Soledad Canyon Mine Lease Cancellation Act

Mr. President, as I visit with veterans in North Dakota and here in Washington, too often I hear that waiting periods for medical care, and particularly for specialty care, are too long. We owe an unbelievable debt to American's veterans, and it is just not right that they cannot get the medical care they need when they need it. The legislation I am introducing today begins to address this problem.

Last month, as Ranking Member of the Senate Budget committee, I scheduled a field hearing in Bismarck, ND, to listen to the concerns of veterans regarding funding for the VA. Because more than fifty percent of veterans in North Dakota live in highly rural areas with limited access to VA medical facilities, I was particularly concerned about funding for VA medical care and the continuing reports from veterans regarding access to care and delays in the scheduling of appointments for medical care, especially speciality care.

Last September, I expressed similar concerns in testimony to the VA CARES Commission during field hearings in Minneapolis. I emphasized to Commission members that many North Dakota veterans have to travel hundreds of miles to access health care from the Fargo VA Medical Center or another FA facility in VISN 23 and that the VA must do more to ensure timely access for appointments and other VA medical services.

Reports in the national press make clear, however, that significant problems remain in the scheduling of appointments for medical care, particularly specialty care. Further complicating matters, there are many questions regarding the reliability of VA data on waiting list for appointments and the causes for the waiting periods according to reports in 2003 by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and in 2000 by the General Accounting Office.

In North Dakota, several veterans service officers have reported a number of veterans waiting months for eye care, orthopedics and one veteran waiting almost ten months for back surgery. Another veteran, from the Bismarck area, was required to travel to Iowa for cancer treatment.

In view of these continuing concerns, I am today introducing legislation that would require the VA to undertake a two year pilot demonstration to study the implementation, cost and impact on VA services of several recent directives by the VA relating to the scheduling of medical appointments. The demonstration would be undertaken in three VISN networks, one highly rural, one rural, and one urban, that represent a cross-section of VA providers.

Under the demonstration, the VA would offer participating veterans, both new enrollees and established patients, service-connected and non- service connected, an appointment for primary care evaluation, hospitalization including specialty care or outpatient care within a 30 day period. If the VA facility is unable to provide the medical care within the designated period, the Department would make arrangements for the care at another VA facility or non-VA facility. Every effort,

however, would be made to provide the medical care for the veteran through the VA healthcare network.

Finally, because of concerns regarding the accuracy of VA data on appointment periods, the bill requires the VA to report to Congress by FY 2007 on waiting periods for health care appointments, primary care and speciality care services. The VA would be required to report on the waiting periods for appointments by VA facility and VISN, include a breakdown of waiting periods by speciality, and submit recommendations to Congress for addressing the shortages of medical personnel. Finally, the legislation requests the Secretary, on the basis of the two year demonstration, to report to Congress by FY 2007 on the costs associated with implementation of the VA directive in the three VISNs and to report on the estimated cost to fully implement the directive throughout the VA system.

I am very pleased that my distinguished colleagues, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Senator Bob Graham and Senators Jay Rockefeller, Tim Johnson and Daniel Akaka are joining me in sponsoring this legislation. I am also honored to have the strong support of the Disabled American Veterans and the AMVETS for this legislative proposal. I want to express my appreciation to Dave Gorman, DAV Executive Director; Joseph Violante, DAV National Legislative Director; Mike Dobmeier, former National Commander of the DAV and Rick Jones, AMVETS, National Legislative Director for their support.

It is critical that Congress and the Administration address the concerns of our veterans on the issue of waiting periods for medical care before adjourning of the 108th Congress. Veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and from other peacekeeping deployments around the globe should not have to wait months for needed medical care. The needs of injured military personnel are great and the VA system will play a key role in their recovery. I encourage the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs to review this legislation carefully and to act favorably on the measure before Congressional adjournment this fall.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this legislation along with the letters of endorsement from the Disabled American Veterans and the AMVETS be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Mutual Fund Reform Act of 2004. This legislation would make fund governance truly accountable, require genuinely transparent total fund costs, enhance comprehension and comparison of fund fees, confront trading abuses, create a culture of compliance, eliminate hidden transactions that mislead investors and drive up costs, and save billions of dollars for the 95 million Americans who invest in mutual funds. Above all, the Mutual Fund Reform Act strives to preserve the attraction of mutual funds as a flexible and investor-friendly vehicle for long-term, diversified investment.

I am pleased to be joined today by my distinguished colleagues on the Committee on Governmental Affairs, Senator Carl Levin and Senator Susan Collins, the committee's chairman, who are original cosponsors of this legislation. I am grateful for the extensive and important input both Senators provided in the drafting of this bill, and appreciate the invaluable perspective Senator Collins provided based on her first-hand experience as Maine's Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the work of a number of our colleagues in this area. Last year, I was pleased to cosponsor S. 1822, introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka, the Ranking Member of the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee

on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security, which I chair, to address mutual fund trading abuses. Senators Corzine, Dodd, and Kerry also have sponsored mutual fund bills from which I drew, as well as legislation introduced by Congressman Richard Baker last summer and overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives at the end of the last session.

I also would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the authorizing committee which will ultimately decide questions of mutual fund industry reform. The committee is conducting a series of legislative hearings to examine the mutual fund scandal and the merits of various reform proposals. I commend the leadership of Chairman Richard Shelby and Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes, and look forward to continuing to work with them and the other members of the Banking Committee on this issue in the coming months.

The bill I am introducing today reflects extensive testimony that was presented during oversight hearings of the Financial Management Subcommittee that I chaired on November 3, 2003, and January 27, 2004. The general consensus of the panelists at the November hearing was that illegal late trading and illicit market timing were indeed very serious threats to investors but that excessive fees and inadequate disclosure of those fees were an even more serious threat to American investors. Witnesses at our hearing last month testified regarding the propriety and the adequacy of the disclosure of mutual fund fees, specifically hidden fees such as revenue sharing, directed brokerage, soft money arrangements, and hidden loads such as 12b-1 fees. The subcommittee also heard from two whistleblowers who were responsible for the initial revelations regarding Putnam Investments and Canary Capital Partners,

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to make it easier for local law enforcement officers to travel across the country. Whether on official travel or personal travel, Federal law enforcement officers are allowed to carry firearms with them throughout their travel. The legislation I am introducing today would extend the same privilege--and responsibility--to local law enforcement officers.

Ever since the horrific terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, we have seen how our local emergency responders, including local law enforcement officers, play a vital role in protecting not just their local communities, but the entire Nation. We think of local law enforcement officers as the Nation's first responders, but they are also the Nation's early preventers. They are the first to identify local crimes that could turn into National attacks. They are the first to report suspicious behavior that could thwart a future terrorist attack. Stopping a terrorist threat before it becomes an attack is the best way to keep our Nation safe. That effort relies upon the eyes, ears and experience of our Nation's law enforcement officers.

A terrorist attack in any city is a national concern. Local law enforcement officers are a crucial element of the plan to protect our Nation. I appreciate the help of Detective David Kallas and General Counsel John Dean Harper for bringing this issue to my attention. This bill will help give them and their law enforcement colleagues the standing they deserve as they continue to protect our hometowns and the Nation.