BTU Act of 2013

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction around the globe and to introduce legislation aimed at modernizing the way the United States addresses this critical national security challenge. My bill, the Next Generation Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 2013, requires the President to establish a multi-year comprehensive and well- resourced regional assistance strategy to coordinate and advance cooperative threat reduction and related nonproliferation efforts in one of the most critical regions to U.S. national security interests: the Middle East and North Africa.

Fifty years ago, in 1963, President Kennedy famously said that he was ``haunted'' by the possibility that the United States could soon face a rapidly growing number of nuclear powers in our world. At the time, he predicted that by 1975, there could be as many as twenty countries with nuclear weapons. However, thanks to strong, forward-thinking and innovative American leadership on the nonproliferation agenda, including efforts like the Nonproliferation Treaty and the Nunn-Lugar program, we have so far averted Kennedy's nuclear nightmare.

Recent WMD-related developments, including Syria's chemical weapons stockpile and Iran's nuclear program, have begun to test the limits of our nonproliferation regime. I am afraid we may be quickly reaching an important crossroads--one where we either prove President Kennedy wrong for a little while longer, or find out that his nightmare prediction was simply a half-century too soon.

As WMD-related materials and know-how continue to spread, the challenge of WMD proliferation is getting more

diffuse and harder to track. Our focus and our resource commitment need to match the severity of this emerging threat. Now is the time for us to recommit to an aggressive nonproliferation agenda and to demonstrate to the world that the U.S. will continue to lead in curbing the threat posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons around the world.

We should start in one of the most dangerous, most unstable regions in the world today: the Middle East and North Africa.

Nowhere is the proliferation challenge more glaring than in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, where political instability and deeply-rooted violent extremism sit atop a complex web of ethnic differences, a history of violence and extremism, robust military capabilities, a growing collection of unsecured conventional and possible WMD-related weapons and a variety of inexperienced and potentially unstable governments brought into power by the Arab Spring.

Continued upheaval in Syria and the threat posed by the Assad regime's substantial chemical weapons stockpile pose a grave challenge to U.S. interests. Iran's continued illicit development of its nuclear program and its movement towards an advanced nuclear weapons capability threatens the U.S. and our allies and could lead to a nuclear arms race in the region. Terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and al Qaeda continue to operate throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and their direct ties to the Iranian and Syrian regimes only exacerbates the threat posed by these groups as they seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction or know-how.

Add to these threats the fact that the Arab Spring and continued revolutions across the region have brought popularly elected, yet untested governments into power that possess minimal capability and very little experience in countering WMD proliferation.

In the face of this growing and complex challenge, it is obvious that the Middle East and North African region represents the next generation of WMD-related tests for the United States. Yet, our resources and our programming are not getting ahead of the threat. In fact, the nonpartisan ``Project on U.S. Middle East Nonproliferation Strategy'' estimates that, excluding programs in Iraq, only two percent of last year's nonproliferation-related programming, or approximately $20,000,000 of an estimated $1,000,000,000, was spent in Middle East and North Africa countries.

Luckily for us, we have a successful model for engagement on this issue that we can fall back on. Just over two decades ago, Senators Sam Nunn and Dick Lugar initiated what has proven to be one of the country's most effective foreign policy efforts. The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction, CTR, Program has led to the successful deactivation of well over 13,000 nuclear warheads, as well as the destruction of over 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles and almost 40,000 metric tons of chemical weapon agents. Because of Nunn- Lugar, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus are nuclear weapons free and Albania is chemical weapons free.

The principles of Nunn-Lugar can and should be more fully translated into the Middle East and North Africa. Congress has long supported expanding CTR into the Middle East, but it was only last fall that the Administration finally completed the bureaucratic changes necessary to more robustly engage in this region.

It is time we expand and ramp up our CTR efforts to prevent the potential proliferation of WMD-related weapons, technologies, materials, and know-how in this difficult and volatile part of the world. That is why I am introducing the Next Generation Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 2013, which is aimed at modernizing our CTR and nonproliferation programs and expanding them more comprehensively throughout this region.

The bill calls for the President to develop and implement a multi- year comprehensive regional assistance strategy to coordinate and advance CTR and nonproliferation in the Middle East and North Africa. The strategy requires an integrated, whole-of-government commitment to building on the cooperative threat model demonstrated by Nunn-Lugar's successes, the initiation of new CTR programs with newly elected partners in the region, and plans to ensure burden-sharing and leveraging of additional outside resources.

The bill allows for the support of innovative and creative assistance programs aimed at enhancing the capacity of governments in the region to prevent, detect, and interdict illicit WMD-related trade. Activities could include:

Encouraging and assisting with security and destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles; Promoting the adoption and implementation of enhanced and comprehensive strategic trade control laws and strengthening export controls and border security, including maritime security; Promoting government-to-government engagement among emerging political and public policy leaders, including the possibility of training courses for parliamentarians and national technical advisors; Promoting activities that seek to work with civil society organizations, media representatives, and public diplomacy officials to help develop a culture of nonproliferation responsibility among the general public; The possible establishment of nuclear, chemical, or biological security Centers of Excellence in the Middle East; Supporting, enhancing, or building upon regional nonproliferation programs and institutions already in place, including such multilateral initiatives as the December 2010 Gulf Cooperation Council conference on the implementation of UNSCR 1540 or the Arab Atomic Energy Agency and its Arab Network of Nuclear Regulators; Supporting, enhancing, or building upon previous multilateral initiatives, including the Group of Eight's Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction or the White House-led Nuclear Security Summits in 2010 and 2012 to more fully incorporate and include countries of the Middle East and North Africa region; Encouraging countries to adopt and adhere to the IAEA Additional Protocol; Promoting and supporting WMD- related regional confidence-building measures and Track Two regional dialogues on nonproliferation and related issues; Working collaboratively with businesses, foundations, universities, think tanks and other sectors, including the possibility of prizes and challenges to spur innovation in achieving appropriate Middle East and North Africa nonproliferation objectives; Supporting and expanding successful existing Middle East and North Africa partnerships, including the Middle East Consortium for Infectious Disease Surveillance; Promoting the establishment of professional networks that foster voluntary regional interaction on weapons of mass destruction-related issues; or enhancing United States-Europe cooperation on combating proliferation in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The threat posed by WMD-related materials falling into the hands of terrorists remains our greatest and gravest threat. As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, ``Every senior leader, when you're asked what keeps you awake at night, it's the thought of a terrorist ending up with a weapon of mass destruction, especially nuclear.''

To date, we have largely kept WMD materials out of terrorists' hands. Unfortunately, however, being successful ``to date'' is not good enough. When it comes to terrorism and WMD in our world, the reality is that the international community cannot afford to make a single mistake. We cannot be complacent because one miscalculation . . . one unprotected border . . . one unsecured facility . . . could all lead to a mushroom cloud somewhere in our world.

We need to remain vigilant, to think ahead, and to anticipate where the next threats will come from and adapt to get ahead of it.

That is why I would urge my colleagues in the Senate to take up and pass the Next Generation Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 2013. We need to demonstrate that the United States will continue to lead the international community in curbing the threat posed by WMD proliferation. My legislation does just that. I hope the Senate will support this important effort.

Before yielding the floor, I want to thank my colleagues in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, at the White House and at the Departments of State and Defense who contributed to this legislation. I also want

to give special thanks to the Co-Chairs of the Project on U.S. Middle East Nonproliferation Strategy, including David Albright, Mark Dubowitz, Orde Kittrie, Leonard Spector and Michael Yaffe, whose report, ``U.S. Nonproliferation Strategy for the Changing Middle East,'' served as the inspiration for this legislation.

Mr. President, as parents, we can see the scrapes and cuts our children get--the unavoidable byproducts of growing up. A little bit of ointment and some bandages usually do the trick. But what of the injuries we can't see? The ones we can't readily tell, no matter how well we know our kids.

Each year, as many as 3.8 million Americans suffer sports- and recreation-related brain injuries. Some are horrific, deadly, and visible to the naked eye. But the vast majority are concussions caused by an awkward hit, a freak fall, or a routine blow to the head on the field. They cannot be seen, but the damage is there in the very place that houses our minds and for our children their future.

Most susceptible are our young athletes, whose bodies and brains are still growing, with each concussion increasing the likelihood of suffering yet another. This past school year alone, more than 300,000 of our high school athletes were diagnosed with concussions. Since 2005, over 1.3 million concussions have been diagnosed among high school athletes in just the top nine most common sports. However, researchers say these figures likely underestimate--vastly--the true extent of the epidemic because so many head injuries go unreported or ignored. And when a concussion occurs, few ever lose consciousness, and the telltale signs can seem minor in the immediate aftermath. It is only later on, perhaps the next day or weeks thereafter, when the consequences become clearer and more alarming.

The urgency to act only grows the more we learn about brain injuries. Concussions aren't minor bumps and dings. They aren't something kids should just ``play through,'' as some coaches advise. They are injuries to the brain that animate our very existence, and they can impair their cognitive abilities just when our children need a good head on their shoulders. And we, as a society, have already seen the potential tragedies that repeated concussions can bring to athletes--their limbs paralyzed or their lives cut short by the inner demons the injuries eventually bear.

The role of sports, and all of its innate benefits, is an important part of growing up in America. They teach us lessons that can't be taught in the classroom, they make us healthier, and they show us the value of teamwork, grit, and responsibility. But the pervasiveness of concussions and their effects, particularly among children, should no longer be disregarded. And, as policymakers and parents, we must ensure that we are doing everything we can to learn more and safeguard our kids and athletes.

Senator Tom Udall and I are proud to introduce the Youth Sports Concussion Act, which will help ensure that protective sports equipment take heed of the latest science and are not sold based on false or deceptive premises.

As chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, we have already revealed and investigated bad actors who peddle products with false safety claims to parents of young athletes. Under this legislation, the Federal Trade Commission would be able to go after them with greater force and ensure this practice comes to an end.

This bill would also direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review a forthcoming study from the National Academies of Science on youth concussions. Based on the study's recommendations, the CPSC would then be permitted to consider new safety standards for sports equipment if manufacturers fail to come up with their own.

The legislation--I am happy to say--has the strong support of major sports leagues and players associations. Pediatricians, scientists, and consumer groups have endorsed it, too. Our athletes, whether peewee or professional, whether under the lights or on the pitch, inspire and bring Americans together, and their efforts to help pass this sensible bill will surely garner the appreciation of present and future athletes to come.

This fall, some 3 million children under the age of 14 will don their pads and snap on their helmets to play tackle football. For a sport so important--and for lives so precious--to our country, let us make sure we act as soon as we can. The lessons imparted and the fitness gained on the field are moot without the health of our children.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of energy innovation, energy independence, national security, and local economies.

The legislation I am introducing, the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013--known as the BTU Act--would give tax parity to biomass heating systems under sections 25d and 48 of the Internal Revenue Code and would help to encourage a very promising industry.

By adding biomass heating systems to the eligible renewable technologies for residential and commercial tax credits, we can help make clean, home-grown heating more cost effective for hard-working Americans.

By way of example, Maine has the highest home heating oil dependence of any State in the country--and nearly 80 cents of every $1 spent on heating oil goes out of State. Much of this money also leaves the country and goes to nations that are less than friendly with the U.S. Yet we have plenty of renewable heating sources here at home.

In Maine, wood pellet boilers are the most widely used biomass heating systems. Wood pellet boilers run on trees grown in the State, cut by local loggers, processed into pellets in local mills, then purchased and used to heat local homes. Nearly every single heating dollar stays within the local economy. This supports good-paying jobs, working, productive forests, and it helps move the country toward energy independence.

We are not talking about traditional woodstoves here. These are highly innovative, clean-burning systems that are simple to run. They can even be integrated with your smart phone so you can turn the heat up on your way home from work.

In addition, thermal biomass systems--particularly wood pellet boilers--have very small carbon footprints. New trees are planted to replace the trees processed into pellets. These new trees capture the carbon released by the pellets. Compared to fossil fuels, such as home heating oil, this yields an extremely small carbon footprint.

I am excited to offer this legislation and to be joined by Senator Collins.

This bill could greatly benefit any State with a strong forestry industry but also States with industries that turn agricultural waste and nonfood stock plants into thermal biomass fuels. I look forward to working with colleagues from around the country to level the playing field for the biomass industry.

Let us work together to keep our energy dollars here at home and create jobs in our backyard.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of energy innovation, energy independence, national security, and local economies.

The legislation I am introducing, the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013--known as the BTU Act--would give tax parity to biomass heating systems under sections 25d and 48 of the Internal Revenue Code and would help to encourage a very promising industry.

By adding biomass heating systems to the eligible renewable technologies for residential and commercial tax credits, we can help make clean, home-grown heating more cost effective for hard-working Americans.

By way of example, Maine has the highest home heating oil dependence of any State in the country--and nearly 80 cents of every $1 spent on heating oil goes out of State. Much of this money also leaves the country and goes to nations that are less than friendly with the U.S. Yet we have plenty of renewable heating sources here at home.

In Maine, wood pellet boilers are the most widely used biomass heating systems. Wood pellet boilers run on trees grown in the State, cut by local loggers, processed into pellets in local mills, then purchased and used to heat local homes. Nearly every single heating dollar stays within the local economy. This supports good-paying jobs, working, productive forests, and it helps move the country toward energy independence.

We are not talking about traditional woodstoves here. These are highly innovative, clean-burning systems that are simple to run. They can even be integrated with your smart phone so you can turn the heat up on your way home from work.

In addition, thermal biomass systems--particularly wood pellet boilers--have very small carbon footprints. New trees are planted to replace the trees processed into pellets. These new trees capture the carbon released by the pellets. Compared to fossil fuels, such as home heating oil, this yields an extremely small carbon footprint.

I am excited to offer this legislation and to be joined by Senator Collins.

This bill could greatly benefit any State with a strong forestry industry but also States with industries that turn agricultural waste and nonfood stock plants into thermal biomass fuels. I look forward to working with colleagues from around the country to level the playing field for the biomass industry.

Let us work together to keep our energy dollars here at home and create jobs in our backyard.

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