Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act

Mr. President, I am reintroducing legislation today that would direct the Secretary of the Army to determine whether certain nationals of the Philippine Islands performed military service on behalf of the United States during World War II.

Our Filipino veterans fought side by side and sacrificed their lives on behalf of the United States. This legislation would confirm the validity of their claims and further allow qualified individuals the opportunity to apply for military and veterans benefits that, I believe, they are entitled to. As this population becomes older, it is important for our nation to extend its firm commitment to the Filipino veterans and their families who participated in making us the great nation that we are today.

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

Mr. President, in our efforts to accommodate many Americans by making Memorial Day the last Monday in May, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our Nation. My bill would restore Memorial Day to May 30 and authorize our flag to fly at half mast on that day. In addition, this legislation would authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days for prayer and ceremonies. This legislation would help restore the recognition our veterans deserve for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our Nation

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

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to amend the Public Health Service Act for the establishment of a National Center for Social Work Research.

Social workers provide a multitude of health care delivery services throughout America to our children, families, the elderly, and persons suffering from various forms of abuse and neglect.

The purpose of this center is to support and disseminate information about basic and clinical social work research, and training, with an emphasis on service to underserved and rural populations.

While the Federal Government provides funding for various social work research activities through the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies, there presently is no coordination or direction of these critical activities and no overall assessment of needs and opportunities for empirical knowledge development. The establishment of a Center for Social Work Research would result in improved behavioral and mental health care outcomes for our nation's children, families, the elderly, and others.

In order to meet the increasing challenges of bringing cost- effective, research-based, quality health care to all Americans, we must recognize the important contributions of social work researchers to health care delivery and the central role that the Center for Social Work can provide in facilitating their work.

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

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation today to modify Title VII of the U.S. Public Health Service Act in order to provide students enrolled in graduate psychology programs with the opportunity to participate in various health professions loan programs.

Providing students enrolled in graduate psychology programs with eligibility for financial assistance in the form of loans, loan guarantees, and scholarships will facilitate a much-needed infusion of behavioral science expertise into our community of public health providers. There is a growing recognition of the valuable contribution being made by psychologists toward solving some of our Nation's most distressing problems.

The participation of students from all backgrounds and clinical disciplines is vital to the success of health care training. The Title VII programs play a significant role in providing financial support for the recruitment of minorities, women, and individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Minority therapists have an advantage in the provision of critical services to minority populations because often they can communicate with clients in their own language and cultural framework. Minority therapists are more likely to work in community settings where ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged individuals are most likely to seek care. It is critical that continued support be provided for the training of individuals who provide health care services to underserved communities.

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

Mr. President, today I introduce legislation on the Rural Preventive Health Care Training Act of 2003, a bill that responds to the dire need of our rural communities for quality health care and disease prevention programs.

Almost one fourth of Americans live in rural areas and frequently lack access to adequate physical and mental health care. As many as 21 million of the 34 million people living in underserved rural areas are without access to a primary care provider. Even in areas where providers do exist, there are numerous limits to access, such as geographical barriers lack of transportation, and lack of knowledge about available resources. Due to the diversity of rural populations, language and cultural obstacles are often a factor in the access to medical care.

Compound these problems with limited financial resources, and the result is that many Americans living in rural communities go without vital health care, especially preventive care. Children fail to receive immunizations and routine checkups. Preventable illnesses and injuries occur needlessly, and lead to expensive hospitalizations. Early symptoms of emotional problems and substance abuse go undetected, and often develop into full-blown disorders.

An Institute of Medicine, IOM, report entitled, ``Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders: Frontiers for Preventive

Intervention Research,'' highlights the benefits of preventive care for all health problems. The training of health care providers in prevention is crucial in order to meet the demand for care in underserved areas. Currently, rural health care providers lack preventive care training opportunities.

Interdisciplinary preventive training of rural health care providers must be encouraged. Through such training programs, rural health care providers can build a strong educational foundation in the behavioral, biological, and psychological sciences. Interdisciplinary team prevention training will also facilitate operations at sites with both health and mental health clinics by facilitating routine consultation between groups. Emphasizing the mental health disciplines and their services as part of the health care team will contribute to the overall health of rural communities.

The Rural Preventive Health Care Training Act of 2003 would implement the risk-reduction model described in the IOM study. This model is based on the identification of risk factors and targets specific interventions for those risk factors.

The human suffering caused by poor health is immeasurable, and places a huge financial burden on communities, families, and individuals. By implementing preventive measures to reduce this suffering, the potential overall health and financial savings are enormous.

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

Mr. President, on behalf of our Nation's clinical social workers, I am introducing legislation to amend the Public Health Service Act. This legislation would: 1. establish a new social work training program, 2. ensure that social work students are eligible for support under the Health Careers Opportunity Program, 3. provide social work schools with eligibility for support under the Minority Centers of Excellence programs, 4. permit schools offering degrees in social work to obtain grants for training projects in geriatrics, and 5. ensure that social work is recognized as a profession under the Public Health Maintenance Organization Act.

Despite the impressive range of services social workers provide to people of this Nation, few Federal programs exist to provide opportunities for social work training in health and mental health care.

Social workers have long provided quality mental health services to our citizens and continue to be at the forefront of establishing innovative programs to serve our disadvantaged populations. I believe it is important to ensure that the special expertise social workers possess continues to be available to the citizens of this Nation. This bill, by providing financial assistance to schools of social work and social work students, acknowledges the long history and critical importance of the services provided by social work professionals. I believe it is time to provide them with the recognition the deserve.

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

Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to amend Chapter 74 of Title 38, United States Code, to revise certain provisions relating to the appointment of clinical and professional psychologists in the Veterans Health Administration, VHA. The VHA has a long history of maintaining a staff of the very best health care professionals to provide care to those men and women who have served our country in the Armed Forces.

Recently, a distressing situation regarding the care of our veterans has come to my attention: the recruitment and retention of psychologists in the VHA of the Department of Veterans Affairs has become a significant problem.

The Congress has recognized the important contribution of the behavioral sciences in the treatment of several conditions afflicting a significant portion of our veterans. Programs related to homelessness, substance abuse, and post traumatic stress disorder have received funding from the Congress in recent years.

Psychologists, as behavioral science experts, are essential to the successful implementation of these programs. Consequently, the high vacancy and turnover rates for psychologists in the VHA might seriously jeopardize these programs and will negatively impact overall patient care in the VHA.

Recruitment of psychologists by the VHA is hindered by a number of factors including a pay scale that is not commensurate with private sector rates together with a low number of clinical and professional psychologists appearing on the register of the Office of Personnel Management, OPM. Most new hires have no post-doctoral experience, and are hired immediately after a VHA internship. Recruitment, when successful, takes up to six months or longer.

Retention of psychologists in the VHA system poses an even more significant problem. I have been informed that almost 40 percent of VHA psychologists have five years or less of post-doctoral experience. Psychologists leave the VHA system after five years because they have almost reached peak levels for salary and professional advancement. Under the present system, psychologists cannot be recognized, or appropriately compensated, for excellence or for taking on additional responsibilities such as running treatment programs.

In effect, the current system for hiring psychologists in the VHA supports mediocrity, not excellence and mastery. Our veterans with behavioral and mental health disorders deserve better psychological care from more experienced professionals than they are now receiving.

Currently, psychologists are the only doctoral level health care providers in the VHA who are not included in Title 38. This is without question a significant factor in the recruitment and retention difficulties that I have mentioned.

Title 38 appointment authority for psychologists would help ameliorate the recruitment and retention problems. The length of time needed to recruit psychologists could be shortened by eliminating the requirement for applicants to be rated by the OPM. This would also encourage the recruitment of applicants who are not recent VHA interns by reducing the amount of time between identifying a desirable applicant and being able to offer that applicant a position.

It is expected that problems in retention will be greatly alleviated by the implementation of a Title 38 system that offers financial incentives for psychologists to pursue professional development. Achievements that would merit salary increases include such activities as assuming supervisory responsibilities for clinical programs, implementing innovative clinical treatments that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care, making significant contributions to the science of psychology, and becoming a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

The addition of psychologists to Title 38, as proposed by this amendment, would provide relief for the retention and recruitment issues and enhance the quality of care for our veterans and their families.

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

Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to amend Title 18 of the United States Code to allow our Nation's clinical social workers to use their mental health expertise on behalf of the Federal judiciary by conducting psychological and psychiatric exams.

I feel that the time has come to allow our Nation's judicial system to have access to a wide range of behavioral science and mental health expertise. I am confident that the enactment of this legislation would be very much in our Nation's best interest.

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

Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that would provide a Federal charter for the National Academies of Practice. This organization represents outstanding medical professionals who have made significant contributions to the practice of applied psychology, medicine, dentistry, nursing, optometry, osteopathy, podiatry, social work, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy. When fully established, each of the ten academies will possess 100 distinguished practitioners selected by their peers. These academics will be able to provide the Congress of the United States and the executive branch with considerable health policy expertise, especially from the perspective of those individuals who are in the forefront of actually providing health care.

As we continue to grapple with the many complex issues surrounding the delivery of health care services, it is clearly in our best interest to ensure that the Congress has direct and immediate access to the recommendations of an interdisciplinary body of health care practitioners.

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

Mr. President, today I introduce the Clinical Social Workers' Recognition Act of 2003 to correct a continuing problem in the Federal Employees Compensation Act. This bill will also provide clinical social workers the recognition they deserve as independent providers of quality mental health care services.

Clinical social workers are authorized to independently diagnose and treat mental illnesses through public and private health insurance plans across the nation. However, Title V of the United States Code, does not permit the use of mental health evaluations conducted by clinical social workers for use as evidence in determining workers' compensation claims brought by federal employees. The bill I am introducing corrects this problem.

It is a sad irony that federal employees may select a clinical social worker through their health plans to provide mental health services, but may not go to this same professional for workers' compensation evaluations. The failure to recognize the validity of evaluations provided by clinical social workers unnecessarily limits Federal employees' selection of a provider to conduct the workers' compensation mental health evaluations. Lack of this recognition may well impose an undue burden on Federal employees where clinical social workers are the only available providers of mental health care.

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

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that would exempt from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes on air transportation by helicopters of individuals and cargo for the purpose of conducting removal and environmental restoration activities relating to unexploded ordnance on the Island of Kahoolawe.

The Kahoolawe Island Unexploded Ordnance Clearance and Environmental Restoration Project is authorized under Title X of the Fiscal Year 1994 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. The Island of Kahoolawe is uninhabited, and it served as a bombing range for the Department of Defense until 1990. The Department of Defense is currently in the process of cleaning up and restoring Kahoolawe for its eventual return to the State of Hawaii.

The Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes help support our nation's air traffic systems and airport infrastructures. However, there are no airports or landing zones on Kahoolawe that receive benefits from the Trust Fund. In addition, the taxes place an undue burden on the air transportation services provided to the Kahoolawe Clearance Project. Compared to a normal airline whose aircraft make fewer trips per day over much longer distances, the services provided to the project are very frequent, with many trips over very short distances. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that would extend to qualified teaching hospital support organizations the existing debt-financed property rules that apply to tax-exempt educational organizations, pension funds, and investment consortia of qualified schools and funds.

In a June 21, 2002, article, the New York Times describes the financial straits that nonprofit hospitals now face. More and more people in our weakened economy are seeking medical care from nonprofit hospitals. As a condition for Federal tax exemption, nonprofit hospitals must provide significant charitable services. Fees from other patients, especially in orthopedics, cardiology, and oncology, have in the past, allowed nonprofit hospitals to cover the expense of caring for the poor.

For-profit entrepreneurs, however, are better positioned to win away these specialty care patients because they are not burdened by the same requirement to provide indigent care. Consequently, investors and lenders have readily funded for-profit health care ventures. This available capital allows profit-making companies to build the most up- to-date facilities in competing for the high-margin patient.

No doubt, for-profit operations do offer charity care, but their profit orientation limits the amount they will provide. For example, residency and fellowship programs to train our doctors are not profitable, and, therefore, as the New York Times points out, nearly all the postgraduate medical education in the United States is provided by the nonprofit hospitals.

Of course, rising costs, such as for wages, supplies, and insurance, further compound the problem of nonprofit hospitals of stretching their income to cover significant charitable services. In addition, many of these nonprofit hospitals cannot raise or borrow the capital to modernize. They cover operating costs by postponing hospital maintenance and deferring the purchase of new technology, exacerbating an already bad situation. Eventually, as the New York Times article documents, more and more nonprofit hospitals will be forced to sell their facilities to for-profit enterprises.

The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu faces these very same financial difficulties. This 143-year-old nonprofit hospital system maintains the largest private, nonprofit hospital in my state. It is a teaching hospital that provides residency training in a number of areas, and it treated 18,000 inpatients and 200,000 outpatients in 2001. With the only accredited trauma center in Hawaii, it served over 40,000 individuals without regard to their ability to pay. Medicaid and Medicare patients comprise nearly 60 percent of all its admissions.

In addition, the Center directly, or through its affiliates, operates community clinics throughout the state, conducts professional training programs, offers home health services, maintains a medical library, in addition to running a rural hospital on the rural, economically depressed Island of Molokai. Like other nonprofit hospitals, the Center provides significant charitable care, with nearly $23 million in uncompensated services in 2002.

Further, like other nonprofit hospitals, it has grave problems raising the funds needed to support all these uncompensated services while at the same time renovating and expanding its treatment facilities. A recent report from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii estimated that the hospitals in my state, similar to hospitals nationwide, will face additional, major losses this year due to reduced reimbursements, higher costs, and greater demand for services.

In the past, Congress has allowed tax-exempt schools, colleges, universities, and pension funds to invest in real estate development so as to help meet these institutions' financial needs. Under the tax code these organizations can incur debt to develop their real estate holdings without triggering the tax on unrelated business activities. Our nonprofit teaching hospitals have equal if not more pressing needs and should have the same opportunity. Unless Congress wishes to assume responsibility for charitable health care, we must help our nonprofit hospitals, especially the teaching hospitals. My bill, which is identical to an amendment that the Senate had previously

adopted during the debate of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, would allow support organizations for qualified nonprofit teaching hospital to engage in limited real estate activities. These nonprofit hospitals would thereby be able to supplement their investment income in order to meet the growing demand placed on them for more community service.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and the New York Times article be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to prevent unnecessary hardship for ranching families in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

This summer, restrictions imposed for the Yosemite Toad and willow flycatcher will force about fifteen to thirty ranchers off the land that they have long used for grazing.

This bill requires the Forest Service to explore all the options available to avoid this outcome. For example, the bill makes it easier for the Forest Service to offer ranchers suitable alternative grazing land.

Besides alternative grazing arrangements, the Forest Service should look at fencing, active management of the cattle, and other options. If none of these alternatives are feasible, the bill provides relief for the most seriously affected ranchers.

The bill would allow ranchers to keep using 15 parcels of land during this calendar year where Yosemite Toad and willow flycatcher restrictions would otherwise make grazing unworkable. For many other ranches, where grazing and the species could coexist with some adjustments, environmental protections would fully remain in place.

I urge the Forest Service to quickly devise a long-term strategy to promote the coexistence of ranchers and the species. The Forest Service should work proactively with the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a conservation plan for the species--with the goal of avoiding the need for any listing of it.

I believe that if the regulatory agencies collect better information on the Yosemite Toad and the willow flycatcher, we can find ways to protect the species without completely shutting down long-term ranching operations. I am committed to expediting these long-term solutions.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the ``Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003,'' bipartisan legislation to reform the way the Federal Government treats unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal immigration custody. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues, Senators Brownback, Voinovich, Kennedy, Cantwell, DeWine, Feingold, and Lautenberg in introducing this important measure.

Approximately 5,000 foreign-born children under the age of 18 enter the United States each year unaccompanied by parents or other legal guardians. These children are among the most vulnerable of the immigrant population.

Many have often entered the country under traumatic circumstances. They are young and alone, subject to abuse and exploitation. They are often unable to articulate their fears, their views, or testify to their needs as accurately as adults can.

Despite these facts, U.S. Immigration laws and policies have been developed and implemented without regard for their effect on children, particularly on unaccompanied alien children.

Under current immigration law, these children are forced to struggle through a system designed primarily for adults, even though they lack the capacity to understand nuances legal principles and procedures. Children who may very well be eligible for relief are often vulnerable to being deported back to the very life-threatening situations from which they fled--before they are even able to make their cases before the Department of Homeland Security or an immigration judge.

Prior to March 1, 2003, the Immigration Naturalization Service, INS, had responsibility for the care, custody, and treatment of unaccompanied alien children. Too often, the INS, fell short in fulfilling the protection side of these responsibilities.

The legislation that I am introducing today builds on Section 462 of Public Law 107-296, the ``Homeland Security Act of 2002'', which provided for the transfer of responsibility for the care

and placement of unaccompanied alien children from the now-abolished INS to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, ORR, within the Department of Health and Human Services. This provision was based on S. 121, comprehensive legislation relating to unaccompanied alien children that I introduced at the beginning of the 107th Congress.

With the enactment of the Homeland Security Act, we set into motion the centralization of responsibility for the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children in the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The first phase of this transfer of responsibility occurred on March 1, 2003. Once the transition is completed, we have finally resolved the conflict of interest inherent in the former system.

I am pleased that the provision transferring responsibility for the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children was contained in the Homeland Security Act. Its inclusion in the new law was an important first step in reforming the way unaccompanied alien children are treated. It was a key provision for two reasons: First, it will help ensure that the Secretary of Homeland Security is not burdened with policy issues unrelated to the threat of terrorism. The new Department has a huge and important mission and its attention should be focused on that mission. Second, it recognizes that the Federal Government has a special responsibility to protect these children who are in federal custody. The INS did not always live up that responsibility.

But, the transfer of authority to the ORR--by itself--is not enough to ensure that these children are properly treated. Congress now has a responsibilty to go beyond the simple transfer and set the priorities for ORR and its new jurisdiction over unaccompanied foreign-born minors.

A number of other important reforms that were contained in last year's S. 121 were left out of the Homeland Security Act. Enactment of these reforms will be crucial if we truly are to reform the manner in which these children are treated. As I mentioned, the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003 builds on the Homeland Security Act in two ways: First, it would make a number of technical and conforming changes in law to bring about the smooth transfer of the INS's unaccompanied alien child-related functions to ORR. Second, it would make a number of more substantive reforms in law with respect the respect to the treatment of these children--reforms that are designed to ensure that such children are treated with fairness and compassion.

Other provisions include those that would keep children who are criminals or who pose a threat to national security under the custody of the Department of Homeland Security rather than transfer responsibility of them to the ORR.

I first became involved in this issue when I heard about a young 15- year old Chinese girl who stood before a U.S. immigration court facing deportation proceedings. She had found her way to the United States as a stowaway in a container ship captured off of Guam, hoping to escape the repression she had experienced in her home country.

She had been placed on a boat bound for the United States by her very own parents, fleeing China's rigid family planning laws, Under these laws, she was denied citizenship, education, and medical care. She came to this country alone and desperate.

And what did our immigration authorities do when they found her? The INS detained her in a juvenile jail in Portland, OR, for 8 months before her asylum hearing, and 4 months after she was granted asylum.

At her asylum hearing, the young girl stood before a judge, unrepresented by counsel, confused, and unable to understand the proceedings against her. She could not wipe away the tears from her face because her hands were chained to her waist. According to a lawyer who later came to represent her, ``her only crime was that her parents had put her on a boat so she could get a better life over here.''

While the young girl eventually received asylum in our country, she unnecessarily faced an ordeal no child should bear under our immigration system. This young Chinese girl represents only one of 5,000 foreign-born children who, without parents or legal guardians to protect them, are discovered in the United States each year in need of protection. This, is unacceptable treatment. We have a responsibility to do better than this.

Central throughout the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003 are two concepts: 1. The United States Government has a fundamental responsibility to protect unaccompanied children in its custody; and 2. in all proceedings and actions, the government should have as a high priority protecting the interests of these children, most of whom are unable to understand the nature of the proceedings in which they are involved.

This bill would ensure that children who are apprehended by immigration authorities are treated humanely and appropriately by: ensuring that eligible unaccompanied alien children are promptly placed in the custody of Office of Refugee Resettlement after they are encountered by immigration officials; ensuring that the children have counsel to represent them in immigration proceedings and matters; authorizing the Director of ORR to provide guardians ad litem for the children to look after their interests; establishing clear guidelines and uniformity for detention alternatives such as shelter care, foster care, and other child custody arrangements; establishing minimum standards for detention and alternative settings that take into account the special needs of children; improving such children's access to existing options for permanent protection when U.S. immigration and child welfare authorities believe such protection is warranted; setting forth procedures that immigration officers should follow when apprehending unaccompanied alien children at the United states border or at United States ports of entry; establishing procedures to ensure that the true age of an alien who claims to be under the age of 18 is determined; ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security, rather than the Office of Refugee Resettlement, maintain custody over children who are either criminals or threats to national security; and establishing procedures to ensure that certain unaccompanied alien children from Mexico or Canada, encountered along the United States border, are returned to their homes, subject to formal agreements between the United States and those countries providing for their safe return without undue delay.

Without enactment of my legislation, none of these important parameters would be placed on the Office of Refugee Resettlement or the Department of Homeland Security.

This bill also includes provisions that provide for the safety of the significant number of unaccompanied alien children who are victims of smuggling or trafficking rings. For example, 2 years ago, Phanupong Khaisri, a 2-year old Thai child, was brought to the United States by two individuals falsely claiming to be his parents, but who were actually part of a major alien trafficking ring.

The INS was prepared to deport the child back to Thailand. It was not until Members of Congress and the local Thai community had intervened, however, that the INS decided to allow the child to remain in the United States until the agency could provide proper medical attention and determine what course of action would be in his best interest.

The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act aims to prevent situations like this from recurring. Moreover, the legislation would ensure that children are released into safe and humane environments while awaiting a determination of their status when that is appropriate, and it would ensure that the children are protected from smugglers, traffickers, or others who might exploit them.

Further, it would require the ORR to take steps to ensure that unaccompanied alien children are protected from smugglers or others who may wish to do them harm, and authorizes reimbursement for State and local expenses associated with caring for unaccompanied alien children.

Children, even more than adults, have incredible difficulty understanding the complexities of the immigration system without the assistance of counsel. Despite this reality, most children in immigration custody are overlooked and unrepresented. Without legal representation, children are at risk of being returned to their home

countries where they may face further human rights abuses.

The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 20032 would require that all unaccompanied alien children in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status have counsel to represent them in any immigration proceedings involving them. It would vest in the Director of ORR responsibility for ensuring that the children have counsel, and it would provide the Director power to establish an infrastructure for developing a system to recruit and support pro bono counsel who can represent these children without cost to them or to the government.

It provides, as a last resort, that counsel could be provided for the children at government expense, capping the fees that such counsel could charge in the event that the government pays for such counsel.

This bill would authorize, but not mandate, the Director of ORR to put into place a system of guardians ad litem who would help the court in determining the best interests of children in U.S. custody.

The vast majority of unaccompanied alien children have been forced to maneuver the immigration system without any representation or without any assistance. This is unacceptable. It results in many children participating in a system without any understanding of the process they are undergoing or the ramifications of their situation.

Under this section, the guardian ad litem would not be working ``for the child.'' Nor would he or she be working for the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, he or she would be an impartial observer reporting to the court and to the Office of Refugee Resettlement on what he or she thinks is in the best interest of the child.

The guardians ad litem system could be modeled after any of a number of systems already existing in juvenile courts throughout the American juvenile justice system. This system is not a novel legal concept, but one that is trusted and already in place in every state in proceedings involving juveniles.

Imagine the fear of a foreign-born child, in the United States alone without a parent or guardian. Imagine that child being thrust into a system she did not understand, given no legal aid, placed in jail that housed juveniles with serious criminal convictions. Mr. President, I find it hard to believe that our country would have allowed innocent children to be treated in such a manner.

That is why my colleagues and I are introducing this legislation today. The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003 will help our country fulfill the special obligation to these children.

I am proud to have the support of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the American Bar Association, the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, and many other organizations with whom I have worked closely to develop this legislation.

I urge my colleagues to join me by cosponsoring this important measure and ensuring that these reforms are finally enacted.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to offer legislation to provide lawful permanent residence status to Esidronio Arreola-Saucedo, Maria Elena Cobian Arreola, Nayely Bibiana Arreola, and Cindy Jael Arreola, Mexican nationals who live in the Fresno area of California.

Mr. and Mrs. Arreola have lived in he United States for nearly 20 years. They are the parents of Nayely and Cindy, who also stand to benefit from this legislation. The Arreolas also have three United States citizens children: Roberto, who is 11 year old; Daniel, who is 8; and Saray, their youngest daughter, who is six-years old. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Arreola, and her children face deportation.

The story of the Arreola family is quite compelling and I believe they merit Congress' special consideration for humanitarian relief. The Arreolas are in uncertain situation in part because of grievous errors committed by their previous counsel, who has since been disbarred. In fact, the attorney's conduct was so egregious that it compelled an immigration judge to write the Executive Office of Immigration Review seeking his disbarment for the legal detriment he caused his immigrant clients.

Mr. Arreola has lived in the United States since 1986. He was an agricultural migrant worker in the fields of California for several years, and as such would have been eligible for permanent residence through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers, SAW, program had he known that he could apply for it. Mrs. Arreola was living in the United States at the time she became pregnant with her daughter Cindy, but returned to Mexico to give birth to Cindy to avoid any problems with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It is quite likely that the family would have qualified for cancellation of removal but for the conduct of their previous attorney.

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons for permitting the family to remain in the United States is the devastating impact their deportation would have on their children: three of whom are U.S. citizens; the other two have lived in the United States virtually all of their lives. This country is the only the country they really know.

Nayely, the oldest child, is a junior in high school. She is an outstanding student with a 3.91 Grade Point Average who ranks fourth in her class of approximately 300 students. At her relatively young age, Nayely has demonstrated a strong commitment to the ideals of citizenship in her adopted country. She has worked hard to achieve her full potential both in her academic endeavors and through the service she provides her community.

Nayely is a member of Advancement Via Individual Determination, AVID, a college preparatory program in which students commit to determining their own futures through achieving a college degree. Nayely is also President of the key Club, a community service organization. She helps mentor freshmen and participates in several other student organizations in her school. Perhaps the greatest hardship to this family if she is forced to return to Mexico will be her lost opportunity to realize here dreams and further contribute to her community and to this country.

As the principal of her high school wrote, ``[s]he epitomizes what we seek to instill in all of our students. She has accepted the challenges and has made a commitment to better her future, to better her life, and to better herself through education.''

It is clear to me that Nayely feels a strong sense of responsibility for her community and country. By all indication, this is the case as well for all of the members of her fine family.

I understand that the Arreolas also have other family who are lawful permanent residents here in the United States. Mrs. Arreola also has three brothers who are U.S. citizens and Mr. Arreola has a sister who is a U.S. citizen. It is my understanding that they do not have any family to whom they might return in Mexico.

According to immigration authorities, this family has never had any problems with law enforcement. I am told that they have filed their taxes for every year from 1990 to the present. They have always worked hard to support themselves. As I previously mentioned, Mr. Arreola was previously employed as a farmworker, but now has his own business repairing electronics. His business has been successful enough to enable him to purchase a home for his family.

It seems so clear to me that this family has embraced the American dream and their continued presence in our country would do so much to enhance the values we hold dear. Enactment of the legislation I have introduced today will enable the Arreolas to continue to make significant contributions to their community and to the United States as well.

I ask unanimous consent that the letter of Xavier De La Torre, Principal of Granite Hills High School, as well as the numerous letters of support our office has received from members of the Porterville community be entered into the Record. I also ask unanimous consent that Nayely's essay entitled ``If I Could Change the World,'' which she wrote at age 15, be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce legislation to do what should have been done decades ago: fully ban asbestos in the United States. I am introducing the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2003 to prohibit this known carcinogen from being used to manufacture products in this country. The bill also bans imports of asbestos products from other countries where asbestos is still legal. I am pleased that Senators Baucus, Boxer, Cantwell, Dayton, Jeffords and Leahy are original cosponsors of this important legislation.

The primary purpose of the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2003 is to require the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to ban the substance within two years. Most people think that asbestos has already been banned. In fact, in 1989 EPA finalized regulations to phase out and ban the substance by 1997. But in 1991, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned EPA's ban, arguing that EPA did not ``first evaluate and then reject the less burdensome alternatives'' under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Unfortunately, the first Bush Administration did not appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. While new uses of asbestos were banned, existing ones were not.

As a result, it is still legal in 2003 to construct buildings in the United States with asbestos cement shingles and to treat them with asbestos roof coatings. It is still legal to construct new water systems using asbestos cement pipes imported from other countries. It is still legal for cars and trucks to be made and serviced with asbestos brake pads and clutch facings.

Asbestos is still not banned, and as a result, we're still using it. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, in 2001, businesses in this country consumed 26 million pounds of chrysotile asbestos to make roofing products, gaskets, friction materials and other products. Last month, my staff walked into a local home improvement store and bought off the shelf roofing sealants made with asbestos. In addition, we are still importing asbestos products from other countries, many of which have less stringent environmental and public health standards.

Everyone knows that asbestos is harmful. The term asbestos, like arsenic, lead, mercury or DDT, is synonymous with poison. Asbestos may well be the most regulated toxic substance that federal and state agencies have ever dealt with. At least eleven different Federal statutes address asbestos. The EPA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, Mine Safety and Health Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission are only some of the Federal agencies tasked with implementing rules to protect workers and consumers from the dangers of this substance.

But the sheer volume of rules and regulations in place does not guarantee that public health and the environment are being adequately protected. We have significant evidence suggesting that because asbestos is still not banned, we're still not safe from its dangers. I'd like to highlight some of this evidence for my colleagues.

First, workers in this country are still being exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos. According to OSHA, ``An estimated 1.3 million employees in construction and general industry face significant asbestos exposure on the job. Heaviest exposures occur in the construction industry, particularly during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition. Employees are also likely to be exposed during the manufacture of asbestos products, such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials, and during automotive brake and clutch repair work.''

It is important to remember that there is no known safe threshold level of asbestos exposure. OSHA's permissible exposure limit of 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter is based on technical measurement limitations. OSHA's limit assumes that workers exposed to this concentration have a lifetime exposure risk of 3 to 5 in 1,000 for cancer and 2 in 1,000 for asbestosis. This is a very high risk compared to the cancer risk levels that are considered acceptable for some environmental cleanups.

The extent to which workers are exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos is especially troublesome when one considers the frequency with which OSHA's standards are violated. On July 31, 2001, I chaired a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on asbestos and workplace safety. At the hearing I learned from OSHA that since 1995, the agency had cited employers for violations of its asbestos standards 15,691 times. This is astounding given the known dangers of asbestos and the high risks of disease even when OSHA's exposure limit is being met.

As follow-up to the hearing, I asked OSHA to provide more information about asbestos-related violations. In an October 17, 2001 letter to me, Mr. John Henshaw, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, wrote that between fiscal year 1996 and fiscal year 2001, OSHA conducted a total of 190,971 inspections generating a total of 427,786 violations. Of these, 3,000 inspections and 15,691 violations involved asbestos. According to Mr. Henshaw, about 2 percent of inspections and 4 percent of violations were asbestos-related. In his letter to me, Mr. Henshaw wrote, ``OSHA does not consider any level to be an acceptable noncompliance level. We strive for 100 percent compliance.'' Despite OSHA's best intentions, workers are still being exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos.

It is also important to consider that the vast majority of workplaces where asbestos exposure occurs, such as construction jobs and auto repair shops, are not regularly inspected by OSHA. The Administration conducts inspections only in response to complaints or as a result of referrals from law enforcement or the media. Many more violations of the standard occur in the real world than are actually recorded by regulators. Many employees likely do not contact OSHA about potential asbestos exposure on the job because they think asbestos has been banned long ago and is no longer a problem.

But asbestos in the workplace is clearly still a problem. Recent news investigations provide more evidence that workers are being exposed to dangerous levels of this mineral. According to an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on November 16, 2000, ``During the past three months, the P-I collected samples of dust from floors, work areas and tool bins in 31 brake-repair garages in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Richmond, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Asbestos, almost exclusively chrysotile, which has been used for decades in brakes, was detected in 21 of the locations. The amount of asbestos in the dust ranged from 2.26 percent to 63.8 percent.''

When dust with these concentrations of asbestos in them is disturbed, airborne concentrations of asbestos occur that are well above OSHA's permissible exposure limit of 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter. Under current OSHA regulations, if airborne asbestos concentrations exceed this level, employers must conduct air monitoring, take measures to reduce asbestos emissions, post warning signs and record concentrations of airborne asbestos. Workers are supposed to wear respirators and protective clothing and are required to undergo long term medical monitoring.

Now I recognize that much of the exposure to asbestos in the workplace comes from asbestos products installed years, and in many cases, decades ago. By one estimate, about 30 million tons of asbestos was used in this country between 1900 and 1980. Asbestos in place, in our buildings, schools and homes, will be with us for decades to come.

But given the known dangers of this mineral, why are we still using it? Why are we still adding it to products on purpose when there are perfectly acceptable substitutes? In retrospect, it is tragic that asbestos was so widely used during the 20th century, for the

economic and public health impacts have been disastrous. One very important step in overcoming the problems caused by asbestos is to stop adding to the problem--however incrementally--by continuing to use this dangerous mineral in products on purpose.

I'd like to point out some additional evidence supporting the need to ban asbestos in the United States and to raise awareness about this issue. Most of my colleagues are familiar with the tragedy in Libby, MT, where hundreds of workers and their families suffer from asbestos- related diseases caused by exposure to asbestos-tainted vermiculite.

For decades, the W.R. Grace mine in Libby supplied about 80 percent of the vermiculite used in this country. W.R. Grace very successfully marketed its product, without any warning labels, even though the company was well aware its product was contaminated with this known carcinogen. Asbestos-contaminated ore was shipped to more than 300 sites around the country for processing and use in industrial and consumer products. According to the EPA, 14 of these sites are so contaminated with asbestos that they still need to be cleaned up, even though the Libby mine closed in 1990. While this is a problem that came from a small mining town in Montana, the ramifications and consequences are clearly national in scope.

In addition, vermiculite from Libby is still around and is still a threat to public health. It is estimated that tens of millions of homes, schools and businesses contain insulation made with Libby vermiculite, known as Zonolite. A recent study conducted for EPA, entitled Asbestos Exposure Assessment for Vermiculite Attic Insulation, found that Zonolite in homes today contains up to 2 percent asbestos. This study included tests on Zonolite insulation from Seattle Public Utilities and from a home in Washington State. It found that when this insulation was disturbed, airborne concentrations of 3.3 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeters were measured. In other words, handling Zonolite asbestos can cause levels of asbestos in the air that significantly exceed OSHA's exposure limit for workers. Even more troubling, perhaps, the study found ``vermiculite that tests non-detect for asbestos by bulk analysis can still generate airborne asbestos concentrations when disturbed.'' When vermiculite without significant amounts of asbestos in bulk was disturbed, concentrations of asbestos in the air up to 0.5 fibers per cubic centimeters were detected. This means that even vermiculite with only trace amounts of asbestos in bulk can generate unhealthy concentrations of asbestos in the air.

Yesterday EPA launched a national consumer education campaign warning people not to disturb Zonolite attic insulation if they have it in their homes. The agency also warned people not to let their children play in attics with vermiculite for fear of asbestos exposure. EPA has developed a consumer education brochure and has created an asbestos hotline for people to call for more information. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have joined EPA in this education effort by creating materials to educate consumers and workers about the dangers of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite.

While we need to ensure that we are no longer adding asbestos to our products on purpose, we also need to ensure that asbestos in harmful concentrations isn't ending up in our consumer products by accident. I am glad EPA, ATSDR and NIOSH are now proactively reaching out to consumers and workers to warn them to stay away from vermiculite attic insulation. This is an important first step in dealing with just one aspect of the legacy created by W.R. Grace in Libby.

There is another important reason to ban asbestos that I would like to share with my colleagues. As I mentioned previously, the United States is still importing products that contain asbestos. Unfortunately, we do not have precise statistics on which products coming into this country contain the deadly mineral. The Department of Commerce's import database does not distinguish between asbestos- containing products and products containing asbestos substitutes. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, in 2002 this country imported more than 44,000 tons of asbestos-cement products, some of which may have contained cellulose instead of asbestos.

With increased globalization and international trade, U.S. imports of asbestos containing consumer and industrial products will continue to rise--unless we prohibit these products from crossing our borders in the first place.

Although we do not have accurate numbers for the extent to which asbestos products are flowing across our borders, we do know that asbestos is being heavily marketed to developing countries. According to an August 2, 1999 USA Today article, ``As asbestos demand has plummeted in the industrialized world the past 25 years, it has soared in many developing nations and formerly communist countries. Its use in these countries is largely unregulated, haphazard and deadly.''

A more recent editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal compares the asbestos industry to the tobacco industry. The February 20, 2001 article by Doctors Joseph LaDou, Philip Landrigan, John C. Bailar III, Vito Foa and Arthur Frank reads:

``The commercial tactics of the asbestos industry are very similar to those of the tobacco industry. In the absence of international sanctions, losses resulting from reduced cigarette consumption in the developed countries are offset by heavy selling to developing nations. In a similar fashion, the developed world has responded to the asbestos health catastrophe with a progressive ban on the use of asbestos. In response, the asbestos industry is progressively transferring its commercial activities and the health hazards to the developing countries.''

Banning asbestos in the United States sends an important message to the rest of the world. The asbestos industry will no longer be able to justify its marketing to developing countries by pointing out that asbestos is still legal in the U.S., and therefore, it must be safe. More than 30 countries have already banned asbestos, and it is time for this country to follow suit. It is our moral responsibility as the world's strongest economy, the most powerful Nation and a leader in environmental protection and public health to ban this harmful substance.

That is why today I am introducing the Ban Asbestos in America Act. The legislation has five main parts. First, this bill protects public health by doing what the EPA tried to do 14 years ago: ban asbestos in the United States. The legislation requires EPA to ban it within two years of passage of the Act. As under the regulations EPA finalized in 1989, companies may file for an exemption to the ban if there is no substitute material available.

Second, the bill requires EPA to convene a Blue Ribbon Panel on asbestos policy and to have the National Academy of Sciences conduct an asbestos study. In response to the 2001 EPA Inspector General's report on Libby, Montana, the EPA promised to convene a Blue Ribbon Panel on asbestos and non-regulated fibers. But instead of convening a high level panel, EPA hired a non-profit organization, the Global Environment and Technology Foundation, to develop an asbestos policies focus group. Just yesterday EPA released GETF's Asbestos Strategies Report. I am very pleased that the Report recommends several aspects of the Ban Asbestos in America Act, including that Congress pass legislation to ban asbestos.

While the recommendations are certainly helpful in providing guidance to EPA, Congress and other federal agencies on the next steps to address asbestos, the GETF report does not replace a full fledged Blue Ribbon Panel. The Ban Asbestos in America Act codifies creation of a Blue Ribbon Panel as EPA first committed to in 2001. The panel will include participation from the Department of Labor and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It will review the current laws and rules in place to protect workers and consumers, and make recommendations for improving protections within 2 years of passage of the Act.

In addition, the bill calls for EPA to have the NAS conduct a study on the current state of the science relating to the human health effects of exposure to asbestos and other durable fibers. The NAS study shall also include recommendations for a uniform system of asbestos exposure standards and for a uniform system to create protocols to

detect and measure asbestos. As I mentioned previously, asbestos is regulated under multiple statutes. There are different standards within EPA and across Federal agencies, and agencies rely on different protocols to identify the substance. The NAS shall be required to submit the study to EPA, other federal agencies and Congress within 18 months of passage of the Act.

Third, the legislation requires a survey to determine which products contain asbestos, either on purpose or as a contaminant. EPA will be required to conduct this review with input from the Department of Labor, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the International Trade Commission.

The bill directs the EPA to conduct a survey on the status of asbestos-containing products, such as roofing materials, brake pads and gaskets, which contain asbestos on purpose. EPA must also study contaminant-asbestos products, such as some insulation and horticultural products, which contain asbestos as a contaminant of another substance. The study will examine how people use these products and the extent to which people are exposed to harmful levels of asbestos. The study must be finalized within 18 months to inform the Blue Ribbon Panel and the education campaign.

Fourth, based on the results of the study, EPA shall conduct a public education campaign to increase awareness of the dangers posed by asbestos-containing products and contaminant-asbestos products, including those in homes and workplaces. The agency shall give priority to those products posing the greatest risk, as determined by the study required by the bill. The education campaign must be conducted within 2 years of passage of the bill.

EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall still be required to conduct a national education campaign about vermiculite insulation within 6 months of passage of the Act. As many as 35 million homes and businesses may contain asbestos-contaminated insulation made with vermiculite from Libby. This requirement is still in the bill despite EPA's recent announcement of an education campaign about vermiculite attic insulation. This will ensure EPA's long-term commitment to educating the public.

Finally, the Ban Asbestos in America Act increases the federal commitment to finding new treatments for the terrible diseases caused by asbestos. At least 2,000 people per year die from mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lining of the lungs and internal organs caused by exposure to asbestos. The legislation would direct the head of NIH to ``expand, intensify and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of research on diseases caused by exposure to asbestos.'' The Centers for Disease Control would be required to create a National Mesothelioma Registry to improve tracking of the disease, which in many cases goes undiagnosed and thus unrecorded. In addition, the bill creates 10 mesothelioma treatment centers around the country to improve treatments for and awareness of this fatal cancer.

Our hope is that by continuing to work together, we will build support for the Ban Asbestos in America Act. If we can get this legislation passed, fewer people will be exposed to asbestos, fewer people will contract asbestos diseases in the first place, and those who already have asbestos diseases will receive treatments to prolong and improve quality of life. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

In the meantime, we should do all we can to ensure that the rules in place to protect workers, consumers and schoolchildren from asbestos are followed and are strengthened if necessary. We also need to make sure that Federal agencies are given adequate resources to fully implement Congress' many mandates.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2003 be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague, Ms. Snowe, to introduce the Fishing Quota Act of 2003, legislation to establish national criteria governing the use of individual fishing quota IFQ systems. Work began in earnest on this bipartisan bill in the Commerce Committee last spring, as the expiration of the national moratorium on the use of IFQs approached, and small boat fishermen voiced concerns that existing legislative criteria governing the use of IFQs would not offer sufficient protection to communities. I would like to thank Subcommittee Chair Snowe for her efforts to work with me and with other members of the Commerce Committee on this legislation, which draws from separate IFQ legislation that both Senator Snowe and I introduced beginning in the 106th Congress.

The IFQ moratorium established under the 1996 Sustainable Fisheries Act was set to expire September 30, 2000. Senator Snowe and I supported a 2-year extension of that moratorium to allow for hearings and full consultation with affected groups on the issues surrounding IFQs. Our discussions focused on the need to provide regional flexibility to use IFQs as a management tool, while providing national ``rules of the road.'' Such rules of the road would ensure IFQ systems developed after expiration of the moratorium are adopted with the support of the fishery, allocate quota fairly and equitably, address region-specific needs, further the conservation and management goals of the Magnuson- Stevens Act, prevent consolidation of quota, address the needs of small fishing communities, and recognize both the public nature of the resource and that issuance of an IFQ does not give rise to a compensable property right.

To develop such rules, we worked with fellow Commerce Committee members, including Senators Breaux, Lott, Boxer, Stevens, and Cantwell, consulted with interested groups, and obtained technical advice from the National Marine Fisheries Service. While New England has historically been opposed to IFQs, other regions are interested in utilizing IFQ programs in certain fisheries. I believe the resulting bill provides a balance between the need to provide national policy guidance that considers the concerns of communities and harvesters, but allows for development of IFQ systems, where appropriate, on a fishery- by-fishery basis. This preserves the balanced regional approach to fishery management that Congress intended in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. I also want to clarify that this bill does not authorize the establishment of ``processor quota,'' and relates only to issuance of harvester quota.

The bill Senator Snowe and I are introducing today sets forth a set of national criteria that councils wishing to adopt IFQs would follow. Importantly, this bill contains a provision that directs councils to consider the use of community or area-based approaches and strategies that would preserve the vitality of small fishing communities, including the allocation of quota to a fishing community. It also directs councils to consider use of other management measures, including those that would facilitate formation of fishery cooperative arrangements, taking account of the dependence of coastal communities on these fisheries.

This bill addresses many of the concerns raised by fishermen, and I understand the many concerns of small fisherman in New England regarding the use of IFQs. I believe this bill gives fishermen the power to decide whether to implement an IFQ program and ensures that those who do will operate under a fair system. First, no region could implement an IFQ system without approval of a two-thirds majority of eligible permit holders through a referendum process run by the Secretary of Commerce. In addition, any IFQ system developed under the legislation would have to meet a set of national criteria. These national criteria would include: (1) ensuring a fair and equitable initial allocation of quota, including the establishment of an appeals process for qualification and allocation decisions, taking into account present and historic participation in the fishery; (2) establishing limits necessary to prevent inequitable concentration of quota share; (3) preventing any person from acquiring an ``excessive share''; (4) considering allocation of a portion of the annual harvest specifically to small fishermen, skippers, crew members, fishing communities, or categories of vessels or gear types; and (5) providing for revocation of quota if the owner is no longer an active fisherman.

I also believe this bill responds to concerns that IFQ systems would undermine the national interest in conserving fishery resources held in the public trust. In order to respond to those concerns, the bill would: (1) specify that an IFQ is a permit under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and does not confer any right of compensation or any right, title or interest to any fish before it is harvested; (2) established that the quota expires after 10 years, unless extended by a fishery management plan; (3) require that the systems promote management measures to improve the conservation and management of the fishery, including reduction of bycatch; (4) provide for regular review and evaluation of the system, including specifying actions to be taken for any failure to meet the criteria; (5) require that the systems provide for effective enforcement, monitoring, and management, including use of observers; and (6) require that quota be revoked from individuals found to be subject to civil penalties under section 308 of the Magnuson- Stevens Act.

The bill also would require a 5-year recurring independent review of IFQ systems by the National Research Council, to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of such systems and determine who the systems contribute to improved management, conservation and safety; (2) evaluate the social, economic and biological consequences of the systems, including economic impacts on fishing communities; (3) evaluate the costs of implementation; and (4) provide recommendations to ensure the systems meet Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements and the goals of the plans.

I believe this legislation provides guidelines for the use of IFQs that will help ensure the health of our marine fisheries. During the last reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, our

Nation's fisheries were at a crossroads, and action was required to remedy our marine resource management problems, to preserve the way of life in our coastal communities, and to promote the sustainable use and conservation of our marine resources for future generations and for the economic good of the Nation. We must stay the course, and this bill will help us do just that. I remain committed to the goal of establishing biologically and economically sustainable fisheries so that fishing will continue to be an important part of the culture and economy of coastal communities throughout Massachusetts, as well as the economy of the Nation.

Mr. President, there are now nearly 200,000 American veterans today who are forced to wait at least 6 months for their first visit with a Department of Veterans Affairs physician. Despite having served their country and been promised health benefits, these veterans are receiving deferred and rationed health care because of chronic underfunding and bureaucratic red tape. It amounts to a broken promise with men and women who have served in our armed forces. To help ensure that our veterans receive the care they need and have been guaranteed, today I am pleased to introduce the Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform Act of 2003.

Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program are entitled to a prescription drug benefit. This is an essential benefit given the importance of pharmaceuticals in health care today. However, there's a bureaucratic catch: the benefit only applies to prescriptions written by a VA physician, and there are nearly 200,000 veterans who now wait 6 months or longer for their first visit with a VA physician. For those veterans in need of medicine and waiting months on end to see a VA physician, the benefit has little value.

The VA has reported to Congress that, while it has no exact figure, it estimates that tens of thousands of the veterans now on the waiting list are there primarily to access their prescription drug benefit. In many of these cases, veterans have already seen a private physician and have a prescription. But in order to use the VA pharmacy and receive their prescription benefit, these individuals must duplicate their health care visits and see a VA physician. This delays health care benefits for far too many veterans.

The Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform Act of 2003 would permit veterans already on the waiting list to fill a prescription written by a private physician at the VA pharmacy.

Specifically, the Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform Act of 2003 would give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to permit veterans on the waiting list for their first appointment with a VA physician at the date of enactment to use the VA pharmacy to fill prescriptions written by a private physician. It would also preserve the core healthcare mission of the VA by limiting this initiative only to those currently waiting for their first appointment. The proposal calls for a report to Congress in 1 year so that its potential expansion can be evaluated.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has told Congress that he would support such a proposal, and I look forward to working with Senator Harkin, who joins me in sponsoring this legislation, and my other colleagues in the Senate on this common-sense approach to reducing the lengthy wait-lines for veterans' healthcare.

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

Mr. President, I am pleased today to join with my colleagues, Senators Johnson and Smith, as well as the cosponsors of our legislation, Senators Akaka, Baucus, Bingaman, Cantwell, Daschle, Murray, and Stabenow in introducing the Native American Small Business Development Act.

As many of my colleagues are aware, last Congress the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously passed nearly identical legislation, S. 2335, yet the bill was not taken up by the full Senate. Today, Senator Johnson, Senator Smith and I are reintroducing this bill because we recognize that there is an even a greater need for this legislation on tribal lands across the Nation. The economy continues to slump, access to capital is even more limited, and state funding for small business initiatives is being pulled back.

According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ``three year average poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives [from 1998-2000] was 25.9 percent. Higher than for any other race groups.'' With an unemployment rate well above the national average and household income at just three-quarters of the national average, Native American communities need a commitment from the Federal government that we will help them, particularly during these difficult economic times. To reaffirm this commitment, the Johnson-Kerry-Smith bill provides Native Americans the resources they need to take advantage of the opportunities of entrepreneurship.

Mr. President, this legislation bears the same name as legislation that recently passed the House, H.R. 1166, which was reintroduced by Congressman Tom Udall, a recognized leader in promoting the interests of American Indians. I would like to thank Congressman Udall for his work in stewarding the Native American Small Business Development Act through the House, this Congress and last, and for his assistance in working with Senators Johnson and Smith and me in drafting the Senate version of our legislation. And I would specifically like to thank Senator Smith for his continued support on this issue.

I would again like to thank the National Indian Business Association, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the Association of Small Business Development Centers, the Oregon Native American Business Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN), Native American Management Services, Inc., and all of the tribes that met with us or provided information to help in the drafting of this legislation.

The Senate version of the Native American Small Business Development Act, while incorporating the heart of the Udall legislation, is more comprehensive and provides greater assistance to Native American communities. Senator Johnson, who serves on the Indian Affairs Committee, and I, as the lead Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, were able to combine the resources and experiences of our committees in developing this legislation.

Mr. President, our need to fashion a more comprehensive business assistance package for Native American small businesses stems in part from a growing lack of commitment from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to our Native American communities under this Administration.

While I applaud the Bush Administration for responding to congressional requests by including $1 million in the Administration's FY 2003 budget request for Native American outreach, I was disappointed that it did not seek the full level of $2.5 million requested in a letter I sent with my colleagues Senators Daschle, Wellstone, Johnson, Bingaman and Baucus. Our request specifically sought funding for the SBA's Tribal Business Information Center (TBIC) program, an initiative started and successfully operated under the Clinton Administration. The TBIC program was designed to address the unique conditions faced by American Indians when they seek to start or expand small businesses.

Mr. President, I am disappointed that the Administration has eliminated all funding for Native American outreach in FY2004. With an average unemployment rate on reservations as high as 43 percent, it is inconceivable that two years of outreach is sufficient to have met our shared goal of building sustainable economic opportunities in those communities.

Mr. President, I do not believe that anyone in this Congress would dispute that economic development in Indian Country has often been difficult to achieve and that one important way to help American Indians who live on reservations is to provide them with assistance to open and run their own small businesses. Helping Native Americans open and run small businesses not only instills a sense of pride in the owner and his or her community, it also provides much-needed job opportunities, as well as other economic benefits.

Although underfunded, the TBIC program has provided assistance to a number of small businesses on Indian reservations. TBICs have the support of the American Indian communities they serve because they provide desperately

needed, culturally tailored business development assistance in those communities. The Administration should be seeking to strengthen its commitment to programs that assist Native American communities. Unfortunately, the SBA cut off TBIC funding on March 31, 2002, and now 14 months later, has not met a request by a bipartisan group of Senators to begin the reprogramming process in order to keep the TBICs open.

The Native American Small Business Development Act will ensure that the SBA's programs to assist Native American communities cannot be dissolved by making the SBA's Office of Native American Affairs (ONAA) and its Assistant Administrator permanent. Our legislation would also create a statutory grant program, known as the Native American Development grant program, to assist Native Americans. It would also establish two pilot programs to try new means of assisting Native American communities and require Native American communities to be consulted regarding the future of SBA programs designed to assist them. In short, this legislation will ensure that our Native American communities receive the adequate assistance they need to help start and grow small businesses.

The ONAA will be responsible for helping Native Americans and Native American communities start, operate, and grow small businesses; develop management and technical skills; seek out Federal procurement opportunities; increase employment opportunities through the start and expansion of small business concerns; and increase their access to capital markets.

To be selected to serve as the Assistant Administrator for ONAA, a candidate must have knowledge of Native American cultures and experience providing culturally tailored small business development assistance to Native Americans. Under our legislation, the Assistant Administrator would be statutorily required to consult with Tribal Colleges and Tribal Governments, Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) and Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO) when carrying out responsibilities under this legislation, which would give Native American communities a true voice within the SBA. The Assistant Administrator for ONAA would be responsible for administering the Native American Development program and the pilot programs created by the Native American Small Business Development Act.

The Native American Development program is designed to be the SBA's primary program for providing business development assistance to Native American communities. To offer this support, to the SBA will provide financial assistance in establish and keep Native American Business Centers (NABC) in operation. Financial assistance under the Native American Development program would be available to Tribal Governments and Tribal Colleges. Unlike the SBA's TBIC program, however, ANCs and NHOs would also be eligible for the grants.

NABCs would address the unique conditions faced by reservation-based American Indians, as well as Native Hawaiians and Native Alaskans, in their efforts to create, develop and expand small business concerns. Grant funding would be used by the NABCs to provide culturally tailored financial education assistance, management education assistance, and marketing education assistance.

The first pilot program under the legislation establishes a Native American development grant. This grant is modeled after the Udall legislation and is designed to bring the expertise of SBA's Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) to Native American Communities. Additionally, any private nonprofit organization, which has members of an Indian tribe comprising a majority of its board of governors or is an NHO or an ANC, may also apply for the grant. Nonprofits were included in the Senate version thanks to the thoughtful input of Senator Cantwell. Many American Indian communities in Washington state are served by an organization called ONABEN, which provides SBDC-like services to Native American communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Organizations like ONABEN, which also has the strong support of Senator Smith, should be encouraged to continue their good work assisting Native American communities, and including them in the grant program available to SBDCs was an important addition to the legislation.

Finally, our legislation establishes a second pilot program to try a unique experiment in Indian Country. Grant funding would be made available to establish American Indian Tribal Assistance Centers. These centers will consist of joint entitles, such as a partnership between an NABC, a Native American development center (which receive grants from the Department of Commerce) and possibly an SBDC. The purpose of this grant is to coordinate experts from various entities to provide culturally tailored business development assistance to prospective and current owners of small business concerns on or near Tribal Lands.

Mr. President, I would again like to thank Senators Johnson and Smith and all of the cosponsors of this important legislation to assist our Native American communities. I would also, again like to thank Congressman Udall for taking the lead in the House on providing critical assistance for small businesses in Native American communities. I would urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation to help us fulfill our commitment to Native American communities.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Louisiana, Senator Landrieu, in introducing the Access to Affordable Health Care Act, a comprehensive, seven-point plan that builds on the strengths of our current public programs and private health care system to make quality, affordable health care available to millions more Americans.

One of my top priorities in the Senate has been to expand access to affordable health care for all Americans. There are still far too many Americans without health insurance or with woefully inadequate coverage. More than 41 million Americans do not have health care coverage, including more than 150,000 in Maine.

Health insurance matters. The simple fact is that people with health insurance are healthier than those who are uninsured. People without health insurance are less likely to seek care when they need it, and to forgo services such as periodic check-ups and preventive services. As a consequence, they are more likely to be hospitalized or require costly medical attention for conditions that could have been prevented or treated at a curable stage. Not only does this put the health of these individuals at greater risk, but it also puts additional pressure on our hospitals and emergency rooms, many of them already financially challenged.

Compared with people who have health coverage, uninsured adults are four times, and uninsured children five times, more likely to use the emergency rooms. The costs of care for these individuals are often absorbed by providers and passed on to the covered population through increased fees and insurance premiums.

Maine is in the midst of a growing health insurance crisis, with insurance premiums rising at alarming rates. Whether I am talking to a self-employed fisherman, the owner of a struggling small businesses, or the human resource manager of a large company, the soaring costs of health insurance is a common concern.

Maine's employers are currently facing premium increases of as much as 40 percent a year. These premium increases have been particularly burdensome for small businesses, the backbone of the Maine economy. Many small business owners are caught in a cost squeeze: they know that if they pass on the premium increases to their employees, more of them will decline coverage. Yet, these small businesses simply cannot afford to absorb double-digit increases of 20, 30 or 40 percent, year after year.

The problem of rising costs is even more acute for individuals and families who must purchase health insurance on their own. Monthly insurance premiums often exceed a family's mortgage payment. Clearly, we must do more to make health insurance more available and affordable.

The Access to Affordable Health Care Act, which we are introducing today, it a seven-point plan that combines a variety of public and private approaches to make quality health care coverage more affordable and available. The legislation's seven goals are: One, to expand access to affordable health care for small businesses; two, to make health insurance more affordable for individuals and families purchasing coverage on their own; three, to strengthen the health care safety net for those without coverage; four, to expand access to care in rural and underserved areas; five, to increase access to affordable long-term care; six, to promote healthier lifestyles; and seven, to provide more equitable Medicare payments to Maine providers to reduce the Medicare shortfall, which has forced hospitals, physicians and other providers to shift costs onto other payers in the form of higher charges, which, in turn drives up health care premiums.

Let me discuss each of these seven points in more detail.

First, our legislation will help small employers cope with rising health care costs.

Since most Americans get their health insurance through the workplace, it is a common assumption that people without health insurance are unemployed. The fact is, however, that most uninsured Americans are members of families with at least one full- time worker. As many as 82 percent of Americans who do not have health insurance are in a family with a worker.

Uninsured working Americans are most often employees of small businesses. In fact, some 60 percent of uninsured workers are employed by small firms. Smaller firms generally face higher costs for health insurance than larger firms, which makes them less likely to offer coverage. Small businesses want to provide health insurance for their employees, but the cost is often just too high.

The legislation we are introducing today will help small employers cope with rising costs, by providing new tax credits for small businesses to help make health insurance more affordable. It will encourage those small businesses that do not currently offer health insurance to do so and will help employers that do offer insurance to continue coverage for their employees even in the face of rising costs.

Our legislation will also help increase the clout of small businesses in negotiating with insurers. Premiums are generally higher for small businesses because they do not have as much purchasing power as large companies, which limits their ability to bargain for lower rates. They also have higher administrative costs because they have fewer employees among whom to spread the fixed cost of a health benefits plan. Moreover, they are not as able to spread the risks of medical claims over as many employees as large firms.

Our legislation will help address these problems by authorizing federal grants to provide start-up funding to States to assist them with the planning, development, and operation of small employer purchasing cooperatives. These cooperatives will help to reduce health care costs for small employers by allowing them to band together to purchase health insurance jointly. Group purchasing cooperatives have a number of advantages for small employers. For example, the increased numbers of participants in the group help to lower the premium costs for all. Moreover, they decrease the risk of adverse selection and spread the cost of health care over a broader group.

The legislation would also authorize a Small Business Administration grant program for States, local governments and non-profit organizations to provide information about the benefits of health insurance to small employers, including tax benefits, increased productivity of employees, and decreased turnover. These grants would also be used to make employers aware of their current rights under State and Federal laws. While costs are clearly a problem, many small employers are not fully aware of the laws that have already been enacted by both States and the Federal Government to make health insurance more affordable. For example, in one survey, 57 percent of small employers did not know that they could deduct 100 percent of their health insurance premiums as a business expense.

The legislation would also create a new program to encourage innovation by awarding demonstration grants in up to 10 states conducting innovative coverage expansions, such as alternative group purchasing or pooling arrangements, individual or small group market reforms, or subsidies to employers or individuals purchasing coverage. The States have long been laboratories for reform, and they should be encouraged in the development of innovative programs that can serve as models for the nation.

The Access of Affordable Health Care Act will also expand access to affordable health are for individuals and families.

One of the first bills I cosponsored as a Senator was legislation to establish the State Children's Health Insurance Program, S-CHIP, which provides insurance for the children of low-income

parents who cannot afford health insurance, yet make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. This important program has provided affordable health insurance coverage to over four million children nationwide, including over 12,000 who are currently enrolled in the MaineCare program. Even so, nationwide, hundreds of thousands of qualified children have yet to be enrolled in this program, many because their parents simply don't know that they are eligible for the assistance.

Our legislation builds on the success of this program and gives States a number of new tools to increase participation. For example, the bill gives States the option of covering the parents of the children who are enrolled in programs like MaineCare. States could also use funds provided through this program to help eligible working families pay their share of an employer-based health insurance plan. In short, the legislation will help ensure that the entire family receives the health care they need.

The legislation will also allow States to expand coverage to eligible legal immigrants through Medicaid and SCHIP. Maine is one of a number of states that is currently covering eligible legal immigrant pregnant women and children under Medicaid using 100 percent state dollars. Giving States the option of covering these children and families under Medicaid will enable them to receive matching federal funds, and will help relieve the pressure that most a State budgets are currently experiencing due to the economic downturn and rising Medicaid costs.

Many people with serious health problems encounter difficulties in finding a company that is willing to insure them. To address this problem, the Access to Affordable Health Care Act authorizes Federal grants to provide money for states to create high-risk pools through which individuals who have pre-existing health conditions can obtain affordable health can obtain affordable health insurance.

And finally, to help make health coverage more affordable for low and middle-income individuals and families who do not have employer- provided coverage and who are not eligible for the expanded public programs, our legislation would provide an advanceable, refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for individuals earning up to $30,000 and up to $3,000 for families earning up to $60,000. This could provide coverage for up to 6 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured for one or more months, and will help many more working lower-income families who currently purchase private health insurance with little or no government help.

The Access to Affordable Health Insurance Act will also help to strengthen our nation's health care safety net by doubling funding over five years for the Consolidated Health Centers program, which includes community, migrant, public housing and homeless health centers. These centers, which operate in underserved rural and urban communities, provide critical primaary care services to millions of Americans regardless of their ability to pay. About 20 percent of the patients treated at Maine's community health centers have no insurance coverage and many more have inadequate coverage, so these centers are a critical part of our Nation's health care safety net.

The problem of access to affordable health care services is not limited to the uninsured, but it also shared by many Americans living in rural and underserved areas where there is a serious shortage of health care providers. The Access to Affordable Health Care Act therefore includes a number of provisions to strengthen the National Health Service Corps, which supports doctors, dentists, and other clinicians who serve in rural and inner city areas.

For example, taxing students adversely affects their financial incentive to participate in the National Health Services Corps and provide health care services in underserved communities. The tax bill passed by the last Congress provided a tax deduction for National Health Service Corps scholarship recipients to deduct all tuition, fees and related educational expenses from their income taxes. The deduction did not extend to loan repayment recipients however, so loan repayment amounts are still taxed as income. Participants in the loan repayment program are actually given extra payment amounts to help them cover their tax liability which, frankly, is a little ridiculous. It makes much more sense to simply exempt them from taxation in the first place.

In addition, the legislation will allow National Health Service Corps participants to fulfill their commitment on a part-time basis. Current law requires all National Health Service Corps participants to serve full time. Many rural communities, however, simply do not have enough volume to support a full-time health care practitioner. Moreover, some sites may not need a particular type of provider, for example, a dentist, on a full-time basis. Some practitioners may also find part- time service more attractive, which, in turn, could improve recruitment and retention. Our bill will therefore give the program additional flexibility to meet community needs.

Long-term care is the major catastrophic health care expense faced by older Americans today, and these costs will only increase with the aging of the baby boomers. Most Americans mistakenly believe that Medicare or their private health insurance policies will cover the costs of long-term care should they develop a chronic illness or cognitive impairment like Alzheimer's Disease. Unfortunately, far too many do not discover that they do not have coverage until they are confronted with the difficult decision of placing a much-loved parent or spouse in long-term care and facing the shocking realization that they will have to cover the costs themselves.

The Access to Affordable Health Care Act will provide a tax credit for long-term care expenses of up to $3,000 to provide some help to those families struggling to provide long-term care to a loved one. It will also encourage more Americans to plan for their future long-term care needs by providing a tax deduction to help them purchase private long-term care insurance.

Health insurance alone is not going to ensure good health. As noted author and physician Dr. Michael Crichton has observed, ``the future of medicine lies not in treating illness, but preventing it.'' Many of our most serious health problems are directly related to unhealthy behaviors, smoking, lack of regular exercise and poor diet. These three major risk factors alone have made Maine the state with the fourth highest death rate due to four largely preventable diseases: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and diabetes. These four chronic diseases are responsible for 70 percent of the health care problems in Maine.

Our bill therefore contains a number of provisions designed to promote health lifestyles. An ever-expanding body of evidence shows that these kinds of investments in health promotion and prevention offer returns not only in reduced health care bills, but in longer life and increased productivity. The legislation will provide grants to States to assist small businesses wishing to establish ``worksite wellness'' programs for their employees. It would also authorize a grant program to support new and existing ``community partnerships,'' such as the Healthy Community Coalition in Franklin County, to promote healthy lifestyles among hospitals, employers, schools and community organizations. And, it would provide funds for States to establish or expand comprehensive school health education, including, for example, physical education programs that promote lifelong physical activity, healthy food service selections and programs that promote a healthy and safe school environment.

And finally, the Access to Affordable Health Care Act would promote equity in Medicare payments and help to ensure that the Medicare system rewards rather than punishes states like Maine that deliver high- quality, cost effective Medicare services to our elderly and disabled citizens.

According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Maine ranks third in the nation when it comes to the quality of care delivered to our Medicare beneficiaries. Yet we are 11th from the bottom when it comes to per-beneficiary Medicare spending.

The fact is that Maine's Medicare dollars are being used to subsidize higher reimbursements in other parts of the country. This simply is not fair. Medicare's reimbursement systems have historically tended to favor urban

areas and failed to take the special needs of rural states into account. Ironically, Maine's low payment rates are also the result of its long history of providing high-quality, cost-effective care. In the early 1980s, Maine's lower than average costs were used to justify lower payment rates. Since then, Medicare's payment policies have only served to widen the gap between low and high-cost states.

As a consequence, Maine's hospitals, physicians and other providers have experienced a serious Medicare shortfall, which has forced them to shift costs on to other payers in the form of higher charges. The Medicare shortfall is one of the reasons that Maine has among the highest health insurance premiums in the nation. The provisions in the Access to Affordable Health Care Act provide a complement to legislation that I introduced in the last Congress with Senator Russ Feingold to promote greater fairness in Medicare payments to physicians and other health professionals by eliminating outdated geographic adjustment factors that discriminate against rural areas.

The Access to Affordable Health Care Act outlines a blueprint for reform based upon principles upon which I believe a bipartisan majority in Congress could agree. The plan takes significant strides toward the goal of universal health care coverage by bringing millions more Americans into the insurance system, by strengthening the health care safety net, and by addressing the inequities in the Medicare system.