A bill for the relief of Javier Lopez-Urenda and Maria Leticia Arenas.

Mr. President, today I am introducing a private relief bill on behalf of Javier Lopez-Urenda and his wife, Maria Leticia Arenas. Mr. Lopez-Urenda and his wife are Mexican nationals living in Fremont, California, and the loving parents of three U.S. citizen children, Bryan, age 16, Ashley, age 12, and Nancy, age 6.

I have decided to introduce this private bill to ensure that this family stays together because they have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to each other and the greater community in the Bay area. I believe Mr. Lopez-Urenda and Ms. Arenas merit Congress' special consideration for such an extraordinary form of relief as a private bill.

Javier Lopez-Urenda was born in Michoacan, Mexico. When he was 19 years old, his father was stabbed and murdered while working as a cab driver. In 1990, at the age of 23, Mr. Lopez-Urenda came to the United States to find a higher paying job to support his extended family. Leticia Arenas came to the U.S. at the age of 17 after her mother died of cancer. Mr. Lopez-Urenda and Ms. Arenas have now been living in the U.S.for almost 20 years.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda is the sole financial provider for his wife and three U.S. citizen children and owns his own home. For over 17 years, Mr. Lopez-Urenda has worked at Full Bloom Baking Company, a commercial bakery in San Mateo, California, and was the second employee that they hired. With Mr. Lopez-Urenda's help, the company grew to one of the largest commercial bakeries in the Bay Area, which currently employs approximately 385 people in the bay area.

Full Bloom Baking Company has stated:

Javier is critical to the operation of our business. . . .

He holds a tremendous amount of `institutional knowledge'

that can never be replaced. He mentors and develops Team

members, conducts training classes, and has deep

understanding of complex industrial baking equipment and is

an expert on how to produce wonderful artisan quality

products from the intricate interactions of formula, people

and equipment.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda's coworkers have also written to me about his value to the company. Coleen Donnelly writes:

I am lucky enough to have worked with Javier briefly at the

bakery he helped build from the ground up. I always knew he

was in the room before I saw him. His presence is such a

positive force. He has the natural ability to manage and lead

people and make it all seem like play, not work. Without

Javier at the bakery, the lives of hundreds of people will

change.

With the encouragement of his employer, Mr. Lopez-Urenda sought legal advice in 1996 in an attempt to legalize his status. However, the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, IIRIRA, eliminated his ability to apply for suspension of deportation.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda also attempted to legalize through his employer, but the labor certification remained unadjudicated for nearly three years. Once the Department of Labor granted his labor certification, Mr. Lopez-Urenda could have legalized his status but for the fact that his removal case had already been resolved against him due to the change in law.

When the Ninth Circuit Court denied his appeal, the Court acknowledged the compelling circumstances of Mr. Lopez-Urenda's case. The court stated:

We are not unmindful of the unique and extremely

sympathetic circumstances of this case. By all accounts,

Petitioner has been an exemplary father, employee, and member

of his local community. If he were to be deported, he would

be separated from his wife, three U.S. citizen children, and

the life he has worked so hard to build over the past

seventeen years. In light of the unfortunate sequence of

events leading up this juncture and Petitioner's positive

contributions to society, Petition may very well be deserving

of prosecutorial grace.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lopez-Urenda faces deportation today despite his sympathetic circumstances and the significant positive contributions that he and his family have made to society.

These contributions to the San Mateo and Fremont communities have truly been exceptional. He is an active volunteer for the Women's Foundation of California, Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation, the Saint Patrick Proto Cathedral Parish, the American Red Cross, and just last year he was one of the key organizers of the California AIDS Ride.

Ms. Arenas has also volunteered in the community as a religious school teacher at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, a health promoter at the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, and a sexual assault counselor at Bay Area Woman Against Rape.

My office has received 46 letters of support on behalf of this family staying together in the community that they have helped build. Below are a few notable excerpts from the letters I have received reflecting the impact of this family on the community:

Patricia W. Change, CEO of Feed the Hunger Foundation, former President/CEO of the Women's Foundation of California, and a prior San Francisco Commissioner and U.S. Commissioner writes:

Mr. Urenda has always operated with the highest integrity.

Asking Mr. Urenda to leave the United States would deprive

his children of their father, an upstanding resident of the

country. It would deprive the community of an active

participant, leader, and volunteer.

The Bay Area Women Against Rape indicates that Leticia has been ``successful, available, [and] committed to the cause of breaking the silence of sexual abuse in our community.''

Judy Patrick, President/CEO of the Women's Foundation of California, writes:

Javier Urenda is fulfilling tremendous needs within his

community. He is a model participant in this society.

Christine Bozzini, a friend and former coworker of Mr. Lopez-Urenda, writes:

Javier strives to create a meaningful and rewarding life

with his children, focusing on supporting them in their

studies, as well as a variety of athletic pursuits and

personal interests. For example, over the last few years he

has taken great pride in traveling to various U.S. monuments

in order to teach his children about the birth of their

country.

One of the other compelling reasons for permitting these parents to remain in the United States is the impact that deportation would have on their three U.S. citizen minor children, Bryan, Ashley, and Nancy.

All too often, U.S. citizen children face the loss of a parent through deportation. A January 2009 report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that, over the last 10 years, 108,434 immigrant parents of U.S. citizen children were removed from this country.

A separate report completed this year by Dorsey & Whitney LLP for the Urban Institute affirms what many of us know--the deportation of a parent is deeply traumatic and causes long-lasting harm to U.S. citizen children.

Mr. John Arthur Balano, Head Coach and Faculty Instructor at the City College of San Francisco, has known Mr. Lopez-Urenda through his volunteer work at Washington High School in Fremont, California. He has stated that Mr. Lopez-Urenda ``actively participates in the daily life of his children. Be it school, domestic, or extra-curricular activities, socialization and citizenship, Javier is always furthering their growth.''

In addition, Ms. Marlene Davis, the Principal of Patterson Elementary School, where two of the Lopez-Urenda children currently attend, has written me, stating that:

Mr. Lopez-Urenda and his wife are very involved in their

children's lives and school work. If they were not, the

children would not be doing as well as they are. I think

without his presence, the children would definitely fare very

poorly indeed both because of the psychological shock of

having their father taken away but also academically because

their mother would not be as available and one half of their

scholastic support would be missing. . . . This would be a

terrible strategy which could be avoided if the children are

able to remain in the same stable environment with two loving

and supportive parents who are committed to their children's

success.

Enactment of the legislation I am introducing today on behalf of Mr. Lopea-Urenda and Maria Leticia Arenas will enable this family to continue to remain in the U.S. and make positive contributions to each other and their extensive community in Fremont, California.

Mr. President, I urge 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 Javier Lopez-Urenda and his wife, Maria Leticia Arenas. Mr. Lopez-Urenda and his wife are Mexican nationals living in Fremont, California, and the loving parents of three U.S. citizen children, Bryan, age 16, Ashley, age 12, and Nancy, age 6.

I have decided to introduce this private bill to ensure that this family stays together because they have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to each other and the greater community in the Bay area. I believe Mr. Lopez-Urenda and Ms. Arenas merit Congress' special consideration for such an extraordinary form of relief as a private bill.

Javier Lopez-Urenda was born in Michoacan, Mexico. When he was 19 years old, his father was stabbed and murdered while working as a cab driver. In 1990, at the age of 23, Mr. Lopez-Urenda came to the United States to find a higher paying job to support his extended family. Leticia Arenas came to the U.S. at the age of 17 after her mother died of cancer. Mr. Lopez-Urenda and Ms. Arenas have now been living in the U.S.for almost 20 years.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda is the sole financial provider for his wife and three U.S. citizen children and owns his own home. For over 17 years, Mr. Lopez-Urenda has worked at Full Bloom Baking Company, a commercial bakery in San Mateo, California, and was the second employee that they hired. With Mr. Lopez-Urenda's help, the company grew to one of the largest commercial bakeries in the Bay Area, which currently employs approximately 385 people in the bay area.

Full Bloom Baking Company has stated:

Javier is critical to the operation of our business. . . .

He holds a tremendous amount of `institutional knowledge'

that can never be replaced. He mentors and develops Team

members, conducts training classes, and has deep

understanding of complex industrial baking equipment and is

an expert on how to produce wonderful artisan quality

products from the intricate interactions of formula, people

and equipment.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda's coworkers have also written to me about his value to the company. Coleen Donnelly writes:

I am lucky enough to have worked with Javier briefly at the

bakery he helped build from the ground up. I always knew he

was in the room before I saw him. His presence is such a

positive force. He has the natural ability to manage and lead

people and make it all seem like play, not work. Without

Javier at the bakery, the lives of hundreds of people will

change.

With the encouragement of his employer, Mr. Lopez-Urenda sought legal advice in 1996 in an attempt to legalize his status. However, the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, IIRIRA, eliminated his ability to apply for suspension of deportation.

Mr. Lopez-Urenda also attempted to legalize through his employer, but the labor certification remained unadjudicated for nearly three years. Once the Department of Labor granted his labor certification, Mr. Lopez-Urenda could have legalized his status but for the fact that his removal case had already been resolved against him due to the change in law.

When the Ninth Circuit Court denied his appeal, the Court acknowledged the compelling circumstances of Mr. Lopez-Urenda's case. The court stated:

We are not unmindful of the unique and extremely

sympathetic circumstances of this case. By all accounts,

Petitioner has been an exemplary father, employee, and member

of his local community. If he were to be deported, he would

be separated from his wife, three U.S. citizen children, and

the life he has worked so hard to build over the past

seventeen years. In light of the unfortunate sequence of

events leading up this juncture and Petitioner's positive

contributions to society, Petition may very well be deserving

of prosecutorial grace.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lopez-Urenda faces deportation today despite his sympathetic circumstances and the significant positive contributions that he and his family have made to society.

These contributions to the San Mateo and Fremont communities have truly been exceptional. He is an active volunteer for the Women's Foundation of California, Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation, the Saint Patrick Proto Cathedral Parish, the American Red Cross, and just last year he was one of the key organizers of the California AIDS Ride.

Ms. Arenas has also volunteered in the community as a religious school teacher at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, a health promoter at the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, and a sexual assault counselor at Bay Area Woman Against Rape.

My office has received 46 letters of support on behalf of this family staying together in the community that they have helped build. Below are a few notable excerpts from the letters I have received reflecting the impact of this family on the community:

Patricia W. Change, CEO of Feed the Hunger Foundation, former President/CEO of the Women's Foundation of California, and a prior San Francisco Commissioner and U.S. Commissioner writes:

Mr. Urenda has always operated with the highest integrity.

Asking Mr. Urenda to leave the United States would deprive

his children of their father, an upstanding resident of the

country. It would deprive the community of an active

participant, leader, and volunteer.

The Bay Area Women Against Rape indicates that Leticia has been ``successful, available, [and] committed to the cause of breaking the silence of sexual abuse in our community.''

Judy Patrick, President/CEO of the Women's Foundation of California, writes:

Javier Urenda is fulfilling tremendous needs within his

community. He is a model participant in this society.

Christine Bozzini, a friend and former coworker of Mr. Lopez-Urenda, writes:

Javier strives to create a meaningful and rewarding life

with his children, focusing on supporting them in their

studies, as well as a variety of athletic pursuits and

personal interests. For example, over the last few years he

has taken great pride in traveling to various U.S. monuments

in order to teach his children about the birth of their

country.

One of the other compelling reasons for permitting these parents to remain in the United States is the impact that deportation would have on their three U.S. citizen minor children, Bryan, Ashley, and Nancy.

All too often, U.S. citizen children face the loss of a parent through deportation. A January 2009 report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that, over the last 10 years, 108,434 immigrant parents of U.S. citizen children were removed from this country.

A separate report completed this year by Dorsey & Whitney LLP for the Urban Institute affirms what many of us know--the deportation of a parent is deeply traumatic and causes long-lasting harm to U.S. citizen children.

Mr. John Arthur Balano, Head Coach and Faculty Instructor at the City College of San Francisco, has known Mr. Lopez-Urenda through his volunteer work at Washington High School in Fremont, California. He has stated that Mr. Lopez-Urenda ``actively participates in the daily life of his children. Be it school, domestic, or extra-curricular activities, socialization and citizenship, Javier is always furthering their growth.''

In addition, Ms. Marlene Davis, the Principal of Patterson Elementary School, where two of the Lopez-Urenda children currently attend, has written me, stating that:

Mr. Lopez-Urenda and his wife are very involved in their

children's lives and school work. If they were not, the

children would not be doing as well as they are. I think

without his presence, the children would definitely fare very

poorly indeed both because of the psychological shock of

having their father taken away but also academically because

their mother would not be as available and one half of their

scholastic support would be missing. . . . This would be a

terrible strategy which could be avoided if the children are

able to remain in the same stable environment with two loving

and supportive parents who are committed to their children's

success.

Enactment of the legislation I am introducing today on behalf of Mr. Lopea-Urenda and Maria Leticia Arenas will enable this family to continue to remain in the U.S. and make positive contributions to each other and their extensive community in Fremont, California.

Mr. President, I urge 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, in a country as wealthy as ours, it is shameful to let any child go hungry. That is why today, Senator Murkowski and I are introducing the Expand School Meals Act. By eliminating the reduced price meals category and replacing it with the free meal program, this legislation will ensure that low-income children are not denied nutritious food during the school day if their family can't afford to pay for it.

It is important to remember that this will improve student readiness for school. Parents have long known, and recent studies confirm, that children cannot learn on empty stomachs. Hungry children perform worse on achievement tests, have trouble concentrating, and are more likely to act out in school. Securing access to healthy foods for low-income children is therefore not only a means of reducing child hunger, but also an important strategy for narrowing the achievement gap.

There are 3.1 million low-income children across the Nation, and 54,000 children in Minnesota are eligible for reduced-price school meals. This means that the families of these children pay for part of their children's school meals. Currently, these families must pay 40 cents for each lunch and 30 cents for each breakfast their children eat at school. While this may not sound like a lot of money to members of Congress, to a family that is barely scraping by, especially in today's economy, the cost can be prohibitive.

In this tough economy, a growing number of these families simply can no longer afford to pay. Low-income children in Minnesota and across the country are increasingly being turned away from school lunch counters because they don't have enough money in their meal accounts. In some districts, children in the reduced price meal program are humiliated when they are forced to pay small fees in front of their peers, or when they are handed cheese sandwiches instead of regular meals on the days they cannot afford to pay. It then becomes abundantly clear to all of their peers in the lunchroom that they are in the reduced price program. Teachers in Minnesota and elsewhere have reported that many children choose to avoid this stigma by just skipping meals.

The indecency of turning away children from the school lunch counter becomes all too evident when one hears the stories of the food service workers and teachers who have to confront these children directly. In the Roseville, Minnesota, school district, for example, schools recently reported that parents with health problems showed up at the district office unable to pay for reduced-price lunch. The families,

however, had too much income to qualify for the free lunch program. The district policy is that children who cannot pay for school lunches can receive cheese sandwiches for three days, and then must be turned away. Roseville cashiers and food service managers have been using their own money to cover children who they know cannot pay.

This situation is entirely unacceptable. It is unacceptable not only because we are allowing children to go hungry today, but also because we know the impact of this hunger on their future. We know that insufficient access to food will negatively affect their development, as well as their educational outcomes, which together will have a lasting impact on their ability to reach their potential.

Recent studies show just how devastating the impact of food insecurity is on the academic and social outcomes of school children. For example, researchers at Cornell and the University of Michigan found that children ages 6 to 11 who lacked sufficient food had significantly lower arithmetic scores, and were more likely to have repeated a grade than their peers. Furthermore, they found that teenagers who lacked sufficient food were almost three times as likely to have been suspended from school. Similarly, researchers at Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital found that children who, according to their parents, were experiencing hunger, were two to four times more likely than other children to repeat a grade, access special education services, or receive mental health counseling.

Based on this research, it is clear that child hunger must be one of the factors that we address if we are serious about closing the achievement gap and giving every child in America a genuine opportunity to succeed.

I would like to conclude by commending my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their leadership in advocating for the extension of free school meals to children of the working poor. These efforts began with Senator Elizabeth Dole, who in 2003 introduced a bill that would have also phased out the reduced price meals category. And in 2004, Senator Dole advocated for a provision to be included in the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act that authorized a 5 State pilot project to test the feasibility of eliminating the reduced price category. Funding for this project, unfortunately, was never appropriated.

Some States and districts therefore decided to take matters into their own hands. I am proud to represent a State that decided to eliminate the reduced price category for school breakfasts. Based on the experience of these localities, we have learned that expanding eligibility for free meals to children in the reduced price category significantly increases their participation in school breakfast and lunch programs.

In light of the experiences of these localities, and the difficult economic times, I am hopeful that this will be the year that we expand eligibility for free school meals. I urge all of my colleagues to join us in this endeavor and do right by our children.

Mr. President, I rise to speak on the introduction of the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act.

The southern sea otter is a keystone species that plays a critical role in central California's kelp forest ecosystem. By maintaining a healthy and productive ecosystem capable of supporting many other marine species, they also contribute to California's $22 billion ocean tourism, recreation, and fishing industries.

Already listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, southern sea otters recently experienced their largest population decline in over a decade. They face a variety of threats, including food limitation, disease, and habitat degradation--but the exact causes of their decline are unknown.

Sea otters are a sentinel species that serve as an indicator of ecosystem health, so this population decline is extremely alarming. Understanding and addressing the causes of this decline would help us protect the health of our kelp ecosystems as a whole.

My legislation would require the Department of the Interior to monitor the population of southern sea otters and assess the major factors limiting their recovery. It would also establish a competitive grant program for research and recovery projects.

The language has been drafted in consultation with numerous scientists, agency officials, conservation groups, and fishermen. Companion legislation was reported by the House Natural Resources Committee by voice vote in May, and passed the full House of Representatives in July. I look forward to working with my colleagues to achieve a successful outcome in the Senate.

With this legislation, we can finally put the southern sea otter on a path to recovery--and restore central California's magnificent kelp forests to a healthy, thriving condition.