A bill to equalize authorities to provide allowances, benefits, and gratuities to civilian personnel of the United States Government in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Collins to introduce legislation to help reverse the devastating population decline and economic distress that has plagued individuals and businesses in Aroostook County, the northernmost county in Maine. What the bill does is simple, it will bring all of Aroostook County under the Empowerment Zone (EZ) program. The legislation is identical to a bill that we introduced in the 108th Congress and was included in the FY 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill in 2003 as passed by the Senate.

To fully grasp the importance of this legislation, it is necessary to understand the unique situation facing the residents of Aroostook County. ``The County'', as it is called by Mainers, is a vast and remote region of Maine. As the northernmost county, it shares more of its border with Canada than its neighboring Maine counties. It has the distinction of being the largest county east of the Mississippi River. Its geographic isolation is even more acute when considering that the county's relatively small population of 73,000 people are scattered throughout 6,672 square miles of rural countryside. Aroostook County is home to 71 organized townships, as well as 125 unorganized townships much of which is forest land and wilderness.

As profound as this geographic isolation may seem, it is the economic isolation and the recent out-migration that has had the most devastating impact on the region. The economy of northern Maine has a historical dependence upon its natural resources, particularly forestry and agriculture. While these industries served the region well in previous decades, and continue to form the underpinnings of the local economy, many of these sectors have experienced decline and can no longer provide the number and type of quality jobs that residents need.

While officials in the region have put forward a Herculean effort to redevelop the region, with nearly 1,000 new jobs at the Loring Commerce Centre alone, Aroostook County is still experiencing a significant ``job deficit'', and as a result continues to lose population at an alarming rate. Since its peak in 1960, northern Maine's population has declined by 30 percent. Unfortunately, the Main State Planning Office predicts that Aroostook County will continue losing population as more workers leave the area to seek opportunities and higher wages in southern Maine and the rest of New England.

In January 2002, a portion of Aroostook County was one of two regions that received Empowerment Zone status from the USDA for out-migration. The entire county experienced an out-migration of 15 percent from 86,936 in 1990 to 73,938 in 2000. Moreover, a shocking 40 percent of 15 to 29-year-olds left during the last decade.

The current zone boundaries were chosen based on the criteria that Empowerment Zones be no larger than 1,000 square miles, and have a maximum population of 30,000 for rural areas. The lines drawn for the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone were considered to be the most inclusive and reasonable given the constraints of the program. It should be noted as well that the boundaries were drawn based on the 1990 census, making the data significantly outdated at the start and included the former Loring Air Force Base and its population of nearly 8,000 people, which had closed nearly 8 years before the designation, taking its military and much of its civilian workforces with it. The Maine State Planning Office estimated that the base closure resulted in the loss of 3,494 jobs directly related to the base and

another 1,751 in associated industry sectors for a total loss of $106.9 million annual payroll dollars.

Some of the most distressed communities that have lost substantial population are not in the Empowerment Zone, and other communities like Houlton literally are divided simply by a road, having one business on the south side of the street with no Empowerment Zone designation look out their window to a neighboring business on the north side of the street with full Empowerment Zone benefits. The economic factors for these communities and for these neighbors are the same as those areas within the Empowerment Zone. This designation is not meant to cause divisiveness within communities, it is created to augment a partnership for growth and to level the playing field for all Aroostook County communities who have equally suffered through continuing out migration whether it be in Madawaska or Island Falls.

The legislation I am introducing would provide economic development opportunities to all reaches of Aroostook County by extending Empowerment Zone status to the entire county. This inclusive approach recognizes that the economic decline and population out-migration are issues that the entire region must confront, and, as evidenced by their successful Round III EZ application, they are attempting to confront. I believe the challenges faced by Aroostook County are significant, but not insurmountable. This legislation would make great strides in improving the communities and business in northern Maine, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. President, as Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have long believed that it is my responsibility and the duty of this chamber to help small businesses, as they are the driver of this Nation's economy, responsible for generating approximately 75 percent of net new jobs annually.

Today, I rise with Senator Bennett to introduce legislation that would address the crisis that faces small businesses when it comes to purchasing quality, affordable health insurance. This is not a new crisis. Nearly 46 million Americans are currently uninsured. We've now experienced double digit percentage increases in health insurance premiums in four of the past five years. Small businesses face difficult choices in seeking to provide affordable health insurance to their employees. We must act now.

Study after study tells us that the smallest businesses are the ones least likely to offer insurance and most in need of assistance. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, of the working uninsured, who make up 83 percent of our nation's uninsured population, 60.6 percent either work for a small business with fewer than 100 employees or are self-employed.

Furthermore, many of the small businesses who we meet with tell us how they feel like the cost and complexity of the health care system has moved health insurance far beyond their reach.

That is why today we introduce the Small Business Health Education and Awareness Act of 2006. This bill establishes a pilot, competitive matching-grant program for Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to provide educational resources and materials to small businesses designed to increase awareness regarding health insurance options available in their areas. Recent research conducted by the Healthcare Leadership Council has found that a short, less than 10 minute education session, can increase small business knowledge and interest in offering health insurance by about 33 percent.

For those of you who are not familiar, SBDCs are one of the greatest business assistance and entrepreneurial development resources provided to small businesses that are seeking to start, grow, and flourish. Currently, there are over 1,100 service locations in every state and territory delivering management and technical counseling to prospective and existing small business owners.

Our legislation would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide up to 20 matching grants to qualified SBDCs across the country. No more than two SBDCs, one per State, would be chosen from each of the SBA's 10 regions. The grants shall be more than $150,000, but less than $300,000 and shall be consistent with the matching requirement under current law. In creating the materials for their grant programs, participating SBDCs should evaluate and incorporate relevant portions existing health insurance options, including materials created by the Healthcare Leadership Council.

In addition, SBDCs participating in the pilot program would be required to submit a quarterly report to the SBA.

Enacting this legislation is an important step in the right direction towards assisting small businesses as they work to strengthen themselves, remain competitive against larger businesses that are able to offer affordable health insurance, and in turn bolster the entire economy.

We encourage our colleagues to join us in supporting this bill, and to continue to work to address the issues facing the small business community.

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

Mr. President, as Chair of Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I rise today to introduce The Small Business Partners In Reconstruction Act of 2006. This legislation, co- sponsored by Senator David Vitter, is the product of 3 hearings held in my Committee in September and November 2005, and in February 2006, which examined the response of the Small Business Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security and its Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other Federal agencies to the devastation wrought by the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on our Gulf Coast states.

Speaking on September 15, 2005 from New Orleans' historic Jackson Square, President Bush declared that ``It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity; it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty; and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region.'' Unfortunately, the Federal Government's performance has not matched the President's declaration. This is particularly true with regards to the role of small firms, especially Gulf Coast small firms, with regards to contracts and subcontracts for recovery and reconstruction. Too often, small contractors have been treated in the disaster contracting process less like the partners in disaster recovery and economic revitalization they are, and more like unwanted stepchildren. Eight months after Hurricane Katrina, it is time for this to change.

To begin with, some Federal bureaucrats have used the Katrina and Rita disasters to exclude small business from contracting in the name of emergency and speed. Contracting with small firms, it was said, does not provide sufficient flexibility to the contracting officers in time of crisis. Quite the opposite is true. The Small Business Act contains flexible contracting authorities as part of the 8(a) program, the HUBZone program, and the service-disabled veteran-owned program, which allow Federal agencies to quickly buy goods and services in emergency situations. Indeed, on May 30, 2003, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued guidance on Emergency Procurement Flexibilities, which encouraged Federal agencies to use contracting flexibilities, such as the HUBZone flexibilities, which are part of the Small Business Act. This guidance was largely ignored, as billions of dollars went to large corporations through non-competitive mechanisms such as no-bid contracts or the so called micro-purchase authority, originally intended by Congress to cover small purchase card transactions.

My legislation requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to ensure that Federal contracting officials have the most comprehensive and up-to-date guidance on the full use of available small business emergency procurement flexibilities, and that such guidance is published in the Federal Register. My legislation also ensures that the SBA provides government-wide training for procurement agencies on using small business contracting flexibilities in emergency situations, and directs the SBA to designate at least one advisor for small business emergency contracting who would help Federal agencies apply small business procurement flexibilities in emergency situations.

Small contractors have also been denied access to reconstruction dollars by paperwork and bureaucracy. Red tape had the most serious effect on small disadvantaged businesses. Many of these contractors have been certified to do business under the Federally-funded, Congressionally-established Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE) for transportation contracting such as highway or bridge construction. In the Federal procurement system, a parallel Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Program exists. According to law and the Memorandum of Understanding between the SBA and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the DBE certifications are based on the SDB certification requirements under the Small Business Act. Unfortunately, DBEs have been unable to secure recognition as SDBs by the Federal agencies or by Federal prime contractors. As a result, agencies and prime contractors had little assurance that SDB goals may be met by doing business with DBEs. My measure will ensure that capable small contractors enjoy full reciprocity among contracting programs instead of the red tape they currently face.

Lack of comprehensive procurement data on Katrina and Rita contracting is another flaw which my bill is trying to correct. It is hard to believe that almost 8 months since the Hurricane Katrina struck, the Federal Government's disaster contracting ship is literally sailing blind. Both the Small Business Act and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act require that accurate and comprehensive data on government contracting and subcontracting, especially including small business participation, be collected and maintained. Although the government-wide procurement spending database, the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), collects the data related to Hurricane Katrina and Rita reconstruction, this data is demonstrably incomplete. According to the Government Accountability Office and admissions of Federal procurement officials, the FPDS data is not accurate and omits billions in Defense and Homeland Security contracts. As a result of these deficiencies, the Executive Branch made exaggerated claims concerning the share of reconstruction work that went to small businesses. For instance, last October, the Commerce Department claimed that small businesses received 72 percent of Katrina contracting dollars, and the SBA claimed the small business share to be at 45 percent. During hearings before my Committee, the GAO confirmed that the Administration's claimed numbers are unrealistic and unsubstantiated. My legislation directs the Administrators of the SBA and the OFPP to ensure that the Federal Procurement Data System reflects comprehensive government-wide contracting spending on Katrina and Rita reconstruction.

For years, the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program, created to direct Federal contacting dollars to small firms in economically distressed areas, has been recognized as a potent economic development stimulus. Since its inception in 1997, the HUBZone program stimulated the hiring of over 124,000 HUBZone residents and investment of over half a billion dollars in HUBZones by HUBZone-certified firms. With the support of the Administration, I propose extending the HUBZone designation to the disaster region. A HUBZone designation would enable small businesses located in the disaster area and employing people in that area to receive contracting preferences and price evaluation preferences to offset greater costs of doing business. Extending the HUBZone designation to the Gulf Coast would bring needed businesses development tools to affected areas of the Gulf Coast. Under my proposal, the SBA Administrator would have the discretion to define the geographic scope or duration of this designation to ensure that the HUBZone preference is targeted to those who need it the most.

Small businesses vying for government contracts or subcontracts often must post bid or performance bonds in order to convince Federal contracting officials or prime contractors that small business are a good project risk. In turn, small firms must seek bonding from private bonding companies. The SBA, through its surety bond program,

has provided guarantees on bonds awarded to small businesses up to $2 million. But small firms need an increase in bonds to handle larger projects for hurricane relief. Local small businesses in the Gulf Coast can use higher bonds to compensate for the damage to their assets from the hurricanes. My legislation would increase the maximum size of SBA surety bonds from $2 million to $5 million, and provide the SBA with authority to increase the maximum size to $10 million upon request of another Federal agency. In its proposal to re-build the Gulf Coast region, the Administration suggested making the $5 million increase.

My legislation also directs the SBA to create a contracting outreach program for small businesses located or willing to locate in the Katrina disaster area for the next five years. Federal contracts and subcontracts can provide critical assistance to small businesses located in the areas devastated by the hurricanes in the form of solid business opportunities and prompt, steady pay. In addition, government procurement would open doors for many local small businesses to participate in the long-term reconstruction work in the Gulf Coast areas. While many small businesses would benefit from other forms of disaster assistance, many of them want to get back to work and into business as soon as possible. Technical assistance and outreach through the SBA, the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, the Federal Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilizations, and other organizations could prove invaluable to these firms.

Yet, outreach alone would not ensure fair participation of small businesses in Gulf Coast reconstruction contracts. To promote jobs creation and development in the disaster region, the Federal Government must set and follow definitive goals for small business participation. Prior to the disaster, small construction companies in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana received nearly $500 million in Federal contracts a year. Total small business contracts in the Gulf Coast region exceeded $3 billion a year. With the Federal cost of hurricane relief and rebuilding estimated at over $100 billion, small businesses, particularly those located in the disaster area and that employ individuals in the affected areas, should receive their fair share of Federal contracting and subcontracting dollars. My legislation establishes a 30 percent prime contracting goal and a 40 percent subcontracting goal on each agency's hurricane-related reconstruction contracts. These goals are compatible with the Department of Homeland Security's and the Army Corps of Engineers' history of small business achievements.

My legislation would also address two unfortunate provisions in the Second Katrina Supplemental Appropriations that unwisely changed the emergency procurement authority Congress granted to contracting officers in the aftermath of 9/11 and reclassified many reconstruction contracts into categories that excluded small firms from prime contracting or subcontracting. I spoke out against these provisions, and Congress ultimately repealed them last year. Nonetheless, this bill puts in place safeguards to ensure that small firms do not fall prey to such actions again. My legislation protects the Small Business Reservation (SBR) for disaster-related contracts below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT). The SAT and the SBR are normally set at $100,000. The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act allowed Federal agencies to use simplified procedures for all contracts below the SAT, but only if they attempt to place, or ``reserve'', these contracts to qualified small businesses. Many small businesses qualify for contracts under expedited procedures under the Small Business Act, which would help to move the reconstruction process forward. The SBR does not delay relief contracting. If no qualified small business is available to do the job, agencies can place the contract with any qualified supplier. This provision restores the parity between the SBR and the SAT any time the SAT is increased for disaster-related contracts.

My legislation also restores small business subcontracting requirements in emergency procurements. The Second Katrina Supplemental abolished small business subcontracting requirements for all Katrina- related contracts by treating contracts for hundreds of millions of dollars as purchases of commercial items, like contracts for office supplies. This is an improper and unjustified procurement practice. The Army Corps of Engineers currently imposes a 73 percent subcontracting requirement on hurricane-related contracts, demonstrating that the subcontracting requirements are not onerous. Under the Small Business Act, only a ``good faith effort'' to provide subcontracting opportunities is required. The legislation allows a grace period of 30 days to negotiate an acceptable plan (subject to a 50 percent payment limitation until the plan is concluded).

Looking forward, my legislation directs the Administrators of the OFPP and the SBA to work with other Federal agencies to ensure creation of multiple-award contracts for disaster recovery which are set aside for small business concerns. As the GAO testified before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship last year, Federal agencies lacked adequate acquisition planning for hurricane disaster relief. This measure would reverse this practice both for ongoing and for future disaster recovery efforts.

I am a firm believer that the reconstruction acquisition process must be not only efficient, but also transparent. In this regard, the Federal Government provides central website postings for all Katrina- related opportunities through the SBA's Sub-NET. Unfortunately, the SBA's Sub-NET subcontracting database, though recommended by the Government, has been until recently unused by the Katrina prime contractors. My legislation directs all prime contractors which received substantial Federal contracts related to the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for which subcontracting plans are required to post subcontracting announcements on the SBA's Sub-NET online database.

Finally, my legislation addresses the government's failure to direct contract dollars to those who need them the most--local small businesses. During the hearings in my Committee last November, I was deeply troubled to discover that Federal agencies failed to grant business opportunities to qualified Gulf Coast small firms. These shocking practices make a mockery of our national commitment to rebuild the Gulf Coast. For instance, while investigating Hurricane Katrina contracts at my request, the GAO found a memorandum from an official in the Army Corps of Engineers informing the SBA that the Corps has successfully concealed the information about millions of dollars in upcoming contracts for mobile classrooms in Mississippi from, among others, local small businesses. The Corps requested that SBA approve giving this work to an out-of-state company without any prior experience. As a result, the Corps excluded a local small business, licensed by the Mississippi Department of Education, from bidding. Incredibly, the SBA obliged and approved the contract three times, eventually increasing its value from $10 million to $47 million.

Practices such as these violate Section 15 of the Small Business Act, which unequivocally directs priority in government contracts ``to small business concerns which shall perform a substantial proportion of the production on those contracts and subcontracts within areas of concentrated unemployment or underemployment or within labor surplus areas.'' It is hard to imagine a clearer example of an ``area of concentrated unemployment or underemployment'' or a area with labor surplus than the devastated Gulf Coast region. Nonetheless, some have ignored the clear command of the statute. My legislation would designate the Gulf Coast disaster area as a labor surplus area for purposes of the Small Business Act's preference for labor surplus area contractors. In addition, this provision authorizes Federal agencies to use contractual set-asides, incentives, and penalties to enhance participation of local small business concerns in disaster recovery contracts and subcontracts.

Finally, my legislation suspends the application of the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration (Comp Demo) program to Gulf Coast disaster contracts. The Comp Demo Program denies the protections of the Small Business Act like set-asides to small businesses involved in construction and

specialty trade contracting, refuse systems and related services, landscaping, pest control, non-nuclear ship repair, and architectural and engineering services, including surveying and mapping. Historically, small businesses have been the backbone of these industries, and these industries are in heavy demand for disaster recovery efforts. The Comp Demo Program, ostensibly a test program, denies Federal agencies likes the Departments of Defense and nine other agencies the ability to do small business set-asides. Essentially, the Comp Demo Program reserves whole industries for big business. Last year, at the request of the Department of Defense, I supported an amendment to terminate the Comp Demo Program. The Senate agreed that small businesses in all industries should receive the full protections of the Small Business Act, and unanimously voted to repeal this Program. Suspending this Program for Katrina and Rita contracts would go a long way towards restoring fair treatment for small businesses affected by this disaster.

I believe this legislation will find broad support in this body. Indeed, the HUBZone designation, the outreach programs, and the surety bonding increase have already been adopted by the Senate on a vote of 96-0 as part of my amendment to the Science, State, Commerce, and Justice Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006. The provisions dealing with the small business reservation offset and retention of small business subcontracting in emergency procurements were cosponsored by a bi-partisan group of Senators as part of my bi-partisan disaster relief bill, S. 1807. With the Senate leadership and every Senator of both parties on the record in support of greater access of small businesses to Federal contracts, I look forward to speedy consideration of this legislation and its support by the Senate.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues Senators Smith, Conrad, and Bingaman in introducing the Women's Retirement Security Act of 2006. This legislation comes on the heels of the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which makes improvements to the defined benefit pension plan system.

The legislation that we are introducing today builds upon that legislation and focuses on defined contribution plans. Our pension system has shifted away from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. We should make it easier for employers to offer defined contribution plans and for individuals to participate in these plans.

At a time when we have a negative savings rate that is the lowest since the Great Depression, we should provide appropriate incentives to help individuals save for retirement. In an effort to achieve this, the Women's Retirement Security Act of 2006 focuses on increasing retirement savings, the preservation of income, equity in divorce, improving financial literacy, and encouraging small businesses to enter and remain in the employer retirement plan system.

This legislation increases savings by allowing employees to contribute a portion of their paycheck to an individual retirement account (IRA) if their employer does not offer a pension plan. Automatic IRAs will help the 71 million workers that do not have employer-sponsored plans. It is a low-cost, sensible solution that provides a stepping stone toward employer-sponsored retirement plans. More workers are likely to contribute to an IRA if the contribution is deducted from their payroll. Automatic IRAs will help combat the inertia that is a factor in our low savings rate. The bill also provides a tax credit to help small businesses with the cost of implementation.

Women are often placed at a disadvantage in our retirement system because they cycle in and out of the work force. The Women's Retirement Security Act of 2006 addresses this issue by requiring employers that offer defined contribution plans to cover part-time employees that meet specific requirements.

Pension coverage needs to improve, particularly for small businesses. In 2004, only 26 percent of workers at firms with fewer than 25 employees participated in pension plans. Progress has been made on providing coverage to small businesses. Currently, more than 19 million workers are covered by small business retirement plans, but more than 36 million Americans work for firms with less than 25 employees.

The Women's Retirement Security Act of 2006 provides a start-up credit for new small business retirement contributions. In addition, it removes rules that discourage small employers from adopting deferral only plans.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2006. It's especially appropriate that this bill be introduced during Hispanic Heritage Month. Millions of Latino Americans during this time reflect on their place in this country and the positive contributions they have made here. One area where we can be certain that the Hispanic community has made a significant contribution is in business. The principled and strong leadership of Hispanic Americans can be seen in corporate boards and sole proprietorships alike. As a Nation, we must support the development of the next generation of business leaders within the Latino community. I believe that this legislation will help in that effort.

This legislation is aimed at giving potential and burgeoning entrepreneurs the tools they need to realize their goals. Whether those goals include creating a small business that will employ people from the community or taking a small business and making it into a major enterprise, it's imperative that we develop the tools to help minority small business owners succeed.

I want to take a moment and tell you why it's so important to expand the numbers of entrepreneurs in the minority community. As the Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have received firsthand testimony and countless reports documenting the positive economic impact that occurs when we foster entrepreneurship in underserved communities. There are signs of significant economic returns when minority businesses are created and are able to grow in size and capacity. Between 1987 and 1997, revenue from minority owned firms rose by 22.5 percent, an increase equivalent to an annual growth rate of 10 percent. Employment opportunities within minority owned firms increased by 23 percent during that same period. There is a clear correlation between the growth of minority owned firms and the economic viability of the minority community.

Although, these economic numbers tell a significant part of the story, they don't tell the whole story of what these firms mean to the minority communities they serve and represent. Many of these business leaders are first generation immigrants; many are first generation business owners and many represent, for those in their communities, what hard work, determination and patience can do.

We must encourage those kinds of values in our minority communities and, quite frankly, in our nation as a whole. For generations, millions have come to our shores in search of a better life. Millions of others were brought here by force and for years were not given a voice in how their lives would turn out. But how ever we got here, we all have become branches of this great tree we call America. This tree is still nourished by roots planted by our forefathers more than 200 years ago. Those men and women planted the roots of hard work, innovation, faith and risk taking.

When you think about it, those words are the perfect description of an entrepreneur. It is the spirit of entrepreneurship that has made our nation great. And that is why it is absolutely imperative that we continue to support and develop that spirit in our minority communities. To that end, this legislation provides several tools to help minority entrepreneurs as they develop and grow their businesses.

First, this legislation will create an Office of Minority Small Business Development. One of its primary functions will be to increase the number of small business loans that minority businesses receive. Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and women have been receiving far fewer small business loans than they reasonably should.

To ensure that this trend is reversed and minorities begin to get a greater share of loan dollars, venture capital investments, counseling, and contracting opportunities, this bill will give the new office the authority to monitor the outcomes for programs under Capital Access, Entrepreneurial Development, and Government Contracting. It also requires the head of

the Office to work with SBA's partners, trade associations and business groups to identify more effective ways to market to minority business owners, and to work with the head of Field Operations to ensure that district offices have staff and resources to market to minorities.

Second, this legislation will create the Minority Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pilot Program. This program will offer a competitive grant to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions to create an entrepreneurship curriculum at these institutions and to open Small Business Development Centers on campus to serve local businesses.

The goal of this program is to target students in highly skilled fields such as engineering, manufacturing, science and technology, and guide them towards entrepreneurship as a career option. Traditionally, minority-owned businesses are disproportionately represented in the service sectors. Promoting entrepreneurial education to undergraduate students will help expand business ownership beyond the service sectors to higher yielding technical and financial sectors.

Third, this legislation will create the Minority Access to Information Distance Learning Pilot Program. This program will offer competitive grants to well established national minority non-profit and business organizations to create distance learning programs for small business owners who are interested in doing business with the federal government.

The goal of this program is to provide low cost training to the many small business owners who cannot afford to pay a consultant thousands of dollars for advice or training on how to prepare themselves to contract with the federal government. There are thousands of small businesses in this country that are excellent and efficient. They are primed to provide the goods and services that this nation needs to stay competitive. This program will help prepare them to do just that.

Finally, this legislation will extend the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Business Program which expired in 2003. This program provides a Price Evaluation Adjustment for Socially and Economically Disadvantaged businesses as a way of increasing their competitiveness when bidding against larger firms. This is one more tool to increase opportunities for our minority small business owners.

I have outlined several ways that we can create a more positive environment for our minority small business community. These are reasonable steps that we ought to take without delay. Moreover, these are important steps that will help bolster a movement that is already underway. According to U.S. Census data, Hispanics are opening businesses 3 times faster than the national average. Also, business development and entrepreneurship have played a significant role in the expansion of the black middle class in this country for over a century. These business owners are embodying the entrepreneurial spirit that our forefathers carried with them as they established this nation.

With this legislation, we will help to extend that spirit to the next generation. Not only is this vital for our minority communities, but it is vital for America. I urge my colleagues to join with me in support of the Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2006.

Mr. President, I note the arrival on the floor of the distinguished Senator from Nevada. The legislation that I will be talking about is of significant interest to the Senator from Nevada. But it will take many months on the floor of the Senate before we finish.

Today my fellow Senators I am introducing legislation that I believe will place the Department of Energy's nuclear waste program back on track.

As we all know, the history of the Yucca Mountain project has been rocky at best. The Yucca Mountain project has a very long pedigree, starting back to the late 1950's when the National Academy of Sciences reported to the Atomic Energy Commission suggesting that burying radioactive high-level waste in geologic formations should receive consideration.

In the 1980s, when Congress decided to pursue a geologic repository, we were quite optimistic--so optimistic that we told the Department of Energy--DOE--to enter into contracts with utilities that promised that we would begin taking nuclear waste off their hands by 1998. Well, obviously that didn't happen. What did happen was that the courts found that the government is liable for its failure to meet its contractual obligation.

While moving more slowly than planned, DOE's nuclear waste program has made progress toward making the goal of a permanent geologic repository for nuclear waste a reality. In 2002, the President and Congress approved the Yucca Mountain site, and instructed DOE to file a license application for the repository with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission--NRC. That decision has been made.

With the siting decision made, it will now be up to the NRC to evaluate the scientific data and determine whether the repository will permanently, and safely, isolate nuclear waste.

Yucca Mountain is the cornerstone of our national comprehensive spent nuclear fuel management strategy for

this country. Let me be clear: We need Yucca Mountain. We must make this program work. I believe the bill introduced today will do that.

This bill will remove legal barriers that will allow DOE to meet its obligation to accept and store spent nuclear fuel as soon as possible, without prejudging the outcome of the NRC's repository licensing decision.

The bill I will introduce today authorizes the DOE to permanently withdraw 147,000 acres currently controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, the Air Force, and the Nevada Test Site, a license condition of the NRC.

This legislation will repeal the arbitrary 70,000 metric ton statutory limit on emplacement of radioactive material at Yucca Mountain. The capacity of the mountain will be determined by scientific and technical analysis.

The DOE may also begin construction of needed infrastructure for the repository and surface storage facilities as soon as they complete an environmental impact statement that evaluates these activities.

This legislation will begin to consolidate the defense waste and spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain. The bill requires DOE to file for a permit to build a surface storage facility at the Nevada Test Site at the same time it files its license application for a repository at Yucca Mountain.

As soon as the department receives the permit for the surface storage facilities from the NRC, the department may begin moving defense fuel and waste to the Nevada Test Site. The spent nuclear fuel from our Navy and defense activities that kept us safe during the Cold War will be consolidated and secure at the site.

Only after the NRC issues a construction permit for Yucca Mountain, may the department begin moving civilian spent fuel to the Nevada Test Site.

This bill will withdraw the land for the rail route for Yucca, a vital transportation component. There is a provision that also provides that appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund will not count against the allocations for discretionary spending. The DOE will have access to the full funds in the Nuclear Waste Fund, monies collected from our constituents, to complete this project.

This bill compliments the short, medium, and long term components of the nuclear fuel cycle that I began to talk about this past summer. The thinking of how to handle nuclear spent fuel in the late 1970s and early 1980s and the way we approached its management is changing, we need to acknowledge that change.

In the short term, according to DOE's most optimistic schedule, the NRC's construction permit will not be issued until 2011. The Consolidated and Preparation ``CAP'' proposal in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill begins to enable DOE to fulfill its contractual liability for spent fuel storage before DOE can move spent fuel to Yucca Mountain by providing new authorities for DOE to accept and store civilian spent nuclear fuel within the states in which it was generated.

In the mid term, this legislation lays the foundation to integrate Yucca Mountain and Global Nuclear Energy Partnership--GNEP--by providing that before spent fuel is shipped to Nevada, the Secretary of Energy determines if it can be recycled within a reasonable amount of time. Current plans for GNEP do not include recycling all 55,000 metric tons of civilian spent fuel that has already been generated. This proposal will avoid moving waste to Nevada that should be shipped instead to a GNEP facility.

In the long term, this measure provides DOE with the authorities needed to execute the Yucca Mountain project, and to begin long term emplacement, while the GNEP program will reduce the volume of material to be emplaced in the mountain, eliminating the need for a second repository program.

The three pieces of the fuel cycle that I have discussed today-- interim storage, GNEP and Yucca Mountain--will establish a comprehensive program that will provide confidence that our nation's nuclear waste will be managed safely both for current and future reactors.

We can solve this problem and I hope we can move forward together.

I send to the desk a bill which does all of the things that I have just spoken to. I am sure many Senators and their staffs will be interested. This will certainly not proceed in any hurry; it will take a while. But I intend to move it as best I can. There will be opportunities to stop the movement at every opportunity. I am just hopeful that we will carry all the way through, as we have in the past, and go to conference and take something to the President and see where we are.

I thank the Senator. It is a pleasure working with him.

When I have legislation such as the legislation I just described, which is very difficult, and I know we are going to come to spots in the Senate, stopovers where we will have to vote because it is good for the country, I am counting in the column that if I have done my work, will this Senator vote for it, the Senator's name. I believe if we do our work and get our votes properly and line up what we propose, a Senator such as Senator Lott will not be running around asking people what is going on in his State.

This matter deserves his attention, as it deserves my attention. I believe we will get that.

I thank the Senator.

Mr. President, I rise today along with my colleague Senator George Allen to introduce the Federal Employee Combat Zone Tax Parity Act, which would provide parity to civilian Federal employees by extending the tax credit currently received by military personnel in combat zones to the civilian Federal employees working along side them. My fellow Virginian, Congressman Frank Wolf, has introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives.

In addition, several Federal employee organizations, such as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the Financial Management Association (FMA), the Senior Executives Association (SEA), the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), strongly support this legislation.

As of today, I have made eleven separate trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to see firsthand the work of our military personnel, which is essential to success in these regions. In addition, the work of our Federal civilian employees in these regions is significantly important.

At the moment, a majority of the work in the reconstruction of these countries is being done by the military and the Department of State (DOS). These dedicated men and women deserve our gratitude. However, as I have said on a number of occasions, our challenging task requires the coordination and work of Federal agencies across the spectrum.

Regardless of whether one is in the military or a civilian, there are certain risks and hardships associated with working overseas. As a result, the Federal Government provides certain incentives to individuals when they take on extremely challenging jobs. For example, those in the military working in a combat zone receive the Combat Zone Tax Credit.

This tax credit permits military personnel working in combat zones to exclude a certain amount of income from their Federal income taxes. This benefit for the military was established in 1913.

Private contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan get a similar benefit. Under the Foreign Earned Income Tax Credit, contractors are allowed to exclude a portion of their income from taxes while they work abroad, like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To date, however, no similar benefit exists for Federal employees serving in the same combat zones. I do not believe it is fair for our Federal employees to be excluded from the same benefits available to military personnel and private contractors in the same combat zone.

The Commonwealth of Virginia, of which I have been honored to serve for the last 28 years in the Senate, is home to over 200,000 Federal employees. I have long been a strong supporter of our Federal employees as I have been for our military personnel.

Our efforts in the war on terrorism can only be successful with a highly skilled and experienced workforce. I can personally attest to the dedication of civil service employees throughout the Federal Government. Since the September 11th attacks, Federal employees have been relocated, reassigned, and worked long hours under strenuous circumstances without complaints, proving time and again their loyalty to their country is first and foremost.

During my service as Secretary of the Navy during which I was privileged to have some 650,000 civilian employees working side by side with the uniformed Navy, I valued very highly the sense of teamwork between the civilian and uniformed members of the United States Navy. Teamwork is an intrinsic military value, in my judgment, and essential to mission accomplishment. A sense of parity and fairness is important for developing this teamwork.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the teamwork of the entire Federal Government is essential to harness our overall efforts to secure a measure of democracy for the peoples of those countries, and

we need to make it easier for our Federal employees to participate.

I recently offered additional legislation to achieve this goal. My bill, S. 2600, would provide the heads of agencies other than DOS and the Department of Defense (DOD) with the authority, at their discretion, to give their employees who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan allowances, benefits, and gratuities comparable to those provided to State Department and DOD employees serving in those countries.

Currently, the agency heads of non-DOD and DOS agencies do not have such authority, and it is essential, as part of the U.S. effort to bring democracy and freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan, that agency heads be able to give their workers in those countries the same benefits as those they work beside.

In the last estimate, there are almost 2,000 Federal employees working a variety of jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am grateful for their hard work in potentially dangerous situations. And, I know there are many other Federal employees who are anxious to serve their country and engage in these efforts, but it is a lot to risk.

Providing parity in this important tax credit would provide a significant incentive for individuals to take on this challenge--a challenge that America desperately needs Federal employees to undertake.

Throughout the world, America's civil servants are serving our government and our people, often in dangerous situations. They are on the ground in the war on terrorism taking over new roles to relieve military personnel of tasks civilian employees can perform. They are playing a vital role in the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have a long tradition in Congress of recognizing the valuable contributions of our Federal employees in both the military service and in the civil service by providing fair and equitable treatment. This bill gives us the ability to continue this tradition while at the same time providing an important incentive to help America meet its needs.

I urge my colleagues to join with me in support of this legislation.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation along with my colleague from Illinois, Senator Obama, concerning what we believe is yet another important step in reducing our Nation's dependence on petroleum fuels.

S. 264, the Alternative Energy Refueling System Act of 2006 would provide an incentive for gas station owners across the country to install alternative refueling systems for automobiles. This legislation builds upon the existing tax credit that gas station owners can receive for installing alternative energy tanks. Most importantly, I would like to point out to my colleagues that this legislation does not require any additional taxes.

Currently, as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, a tax credit of up to $30,000 is available through 2009 for gas station owners who install an alternative refueling system. Eligible alternative fuels include those that contain 85 percent by volume of ethanol, natural gas, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, or any mixture of biodiesel or diesel fuel that is composed of at least 20 percent biodiesel.

Our legislation basically allows gas station owners and operators to be reimbursed for 30 percent of the costs--not to exceed $30,000--of installing an alternative energy system.

One of the primary benefits of this legislation is that it can be used for up to two alternative refueling systems per gas station. This is important because under the tax credit that was part of last year's energy bill, a gas station owner can only utilize the $30,000 tax credit one time--even for those individuals who own multiple refueling stations.

For example, if a gas station owner in South Dakota, Illinois, or elsewhere wanted to install three new alternative refueling systems at his or her gas station, under the current system that owner would be limited to the $30,000 tax credit for a single alternative fuel system.

Under our legislation, that same gas station owner would continue to receive the tax credit for the first alternative fuel system. However, the station owner could also be reimbursed for 30 percent of the costs--not to exceed $30,000--for up to two additional alternative refueling systems. Therefore, the legislation we have introduced today would drastically increase the incentives for gas station owners to install additional alternative fuel systems.

I am hopeful that if this bill is signed into law, gas station owners across the country will be able to use this reimbursement mechanism to help consumers who already own or are thinking of purchasing an alternative fuel vehicle.

Senator Obama and I are both strong supporters of alternative fuels. In fact, South Dakota and Illinois are leaders in the production of ethanol--our Nation's leading renewable fuel. The legislation we are introducing today in no way preferences ethanol over other alternative fuels. In fact, they are all treated equally under our bill.

Alternative fuels such as E-85, which is composed of 85 percent ethanol, are starting to gain popularity. However, while automakers such as Ford and General Motors are producing an increasing number of flex fuel vehicles, which can run on either E-85 or gasoline, there is a critical need for more alternative refueling sites across the country. Many individuals would be shocked to know that of the 180,000 gas stations across the country, only 600--far less than 1 percent-- offer alternative fuels such as E-85.

There are approximately 5 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road today. The addition of alternative refueling systems--such as E-85, compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and hydrogen--will allow American consumers the ability to refuel their vehicles with alternative fuels that are better for both the environment and our Nation's security.

As President Bush noted in his State of the Union Address earlier this year, ``America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.'' Since being elected to Congress I have worked hard in promoting the development of alternative energy sources. In fact, last year's energy bill marked an important milestone due to the 7.5 billion gallon renewable fuels standard that I and others advocated.

S. 2614 utilizes the interest earned from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, which currently has a $2.6 billion surplus, to reimburse eligible gas station owners who add alternative refueling systems.

This trust fund continues to grow from a portion of the Federal gas tax--one-tenth of a cent per gallon--which amounted to roughly $190 million last year. The fund also continues to grow from the interest that is earned on the balance of the fund, which amounted to roughly $67 million in 2005.

I firmly believe that the Leaking Underground Storage Tank program serves an important function in keeping our land and water safe from storage tank releases. Our legislation simply seeks to use a portion of the interest earned annually to reimburse gas station owners for a portion of the costs associated with the installation of new alternative refueling systems.

An added benefit of using a portion of the interest from this trust fund is that the installation of alternative refueling systems reduces the overall number of petroleum tanks that can cause leaks.

Additionally, this bill ensures that States are not required to use their annual allocation of appropriated funding to reimburse gas station owners for the installation of alternative refueling systems. Such reimbursement would come directly from the EPA Administrator.

Mr. President, this bill would help to lessen our Nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil and--increase the use of alternative fuels. It is a step in the right direction, and is something I hope my colleagues will support.