A bill to authorize appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Service Workers Fairness Act to provide aid for American workers facing a disturbing new trend: the offshore outsourcing of service jobs.

Congress first established Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in 1962, in recognition that international trade can harm our workers. The program was overhauled in 1974, and since then, it has offered extended unemployment compensation benefits and job training for workers who lose their manufacturing jobs due to import competition.

Over the past decade, Congress has shown its willingness to adapt to increasing globalization by modernizing TAA. For example, in 1993, with the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement, we added a provision to offer those same unemployment and job training benefits to workers whose manufacturing jobs were relocated to Canada or Mexico. Most recently, when the program was reauthorized in 2002, we expanded eligibility once again. The program now includes workers whose manufacturing jobs have been relocated to certain countries other than Canada or Mexico. It also now provides assistance to certain secondary workers who have lost their manufacturing jobs as suppliers or downstream producers to firms that have been affected by trade or plant relocation.

Despite these changes, one factor has remained constant: Trade Adjustment Assistance is only available to workers in the manufacturing sector. If a service sector employee's job has been outsourced to a foreign country, he or she is not eligible for TAA because the performance of services is not considered production of an ``article,'' as required by the law.

I can understand why the law was written that way--until recently, we believed that our service jobs were not put at risk by international trade. But now, unfortunately, we know this is no longer the case. Hundreds of thousands of service sector jobs already have been outsourced to other countries, including China and India. A report by Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million service jobs will be outsourced by the year 2015--and some economists believe that forecast is conservative. Last fall, the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that more than 14 million service jobs are ``at risk to outsourcing''--that is 11 percent of all jobs.

That is the outer limit of service jobs at risk, but it demonstrates that this issue will reach far beyond the software programmers and call centers that are receiving attention today. The Fisher Center report notes that the jobs being created in India and elsewhere also include the following service sectors: geographic information systems services for insurance companies; stock market research for financial firms; medical transcription services; legal online database research; data analysis for consulting firms; and payroll and other back-office related activities.

In fact, the offshore outsourcing of service jobs likely will grow at a much

faster rate than the manufacturing outsourcing we have witnessed over the past two decades because there is an enormous cost differential in the wages of well-educated workers here and abroad. For example, the hourly wage for telephone operators in the United States is $12.57, while it is less than $1.00 in India. The hourly wage for legal assistants and paralegals in the United States is $17.86, compared to $6.00 to $8.00 in India. Accountants in the United States earn $23.35 per hour, while those in India earn $6.00 to $15.00 per hour. Finally, financial researchers and analysts in the United States earn $33.00 to $35.00 per hour, while those in India earn only $6.00 to $15.00 per hour.

The offshore outsourcing of service jobs already is having an impact on our economy. For example, it may be one reason that the recent increase in the unemployment rate is larger for highly-educated workers. From 2000 to 2003, total unemployment for workers with at least a bachelor's degree increased by 95 percent, compared to a 40 percent increase for workers with a high school diploma or less. Statistics for long-term unemployment--representing workers who have been unemployed for more than six months--are similar. From 2000 to 2003, long term unemployment for workers with at least a bachelor's degree increased by 299 percent, compared to an increase of 156 percent for workers with a high school diploma or less.

The offshore outsourcing of service jobs also may help explain why the few jobs that have been created since the recession officially ended in November 2001 have been primarily in low-paying sectors.

The question before us today is: How should Congress respond to this new facet of globalization and how can we aid these hundreds of thousands--and eventually millions--of service workers whose jobs have been outsourced?

Although there are broader trade issues that we should examine over time, there is one thing we can and should do now, and that is extend Trade Adjustment Assistance to these service employees. The service- providing sector provides more than 86 million jobs and accounts for more than half of our total GDP. We must extend the same helping hand to these men and women when their jobs are outsourced as we do to workers in the manufacturing sector.

Trade Adjustment Assistance not only provides additional unemployment compensation benefits. Just as importantly, it provides training to help workers find jobs at a similar or higher skill level, including classroom training, on-the-job training, and customized employer-based training. TAA also provides reemployment services, including employment counseling, case assessment, job development, and supportive services.

The bill I am introducing today, the Service Workers Fairness Act, would provide TAA eligibility to laid-off service workers whose firm shifts the work for the same or directly competitive services to a foreign country. It also would cover contract service workers whose contracts have been shifted overseas. Finally, my bill would extend the current provisions for adversely affected secondary workers to those who provide services.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted that ``rigorous education and ongoing training'' are critical in ensuring that as many Americans as possible can benefit from increased globalization.

My bill would provide this education and training to service workers whose jobs are outsourced abroad. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., on ``Impacts of Climate Change.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on Wednesday, September 15 at 9:30 a.m., to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda Item 1: S. Con. Res. 121--A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the World Year of Physics.

Agenda Item 2: S. 437--A bill to provide for adjustments to the Central Arizona Project in Arizona, to authorize the Gila River Indian Community water rights settlement, to reauthorize and amend the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 3: S. 511--A bill to provide permanent funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 7: S. 1064--A bill to establish a commission to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 9: S. 1354--A bill to resolve certain conveyances and provide for alternative land selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act related to Cape Fox Corporation and Sealaska Corporation, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 12: S. 1462--A bill to adjust the boundary of the Cumberland Island Wilderness, to authorize tours of the Cumberland Island National Seashore, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 13: S. 1466--A bill to facilitate the transfer of land in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 14: S. 1614--A bill to designate a portion of White Salmon River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Agenda Item 15: S. 1649--A bill to designate the Ojito Wilderness Study Area as wilderness, to take certain land into trust for the Pueblo of Zia, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 16: S. 1678--A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 17: S. 1852--A bill to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the development of an exhibit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin.

Agenda Item 18: S. 1876--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and facilities of the Provo River Project.

Agenda Item 19: S. 2086--A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to improve the reclamation of abandoned mines.

Agenda Item 20: S. 2142--A bill to authorize appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 21: S. 2181--A bill to adjust the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park in the State of Colorado.

Agenda Item 23: S. 2334--A bill to designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Agenda Item 24: S. 2374--A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain lands to the United States and to revise the boundary of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 25: S. 2408--A bill to adjust the boundaries of the Helena, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests in the State of Montana.

Agenda Item 26: S. 2432--A bill to expand the boundaries of Wilson's Creek Battlefield National Park, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 27: S. 2567--A bill to adjust the boundary of Redwood National Park in the State of California.

Agenda Item 28: S. 2622--A bill to provide for the exchange of certain Federal land in the Santa Fe National Forest and certain non- Federal land in the Pecos National Historic Park in the State of New Mexico.

Agenda Item 31: H.R. 1113--To authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica National Monument, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 32: H.R. 1446--To support the efforts of the California Missions Foundation to restore and repair the Spanish colonial and mission-era missions in the State of California and to preserve the artworks and artifacts of these missions, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 33: H.R. 1964--To assist the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in conserving priority lands and natural resources in the Highlands region, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 34: H.R. 2010--To protect the voting rights of members of the Armed Services in elections for the Delegate representing American Samoa in the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 35: H.R. 3706--To adjust the boundary of the John Muir National Historic site, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 36: H.R. 4516--To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research and development to advance high-end computing.

In addition, the committee may turn to any other measures that are ready for consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open executive session during the session on September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., to consider favorably reporting S. 333, a bill to promote elder justice, and the nomination of Joey Russell George, to be Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Department of Treasury.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on ``Accelerating U.S. Assistance to Iraq.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting on pending committee matters.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 15, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., in closed session to receive a briefing regarding ICRC reports on U.S. military detainee operations in Iraq.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``Regulation of the Hedge Fund Industry.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing on the nominations of Mr. Stuart Levey, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement; Mr. Juan Carlos Zarate, of California, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes; and Ms. Carin M. Barth, of Texas, to be the Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on North Korea.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 1 p.m., to hold a hearing on the Gulf of Guinea and U.S. Strategic Energy Policy.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 3 p.m., to hold a Members Briefing on Iraq.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 9 a.m., for a hearing entitled ``Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 15, 2004, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a closed hearing on intelligence matters.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet Thursday, July 15, 2004, from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. in Dirksen 628 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Children and Families, be authorized to meet for a hearing on Pell Grants for Kids: It Worked for Colleges, Why Not K-12? during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Communications be authorized to meet on Thursday, July 15, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on Implementation of Nielsen Local People Meter TV Rating System.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 15, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearings is to receive testimony on S. 1852, to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in Philadelphia, PA, and the development of an exhibit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin; S. 2142, to authorize appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes; S. 2181, to adjust the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park in the State of Colorado; S. 2374, to provide for the conveyance of certain land to the United States and to revise the boundary of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, OK, and for other purposes; S. 2397 and H.R. 3706, to adjust the boundary of the John Muir National Historic Site, and for other purposes; S. 2432, to expand the boundaries of Wilson's Creek Battlefield National Park, and for other purposes; S. 2567, to adjust the boundary of Redwood National Park in the State of California; and H.R. 1113, to authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica National Monument, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to reauthorize the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route on behalf of myself and Senator Corzine. This bill makes a number of important changes to legislation that was enacted in 1988 and reauthorized in 1994 and 1999.

The original legislation, which I co-sponsored, called for a route that links nationally significant natural and cultural sites associated with the coastal area of New Jersey. The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail runs south for nearly 300 miles from Perth Amboy along the Atlantic Ocean to Cape May, then west along the Delaware Bay to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Along the way are sites like the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen's Museum, the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, and the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Five theme trails, of which three are open, are planned to showcase different aspects of New Jersey coastal life: maritime history, coastal habitats, wildlife migration, historic settlements, and relaxation/ inspiration. The Trail is operated by a partnership that includes the National Park Service, the State of New Jersey, local communities, and private non-profit organizations. Fifty percent of the funding for the Trail is provided from non-federal funds.

My legislation raises the funding authorization for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail to $8 million, doubling the current authorization of $4 million. The legislation also: extends the deadline for project completion by 5 years to May 4, 2009; allows funds to be used for grants in addition to technical assistance; and requires the National Park Service to prepare a strategic plan for the long-term maintenance of this coastal route. A companion bill, H.R. 3070, has been introduced in the House by Congressman LoBiondo, with cosponsorship by the entire New Jersey delegation.

New Jersey has a long shoreline of which we are extremely proud. This bill will provide the necessary resources and strategic planning to ensure that the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail fulfills its promise to the people of my home State and to visitors from around the world. The additional funding authorized in this bill will support: 1. Creation of a long-term strategic plan on the roles of the National Park Service and other Trail partners; 2. Development of two remaining theme trails (historic settlements and relaxation/inspiration); 3. Development of interpretive media such as videos, brochures and exhibits; 4. Technical assistance for the State park system, wildlife management, and historic and cultural sites; 5. Construction of a New Jersey State Park Service facility on the trail at Double Trouble State Park in the Barnegat Bay Region; 6. Continuing work on a welcome center at Sandy Hook; and 7. Construction of a welcome center in the Absecon region.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which is needed to assure that funding for this valuable undertaking will continue to be authorized after May 2004.

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

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to reauthorize the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route on behalf of myself and Senator Corzine. This bill makes a number of important changes to legislation that was enacted in 1988 and reauthorized in 1994 and 1999.

The original legislation, which I co-sponsored, called for a route that links nationally significant natural and cultural sites associated with the coastal area of New Jersey. The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail runs south for nearly 300 miles from Perth Amboy along the Atlantic Ocean to Cape May, then west along the Delaware Bay to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Along the way are sites like the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen's Museum, the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, and the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Five theme trails, of which three are open, are planned to showcase different aspects of New Jersey coastal life: maritime history, coastal habitats, wildlife migration, historic settlements, and relaxation/ inspiration. The Trail is operated by a partnership that includes the National Park Service, the State of New Jersey, local communities, and private non-profit organizations. Fifty percent of the funding for the Trail is provided from non-federal funds.

My legislation raises the funding authorization for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail to $8 million, doubling the current authorization of $4 million. The legislation also: extends the deadline for project completion by 5 years to May 4, 2009; allows funds to be used for grants in addition to technical assistance; and requires the National Park Service to prepare a strategic plan for the long-term maintenance of this coastal route. A companion bill, H.R. 3070, has been introduced in the House by Congressman LoBiondo, with cosponsorship by the entire New Jersey delegation.

New Jersey has a long shoreline of which we are extremely proud. This bill will provide the necessary resources and strategic planning to ensure that the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail fulfills its promise to the people of my home State and to visitors from around the world. The additional funding authorized in this bill will support: 1. Creation of a long-term strategic plan on the roles of the National Park Service and other Trail partners; 2. Development of two remaining theme trails (historic settlements and relaxation/inspiration); 3. Development of interpretive media such as videos, brochures and exhibits; 4. Technical assistance for the State park system, wildlife management, and historic and cultural sites; 5. Construction of a New Jersey State Park Service facility on the trail at Double Trouble State Park in the Barnegat Bay Region; 6. Continuing work on a welcome center at Sandy Hook; and 7. Construction of a welcome center in the Absecon region.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which is needed to assure that funding for this valuable undertaking will continue to be authorized after May 2004.

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