Project SeaHawk Implementation Act of 2006

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Public Mental Health Emergency Preparedness Act of 2006. This bill would take several important steps toward preparing our nation to effectively address mental health issues in the wake of public health emergencies, including potential bioterrorist attacks.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the events of September 11, other recent natural and man-made catastrophes have sadly taught us that our current resources are not sufficient or coordinated enough to meet the mental health needs of those devastated by emergency events. We need a network of trained mental health professionals--including first responders, local and state leaders, a well-developed infrastructure, and a mechanism--through which to mobilize and deploy mental health resources in a rapid and sustained manner in times of public health emergency.

It is clear that the consequences of emergency events like hurricanes or terrorist attacks result in increased emotional and psychological suffering among survivors and responders, yet we must do more to assist all who are affected. That is why I have introduced the Public Mental Health Emergency Preparedness Act of 2006.

This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the National Center for Public Mental Health Emergency Preparedness--the National Center--to coordinate the development and delivery of mental health services in collaboration with existing Federal, State and local entities when our Nation is confronted with public health catastrophes. This legislation would charge the National Center with four functions to benefit affected Americans in our local communities, particularly vulnerable populations like children, older Americans, and persons with disabilities.

First, the Public Mental Health Emergency Preparedness Act would make sure we have evidence-based curricula available to meet the diverse training needs of a wide range of emergency health professionals, including mental health professionals, public health and healthcare professionals, emergency services personnel, county emergency managers, school personnel, spiritual care professionals, and State and local government officials responsible for emergency preparedness. By using these curricula, the National Center would build a network of trained emergency health professionals at the State and local levels.

Second, this legislation would establish and maintain a clearinghouse of educational materials, guidelines, and research on public mental health emergency preparedness and service delivery that would be evaluated and updated to ensure the information is accurate and current. Technical assistance would be provided to help users access those resources most effective for their communities.

Third, this bill would create an annual national forum for emergency health professionals, researchers, other experts and Federal, State and local government officials to identify and address gaps in science, practice, policy and education related to public mental health emergency preparedness and service delivery.

Finally, the Public Mental Health Preparedness Act would require annual evaluations of both the National Center's efforts and those across the Federal Government in building our Nation's public mental health emergency preparedness and service delivery capacity. Based on these evaluations, recommendations would be made to improve such activities.

We must not wait until another disaster strikes before we take action to improve the way we respond to the psychological needs of affected Americans. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to ensure passage of this bill that would take critical steps toward preparing our Nation to successfully deal with the mental health consequences of public health emergencies.

I would ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this legislation in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today with Senators Snowe, Durbin, Chafee, Inouye, Collins, Cantwell, Bill Nelson, Boxer, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Lieberman to introduce a bill to increase CAFE standards by 10 miles in 10 years.

This is a commonsense, bipartisan approach to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, decrease our greenhouse gas emissions, and save consumers at the pump.

We have the technology available today to increase the fuel economy of our vehicles. We just need the political will--which is why we are here today.

Specifically, our bill would raise the average fuel economy of all cars and SUVs to 35 miles per gallon by model year 2017.

This would save 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2025. That is the same amount of oil we currently import from the Persian Gulf.

This bill would also save consumers dollars at the pump. At $3 per gallon, Americans driving 15,000 miles per year are, on average, using 600 gallons of gasoline and spending $1,800 per year on gas.

By raising CAFE standards to 35 miles per gallon, consumers would only use 429 gallons of gas per year, costing $1,287 per year for gas. That is a savings of $513 per year at the pump.

Assuming the consumer keeps the vehicle for at least 5 years, that is a savings of more than $2,500--more than enough to recoup the cost of more efficient vehicles.

Raising CAFE standards is also good for the environment. The two largest culprits of climate change are coal-fired powerplants and automobiles. Coal powerplants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide--producing 2.5 billion tons every year. But the automobile isn't very far behind--producing nearly 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year. In fact, every gallon of gasoline burned emits 20 pounds of harmful CO2 into the atmosphere. That means that each car is responsible for about 12,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions every year. This legislation would take a good first step at reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

By 2025, an average fuel economy standard of 35mpg would eliminate 420 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions--the equivalent of taking 90 million cars--or 75 million cars and light trucks--off the road in 1 year.

Our daily driving habits are costing consumers at the pump, threatening our national security, and potentially causing irrevocable harm to our environment. We have the technology available today to make significant increases in fuel economy standards. In fact, David Greene of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a leading expert on fuel economy, says that a 35 mpg standard by model year 2017 is cost effective and can be achieved without reducing the size, weight, or horsepower of vehicles. And 78 percent of U.S. drivers have said they are willing to pay for better fuel economy.

The longer we delay, the harder it will be to kick our addiction to oil. We must act today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Project Seahawk Implementation Act be printed in the Record.