A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the maximum amount of home loan guaranty available under the home loan guaranty program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I am proud to join with my colleague Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison--and the 12 other women of the United States Senate--to introduce the Iraqi Women's and Children's Liberation Act. This legislation authorizes the President to give education, health care benefits and other help to the women and children of Iraq, including ensuring the political participation of women in a new democratic Iraq.

Before Saddam Hussein came to power, Iraq was the progressive center of the Middle East. In the 1940s, Iraqi women were lawyers, physicians, teachers, professors, engineers, scientists, prominent writers, artists and poets. By the late 1950's, women in Iraq enjoyed political freedoms with equal protections under the law and the right to vote.

Under Saddam Hussein, all that changed. Women lost opportunities for education. They were forced out of the work force. Women and children did not have access to health care. The personal rights of women were severely restricted or ignored as Saddam's government sanctioned ``honor killings'' and rape as a tool of oppression.

The facts speak for themselves. Today, women make up only 17 percent of the Iraqi workforce. Only 29 percent of Iraqi girls attend high school. Illiteracy among Iraqi women is an astronomical 77 percent, compared to 45 percent for men. Death during childbirth or from pregnancy related complications is the leading cause of death of Iraqi women. Health organizations estimate that 90 percent of these deaths are preventable. Right now, 25 percent of the children under the age of 5 in Iraq are malnourished and 1 in 8 dies even before they reach that age.

As America works to help the Iraqi people build a free and democratic nation, it is vitally important that education and health care for women and children are assured. If we are helping create a new government, let us insist that there not be the old rules, the old repression.

Of equal importance is ensuring that women have a seat at the table in a new Iraqi government. Full political participation by women is the best insurance that women's rights will be respected now and in the future.

These are the two important components of our legislation: first, it authorizes the President to provide education and health care assistance for the women and children living in Iraq and to women and children of Iraq who are refugees in other countries. When our own government and the NGOs come in, they should focus significant efforts on making sure women and children have access to education and health care. They should also do their best to partner with and build the capacity of local NGOs to strengthen Iraq's civil society.

Second, it authorizes the President to provide assistance enhancing the political participation, economic empowerment and personal security of Iraqi women. For Iraq to truly be liberated, its women must have a voice in the new political and governmental institutions.

This legislation is really about opportunity-making sure the women and children in Iraq have the opportunity to live productive lives and fulfill their potential, and making sure Iraq has the opportunity to succeed as a democratic nation by tapping the talents of all its citizens. The road to opportunity starts with access to health care so children can thrive and women can raise healthy families. It continues with education to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to support that family and contribute to society as a whole. One of the most important ways to contribute to society is through political participation--whether that means voting, running for office, working in a government agency, or organizing for a cause or a community.

While building the physical infrastructure in Iraq--things like roads, bridges, and power plants--is important, we also need to focus on the social infrastructure that protects women and children and builds hope and opportunity. That is the goal of this legislation.

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

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 Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Consideration of Regulatory Reform Proposals.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation be authorized to meet on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on Aviation Security.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at 10 a.m., in G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on Charity Oversight and Reform: Keeping Bad Things from Happening to Good Charities.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on the Peace Corps Security.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, to hold a business meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 at 10 a.m. on ``Preserving Traditional Marriage: A View From The States'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Witness List:

Panel I: The Honorable Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts.

Panel II: The Honorable Marilyn Musgrave, United States Representative [R-CO], Washington, DC; The Honorable Bob Barr, former United States Representative [R-GA], 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy, American Conservative Union, Smyrna, GA.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, for a hearing to consider pending legislation. The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 2:45 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet Tuesday, June 22, 2004 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m, in Dirksen 628 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 22 at 2:30 p.m., to receive testimony regarding High performance Computing: Regaining U.S. Leadership. The purpose of the hearings is to examine the DOE's HPC R&D activities in both the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Science, and to consider S. 2176, the High End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004, which would authorize the secretary to carry out a program of R&D to advance high- end computing through the Office of Science.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Tools to Fight Terrorism: Subpoena Authority and Pretrial Detention of Terrorists'' on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 at 2:30 p.m. in Dirksen 226.

Witness List:

Panel I--Rachel Brand, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy, Washington, DC; Michael A. Battle, United States Attorney, Western District of New York, Buffalo, NY; and James K. Robinson, former Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, 1998-2001, Washington, DC.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to increase the VA home loan guaranty so that veterans participating in the program may secure a mortgage comparable to what they could obtain in the conventional mortgage market.

The VA home loan guaranty program, which Congress created in 1944, has assisted millions of veterans--many of whom missed the opportunity to accumulate savings or build credit during their time of service-- purchase a home. Under the program, an eligible veteran may purchase a home through a private lender and the VA guarantees to pay the lender a portion of the losses if the veteran defaults on the loan.

Unfortunately, the VA currently only guarantees a maximum of $60,000 on a loan. This means, effectively, that a lender will only loan four times the amount of the guaranty, or $240,000, to a veteran seeking a home loan.

While a loan of this size is sufficient to assist many veterans in purchasing a home, it is insufficient for many other veterans, particularly those living in high cost areas, like my state of New Jersey. In most places in my State, the cost of purchasing a home exceeds $240,000. For example, the median home sale price is Newark, New Jersey in 2003, was $331,200. In Middlesex, Hunterdon, and Somerset, the median sales price in 2003, was $314,000.

Thus, unfortunately for many veterans living in these high cost areas, the VA home loan program is inaccessible because the guaranty is so low.

My legislation would increase the VA guaranty to 25 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit, or $83,425. With such an increase, a participating veteran could borrow up to $333,700--which is the conventional loan limit--towards the purchase of a home. And, because Freddie Mac updates its conforming loan limit annually to account for changes in average housing prices, pegging the VA home loan guaranty to this index would ensure that the guaranty and available mortgage limits rise with housing inflation.

My legislation, which the House Veterans Affairs Committee recently approved, would ensure that more veterans have a chance at the American Dream of owning a home. What is more, my legislation would not cost the U.S. Treasury a cent. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it would raise approximately $42 million a year, through increased user fees associated with the VA home loan program.

This legislation is simple, it's cost effective, and it would assist our veterans, who have traded years of traditional employment to serve our country, purchase a home. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this important piece of legislation.

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