Floor Statements

Mr. President, I wish to congratulate Harrison Public School District for being named to the national ``GreatSchools'' list by Forbes magazine. Under the leadership of superintendant Jerry Moody, Harrison was named the top public school district in the country for markets of median home price under $100,000. Harrison was the only Arkansas school district to make Forbes' top 10 list.

Harrison received this designation based on criteria including quality of education, affordable housing, and the unemployment rate. Calling Harrison a ``rural gem,'' the magazine commented that ``with its well-developed gifted and talented program and an intimate 12.5-to- 1 student-teacher ratio, Harrison offers serious book learning in a mountain idyll.''

Forbes has found out what Harrison residents have known for years: that hard work, dedication, and a commitment to education are integral to a community's success. When students, teachers, administrators and parents work together, great things can be achieved.

Along with all Arkansans, I extend my congratulations to each member of the Harrison community.

Yes.

Mr. President, I rise this evening in support of my good friend, Senator Cantwell, and her amendment. I would like to thank the Senator from Washington who has for years been a leader in the Senate on the complicated issue of derivatives and who has been particularly effective at strengthening manipulation standards. There has not been a more effective champion of consumers and efficient markets than Senator Cantwell.

This amendment comes as a result of hours of thoughtful hard work from Senator Cantwell and her staff. While the Dodd-Lincoln bill contains a strong antimanipulation authority, Senator Cantwell came to me and my staff with ideas on how to strengthen the provision, and I was pleased to have listened. We worked through our concerns and built on each other's strengths and, in the end, came up with an improved product. That is the amendment we are accepting here today.

Market manipulation is an ever-present danger in derivatives trading. Derivatives are leveraged transactions, and it is well known that in these markets there are numerous opportunities for traders to abuse their positions in order to game the market to their advantage. This is unacceptable. These markets are a fundamental part of our economy. They are used to manage risk and for price discovery, and their integrity must be preserved.

The Dodd-Lincoln bill strengthens existing law to target specific market abuses that have arisen in recent years. These abuses are outlawed as disruptive practices in section 747 of the underlying bill.

I wholeheartedly support Senator Cantwell's amendment, which takes the significant step of adding a new and versatile standard for deceptive and manipulative practices under the Commodity Exchange Act. It addresses false reporting and authorizes private rights of action that will aid the CFTC in its enforcement effort. Senator Cantwell's amendment will supplement the CFTC's existing standards as the Commission and the SEC work together to regulate derivatives.

The Commodity Exchange Act is a complex statute that covers many trading venues. Senator Cantwell's amendment will give the CFTC a very important new weapon in its arsenal to combat ever-evolving forms of manipulative trading schemes that undermine public confidence in the proper functioning of these markets.

I am very proud to be a supporter of what Senator Cantwell has done with this amendment, and I urge all of our colleagues to take a look at it and realize she has really helped to improve the bill, the underlying bill, in her actions.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, first, I rise to speak in support of the Boxer amendment, which sends a strong statement that no taxpayer funds will ever again be used to bail out the risky gambles that too many on Wall Street have conducted. It should pass with 100 votes.

Also, I want to speak about the derivatives title, which is a bipartisan product that was reported out of the Agriculture Committee 2 weeks ago. Specifically, there have been statements in the press and in the Senate Chamber that I believe need to be corrected regarding section 716.

As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I am proud to have included this provision in the Wall Street reform legislation approved on a bipartisan vote by our committee 2 weeks ago. I am also proud that it is included in the Dodd-Lincoln legislation that we are now considering today.

This provision seeks to ensure that banks get back to the business of banking. Under our current system, there are a handful of big banks that are simply no longer acting like banks. By this time, surely every Member of this body is aware that the operation of risky swaps activities was the spark that lit the flame that very nearly destroyed our economy in this great country.

In my view, banks were never intended to perform these activities, which have been the single largest factor to these institutions growing so large that taxpayers had no choice but to bail them out in order to prevent total economic ruin.

My provision seeks to accomplish two goals: first, getting banks back to performing the duties they were meant to perform--taking deposits and making loans for mortgages, small businesses, and commercial enterprise; second, separating the activities that put these institutions in peril.

This provision makes clear that engaging in risky derivatives dealing is not central to the business of banking. Under section 716, the Federal Reserve and FDIC will be prohibited from providing any Federal assistance and funds to bail out swap dealers and major swap participants.

Currently, five of the largest commercial banks account for 97 percent of the commercial bank national swap activity. That is a huge concentration of economic power, which is why I am in no way surprised that several individuals are seeking to remove it from the bill.

This provision will ensure that our community banks on Main Street would not pay the price for reckless behavior on Wall Street. Community banks are the backbone of economic activity for cities and towns throughout this great land. They don't deal in risky swaps that put the whole financial institution in jeopardy. Instead, they perform the day- to-day business of banking, making the smart, conservative decisions that banking institutions should be making.

Unfortunately, we saw the five largest banks begin to fail in part because of that risky swap activity--activity

that should never have been part of their operation in the first place. Sadly, it was community bankers and their depositors who were left footing the bill.

Community banks were forced to pay for a problem they didn't create. Small banks are still paying that price. In 2009, we saw 140 bank failures, and now the cost of the FDIC insurance premiums are skyrocketing for our community banks all across the country. Higher insurance rates means less lending.

Less lending means that now individuals and small businesses are also paying the price. The FDIC reported that in 2009 the banking industry reduced lending by 7.4 percent, the biggest decrease since 1942.

I am a strong believer that you build an economic recovery from the ground up. If small and medium-sized businesses aren't getting the capital they need to grow their businesses, something is wrong. The economy simply will not recover unless we free up lending.

Unfortunately, Wall Street lobbyists are doing everything they can to distort this provision--spreading misinformation and untruths. The suggestion that this provision will force derivatives into the dark without oversight is absolutely false. The Dodd-Lincoln bill makes it abundantly clear all swaps activity will be vigorously regulated by the Fed, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

My good friend from New Hampshire, Senator Gregg, my friend from Tennessee, Mr. Corker, Wall Street lobbyists, and others in recent days have somehow argued that by pushing out risky swaps from the Nation's largest banks, such as J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, somehow swaps will no longer be regulated. This is just plain wrong.

Just because these swaps desks will no longer be overseen by the FDIC does not mean that they will not be subject to this bill's strong regulation by the market regulators--the SEC and the CFTC. In short, they ignore the strong provisions included in the rest of the underlying bill. That is convenient for their argument but not so convenient when seeking the truth.

Let me reiterate: Every swaps dealer and major swaps participant will be subject to strong regulation.

Wall Street lobbyists have also argued that this will prevent banks from using swaps to hedge their risks. Again, that is completely false. Banks that have been acting as banks will be able to continue doing business as they always have. Community banks using swaps to hedge their interest rate risk on their loan portfolio will continue to be able to do so. Most important, we want them to do so. Community banks offering a swap in connection with a loan to a commercial customer are also still in the business of banking and will not be impacted.

Using these products to manage risk or designing exotic swaps which have led to the financial demise of places such as Jefferson County, Alabama; Orange County, California; and the country of Greece are two very different things. Hopefully, this is something my colleagues will understand.

Wall Street lobbyists have also said this provision will move $300 trillion worth of swap activities outside of the banks. My question is, Why is this activity there in the first place? I agree that regulated, transparent swap activity is a necessary part of our economy in managing risk. It just has no place inside a bank where too many innocent bystanders are put at risk.

Despite what those on Wall Street may be saying, this provision is an important part of real Wall Street reform. It has broad support from the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Consumer Federation of America, the AARP, labor unions, and leading economists, such as Nobel Prize-winning Joseph Stiglitz, among others.

Let me read what a few of these groups and individuals are saying about this provision.

Americans for Financial Reform, which includes groups such as the AFL-CIO, NAACP, and Consumers Union, writes:

The over 250 consumer, employee, investor, community and

civil rights groups who are members of the Americans for

Financial Reform write to express strong support for section

716 ("Prohibition Against Federal Government Bailouts of

Swaps Entities'') as part of the Dodd-Lincoln substitute to

the Restoring Financial Stability Act of 2010.

It is now almost universally recognized that the fuse that lit the worldwide economic meltdown in the fall of 2008 was the $600 trillion severely undercapitalized and unregulated and opaque swaps market dominated by the world's largest banks. Section 716 is designed to ensure that the American taxpayer is not the banker of last resort, as was true in the bank bailouts in 2008 and 2009, for casino-like investments marketed by large Wall Street swap dealer-banks. Section 716 is a flat ban on Federal Government assistance to ``any swap entity,'' especially in instances where that entity cannot fulfill obligations emanating from highly risky swaps transactions.

By quarantining highly risky swaps trading from banking altogether, federally insured deposits will not be put at risk by toxic swaps transactions. Moreover, banks will be forced to behave like banks, focusing on extending credit in a manner that builds economic strength as opposed to fostering worldwide economic instability.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration, Joseph Stiglitz, writes:

One provision holds particular promise--and has the banks

especially riled up. This is the idea that the government

should not be responsible for the ``counterparty risk''--the

risk that a derivatives contract not be fulfilled. It was

AIG's inability to fulfill its obligations that led the U.S.

Government to step into the breach, to the tune of $182

billion.

The modest proposal of the Agriculture Committee is that

the U.S. Government (the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation) stops underwriting these risks. If banks wish to

write those derivatives, they would have to do so through a

separate affiliate within the holding company. And if the

bank made bad gambles, the taxpayer wouldn't have to pick up

the tab.

Here is another from the Independent Community Bankers of America:

ICBA strongly supports section 106--

Which is a section in our bill--

of the derivatives bill. This section prohibits federal

assistance, including federal deposit insurance and access to

the Fed's discount window, to swaps entities in connection

with their trading in swaps or securities-based swaps.

Main Street and community banks have suffered the brunt of

the financial crisis, a crisis caused by Wall Street players

and not community banks. Assessments to replenish the Deposit

Insurance Fund have increased dramatically for community

banks. Large financial players have received hundreds of

billions in financial assistance while community banks have

been allowed to fail.

Section 106 of Senator Lincoln's derivatives legislation

would be an important provision to help ensure that taxpayers

and community banks are not on the chopping block should

another financial crisis occur. We strongly urge retention of

this provision during markup this week. Thank you for keeping

the views of the community bankers in mind.

I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record these three letters from the Americans for Financial Reform, Professor Stiglitz, and the Independent Community Bankers.

Mr. President, I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure this legislation remains strong and new loopholes are not created on behalf of Wall Street.

This is a legislative body. It is designed for debate, and I welcome that debate and welcome the debate of my colleagues in terms of what we are trying to do here.

We have seen a historic economic crisis. Banks no longer look like banks, and for people in my hometowns across Arkansas, that is a frightening thing. The status quo is certainly not acceptable.

We all have to look at what it is we can do to come together with some type of assurance and confidence for the people of our States that we are not going to let the status quo remain. I believe we need to take the necessary steps to create that confidence for investors and consumers that what we experienced will not be able to happen again; that these financial entities cannot become so big that they cannot fail or that we would not allow them to fail or, worst of all, that taxpayers will have to bail them out again.

I say to my colleagues, I am a very pragmatic person, pretty simplistic in what it is I want to achieve and what we have worked to achieve. I hope all of my colleagues will continue to work together to find out what it is we can responsibly hand to the people of this great country and say to them: We not only have seen what has happened, but we are going to dare to produce something that will ensure it does not happen again. As I said, working in a pragmatic way, I think we can come up with a good, strong piece of legislation, that all of us-- Democrats and Republicans, no matter what regions of the country we come from--will actually say to the American people: We saw what happened, and we are going to make sure it does not happen again.

Mr. President, I am so pleased to rise in support of Judge Price Marshall who has been nominated to fill the Federal judicial vacancy in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Judge Marshall has enjoyed an impressive and lengthy legal career in Arkansas, where he has served as a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals since 2006.

Previously, Judge Marshall practiced law in his hometown of Jonesboro, for 15 years, as a principal at the firm Barrett & Deacon. He also clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Arnold from 1989 to 1991.

He graduated from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1985, where he currently serves as an adjunct professor of political science.

Judge Marshall also received a degree from the London School of Economics, and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 1989.

He has done a tremendous job. He is very well known in Arkansas as a gifted appellate advocate, brilliant legal mind, and well-respected man of integrity. I am so pleased the Senate is taking the role of moving him forward in this capacity. I thank Chairman Leahy and the Judiciary Committee for moving the nomination forward. I have full faith and confidence in Judge Marshall's ability and encourage Members to support him.

I yield to my colleague from Arkansas.

Mr. President, today I commemorate the 125th anniversary of ``Old Folks Singing,'' a time-honored tradition in Tull,

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Little Rock philanthropist Judy Tenenbaum and her lifetime of service for the people of our great State of Arkansas.

Judy will be recognized during this year's ``Red Jacket Ball,'' an annual benefit gala for City Year Little Rock/North Little Rock, a leading nonprofit organization that unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service. Throughout communities across the U.S., City Year members are easily recognizable by their red jackets, which symbolize the power of citizen service and provide the namesake for their annual fundraiser.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Red Jacket Ball, and Judy joins a distinguished list of Arkansas philanthropists to have received this honor. Judy donates her time and resources to countless organizations throughout Central Arkansas, with causes ranging from the arts to cancer research to community development. Judy has touched thousands of Arkansans who may never know her name but who feel her generosity and support.

Mr. President, I am proud to call Judy a friend. We have worked together on a number of charitable projects throughout the years, and she is always willing and able to lend support where it is needed the most. I join all Arkansans in recognizing Judy with the Red Jacket Ball Lifetime of Service Award from City Year Little Rock/North Little Rock.

Mr. President, I thank Chairman Dodd for his hard work. I absolutely agree that getting Members to bring their amendments forward is going to be critical in terms of working with them and their ideas to see if we can move forward. We have a historic opportunity to do something on behalf our country, and I hope we all work together to make that happen.

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Boxer be the next Democratic speaker after Senator Warner in the queue.

Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the Dodd-Lincoln substitute amendment. This substitute amendment represents a critical step forward in restoring the soundness of our financial system. This bill will ensure that our markets work for Main Street and not just for Wall Street.

We have come to a critical juncture, and our Nation faces great challenges. But within those challenges we find great opportunities.

Last fall, I had the honor and solemn responsibility of taking over the gavel of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. As the daughter of a very pragmatic, seven-generation Arkansas family, I find myself, in the Senate Committee on Agriculture's 184 years, the first Arkansan to ever serve as chairman of that committee. I am proud of the work that has gone into the product we bring, along with the banking bill, to this process.

Our committee was tasked with putting an end to the reckless behavior that put our financial system in jeopardy, specifically bringing regulation to the over-the-counter derivatives market. Reforming this market is at the heart of financial regulatory reform. Within a decade, this market exploded to $600 trillion in notional value and is today completely unregulated.

Last week, the Senate Agriculture Committee took a critical step toward bringing transparency and accountability to this market, a critical step toward passing the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act with bipartisan support.

The major provisions of this bill are included in this substitute amendment I have offered today with Chairman Dodd. I appreciate the work of my distinguished colleague, Chairman Dodd, and the Senate Banking Committee staff, along with the amazing staff from the Agriculture Committee, to merge our two bills.

I also appreciate the leadership of Majority Leader Reid, whose commitment to producing strong financial regulatory reform guided us through this process.

This substitute legislation takes the best of both committees' products and represents the strongest reform legislation to date. I thank Chairman Dodd for his strong leadership on this combined effort. He is a longtime leader in this body, and I very much appreciate not only all of his leadership but certainly our strong relationship. I am grateful for all of his hard work.

I would also like to thank the President and his Treasury Department for their leadership on this issue. I also greatly appreciate the strong support from Chairman Gensler at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Because of their commitment, the administration has been instrumental in bringing us to this point.

I am also very fortunate to have a strong partner in my good friend and ranking member, Saxby Chambliss. His thoughtfulness and the hard work of his unbelievable staff is reflected in many of the provisions we will begin debating on the Senate floor today. While we have had some policy differences, I know without a doubt that we share the goal of bringing thoughtful reform to these markets.

This legislation is historic. It is landmark reform. It will keep banks in the business of banking. It will prevent future bailouts and, through the work done by Chairman Dodd, put an end to too big to fail. It will lower systemic risk--systemic risk through our clearing mechanisms and our exchange trading and real-time price transparency. It will close loopholes and make sure the regulators have the full authority to go after those entities that would evade or abuse the law. It protects jobs on Main Street by giving true commercial end users the ability to hedge and manage their risks. It protects municipalities, along with pensions and retirees and any governmental agency, from the gouging or the gross profiteering that has occurred in the past. Most importantly, it will bring 100 percent transparency to what is currently a completely unregulated and dark marketplace.

This bill is true reform. This is strong reform. But we need to remember that this is not regulation for regulation sake. We have an important but narrowly tailored end user exemption and appropriate restraint on the regulators where necessary. We understand we are competing in a global financial world. This is a robust package that balances the need for strong, meaningful reform and recognizes the importance of these markets.

Americans are demanding transparency and accountability from their government and from their financial system. America's consumers and businesses deserve strong reform that will ensure that the U.S. financial oversight system promotes and fosters the most honest, open, and reliable financial markets in the world. That ensures that not only does the United States remain the world financial leader but, most importantly, that we lead by example.

I look forward to working with Chairman Dodd and my colleagues to consider amendments over the next several days and to improving the substitute bill where necessary. Most importantly, though, I am looking forward to providing the American people with a sound economy and a financial regulatory system that they truly deserve.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that George Wilder, a detailee in my office, be granted the privilege of the floor for the remainder of the debate on this legislation.

Mr. President, today the Senate is considering a resolution recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, known as NRCS.

Congress established the Soil Conservation Service, the predecessor to NRCS, in April of 1935. Since that time, the agency has aided landowners in implementing conservation measures to protect and enhance our Nation's natural resources. Meanwhile, American farmers and ranchers have become the most productive of any on Earth--ensuring a safe, diverse, and nutritious food supply for their fellow citizens and many of the world's citizens.

Today, NRCS administers more than 20 conservation programs that provide technical and financial assistance to landowners. These programs improve soil and water quality, increase energy efficiency, enhance agricultural practices, and retire marginal lands to create and protect wildlife habitat. NRCS has directly contributed to the protection or establishment of 160 million acres of wildlife habitat and to the preservation, restoration, or enhancement of 9 million acres of wetlands.

We have seen real progress over the past 75 years, but I would argue private lands conservation is more important in 2010 than ever before, as we confront challenges such as climate change and loss of open space, and explore opportunities for creating wealth in rural communities through renewable energy production and water quality and carbon credit trading.

Properly managed working lands generate environmental benefits we all enjoy, such as clean air, water made clean by filtering through forests and fields, high-quality soils that capture carbon and make life possible, and wildlife habitat that promotes biodiversity and offers recreational opportunities such as fishing and hunting. With 70 percent of U.S. lands in private hands, the continuation of successful farm bill conservation programs--along with other technical assistance efforts--should be of interest to all of us.

NRCS programs provide important public benefits while working with landowners on a voluntary basis. This unique approach is aided by the agency's presence in every county of every State. Agency employees in every office work toward the common goal of conserving natural resources for the benefit of the landowner and all Americans.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution recognizing the NRCS's 75 years of service.

Mr. President, today I honor National Guard Specialist Michelle Donovan, a resident of Hot Springs Village in my home State of Arkansas. Specialist Donovan recently received the Purple Heart for injuries she sustained while serving in Iraq nearly 3 years ago.

Specialist Donovan served as a combat medic assigned to the 875th Engineer Battalion, Arkansas National Guard. On August 21, 2007, while on patrol in Iraq, the vehicle in which she was riding struck an explosive device, leaving her and her four team members seriously wounded. She suffered severe traumatic brain injury and wounds to her leg and shoulder, as well as injuries to her face, requiring a medical discharge from the Arkansas National Guard.

Along with all Arkansans, I salute Specialist Donovan for her bravery, and I am grateful for her service and sacrifice.

More than 11,000 Arkansans on active duty and more than 10,000 Arkansas reservists have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 11, 2001. It is the responsibility of our Nation to provide the tools necessary to care for our country's returning servicemembers and honor the commitment our Nation made when we sent them into harm's way. Our grateful Nation will not forget them when their military service is complete. It is the least we can do for those whom we owe so much.

Mr. President, today I congratulate Alice Smith for being named the 2009 Citizen of the Year by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce.

According to those who know her best, Alice is a dedicated community

volunteer, spending countless hours of her time helping others throughout the Clarendon community. A long-time volunteer with the Boy Scouts, Alice also serves as President of the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce and is a member of Visions for Clarendon, the Clarendon American Legion Auxiliary, and a board member for the Monroe County Human Development Center. Alice also fought to save the annual Clarendon Christmas parade when it was on the verge of cancellation due to lack of funds and participation.

I have felt a long kinship to Clarendon, and I am grateful for the friendships I have made there. Clarendon is a community with a great spirit of volunteerism and caring. We should all embrace Alice's spirit of service and volunteerism. I send my heartfelt congratulations to her and her family.

Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the residents of Hot Springs Village in my home State of Arkansas.

Hot Springs Village is a gated resort and retirement community in scenic west central Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains. It is home to 15,000 residents and offers 11 recreational lakes for fishing, swimming and boating, 16 tennis courts, a fitness center, a 650-seat performing arts center, and over 20 miles of wooded nature trails.

During the week of April 17-25, Hot Springs Village will celebrate its 40th anniversary with events throughout the community, including concerts, golf tournaments, luncheons, open houses, and more. These events symbolize the culture, recreation, and community spirit that define Hot Springs Village and its citizens.

Mr. President, I salute the residents of Hot Springs Village for their efforts to maintain the heritage, beauty, and history of their community. I join all Arkansans to express my pride in this jewel of Arkansas.

Mr. President, today I honor Aaron Martin, a native of Stuttgart from my home State of Arkansas. His bravery and that of his fellow servicemen and women made national headlines recently as they captured a group of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

A 1994 Stuttgart High School graduate, Martin was among the sailors who took on a small gang of Somali pirates in the early morning hours of April 1. The USS Nicholas, a guided missile warship, was tracking the pirates when they opened fire in Indian Ocean waters, according to reports. The USS Nicholas, which saw combat in the first Gulf War, returned fire and disabled the small ship.

Martin is the son of Bruce and Janette Martin of Stuttgart. He and his wife Natalie have an 8-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.

Along with all Arkansans, I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of all of our military servicemembers and their families.

Mr. President, today I congratulate Little Rock Air Force Base and its community council for winning the prestigious 2009 Abilene Trophy, which is presented annually to a civilian community for outstanding support to a nearby U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Base. The winner is determined by a selection committee of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee in Texas, with final approval by the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command.

According to COL Greg Otey, Little Rock Air Force Base Installation Commander, ``the council's steadfast support of the base, its missions and its people haven't gone unnoticed. I've said many times that we are blessed to have such a supportive local community, and this award validates everything I've been saying since I arrived here last year.''

Little Rock Air Force Base is known as the ``Home of C-130 Combat Airlift'' in large part due to the outstanding relationship among its community partners. The relationship between the base and local community remains as strong today as when it began in the 1950s, and community support is integral to the base's ability to accomplish its mission.

For example, in 2009, ground was broken on a new Joint Education Center, a higher-learning institution open to both military members and civilians. The city of Jacksonville voted to support the center with another $5 million of its own. Airpower Arkansas, a subset of the Community Council, raised more than $50,000 from local business and individuals for the base's 2010 air show. Civic leaders sponsored base events such as the Air Force Ball, the Annual Awards Ceremony, and the Black Knight Heritage Dinner. These leaders also took time on Thanksgiving and Christmas to serve meals to Airmen at the base dining facility.

I commend the Little Rock Air Force Base and its community council for their efforts, hard work, and dedication. Along with all Arkansans, I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of all of our military servicemembers and their families.

Mr. President, today I pay tribute to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's Golden Lions basketball team and head coach George Ivory for representing our great State so well during this year's NCAA basketball tournament. In particular, I recognize Coach Ivory, who was recently named the 2010 National Coach of the Year by the Heritage Sports Radio Network, which covers sporting events for our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Ivory received this honor based on voting from basketball fans across the Nation.

Under the leadership of Chancellor Lawrence A. Davis and Athletic Director Louis ``Skip'' Perkins, Coach Ivory led the Golden Lions to the 2010 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. UAPB earned a 61-44 victory over Winthrop during the NCAA tournament, advancing to the next round. The Golden Lions' tournament appearance marked the first in the program's history. The Golden Lions finished the season 18-16, capturing their first overall winning season since rejoining the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1997.

I commend the entire UAPB community for their support of the Golden Lions team, and for building an environment where students have the opportunity to reach their academic goals and achieve their dreams.