A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the multifamily transitional housing loan program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators Durbin, Tim Johnson, Whitehouse, and Blumenthal in the introduction of the Immunization Improvements Act. This legislation builds on my longstanding work, including several provisions I authored in the Affordable Care Act, to improve vaccination rates and population-based immunity.

Our introduction of this legislation is particularly timely given a recent report cited in yesterday's Wall Street Journal revealing the number of deaths globally as a result of the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 and 2010. The analysis found that the number of deaths from H1N1 to be 15 times the original reports, up from 18,500 to 280,000 cases. In the United States, the estimates are more than triple the original cases, from 8,500 to nearly 30,000.

Two provisions of the legislation we are introducing today are based on efforts underway in Rhode Island to improve vaccination rates against seasonal influenza and pneumonia. Specifically, it would authorize a five-state demonstration project that allows the state to purchase certain vaccines and distribute them free of charge to physicians for administration in seniors, who are at the highest risk of death from these preventable diseases. In addition to increasing vaccination rates, this model has limited the cost and administrative burden for providers and reduced the cost of vaccines to the Federal government.

The legislation would also require hospitals and long-term care facilities to report on influenza vaccination rates of health care workers with direct patient contact, the population most likely to spread the flu to ill patients that may be too weak to fight it. In Rhode Island, simply requiring health care facilities to report on health care worker influenza vaccinations has resulted in improved rates.

The Immunization Improvements Act would also update the allowable vaccine administration fees to providers

who vaccinate uninsured and underinsured children, as well as include a recommendation made by both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Government Accountability Office to shift vaccine coverage in Medicare from Part D to Part B.

While there are many diseases and conditions that we have yet to prevent, there are those for which we already have vaccines. We must do more to ensure that these vaccines are available and accessed to protect the health of Americans.

This legislation has been endorsed by Every Child By Two, the Immunization Action Coalition, Partnership for Prevention, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and Trust for America's Health. I look forward to working with my colleagues to see these provisions enacted.

Mr. President, today I introduce the Zero Tolerance for Veteran Homelessness Act. This bill enhances and expands the assistance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless.

It is one of our Nation's great tragedies that on any given night, according to estimates by the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 67,000 veterans are homeless. The Department further estimates that about 145,000 veterans experience homelessness each year and that nearly 1/5th of all homeless people in the United States are veterans. These numbers are expected to climb as our service members who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan return home to face tough economic conditions.

Indeed, some veterans return from deployments to discover that the skills they have honed in their military service can be difficult to transfer to jobs in the private sector. Others struggle with physical or mental wounds of war. Still others return to communities that lack safe, affordable housing.

Our veterans have made great sacrifices to serve our country, and it is especially important to honor our commitment to them. The Department of Veterans Affairs is certainly a part of that commitment, providing benefits, medical care, support, and a sense of community to homeless veterans. However, a number of other federal agencies provide service to veterans, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and this legislation builds on that existing infrastructure.

Many programs through HUD and the VA are already helping homeless veterans with transitional housing, health care and rehabilitation services, and employment assistance. However, a more comprehensive and coordinated approach would strengthen these programs and help prevent more at-risk veterans from becoming homeless.

First, this legislation would make it easier for non-profits to apply for capital grants through the VA's grants and per diem program to build transitional housing and other facilities for veterans. This would streamline the process for non-profit organizations to be able to use financing from other sources to break ground on new housing construction. This is particularly important in the current economy, when non-profits are stretched and have to be more creative than ever to fund new capital projects.

Second, the Zero Tolerance for Veterans Homelessness Act would create a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within HUD. The Special Assistant would ensure that veterans have access to HUD's existing programs and work to remove any barriers. The Special Assistant would also serve as a liaison between HUD and the VA, helping to connect and coordinate the services the two departments provide.

Additionally, this legislation recognizes the need to measure progress of efforts to combat homelessness. The bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to analyze existing programs and develop a comprehensive plan with recommendations on how to end homelessness among veterans. Establishing a plan with appropriate benchmarks will enable the VA to more easily track progress towards this important goal.

Only by working together, across the federal government and in partnership with non-profits and local housing authorities, will we be able to comprehensively help homeless veterans and reach those in danger of becoming homeless. We owe it to our veterans to ensure that they and their families have safe, affordable places to live and to provide the services and benefits they have earned. The nation's brave veterans deserve nothing less.

I am pleased that provisions from this bill, which follows on legislation I introduced last Congress, have been included in comprehensive legislation that is moving through the Veterans

Affairs Committee. I hope my colleagues will join in supporting these important efforts.

Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague Senator Heller to introduce the Las Vegas Valley Public Lands and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012. This legislation will designate the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Nevada, expand the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, set aside lands for the expansion of Nevada institutions of higher education, and make thousands of acres available for private development and job creation in the Las Vegas valley.

I am proud to lead the introduction of this important bill, which has been years in the making. The hallmark component of this legislation is the establishment of the Tule Springs Fossil Bed National Monument. The proposed monument is supported by the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, Clark County, the Governor of Nevada, the State of Nevada's Division of State Parks, the National Parks Conservation Association, Protectors of Tule Springs, and thousands of Nevadans.

By designating the Tule Springs area a national monument managed by the National Park Service, we will conserve, protect and enhance this unique and nationally important resource. Nevadans, tourists, scientists, and school children will visit the monument to enjoy its scientific, educational, scenic and recreational values for decades to come.

The proposed monument is located in the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley, bounded by the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the Red Rock National Conservation Area, and the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area. The Tule Springs area is recognized as having the largest assemblage of Ice Age fossils in the Southwest.

Over 400 paleontological sites have been discovered, providing a record of human activity dating back 11,000 years ago. Scientists have uncovered fossils of the giant Columbian mammoth, ground sloths the size of small cars, the American lion, and camelops. These great prehistoric mammals called North Las Vegas home for thousands of years.

Efforts to protect the paleontological treasures contained within the Las Vegas Wash began early last century. In 1933, the first fossil expedition in Tule Springs unearthed prehistoric bones that became known as ``Tule the Baby Mammoth.'' In 1962, scientists conducted the famous ``big dig,'' employing radiocarbon dating for the first time in the United States, which in turn dated Ice Age fossils from 23,800 to 28,000 years old. Despite this significant concentration of important fossil resources in the proposed monument, only a fraction of the area has been studied. Many more prehistoric treasures will be found in the decades to come.

The proposed Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is the product of many years of work. Recognizing the threats to the area from off-road vehicles, vandalism, and dumping, a coalition of environmentalists, tribes, academics, and retired Park Service employees formed in the mid-2000s to seek federal protection for Tule Springs.

The Protectors of Tule Springs collected over 10,000 signatures, and local and national conservation groups launched a campaign to garner public support for adding the site to the National Parks System. In 2010, a Park Service reconnaissance report commissioned at the request of members of the Nevada congressional delegation found the site suitable for inclusion in the Park System.

The monument will also benefit the local economy. Proponents of the monument estimate that it will generate tens of millions of dollars for the regional economy within the early years of operation, bringing tourists and researchers from around the world to visit this one-of-a- kind place to explore fascinating natural history.

The stakeholder agreement to establish the proposed monument includes making a modest amount of public lands available for private development in the Las Vegas Valley, and the designation of two 640 acre job creation zones for the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas for master planned commercial development.

Furthermore, the legislation makes land available for the future expansion of campuses within the Nevada System of Higher Education, while increasing the size of the Red Rock National Conservation Area. It conveys land to Clark County for flood control for the

future Ivanpah Valley Airport, it expands the Metro Police Training Facility by 80 acres to enhance public safety and the facility's security, and allows the U.S. Forest Service to remedy mistaken trespass situations in the Spring Mountains area. Finally, it conveys 1,200 acres to Clark County to establish an off-highway vehicle recreation park, and designates public lands surrounding the park as an off-highway vehicle recreation area to help keep riders off of sensitive lands and habitat.

The Las Vegas Valley Lands and Fossil Beds National Monument Act is an ambitious piece of legislation, built on years of stakeholder input. It provides for balanced development and job creation within the Las Vegas Valley, while protecting vital natural and scientific resources that should be made more accessible for the public's enjoyment and education.

By making long-term and forward-looking improvements to public land management and stewardship in the Las Vegas Valley, I believe we have crafted a bill that will serve the best interests of Nevadans.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this important legislation through the legislative process.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Prostate Cancer Detection Research and Education Act. This important legislation addresses the urgent need for the development of new technologies to detect and diagnose prostate cancer, and for the education of our fathers, brothers, and sons about the dangers of this deadly disease.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men, with 240,000 new cases and 28,000 prostate cancer related deaths predicted in 2012.

Unfortunately, current screening techniques for prostate cancer result in some false-negative reassurances and false-positive alarms. In addition, the prostate is one of the last organs in a human body where biopsies are performed blindly, which can miss cancer even when multiple samples are taken.

Prostate Cancer Detection Research and Education Act brings together a Advisory Council of experts to evaluate the current science and outline a path forward to the ultimate goal--developing a reliable test or tests that can detect prostate cancer and diagnose how severe the cancer is.

The Prostate Cancer Detection Research and Education Act will mirror the investment the Federal government made in advanced imaging technologies, which led to life-saving breakthroughs in detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. This bill directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, to use the plan developed by the Advisory Council to coordinate and intensify federal research to develop and validate an accurate test for prostate cancer.

The Prostate Cancer Detection Research and Education Act would also create a national campaign conducted through HHS to increase awareness about the need for prostate cancer screening, and the development of better screening techniques. Since African American men are 56 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease, this campaign will work with the Offices of Minority Health at HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that this effort will reach the men most at risk from this disease.

Government investment in coordinating research and education could be key to diagnosing prostate cancer earlier and more accurately. We need to strengthen our efforts to bring the tools doctors use to fight this disease into the 21st century. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort, and cosponsoring this legislation.

Mr. President, 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 bill be printed in the Record.