A bill for the relief of Ruben Mkoian, Asmik Karapetian, and Arthur Mkoyan.

Mr. President, in 2003, I made my maiden floor speech on hunger issues and how we as a Nation can tackle them. I have continued my strongest efforts to raise awareness that 1 in 10 U.S. households is affected by hunger and to advance legislation and programs that aid the hungry.

Today is Hunger Awareness Day, and as I have in years past, I welcome the opportunity to speak about the food insecurity problems that persist throughout this country and the world. Most importantly, I come to offer ideas and invigorate the discussion about solutions.

With food and energy prices on the rise, we must be particularly cognizant of the hungry. Not only do hard economic times generate a greater need for food assistance, but the very agencies and organizations that provide assistance are trying to meet growing demands while food and gas grow more expensive.

In the past few months, I have read numerous stories in North Carolina newspapers about soup kitchens and food banks struggling to serve all those in need and even schools strapped for cash to pay for their lunch programs.

For example, last weekend, the Asheville Citizen-Times ran a letter to the editor from MANNA FoodBank which said:

In 2006, we estimated that 115,500 different North

Carolinians sought emergency food aid from MANNA partner

agencies in a single year--one in six of our neighbors.

However, that data has rapidly become outdated by shifting

economic tides. Surging energy and food prices combined with

stagnant economic growth have dramatically increased the

ranks of those seeking help from food banks.

In the May 29, 2008 Raleigh News & Observer, David Reese, the chief operating officer for food recovery and distribution at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, is quoted as saying:

A lot of people don't realize or don't take into account

the dramatic effect that high fuel prices have, that trickle-

down effect. . . . It doesn't only affect the regular

consumer who is driving to the store. It also affects the

distributor, also affects the retailer and then the end

result, it affects us as a food-rescue organization.

Unfortunately, we know too well high food prices and hunger problems are not unique to North Carolina or even just to the United States. Indeed, as food prices continue to soar, the impacts are felt around the globe, especially among the poor in developing nations. The increase in food costs has led to international shortfalls of food supplies, resulting in food riots and civil unrest in many regions. In fact, the World Bank recently estimated that more than 100 million people are being pushed into poverty as a result of the escalation of food prices.

Congress needs to take action to ensure that policies are helping, not hurting, global food supply. For example, I believe we must reconsider mandating the use of certain biofuels which is, in part, why food prices are escalating. Last month, I joined several of my colleagues in introducing legislation to freeze the corn-based ethanol mandate at this year's level, preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from increasing the corn-based ethanol mandate included in the Energy Act of 2007 to the mandated 15 billion gallons. Instead, my legislation maintains the current level at 9 billion gallons.

During consideration of the 2007 Energy bill, I tried to include a safeguard in the renewable fuel standard which would have helped prevent a situation such as we face today. Mandates have led to more than 25 percent of America's corn crop being diverted to make fuel. In the last 2 years, the price of corn has nearly tripled, thereby resulting in feed price increases that impact the cost of items such as milk, eggs, and meat. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food inflation rose by 4.9 percent last year, and studies suggest the cost of food will continue to escalate over the next few years.

While we continue to push for efforts to address rising food prices, we can celebrate some hard-fought victories in the recently passed farm bill that will support healthy foods in schools and health food banks, community kitchens, and other organizations that feed the hungry. For instance, I am pleased the farm bill's nutrition title expands the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to all 50 States. In North Carolina, nearly 1.4 million children are enrolled in this program, which helps schools purchase locally farmed fruits and vegetables to provide healthy meals and fight childhood obesity. The bill also includes $1.25 billion for commodity purchases for food banks, including $50 million for 2008 to immediately address shortages at these organizations.

The farm bill also implements the Food Employment Empowerment and Development Program, the FEED Program, which I worked on with my colleagues Senators Frank Lautenberg and Blanche Lincoln. This program helps fight hunger by combining food rescue with job training and, thus, teaching unemployed and homeless adults the skills needed to work in the food service industry. It is a wonderful program.

Around the corner from the U.S. Capitol, students are hard at work in the DC Central Kitchen's culinary job-training class. Earlier today, I visited the kitchen which has a model FEED-type program that began in 1990. It is always a privilege to visit the kitchen and meet with individuals who faced adversity but who are now on track for a career in the food service industry. I look forward to the FEED Act supporting numerous similar programs, such as the Community Culinary School in Charlotte, NC, and others around the Nation.

In my ongoing efforts to stamp out hunger, today I am joining my colleague, Senator John Kerry, to introduce legislation requiring a White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health to be held by the end of 2010. It has been nearly 40 years since the first and only White House summit reviewed national nutrition policy. I actually helped organize that conference while working for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

Positive developments and effective policies came out of those discussions. With more than 35 million Americans today facing food insecurity issues, it is high time we make ending hunger and improving health and nutrition national priorities. I encourage my colleagues to sign on to my bill.

This week, I also plan to offer an amendment to the tax extenders bill that addresses four tax issues which will encourage food donations and volunteering to help the hungry. This package was included in the Senate-passed farm bill but, unfortunately, was removed in conference. It will extend for 2 years a provision from the Pension Protection Act that allows any taxpayer to claim an enhanced deduction for donations of food. It allows restaurants to qualify for this deduction. It simplifies the rules that allow farmers and ranchers to take advantage of this deduction for donating their products. And it allows volunteers to receive a tax deduction for mileage incurred while transporting food donations.

Along these lines, I also have a bill that will provide a tax credit for the cost of transporting food to assist the hunger relief efforts of charitable organizations. The hunger relief trucking tax credit will benefit groups such as the Society of St. Andrew, which helps recover food for the needy. The society is very active in the area of gleaning, Mr. President, where excess crops that would otherwise be thrown out are taken from farms, packinghouses, and warehouses, and distributed to the needy. Each year in this country, 696 billion pounds of good, nutritious food is left over or thrown away. Gleaning helps eliminate this waste. It helps the farmer because he doesn't have to haul off or plow under crops that don't meet exact specifications of grocery chains, and it helps the hungry by giving them nutritious fresh foods. It has been a joy to glean fields in North Carolina with the society's dedicated volunteers.

In addition to working closely with the Society of St. Andrew, I have been fortunate to meet with a number of organizations that are doing tremendous work to combat hunger in North Carolina--from our food banks to Meals on Wheels and others. These organizations rely on dedicated staff and volunteers who truly live by the ideal of helping others in their time of need.

Before I close, let me share an experience I had as president of the American Red Cross. I visited Somalia during the heart-wrenching famine. In Baidoa, I came across a little boy lying under a gunnysack, and I thought he was dead. His brother pulled back that gunnysack and sat his little brother up, and I could see that he was severely malnourished. There was no way that he could eat the rice and beans that were in a bowl there beside him, and so I asked for camel's milk to feed him. And as I put my arm around that little boy to lift that cup to his mouth, it was incredible, the feeling of the little bones almost piercing through his flesh. It is something I will never forget. That is when the horror of starvation becomes real, when you can touch it.

Since I encountered that little boy in Somalia so many years ago, I have been determined to do everything in my power to fight hunger, not just at home but also internationally. For example, I have been proud to work with Senator Dick Durbin in promoting the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. It has reduced hunger among school-aged children and improved literacy and primary education enrollment in areas where conflict, hunger, poverty, and HIV/AIDS are prevalent.

While tackling hunger beyond our borders is a greater challenge, in the United States, the land of plenty, no American--no American--should wake up wondering whether he or she will have enough to eat today. I firmly believe with dedicated organizations, caring citizens, and a focused government working together, ending hunger in America is certainly a victory within reach.

Mr. President, today I am introducing a private relief bill on behalf of Ruben Mkoian, his wife, Asmik Karapetian and their son, Arthur Mkoyan. The Mkoian family are Armenian nationals who have been living and working in Fresno, California for over a decade.

The story of the Mkoian family is compelling and I believe they merit Congress' special consideration for such an extraordinary form of relief as a private bill.

Let me first start with how the Mkoian family arrived in the United States. While in Armenia, Mr. Mkoian worked as a police sergeant at in a division dealing with vehicle licensing. As a result of his position, he was offered a bribe to register 20 stolen vehicles.

He refused the bribe and reported the incident to the police chief. He later learned that his co-worker had registered the vehicles at the request of the chief.

After he reported the offense, Mr. Mkoian's supervisor informed him that the department was to undergo an inspection. Mr. Mkoian was instructed to take a vacation during this time period. Mr. Mkoian believed that the inspection was a result of the complaint that he had filed with the higher authorities.

During the inspection, however, Mr. Mkoian worked at a store that he owned rather than taking a vacation. During that time, individuals kept entering his store and attempted to damage it and break merchandise. When he threatened to call the police, he received threatening phone calls telling him to ``shut up'' or else he would ``regret it.'' Mr. Mkoian believed that these threats were related to the illegal vehicle registrations occurring in his department because he had nothing else to be silent about.

Later that same month, three men grabbed his wife and attempted to kidnap his child, Arthur, on the street. Mrs. Mkoian was told that her husband should ``shut up.'' No one suffered any injuries from the incident. In October 1991, a bottle of gasoline was thrown into the Mkoian's residence and their house was burned down. The final incident occurred on April 1, 1992, when four or five men assaulted Mr. Mkoian in his store. He was beaten and hospitalized for 22 days.

Following that experience, Mr. Mkoian left Armenia for Russia, and then came to the United States on a visitor's visa in search of a better life. Two years later he brought his wife Asmik and his then 3- year old son Arthur to the United States, also on visitor's visas. The family applied for political asylum, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request in January 2008. Thus, the family has no further legal recourse by which to remain in the country other than this bill.

Since arriving in the United States, the family has thrived. Arthur is now 17 years old and the family has expanded to include Arsen, who is a U.S. citizen.

Both Arthur and Arsen are very special children. What is noteworthy about Arthur, is that out of the 562 students graduating from Bullard High School he is one of three valedictorians for the Class of 2008. Today is his graduation day. He has long dreamed of attending the University of California, Davis. He was accepted this past Spring and plans to complete a degree in chemistry. In addition to maintaining a 4.0 grade point average and taking a rigorous academic course load, Arthur also finds the time to volunteer at the St. Agnes Medical Center emergency room.

Arsen is following in his older brother's footsteps. At age 12, he stands out among his peers at Kratt Elementary School and has been invited to apply to the magnet Computech Middle School next year.

In addition to raising two outstanding children, Mr. and Mrs. Mkoian have maintained steady jobs and have devoted time and energy to the community and their church. Mr. Mkoian has been employed for years at G.A.C. Trucking in Glendale, California. According to his supervisor, he is one of their best employees, having earned a reputation for trustworthiness and skill.

His wife, Asmik, has also been working part-time for 4 years at Gottshalks department store. In addition, she has taken classes at Fresno Community College and has completed their Medical Assistant Program.

The family are active members of the St. Paul Armenian Church, and Mr. Mkoian is a member of the PTA of the St. Paul Armenian Saturday School.

There has been an outpouring of support for this family from their church, the schools their children attend, and the community at large.

To date, we have received over 200 letters of support for the family in addition to numerous telephone calls. I also note that I have letters from both Congressman George Radanovich and Jim Costa, requesting that I offer this bill for the Mkoian family.

I truly believe that this case warrants our compassion and our extraordinary consideration.

I ask my colleagues to support this private bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and letters of support be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am introducing a private relief bill on behalf of Ruben Mkoian, his wife, Asmik Karapetian and their son, Arthur Mkoyan. The Mkoian family are Armenian nationals who have been living and working in Fresno, California for over a decade.

The story of the Mkoian family is compelling and I believe they merit Congress' special consideration for such an extraordinary form of relief as a private bill.

Let me first start with how the Mkoian family arrived in the United States. While in Armenia, Mr. Mkoian worked as a police sergeant at in a division dealing with vehicle licensing. As a result of his position, he was offered a bribe to register 20 stolen vehicles.

He refused the bribe and reported the incident to the police chief. He later learned that his co-worker had registered the vehicles at the request of the chief.

After he reported the offense, Mr. Mkoian's supervisor informed him that the department was to undergo an inspection. Mr. Mkoian was instructed to take a vacation during this time period. Mr. Mkoian believed that the inspection was a result of the complaint that he had filed with the higher authorities.

During the inspection, however, Mr. Mkoian worked at a store that he owned rather than taking a vacation. During that time, individuals kept entering his store and attempted to damage it and break merchandise. When he threatened to call the police, he received threatening phone calls telling him to ``shut up'' or else he would ``regret it.'' Mr. Mkoian believed that these threats were related to the illegal vehicle registrations occurring in his department because he had nothing else to be silent about.

Later that same month, three men grabbed his wife and attempted to kidnap his child, Arthur, on the street. Mrs. Mkoian was told that her husband should ``shut up.'' No one suffered any injuries from the incident. In October 1991, a bottle of gasoline was thrown into the Mkoian's residence and their house was burned down. The final incident occurred on April 1, 1992, when four or five men assaulted Mr. Mkoian in his store. He was beaten and hospitalized for 22 days.

Following that experience, Mr. Mkoian left Armenia for Russia, and then came to the United States on a visitor's visa in search of a better life. Two years later he brought his wife Asmik and his then 3- year old son Arthur to the United States, also on visitor's visas. The family applied for political asylum, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request in January 2008. Thus, the family has no further legal recourse by which to remain in the country other than this bill.

Since arriving in the United States, the family has thrived. Arthur is now 17 years old and the family has expanded to include Arsen, who is a U.S. citizen.

Both Arthur and Arsen are very special children. What is noteworthy about Arthur, is that out of the 562 students graduating from Bullard High School he is one of three valedictorians for the Class of 2008. Today is his graduation day. He has long dreamed of attending the University of California, Davis. He was accepted this past Spring and plans to complete a degree in chemistry. In addition to maintaining a 4.0 grade point average and taking a rigorous academic course load, Arthur also finds the time to volunteer at the St. Agnes Medical Center emergency room.

Arsen is following in his older brother's footsteps. At age 12, he stands out among his peers at Kratt Elementary School and has been invited to apply to the magnet Computech Middle School next year.

In addition to raising two outstanding children, Mr. and Mrs. Mkoian have maintained steady jobs and have devoted time and energy to the community and their church. Mr. Mkoian has been employed for years at G.A.C. Trucking in Glendale, California. According to his supervisor, he is one of their best employees, having earned a reputation for trustworthiness and skill.

His wife, Asmik, has also been working part-time for 4 years at Gottshalks department store. In addition, she has taken classes at Fresno Community College and has completed their Medical Assistant Program.

The family are active members of the St. Paul Armenian Church, and Mr. Mkoian is a member of the PTA of the St. Paul Armenian Saturday School.

There has been an outpouring of support for this family from their church, the schools their children attend, and the community at large.

To date, we have received over 200 letters of support for the family in addition to numerous telephone calls. I also note that I have letters from both Congressman George Radanovich and Jim Costa, requesting that I offer this bill for the Mkoian family.

I truly believe that this case warrants our compassion and our extraordinary consideration.

I ask my colleagues to support this private bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and letters of support be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague Senator Hatch to introduce legislation to acknowledge the heroic contributions of American ex-prisoners of war who were forced into slave labor by the Imperial Government of Japan during the Second World War. The bill would award a one-time compensation of $20,000 to each surviving veteran, government employee, or government contractor who was imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II and forced to perform slave labor to support Japan's war effort. The bill would also extend that compensation to surviving spouses of such veterans or employees. While this compensation is only a small token of our Nation's gratitude, it is my hope that it serves as recognition of the vital military contributions and sacrifices made by these individuals, particularly as those Americans who sacrificed so much approach their final years.

From December 1941 to April 1942, American military forces stationed in the Philippines fought valiantly for almost 6 months against overwhelming Japanese military forces on the Bataan peninsula. As a result of that prolonged conflict, U.S. forces prevented Japan from achieving its strategic objective of capturing Australia and thereby dooming Allied hopes in the Pacific theater from the outset of the war.

Once captured by the Japanese, American prisoners of war in the Philippines endured the infamous ``Death March'' during which approximately 730 Americans died en route to the notorious Japanese prison camp north of Manila. Of the survivors of the March, more than 5,000 more Americans perished during the first 6 months of captivity. The Japanese forced many of those who survived captivity to embark on ``hell ships''--unmarked merchant ships--to be transported to Japan to work as slave laborers in company-owned mines, shipyards, and factories. Tragically, many of our own men perished in those unmarked vessels, victims of attacks by American military aircraft and submarines who were unaware that American POWs were aboard those ships. The stories of other American military and civilian employees captured by the Japanese at Wake Island, Java, Manchuria, Taiwan, and other locations in the Pacific and

enslaved to support the war effort are equally compelling.

The heroic performance of our soldiers at Bataan and during incarceration in POW camps earned them well-deserved citations following the war. For example, the 200th and 515th Coastal Artillery units from New Mexico that served to defend the retreating troops at Bataan received three Presidential Unit Citations and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism. New Mexico is particularly proud of these men whose heroism I seek to salute through this legislation today.

Sadly, the Americans who were enslaved by Japan have never been adequately compensated for the excruciating sacrifices they made while in Japanese military and company prisons and labor camps. In the War Claims Acts of 1948 and 1952, our Government paid former U.S. prisoners of war $1.00 per day for ``missed meals'' during their captivity, and later, $1.50 per day for ``forced labor, pain, and suffering.'' Even those paltry compensations were not widely known about or received by all veterans who qualified for them. In addition, efforts to obtain appropriate compensation from the Government of Japan, or from Japanese companies through litigation, have been unsuccessful and are not likely to succeed in a timely enough manner to compensate surviving veterans or others who would be eligible.

Other Allied nations have already set international precedent to honor their enslaved veterans. Allied governments, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have authorized compensation gratuities. For example, in 1998, the Canadian Government authorized the payment of $15,600, Canadian dollars, to veterans who were captured in Hong Kong and enslaved by the Japanese. And in 2000, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a multi- million pound compensation fund for former enslaved Japanese prisoners of war in recognition of their heroic experiences. It is long overdue for our own Nation to provide similar compensation to those who gave so much to defend and preserve our freedom.

Approximately 10 years have passed since I began advocating for passage of this type of compensation, and in that time, many of these brave heroes who deserve recognition have already passed away. Fortunately, Congress still has time to honor those individuals who are alive today to share their courageous and heartrending stories. For this reason, I believe the Congress should avoid any further delay and act as soon as possible to enact this important legislation. I thank Senator Hatch for agreeing to cosponsor this legislation, and I urge my fellow Senators to support it.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bipartisan bill that seeks to update the way in which the Federal Government tracks the shipment of hazardous waste. I am pleased that Senators Cardin and Lautenberg have joined me in introducing this bill, which builds upon the bipartisan legislation I introduced last Congress with Senator Jeffords and Senator Inhofe when I served as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management.

Simply put, our legislation would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to begin a much needed transformation of the tracking of hazardous wastes. While the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA, that Congress passed in 1976 has done a great deal to protect human health and the environment, the paper manifest process that is used to track federally-regulated hazardous wastes from ``cradle to grave'' has turned into the single largest continuous paperwork burden imposed on regulated entities under Federal environmental law.

On an annual basis, roughly 139,000 regulated entities track anywhere between 2.5-5 million hazardous waste manifests. This paperwork burden has been estimated to cost states and the regulated community between $200 million and $500 million annually. This is largely due to the fact that each paper manifest is comprised of numerous carbon copies that must be signed, mailed to waste generators and State agencies--and then ultimately stored by each regulated entity. To underscore just how cumbersome this paper manifest is, the Environmental Protection Agency has noted that roughly 22 States don't even keep copies because it represents too large of a paperwork burden.

The benefits of using electronic manifests are numerous and each of the witnesses who testified at the EPW Subcommittee hearing that I chaired on September 26, 2006 spoke to the benefits it would have--both in terms of improving federal oversight of hazardous waste transport and lessening the paperwork burden on regulated entities.

I would like to stress that this legislation builds upon the measure I introduced last Congress and incorporates a handful of changes made at the request of various stakeholders, including Senator Boxer who now chairs the EPW Committee.

Because of the broad support that this measure enjoys, I look forward to the long awaited mark-up of this bill before the EPW Committee. I would like to thank both Senator Cardin and Senator Lautenberg for their support as we work to improve the arcane system currently utilized to track hazardous waste shipments. Transitioning to an electronic system is long overdue and this legislation would be paid for by the users of the system--the generators and waste companies that handle hazardous waste.

In closing I would like to highlight just one of the statements of support I received for the legislation that I began working on over 2 years ago. The following statement of support came from Terrence Gray, President of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, who noted:

It is appropriate, many would say overdue, in the 21st

Century economy to have the capability of using electronic

reporting for such a tracking system, and we are supportive

of your efforts to initiate this process. It is our

understanding that [this bill] is the necessary first step in

designating the detailed system for electronic manifesting,

and for that reason we think it should go forward.

I trust that my colleagues will recognize the benefits of setting up an electronic manifest system as is envisioned under the Thune-Cardin bill we have introduced today.