HERO Act

Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to introduce the Higher Education Preparation Program Act of 2004, which is legislation designed to expand higher educational opportunities for American students. There is no doubt as to the benefit of receiving a post-secondary education. The level of education that individuals accumulate has an important influence on their experience in the labor market. According to 2002 U.S. Census Bureau statistics on educational attainment and earnings, the mean earnings of men with a bachelor's degree is $63,354, while the mean earnings of men with a high school degree is $32,363. This is a difference of more than $30,000 or 97 percent.

In recent years, there have been clear signs that more Americans are pursuing higher education opportunities. In June 2002, USA Today reported that 63 percent of high school graduates go to college immediately after graduation, the highest percentage in U.S. history. Yet not all of the news on college graduation rates has been good. Only 18 percent of African Americans and 11 percent of Hispanic high school graduates earn a bachelor's degree by their late twenties, compared to 33 percent of whites according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 2001. Further, in 2000, NCES reported that 22 percent of low-income, college qualified high school graduates do not pursue post-secondary education, compared to 4 percent of high-income graduates.

As I travel through Pennsylvania, I still hear from too many middle school and high school students that they do not have the preparation necessary to enroll in higher education institutions. On a recent trip to the Commonwealth, I joined Andrew McKelvey--the founder of the McKelvey Foundation--to announce federal funding for entrepreneurial scholarships to rural, low-income Pennsylvania high school graduates. During that trip, I talked to Mr. McKelvey regarding the need to not only ensure access to funding for students to pursue higher education, but the need to both inform students about the importance of higher education, as well as prepare students for the application process.

The bill I am introducing today, the Higher Education Preparation Program Act of 2004, will help to educate middle school and high school students in grades 8, 9, and 10, about higher education opportunities. This bill will create a program which will both provide students with information on higher education opportunities and prepare students for the process of applying to institutions of higher education by providing access to higher education preparation instruction. The availability of information on higher education opportunities makes an enormous difference to students contemplating continuing their education at the undergraduate level.

My legislation will provide a grant to a nonprofit organization to develop a core curriculum to be taught in the classroom to equip middle and high school students with the appropriate skills and knowledge to pursue post-secondary education. Given the importance of higher education, it makes sense to prepare students for the undergraduate process as part of their

class instruction to ensure that all students have access to the necessary information to attain their goals. To this end, middle schools and high schools participating in the program would dedicate one hour each week of their classroom activity to higher education preparation of students utilizing the core curriculum.

Additionally, I seek to create a network of intensive academic support for students by encouraging public-private partnerships to emphasize the importance of higher education. Partnerships with private entities create a unique opportunity for middle schools and high schools to supplement and enhance the core curriculum by offering appropriate enrichments, including guest speakers, videos and web-based services. For example, through these partnerships, middle school and high school students will gain first-hand knowledge of the skills that businesses are seeking by having the opportunity to speak with business leaders, as well as perhaps tour local facilities. This will underscore the significance and importance of higher education for students as they embark on their future career paths.

To implement this initiative, my bill would authorize $10 million annually for fiscal years 2005 through 2010, for a nonprofit organization to develop a core curriculum which has as its cornerstone higher education preparation, as well as to establish this higher education preparation demonstration project. Under this project, five State educational agencies would be awarded federal funding to offer higher education preparation programs using the core curriculum in middle and high schools with historically low rates of student application and admission to post-secondary institutions.

It is my hope that this Act will ensure that students who wish to enroll in a higher education institution will have access to the tools and resources necessary to help them plan for undergraduate study. We must take this step to encourage students to pursue their educational goals especially those who might not otherwise have this opportunity. I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this Act, and urge its swift adoption.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Small Business Reauthorization and Manufacturing Assistance Act of 2004,'' that reauthorizes programs administered by the Small Business Administration under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and contains significant improvements to SBA programs.

I am confident that the bill before us will accelerate our efforts to work with the other body to resolve outstanding issues that are blocking passage of a larger Small Business Administration reauthorization bill. It is my hope Congress can send a final bill to help small businesses to the President for signature before the close of the 108th Congress.

The bill before us contains many provisions that are substantively similar to the Small Business Administration 50th Anniversary Reauthorization Act of 2003, S. 1375, which was passed by the Senate on September 26, 2003.

The fundamental purpose of the SBA is to ``aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small-business concerns.'' The methods for carrying out the mandates set forth by Congress include a wide array of financial, procurement, management, and technical assistance programs tailored to encourage small business growth and expansion. As the economy continues to recover and grow, it is essential that Congress send a message that affirms long-term stability in the programs the SBA provides to the small business community.

In the 50-year period since the establishment of the SBA, there have been many revisions and additions to the methods and organizational structure used by the SBA to respond to the evolving needs of the small business. This bill I introduce today builds on those changes.

Since 1953, nearly 20 million small business owners have received direct or indirect help from one of the SBA's lending or technical assistance programs, making the agency one of the government's most cost-effective instruments for economic development.

SBA's current loan portfolio of more than 200,000 loans worth more than $45 billion makes it the largest single supporter of small businesses in the country. In this year alone, lenders have made 83,912 loans to small businesses in the SBA's two major loan programs, with a total value of $16.5 billion.

Moreover, the SBA's Small Business Investment Company program's current portfolio of more than 16,900 financings with an initial investment amount of $17.2 billion makes it the largest single equity- type backer of U.S. businesses in the Nation. Since 1958 the venture capital program has put more than $42.3 billion into the hands of small business owners, and this year it has produced investments of more than $2.6 billion in small businesses.

The SBA estimates that thus far in the current fiscal year its loan and venture capital programs have provided small businesses with $19.7 billion in various forms of financing, and have allowed small businesses to create or retain 716,144 jobs.

In my home State of Maine, almost 2,500 SBA loans have been made since 1999, for a total of over $288 million, to small businesses that might not have qualified for loans through lending channels not supported by the SBA.

Each year, there are 3 to 4 million new business start-ups and one in 25 adult Americans are taking steps to start a business. These small business owners now want to make plans for the future, including decisions that will create approximately two-thirds of all net new jobs and help sustain local communities, according to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business.

Over the last five years the SBA's programs and services have helped create and retain over 6.2 million jobs. According to the SBA, the $65.5 billion awarded to small businesses in Federal prime and subcontracts in FY 2003 will create or retain close to 500,000 jobs.

The SBA also estimates that reauthorizing the agency will result in the creation or retention of an estimated 3.3 million jobs over the next 5 years. During that same period, the SBA and its programs are predicted to support over 1 million jobs through prime contracts and subcontracts.

In September 2003, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that I had introduced to reauthorize for 3 years the SBA and its programs, the Small Business Administration 50th Anniversary Reauthorization Act of 2003. However, the other body has been stalled for almost a year in its consideration of legislation to reauthorize the SBA.

In a highly competitive and dynamic economy, too much is at stake for small firms, and the economy as a whole, to let this legislation languish. With passage of a new multi-year reauthorization bill, we will ensure that the SBA is well-positioned to help small businesses. Clearly, this is not the time to delay legislation that directly benefits the backbone of our economy, and our hope for the future--the small firms that are most responsible for putting people to work.

With the close of the 108th Congress rapidly approaching, the time to act is now!

I urge my colleagues to support this bill for the benefit of small businesses, our economy, and our Nation.

Mr. President, the 2004 election is quickly approaching, and all Americans must be assured that when they cast their ballots, they will do so with the knowledge that the United States has done everything possible to ensure the election will be fair. Therefore, I rise today to introduce a commonsense election reform bill that will amend the law to add additional simple steps that will help ensure the integrity of the voting process and increase criminal penalties for those who knowingly and willfully commit fraud in voter registration.

There is a recent court decision in New Mexico that has taken the plain reading of a very clearly written statute and has turned it on its head. The statute says:

(4) a statement informing the applicant, that: (a) if the

form is not submitted in person by the applicant and the

applicant is registering for the first time in New Mexico,

the applicant must submit with the form a copy of a current

and valid photo identification, utility bill, bank statement,

government check, paycheck or other government document that

shows the name and address of the applicant--

I stress again, ``in person.''

(b) if the applicant does not submit the required

identification, he will be required to do so when he votes in

person or absentee.

I submit the statute could not be clearer. However, in a bizarre contortion of logic, the New Mexico Secretary of State has determined that a third party can register 10, 100 or 1,000 voters. As long as that third party shows up in person at the county clerk's office, the actual voter does not have to show identification. Have we ever heard of anything more ridiculous?

I believe the root cause of this problem is the recent proliferation of 527s that have begun to pop up throughout the country, largely uncontrolled and unregulated. These 527s have taken unlimited financial contributions from individual and other private sources to conduct voter mobilization drives and other activities. I am not against registering as many as we can, but this and the ruling seem to me to leave many voters to be unfairly treated because their vote may be wiped out by those who have not followed the State statute.

While no one will argue against a laudable goal, as I indicated, of increasing voter registration and voter turnout, the unintended consequence of these activities I have described can be immense. The paid volunteers of these 527s are largely untrained, not familiar with communities in which they are working, nor are they familiar with the realities of election laws. In many cases, the volunteers are being paid by the number of people they are able to register. This has resulted in certain voters being registered two or more times at multiple addresses under multiple names.

My hometown paper, the Albuquerque Journal, has published stories about minors receiving voter registration cards in the mail as well as stories about paid volunteers telling convicted felons they have unlimited ability to register and vote. County clerks have also said they have been inundated with thousands of incomplete or illegible forms.

While no one can be sure of the exact effect of these 527s and what their effect will be on voter fraud in registration and in casting votes, the bill I am introducing today will amend the Help America Vote Act, called HAVA, by extending the identification requirements to individuals who have not themselves registered in person with their county clerk. In addition, it will enhance the penalties for individuals who knowingly and fraudulently register 10 or more people to vote.

I know many people will believe my intentions in introducing this legislation are partisan. Skeptics will say my motive is political. But voter fraud is not about partisanship or politics; it is about fairness. Voter fraud is not a political act; it is a criminal act.

Voting is the most important duty and responsibility of our citizens. Other reform issues have received a lot of attention, but I believe it is imperative to focus our attention on the fundamental issue of casting votes honestly and fairly. The Help America Vote Act, which we passed in 2002, and

the hundreds of new State laws that implement it fail to provide adequate uniform systems that verify voter identity, as I have indicated, or by court interpretation wipe out the protections that might be contemplated by clear and unambiguous statutes.

Requiring a voter to provide identification prior to voting is not an unreasonable imposition, given the responsibility and possibilities that are attendant to not doing that are truly monumental. Simple and straightforward reforms, such as the one I am proposing, will make it easier to vote but harder to cheat. Showing the American public that we are serious about elections and those who might seek to do it improperly will go a long way toward restoring confidence in the registration and balloting process.

I have already indicated that I sent the bill to the desk for appropriate referral.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, just this week--and this is only Tuesday-- the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, known as AASHTO, which is comprised of the transportation leaders from the 50 States--the State of Missouri has a

director of the department of transportation, the State of Ohio has a director of the department of transportation, the State of Nevada does; their titles may vary a little bit, but that is their job; that is who this AASHTO is composed of, among others--they have called this week upon Congress to immediately pass a ``well funded, six year reauthorization'' of the Nation's transportation program. I agree with them. But as you know, this program expired a year ago and the States have been operating under a series of short-term extensions. This has disrupted their construction programs, delayed safety improvements, and interrupted funding to transit operators.

The fact is, we are not going to have a 6-year reauthorization bill this year for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that we passed, as the Presiding Officer knows, a bill that was advocated for and supported by the senior Senator from the State of Missouri, a bill that passed this House by a huge margin, a bill that created funding at a level of $318 billion over the period of time of the bill. That bill did not increase the Federal deficit a skinny dime, not anything. It was a good bill, and we were stunned to learn that the President wanted a bill at a much lower level, some $250-odd billion. Why? I have spoken to some of his closest friends around here, and they have not got a reason for that.

We have now some in this body who are bowing to pressure from the White House and are trying to write a bill at $284 billion, which is $28 billion more than what the President said he would agree to. Both of these are well below the spending limits called for by the U.S. Department of Transportation as to what they need, what their analysis is, and that which is sought by the entire transportation industry.

Not only do we have a resolution from AASHTO, the transportation directors, but we also have a letter from the United States Conference of Mayors which is quite clear and basically says the same thing. We also have a resolution from the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

In the absence of a well-funded, multiyear reauthorization bill, the Nation's State transportation officials have called for at least a 6- month extension of the current program.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution dated September 20, 2004, from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials be printed in the Record, along with the documents I spoke of from the United States Conference of Mayors and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

As this Congress draws to a close, there continue to be large obstacles standing in the way of a well-funded, multiyear reauthorization. For this reason, I have joined with my friend and colleague Senator Bond in a bipartisan effort and have introduced this day a clean 6-month extension of the highway, transit, and highway safety programs. It certainly is my hope this would provide State and local officials with the predictability they need to effectively manage our transportation system.

I remain committed to working in a bipartisan way to achieve a successful reauthorization of the Nation's surface transportation laws. I hope we can move forward on this 6-month extension. It is important we do that. It is important we do it as quickly as possible. There is even some disagreement as to when the bill runs out, when we close down the Department of Transportation, whether it is this Friday or next Friday. The fact is, we have to do it very soon.

I appreciate the attention of Members.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill to honor Abraham Lincoln in 2009, the bicentennial of his birth, by issuing a series of 1-cent coins with designs on the reverse that are emblematic of the 4 major periods of his life, in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. The bill would also provide for a longer-term redesign of the reverse of 1-cent coins so that after 2009 they will bear an image emblematic of Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a single and united country.

Abraham Lincoln was one of our greatest leaders, demonstrating enormous courage and strength of character during the Civil War, perhaps the greatest crisis in our Nation's history. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew to adulthood in Indiana, achieved fame in Illinois, and led the Nation in Washington, D.C. He rose to the Presidency through a combination of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commitment to the United States.

Adhering to the belief that all men are created equal, Lincoln led the effort to free all slaves in the United States. Despite the great passions aroused by the Civil War, Lincoln had a generous heart and acted with malice toward none and with charity for all. Lincoln made the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved, dying from an assassin's bullet on April 15, 1865. All Americans could benefit from studying the life of Abraham Lincoln.

The ``Lincoln cent'' was introduced in 1909 on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, making the front design by sculptor Victor David Brenner the most enduring image on the nation's coinage. President Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed by Brenner's talent that he was chosen to design the likeness of Lincoln for the coin, adapting a design from a plaque Brenner had prepared earlier. In the nearly 100 years of production of the ``Lincoln cent,'' there have been only two designs on the reverse: the original, featuring two wheat-heads, and the current representation of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

On the occasion of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the production of the Lincoln cent, we should recognize his great achievement in ensuring that the United States remained on Nation, united and inseparable.