (g) CURRENT LEAVE POLICIES.— shall be construed to state or imply that the leave; (1) EQUIVALENCY REQUIREMENT.—An em- scope of the activities prohibited by section (B) in a case in which the need for leave is ployer with a leave policy providing paid 105 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of foreseeable at least 7 days in advance of such leave options shall not be required to modify 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2615) is less than the scope of leave, be provided at least 7 days in advance such policy, if such policy includes provi- the activities prohibited by this section. of such leave; and sions for the provision, use, and administra- SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. (C) otherwise, be provided as soon as prac- tion of paid sick leave that meet the require- (a) IN GENERAL.— ticable after the employee is aware of the ments of subsections (a) through (f). (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection: need for such leave. (2) NO ELIMINATION, REDUCTION, OR REDESIG- (A) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an em- (2) CERTIFICATION.— NATION OF EXISTING LEAVE.—An employer ployee described in clause (i) or (ii) of sec- (A) PROVISION.— may not eliminate, reduce, or redesignate tion 4(2)(A); and (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph any leave in existence on the date of enact- (B) the term ‘‘employer’’ means an em- (C), an employer may require that a request ment of this Act in order to comply with the ployer described in subclause (I) or (II) of for leave be supported by a certification provisions of this Act. section 4(3)(A)(i).

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(2) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance bring an action in any court of competent ju- TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, with the provisions of this Act, or any regu- risdiction to recover the damages described remedies, and procedures provided in title 5, lation or order issued under this Act, the in paragraph (3)(B)(i). United States Code, to an employing agency, Secretary shall have, subject to subpara- (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recovered provided in chapter 12 of that title to the graph (C), the investigative authority pro- by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph Merit Systems Protection Board, or provided vided under section 11(a) of the Fair Labor (B) shall be held in a special deposit account in that title to any person, alleging a viola- Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), with and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, tion of chapter 63 of that title, shall be the respect to employers, employees, and other directly to each employee or individual af- powers, remedies, and procedures this Act individuals affected. fected. Any such sums not paid to an em- provides to that agency, that Board, or any person, respectively, alleging an unlawful (B) OBLIGATION TO KEEP AND PRESERVE ployee or individual affected because of in- employment practice in violation of this Act RECORDS.—An employer shall make, keep, ability to do so within a period of 3 years against an employee described in section and preserve records pertaining to compli- shall be deposited into the Treasury of the 4(2)(A)(v). ance with this Act in accordance with sec- United States as miscellaneous receipts. tion 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of (5) LIMITATION.— SEC. 9. COLLECTION OF DATA ON PAID SICK DAYS AND FURTHER STUDY. 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) and in accordance with (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an action may be brought (a) COMPILATION OF INFORMATION.—Effec- regulations prescribed by the Secretary. tive 90 days after the date of enactment of under paragraph (3), (4), or (6) not later than (C) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS GENERALLY LIM- this Act, the Commissioner of Labor Statis- 2 years after the date of the last event con- ITED TO AN ANNUAL BASIS.—The Secretary tics shall annually compile information on stituting the alleged violation for which the shall not require, under the authority of this the following: action is brought. paragraph, an employer to submit to the (1) The number of employees who used paid (B) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of an Secretary any books or records more than sick leave. action brought for a willful violation of sec- once during any 12-month period, unless the (2) The number of hours of the paid sick tion 7 (including a willful violation relating Secretary has reasonable cause to believe leave used. there may exist a violation of this Act or to rights provided under section 5), such ac- (3) The demographic characteristics of em- any regulation or order issued pursuant to tion may be brought within 3 years of the ployees who were eligible for and who used this Act, or is investigating a charge pursu- date of the last event constituting the al- the paid sick leave. ant to paragraph (4). leged violation for which such action is (b) GAO STUDY.— (D) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—For the pur- brought. (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General poses of any investigation provided for in (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining when of the United States shall annually conduct this paragraph, the Secretary shall have the an action is commenced under paragraph (3), a study to determine the following: subpoena authority provided for under sec- (4), or (6) for the purposes of this paragraph, (A)(i) The number of days employees used tion 9 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of it shall be considered to be commenced on paid sick leave and the reasons for the use. 1938 (29 U.S.C. 209). the date when the complaint is filed. (ii) The number of employees who used the (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES OR INDIVID- (6) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.— paid sick leave for leave periods covering UALS.— The district courts of the United States shall more than 3 consecutive workdays. (A) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to recover have jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an ac- (B) Whether employees used the paid sick the damages or equitable relief prescribed in tion brought by the Secretary— leave to care for illnesses or conditions subparagraph (B) may be maintained against (A) to restrain violations of section 7 (in- caused by domestic violence against the em- any employer in any Federal or State court cluding a violation relating to rights pro- ployees or their family members. of competent jurisdiction by one or more vided under section 5), including the re- (C) The cost and benefits to employers of employees or individuals or their representa- straint of any withholding of payment of implementing the paid sick leave policies. tive for and on behalf of— wages, salary, employment benefits, or other (D) The cost to employees of providing cer- (i) the employees or individuals; or compensation, plus interest, found by the tification issued by a health care provider to (ii) the employees or individuals and oth- court to be due to employees or individuals obtain the paid sick leave. ers similarly situated. eligible under this Act; or (E) The benefits of the paid sick leave to (B) LIABILITY.—Any employer who violates (B) to award such other equitable relief as employees and their family members, includ- section 7 (including a violation relating to may be appropriate, including employment, ing effects on employees’ ability to care for rights provided under section 5) shall be lia- reinstatement, and promotion. their family members or to provide for their ble to any employee or individual affected— (7) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of own health needs. (i) for damages equal to— Labor may appear for and represent the Sec- (F) Whether the paid sick leave affected (I) the amount of— retary on any litigation brought under para- employees’ ability to sustain an adequate in- (aa) any wages, salary, employment bene- graph (4) or (6). come while meeting health needs of the em- fits, or other compensation denied or lost by (8) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ployees and their family members. reason of the violation; or AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding (G) Whether employers who administered (bb) in a case in which wages, salary, em- any other provision of this subsection, in the paid sick leave policies prior to the date of ployment benefits, or other compensation case of the Government Accountability Of- enactment of this Act were affected by the have not been denied or lost, any actual fice and the Library of Congress, the author- provisions of this Act. monetary losses sustained as a direct result ity of the Secretary of Labor under this sub- (H) Whether other types of leave were af- of the violation up to a sum equal to 7 days section shall be exercised respectively by the fected by this Act. of wages or salary for the employee or indi- Comptroller General of the United States (I) Whether paid sick leave affected reten- vidual; and the Librarian of Congress. tion and turnover and costs of presenteeism. (II) the interest on the amount described in (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL (J) Whether the paid sick leave increased subclause (I) calculated at the prevailing ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The powers, the use of less costly preventive medical care rate; and remedies, and procedures provided in the and lowered the use of emergency room care. (III) an additional amount as liquidated Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 (K) Whether the paid sick leave reduced U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) to the Board (as defined damages; and the number of children sent to school when in section 101 of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1301)), or (ii) for such equitable relief as may be ap- the children were sick. any person, alleging a violation of section propriate, including employment, reinstate- (2) AGGREGATING DATA.—The data collected 202(a)(1) of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1312(a)(1)) shall ment, and promotion. under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (E) of be the powers, remedies, and procedures this (C) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in an ac- Act provides to that Board, or any person, paragraph (1) shall be aggregated by gender, tion under this paragraph shall, in addition alleging an unlawful employment practice in race, disability, earnings level, age, marital to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, violation of this Act against an employee de- status, and family type, including parental allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, reasonable scribed in section 4(2)(A)(iii). status. expert witness fees, and other costs of the (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF (3) REPORTS.— action to be paid by the defendant. TITLE 3, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months (4) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.— remedies, and procedures provided in chapter after the date of enactment of this Act, the (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec- 5 of title 3, United States Code, to the Presi- Comptroller General of the United States retary shall receive, investigate, and at- dent, the Merit Systems Protection Board, shall prepare and submit a report to the ap- tempt to resolve complaints of violations of or any person, alleging a violation of section propriate committees of Congress concerning section 7 (including a violation relating to 412(a)(1) of that title, shall be the powers, the results of the study conducted pursuant rights provided under section 5) in the same remedies, and procedures this Act provides to paragraph (1) and the data aggregated manner that the Secretary receives, inves- to the President, that Board, or any person, under paragraph (2). tigates, and attempts to resolve complaints respectively, alleging an unlawful employ- (B) FOLLOWUP REPORT.—Not later that 5 of violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair ment practice in violation of this Act years after the date of enactment of this Act Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 against an employee described in section the Comptroller General of the United States and 207). 4(2)(A)(iv). shall prepare and submit a followup report to

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EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. and other individuals affected by employers Iraq and Afghanistan are not receiving the (a) FEDERAL AND STATE ANTIDISCRIMINA- described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(IV). kind of medical care and other support this TION LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations Nation owes them when they return home: construed to modify or affect any Federal or prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the Now, therefore, be it State law prohibiting discrimination on the same as substantive regulations promulgated Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate basis of race, religion, color, national origin, by the Secretary to carry out this Act except that— sex, age, or disability. insofar as the President (or designee) may (1) the President and Congress should not (b) STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.—Nothing in determine, for good cause shown and stated take any action that will endanger the this Act shall be construed to supersede any together with the regulations prescribed Armed Forces of the United States, and will provision of any State or local law that pro- under paragraph (1), that a modification of provide necessary funds for training, equip- vides greater paid sick leave or other leave such regulations would be more effective for ment, and other support for troops in the rights than the rights established under this the implementation of the rights and protec- field, as such actions will ensure their safety Act. tions involved under this section. and effectiveness in preparing for and car- SEC. 11. EFFECT ON EXISTING EMPLOYMENT (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF rying out their assigned missions; BENEFITS. TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.— (2) the President, Congress, and the Nation (a) MORE PROTECTIVE.—Nothing in this Act (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days have an obligation to ensure that those who shall be construed to diminish the obligation after the date of enactment of this Act, the have bravely served this country in time of of an employer to comply with any contract, Director of the Office of Personnel Manage- war receive the medical care and other sup- collective bargaining agreement, or any em- ment shall prescribe such regulations as are port they deserve; and ployment benefit program or plan that pro- necessary to carry out this Act with respect (3) the President and Congress should— vides greater paid sick leave rights to em- to employees described in section 4(2)(A)(v) (A) continue to exercise their constitu- ployees or individuals than the rights estab- and other individuals affected by employers tional responsibilities to ensure that the lished under this Act. described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(V). Armed Forces have everything they need to (b) LESS PROTECTIVE.—The rights estab- (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations perform their assigned or future missions; lished for employees under this Act shall not prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the and be diminished by any contract, collective same as substantive regulations promulgated (B) review, assess, and adjust United bargaining agreement, or any employment by the Secretary to carry out this Act except States policy and funding as needed to en- benefit program or plan. insofar as the Director may determine, for sure our troops have the best chance for suc- SEC. 12. ENCOURAGEMENT OF MORE GENEROUS good cause shown and stated together with cess in Iraq and elsewhere. the regulations prescribed under paragraph LEAVE POLICIES. f Nothing in this Act shall be construed to (1), that a modification of such regulations discourage employers from adopting or re- would be more effective for the implementa- SENATE RESOLUTION 108—DESIG- taining leave policies more generous than tion of the rights and protections involved NATING THE FIRST WEEK OF policies that comply with the requirements under this section. APRIL 2007 AS ‘‘NATIONAL AS- of this Act. SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATES. BESTOS AWARENESS WEEK’’ SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall take effect (a) IN GENERAL.— 1 year after the date of issuance of regula- Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. REID, (1) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided in tions under section 13(a)(1). Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. DUR- paragraph (2), not later than 120 days after (b) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.— BIN, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. LEAHY) sub- the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- In the case of a collective bargaining agree- mitted the following resolution; which retary shall prescribe such regulations as are ment in effect on the effective date pre- was referred to the Committee on the scribed by subsection (a), this Act shall take necessary to carry out this Act with respect Judiciary: to employees described in clause (i) or (ii) of effect on the earlier of— section 4(2)(A) and other individuals affected (1) the date of the termination of such S. RES. 108 by employers described in subclause (I) or agreement; or Whereas there is no known safe level of ex- (II) of section 4(3)(A)(i). (2) the date that occurs 18 months after the posure to asbestos; (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; LI- date of issuance of regulations under section Whereas deadly asbestos fibers are invis- BRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Comptroller Gen- 13(a)(1). ible and cannot be smelled or tasted; eral of the United States and the Librarian f Whereas when a person inhales or swallows of Congress shall prescribe the regulations airborne asbestos fibers, the damage is per- with respect to employees of the Govern- SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS manent and irreversible; ment Accountability Office and the Library Whereas these fibers can cause mesothe- of Congress, respectively and other individ- lioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural uals affected by the Comptroller General of SENATE RESOLUTION 107—EX- diseases; the United States and the Librarian of Con- PRESSING THE SENSE OF THE Whereas asbestos-related diseases can take gress, respectively. SENATE THAT NO ACTION 10 to 50 years to present themselves; (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL SHOULD BE TAKEN TO UNDER- Whereas the expected survival rate of indi- ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— MINE THE SAFETY OF THE viduals diagnosed with mesothelioma is be- (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED tween 6 and 24 months; Whereas little is known about late-stage after the date of enactment of this Act, the STATES OR IMPACT THEIR ABIL- Board of Directors of the Office of Compli- treatment and there is no cure for asbestos- ance shall prescribe (in accordance with sec- ITY TO COMPLETE THEIR AS- related diseases; tion 304 of the Congressional Accountability SIGNED OR FUTURE MISSIONS Whereas early detection of asbestos-re- Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384)) such regulations Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. lated diseases would give patients increased as are necessary to carry out this Act with LEVIN) submitted the following resolu- treatment options and often improve their respect to employees described in section tion; which was submitted and read: prognoses; 4(2)(A)(iii) and other individuals affected by Whereas asbestos is a toxic and dangerous employers described in section 4(3)(A)(i)(III). S. RES. 107 substance and must be disposed of properly; (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations Whereas under the Constitution, the Presi- Whereas, in 1977, the International Agency prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the dent and Congress have shared responsibil- for Research on Cancer classified asbestos as same as substantive regulations promulgated ities for decisions on the use of the Armed a Category 1 human carcinogen, the highest by the Secretary to carry out this Act except Forces of the United States, including their cancer hazard classification for a substance; insofar as the Board may determine, for good mission, and for supporting the Armed Whereas, in 2002, the United States Geo- cause shown and stated together with the Forces, especially during wartime; logical Survey reported that companies in regulations prescribed under paragraph (1), Whereas when the Armed Forces are de- the United States consumed 9,000 metric that a modification of such regulations ployed in harm’s way, the President, Con- tons of asbestos, of which approximately 71 would be more effective for the implementa- gress, and the Nation should give them all percent was consumed in roofing products, 18 tion of the rights and protections involved the support they need in order to maintain percent in gaskets, 5 percent in friction prod- under this section. their safety and accomplish their assigned or ucts, and 6 percent in other products; (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF future missions, including the training, Whereas, in 2006, the World Health Organi- TITLE 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— equipment, logistics, and funding necessary zation issued a policy paper, and the Inter- (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 120 days to ensure their safety and effectiveness, and national Labour Organization adopted a res- after the date of enactment of this Act, the such support is the responsibility of both the olution, agreeing that all forms of asbestos

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