Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to offer the Lester Nichols Presque Isle Light Station Act with my colleague, Senator Levin. Congressman Stupak is introducing the companion legislation in the House of Representatives today. Our bill will restore the historic Fresnel lens to the Presque Isle lighthouse in Presque Isle Township,

If the Senator will yield, I ask to add my name as a member of the committee.

Mr. President, I commend my chairman and the ranking member of the Banking Committee for all their hard work. This has been a wonderful bipartisan effort, and I am pleased it is included in the underlying bill. I commend the leadership of Senators Collins and Murray on the underlying bill.

I wish to speak about a piece of security that is so critical for us that I will be offering tomorrow, an amendment to provide our first responders with the interoperable communications equipment they need to effectively respond to emergencies. Whether it is port security, rail security, whether it is our local police and firefighters, we know that having radios that can actually talk to each other, actually work to be able to actually communicate with the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Defense or be able to speak to our armed services is absolutely critical.

We also know, in fact, right now that the system is not what it should be.

I also want to thank Senators Lieberman, Levin, Schumer, Durbin and Boxer for cosponsoring the amendment that will be offered tomorrow.

My amendment would finally give our first responders the resources they needs to be able to quickly communicate and respond to a terrorist attack or other kind of national emergency.

It would provide a dedicated source of funding for our communities by creating a 5-year $5 billion grant program for interoperable communications.

My amendment is based on the interoperability communications program included in the bipartisan Lieberman- Collins bill, S. 1725, which passed out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with strong bipartisan support. Unfortunately, this has languished on the Senate floor for almost a year. There has to be a sense of urgency about this issue and getting the resources to our local communities so they, in fact, can respond.

My amendment authorizes, as I said, $5 billion in grants. It is slightly more than the $3.3 billion in the Lieberman-Collins bill but certainly very close in terms of our approach.

I think it is important to provide more funding in the early years so that communications can finally address this issue and be able to do what they need to do as quickly as possible.

Yesterday, we observed the 5-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We took time to remember the victims and their families and to recount the events of that horrible day. Many of these victims were our brave firefighters and police officers who gave their lives to save others.

Every day, first responders all across our country, and certainly in my great State of Michigan, put their lives on the line to make our communities safer, a job they do bravely and with honor. Now is time for us in Congress to do our job and finally make sure they have the resources and the equipment they need in coordinated national efforts so they can respond and can communicate in case of a terrorist attack or other national emergencies.

Almost 2 years after the attacks, the 9/11 Commission Report outlined the numerous communications problems first responders had as they tried to save lives. The report details the problems police officers and firefighters in New York faced because they were on different radio systems. Over 50 different public safety organizations from Maryland, Virginia, and DC reported to

the Pentagon that they couldn't talk to each other.

This makes absolutely no sense. People running into buildings, into the World Trade Center, into the Twin Towers, when they should have been running out because they did not know what was happening. The radios did not work.

The 9/11 Commission concluded that ``the inability to communicate was a critical element at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash site, where multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions responded.''

They went on to say, ``The occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, State, and Federal level remain an important problem.''

The 9/11 Commission published its final report in July of 2004, 2 years ago, that the men and women in the first responder community knew the communications difficulties even before 9/11, 2001. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has not yet made a substantial commitment to solve this problem. It has been 2 years since the 9/11 Commission gave its report.

In fact, 10 commissioners gave Congress a failing grade, an F, for not yet providing adequate radio spectrum for first responders and not addressing the problem where our local communities are stretched too thin and have too many urgent and competing priorities to effectively and completely solve the problem by themselves.

We addressed the issue of the radio spectrum, in part, in the year 2006 budget reconciliation bill, which set a February 17, 2009, handover date and providing $1 billion in funding for interoperable communications for first responders in advance of the handover.

I support these positive steps. But now we have to build on that to provide a guaranteed stream of funding to resolve this overall crisis about radios not being connected, not being able to talk to each other.

The 9/11 Commission is not alone in the assessment of this critical problem. In June of 2004, a U.S. Conference of Mayors survey found that 94 percent of our cities do not have interoperable capability between the police departments, the fire departments, and emergency medical services--unbelievable, 94 percent. And 60 percent of cities do not have interoperable capability with the State emergency operations systems.

This is unacceptable. There needs to be a sense of urgency about changing that, and we have to be a major part of that solution.

The most startling finding was that 80 percent of our cities don't have interoperable communications with the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice.

Imagine if there were a terrorist attack and 80 percent of our cities did not have the capacity for interoperable communications with Homeland Security.

This vulnerability was again exposed over 1 year ago with the Hurricane Katrina disaster, where we know the New Orleans Police Department and three nearby parishes were on different radio systems. First responders were unable to communicate with each other as they attempted to rescue people trapped in New Orleans.

When I visited the gulf, I was very proud of seeing Michigan people there. I remember sitting for lunch outside the New Orleans Convention Center with a young man from the Michigan Coast Guard on one side and a young man from the Michigan National Guard on the other. I asked them: Do you have radios? They said: Of course. I said: Can you talk to each other on the radios? They said: No. How are you rescuing people? How are you communicating when you are out on the beat? Hand signals, was the response.

We can do better in 2006 than hand signals when we have a national emergency or a terrorist attack. How many more disasters need to happen before we fix this problem?

In May of 2006, Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, said: ``The fact of the matter is we cannot effectively manage an incident if we do not, and if we cannot, talk to one another.''

I couldn't agree more.

He went on to concede that it is still the case that too many emergency responders are not able to talk to their counterparts, to their own organizations or to their companion organizations, let alone communicate with agencies in neighboring cities, counties or States during a crisis.

On the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I believe it is shameful that we have made so little progress on interoperable communications.

It is unacceptable that there is not a sense of urgency about getting this done now--frankly, about having not done it now. We should have gotten it done 4 years ago, 3 years ago, 2 years ago, 1 year ago.

I believe that our constituents would be stunned to learn that the Federal Government has not yet dedicated funding to specifically address this problem.

How many times do we have to hear this is an issue? How many experts, how many bipartisan reports before we do what we need to do urgently and to the maximum extent that we can?

We know that the lack of interoperable communications for America's first responders puts them and our communities in danger. Too many of our police, fire and emergency medical services and transportation officials cannot communicate with each other, and our local departments are not able to link their communications with State and Federal emergency response agencies--way too many.

Our first responders are making do with less and less each year which makes no sense. And they should not have to choose between communicating with each other and critical training and other means.

I think people would be shocked to know that there are fewer police officers on our streets today than on 9/11/2001. In Michigan alone, over 1,500 fewer police officers are on our streets because of cutbacks in law enforcement funding. This makes no sense.

In the 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, one of the too many requests for support that I receive every year from communities is for interoperability communications equipment. Every time I meet with police officers and firefighters and emergency responders and local mayors, others who are leaders in their communities, the issue comes up about the radios, about the lack of ability to communicate. I have done everything I can to help. I have come to this floor many times urgently requesting that we move forward in an aggressive way to address this issue.

I am pleased to be able to put together specific grants to be able to support individual communities, and that is a step in the right direction. But what we need is a comprehensive national approach. We need to make a commitment that we are not going to accept anymore any community in this country not having the ability to talk to each other, the neighboring communities, the folks at the State and the Federal Government. That is intolerable.

This is the fourth time I have stood on the Senate floor and offered an amendment to provide the dedicated stream of funding to address our first responders' interoperable communication problems.

I am very hopeful that now will be the time that we come together right after this fifth anniversary of 9/11 and agree that we are going to turn that F, given by the 9/11 Commission, into an A, by finally coming together and solving this problem so in case of whatever the emergency is in the future, folks will not walk away and say part of the reason we lost lives, part of the reason we couldn't respond was because the radios didn't work. We have the ability to fix that in relationship to this important bill. I hope we do.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the ``Fix and Improve Reimbursement (FAIR) for Physicians Act of 2006'' today with the support of the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Osteopathic Association.

Over 20,000 M.D.'s and D.O.'s in Michigan provide more than 1.4 million seniors and people with disabilities with high-quality medical services under the Medicare program. Our Michigan families have received fantastic care, from fantastic doctors.

But will they continue to? Not unless we do something about the payment system used to reimburse physicians for Medicare services. Beginning January 1, 2007, the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula will cut payments to physicians and health care professionals by 5.1 percent. What does that mean in dollar terms? Medicare payments in Michigan alone will be cut by $137 million in 2007; the average cut for a physician in Michigan would be $34,000 per year.

That doesn't make any sense. Medical costs are going up. How can doctors provide the same high-quality care when costs are going up and their payments are going down?

It makes even less sense when you realize physicians and other health care professionals have been struggling with this payment system for years. The SGR formula resulted in significant payment cuts in 2002, and would have resulted in payment cuts in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 had Congress not intervened.

And it won't stop with the cut in 2007. According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, the Medicare SGR formula will result in substantial payment cuts to physicians and health care professionals through at least 2015.

The cuts are scheduled to total 40 percent by 2015, costing Michigan doctors in excess of $8 billion between 2007 and 2015.

Can doctors absorb these kinds of cuts and continue to serve all Medicare beneficiaries with high-quality care? Absolutely not. The cuts would be particularly devastating for primary care doctors, the very doctors that, according to MedPAC, many Medicare beneficiaries rely on for important health care management. MedPAC states in their March 2006 report that they ``are concerned that such consecutive annual cuts would threaten access to physician care services over time, particularly primary care services.'' They go on to say that ``payment policies that may discourage medical students and residents from becoming primary care physicians raise particular concern''.

A recent survey conducted by the AMA suggests that if the scheduled cuts go into effect, 45 percent of doctors will decrease the number of Medicare patients they accept--and this at a time that the Medicare population is burgeoning! Further, 50 percent of doctors will defer purchase of health information technology, 37 percent of doctors practicing in rural communities will be forced to discontinue rural outreach services, and 43 percent of physicians will decrease the number of new TRICARE patients they suggest.

This is not a new issue. MedPAC considers the Medicare SGR formula a flawed, inequitable mechanism for controlling the volume of services and first recommended repeal of the Medicare SGR formula in 2001. Since then they have consistently recommended repealing the formula.

But what has Congress done? Have we repealed the SGR? No. Instead, each year since 2003 Congress has acted to override the formula temporarily. While these actions have prevented cuts since 2002, nobody can believe this is a good way of going about business. Congress tends to act very late in the year--or AFTER the cuts have actually gone into effect--which results in instability and unpredictability for physicians, health care professionals, seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Further, annual Congressional actions to override SGR don't solve the long-term problem as the formula extracts the added spending in future years by imposing even more drastic cuts.

We know what we need to do. A Medicare physician payment system that will provide stable, positive payment updates is critical to preserve Medicare beneficiaries' access to high-quality care and allow doctors to invest in health information technology and quality improvement programs.

While a new system is being developed, we know we need to adopt MedPAC's recommendation to update payments for physicians' services under the Medicare program by the projected change in input prices less MedPAC's expectation for productivity growth. The ``Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2005'', which I introduced last year with Senator Kyl, would do just that. It would have provided physicians with a 2.7 percent update in 2006 and would provide a 2.8 percent update in 2007.

When I introduced that legislation I said that it was just the beginning. I said that our bill was necessary to provide updates for a couple of years but that we cannot continue to use stop-gap measures, and must replace the SGR with a payment system that actually makes sense and reflects the costs of providing physician care to Medicare beneficiaries.

This bill--the ``Fix and Improve Reimbursement (FAIR) for Physicians Act of 2006''--takes the next step. The purpose of the ``FAIR for Physicians Act'' is to sunset the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula in order to expedite Congressional action in establishing a new physician payment system under the Medicare program that would appropriately reimburse physicians by keeping pace with increases in medical practice costs and providing stable, positive Medicare updates.

The ``Fair for Physicians Act'' would repeal the SGR formula as of January 1, 2009. I continue to believe that we must adopt MedPAC's recommendation for updates in 2007 and 2008 to give seniors access to high-quality care while giving Congress time to develop an alternative payment system.

To help Congress with developing the new payment system, the ``Fair for Physicians Act'' establishes a new, 17 member ``Physician Payment Update Commission'', the ``Physician Commission''. The members of the Physician Commission will include members with a wide variety of expertise in the delivery and financing of health care, but--and I believe this is critical--individuals who are physicians and other health professionals shall constitute a

majority of the membership of the Commission.

The new Physician Commission will study all matters relating to payment rates under the Medicare physician fee schedule, and develop recommendations on the establishment of a new system that would appropriately reimburse physicians by keeping pace with increases in medical practice costs.

We need to do this right, but we also need to get it done soon. Our physicians and health care professionals, and our Medicare beneficiaries, have been dealing with an unworkable, unsustainable system for too long.

Therefore, the Physician Commission must report to the appropriate Congressional Committees and MedPAC by December 1, 2007. MedPAC then has a month to review the recommendations of the Physician Commission and submit a report to the appropriate Committees. MedPAC's report must include a review of the recommendations, including the reasons for their support if they support their recommendations and, if they do not support the recommendations, the reasons for that, and their own recommendations.

I know we need to get this done by January 1, 2009 and I know we can get this done by January 1, 2009. My bill would repeal the SGR formula as of that date, and establish a new Commission to develop a new payment system by that time, to ensure that our Nation's 42 million Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to high quality physician care.

In the meantime, we must provide updates based on MedPAC's recommendations.

The Medicare program is one of the most successful federal programs of all time. It has lifted countless seniors out of poverty, and it has ensured access to necessary, affordable, quality medical care for our most vulnerable citizens for the last 40 years.

We can--and must--fix the physician payment formula to maintain Medicare's record of success in providing access to high-quality Medicare services for all of our seniors and people with disabilities.

Mr. President, I rise today to commend the Detroit Shock on winning the 2006 Women's National Basketball Association Championship.

On Saturday, September 9, 2006, the Detroit Shock won their second WNBA Championship by defeating the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs by a score of 80 to 75.

The Detroit Shock were able to celebrate the tenth year of the WNBA with an inspiring victory in the fifth game of the finals and secured their second championship in four years.

The attendance for game 5 at the Joe Louis Arena was over 19,600 people. The enthusiasm shown by the people of Michigan clearly demonstrate Michigan's strong support for the Detroit Shock organization and the determined effort of all of its players.

The Shock completed an incredible season! It was capped by spectacular performances in the deciding game by the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player, Deanna Nolan, who scored a game high 24 points. Cheryl Ford, who had a game high 10 rebounds, in addition to scoring 10 points; and Katie Smith also contributed 17 points.

Head Coach Bill Laimbeer has now won four professional basketball titles, including two as coach of the Detroit Shock and two as a player for the Detroit Pistons. And the Detroit Shock owner Bill Davidson's Detroit. teams have won five championship titles, including three Pistons' Titles.

The Shock demonstrated superior strength, skill, and perseverance during the 2006 season and have made the City of Detroit and the entire State of Michigan proud.

I congratulate the Detroit Shock on winning the 2006 WNBA Championship and recognize all the players, coaches, staff, fans, and others who were instrumental in this great achievement.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the men and women in uniform serving the United States around the world, and observe a somber milestone in Michigan's contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In August, the 100th member of the U.S. Armed Forces from Michigan made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Iraq. U.S. Army 1SG Aaron Jagger of Hillsdale died when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Ramadi, Iraq. Sergeant Jagger was serving his second tour in Iraq. I offer my heartfelt condolences to Sergeant Jagger's family.

As of the first week of September, 104 members of the U.S. Armed forces with ties to Michigan have lost their lives while serving in Iraq. I will ask that a list of their names be printed in the Record at the end of my statement.

No words can express our country's gratitude for the dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice of Sergeant Jagger or the other Americans who have lost their lives. I am also thankful for the sacrifice all the men and women in the U.S. military have made for their country while serving in Iraq. They are selfless patriots that give their time and too often their lives to preserve the freedoms we hold so dear.

I know that condolences offered to these brave families and words spoken on the floor of the Senate cannot possibly make up for their loss. But it is important that they know we remember them and that our prayers and thoughts are with those that have lost loved ones, and those that still have family and friends serving in harm's way.

I will remain committed to honoring their memory and ensuring that their families and their comrades who return from battle receive the support and respect they deserve.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the list to which I referred be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself, Senator Reed of Rhode Island, Senator Reid of Nevada, Senator Leahy, and Senator Levin.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment to provide $200 million for humanitarian assistance to the innocent Lebanese and Israeli citizens who have been caught in the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The last 3 weeks have brought horrific bloodshed on both sides of the Israeli and Lebanese border. The Secretary of State has pledged $30 million in humanitarian aid. That is a good first step, but considering the extent of the humanitarian suffering in both Lebanon and Israel, it certainly is not enough.

On July 25, the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, declared a humanitarian emergency in Lebanon, and since that time the situation for innocent people has worsened. The violence affects mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and children and whole communities on both sides who need our assistance. Many innocent Americans from both sides of the Israeli-Lebanon border have fled back to Michigan and to other places in the country to escape the violence.

Thousands of people from Michigan, including buses of schoolchildren who went to Israel for a trip and thousands of people who went to Lebanon for summer vacation, for weddings, for funerals, for the ability to visit grandpa and grandma to have them see the new grandchildren, and family members who are sharing with each other during the summer, as we all do, found themselves caught in a situation that was certainly unexpected when Hezbollah attacked Israel. Many citizens have been able to escape the violence, but unfortunately some have been too poor to relocate or frankly don't want to leave their homes. Too many innocent people, families with elderly relatives, small children, have had a horrific front row seat to this conflict.

The Lebanese Government estimates there are 841 dead as of today, 3,243 injured, and over 700,000 Lebanese civilians--one-quarter of the population of the country--have been displaced internally or to other countries. The stories of innocent citizens have weighed heavily on me, and I believe we must do something to help them. I know my colleagues feel that way as well.

In Israel, it is the same. There are 51 dead, and more than 300 civilians have been wounded by rocket attacks. More than 500,000 Israeli citizens are spending a significant amount of time in bomb shelters, their children terrified, with families trying to console each other in constant fear, terrorized by Hezbollah rockets.

I believe, and I hope my colleagues will agree, that the U.S. Government must assert its leadership at this critical point in time. It must assert its leadership to stop the violence as soon as possible. We must also make it clear that we will step forward as a country to provide humanitarian aid at this critical time. So many people from these two countries have friends and relatives here in America who are desperately concerned about what is happening, who are asking us in America to step up and to help.

Time is really of the essence. This is a critical time to both send the dollars and send a message that we in America, with big hearts, are willing to reach out and make a difference in terms of humanitarian aid that is needed at this critical time. I hope my colleagues will join with me in supporting this amendment.

I will be happy to.

I thank my friend and our leader from Illinois, and I commend him for this legislation. In fact, I am proud to lend my name to the legislation. I hope we move urgently to let people know that they will not be required to go home to a place where we have been evacuating thousands and thousands of people, sending ships in to evacuate Americans.

I must say, we have had over 25,000 people from Michigan alone. We have seen over 13,000 come back. Those who are still there are desperately concerned about their family members, not being able to hear from them. Often there is no phone, no computer. So the idea of sending people here back into that violence makes absolutely no sense.

I commend the Senator. I hope part of what we would do before we leave is to make it clear that we would not ask those innocent people to return to a war zone.

I say to my friend from Illinois, I could not agree more. When you talk about people who come to visit, I think about the group of families and children I met with on Saturday who actually came home from Lebanon--escaped, essentially--but were talking about their family members who are here. Bint Jbeil--that is the town in southern Lebanon where they identified a Hezbollah stronghold--is also a place that 15,000 people in Michigan call their hometown. People have come to visit in the summer, to do the things that we all do: to go to the family wedding, to visit grandpa and grandma; as older citizens, coming to visit the grandchildren. There are all kinds of families who come back and forth all the time. That we would have people that are here be forced to go back to a war zone is really unthinkable.

I commend again our distinguished Senator from Illinois for his leadership, focusing on this issue which is so critical. I hope we would in fact bring that bill before the Senate for a vote or seek unanimous consent before we leave. It is absolutely critical.

I hope, again, we are going to make it clear that for those, whether they are in Lebanon or Israel, who have found themselves without any prior warning to be in a situation where they are innocently caught in the violence that has occurred, we, as Americans, need to do what we know how to do, which is to reach out and to help and be a part of a worldwide humanitarian effort. We need to address those issues--whether it is food, clothing, shelter, crucial issues to so many people, tens of thousands of people, probably hundreds of thousands, who find themselves in a situation where they are looking around for someone to help them.

America needs to be an important leader in lending our support. I am hopeful this amendment of $200 million will be included as an emergency spending category in this legislation.

I am happy to yield.

Yes.

Reclaiming my time, Mr. President, and I thank my colleague from Massachusetts very much, let me also just say when it comes to the temporary protected status, the legislation the Senator from Illinois has spoken about, I would add one more occasion recently in which we moved in this direction.

On another piece of legislation, Senator Levin and I offered an amendment that was accepted by this Senate to address the concerns of those from Iraq who are in the Chaldean community, who are Christians in Iraq, who are truly the true minority religious community in Iraq, and concerns that those who are here, who are Chaldeans, do not have to be returned now that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power because they in fact continue to find themselves in a situation of religious persecution.

So we have passed that in another bill, supported by colleagues on both sides of the aisle, which continues the whole premise of making sure that while those who are here on a temporary legal status would not be required to return if, in fact, their lives are in jeopardy; if we are putting them back into a danger zone.

I wholeheartedly agree and appreciate what the Senator from Illinois has done.

I once again ask colleagues--I see my friend from New Hampshire on the floor so I will bring this to a close. I am hopeful that we will come together and that we could unanimously move

forward in this effort to provide humanitarian assistance to those in Lebanon and in Israel who are innocent citizens, caught in the middle of the violence that has occurred.

Many, many people have suffered. I hope we will send a strong message that we will stand with those who are working very hard to bring humanitarian assistance.

Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. President, I ask the Senator from Alaska if he would join us in working through those accounts to make sure that the dollars are, in fact, available. We understand that an amount has been identified of possibly $300 million needed, at least by the State Department. It is my understanding about $100 million has been pledged by other countries, leaving a $200 million gap.

I ask the chairman if he would work with myself and others who care deeply about this to identify specific funds to be able to go toward this desperately needed humanitarian effort.

Mr. President, what just happened is extremely unfortunate for American families, extremely important for people all across the country who want Members to do things in the Senate that affect them and their lives.

People are feeling squeezed on all sides: Jobs, health care costs are rising, they are afraid they will lose their pension, maybe have lost their pension, the costs of college, men and women serving overseas want to know when they come home their house is not gone because of foreclosure, or they worry their family has a more difficult time because they have been serving our country.

The extension bill, the amendment Senator Reid offered with Senator Durbin, and of which I am proud to be a cosponsor, speaks to those issues the American families are asking Congress to address. It speaks to the kind of tax policy that makes sure middle-class Americans are supported and that we are doing something for them, not just for those who are the most blessed, the multibillionaires of this country.

Let me give an example. Our amendment that was just objected to included a provision to extend the $4,000 deduction for higher education expenses for families to send their children to college or for people going back to school themselves to be retrained or get a new degree to better meet the demands of the new global economy. Why in the world would we not want to rush to extend that $4,000 tax deduction for individuals who are just trying to make it, trying to get the American dream for themselves or their children?

Extending the research and development tax credit, again, is absolutely critical. Our State has gone through and continues to go through major transformations in manufacturing. This is not your father's factory anymore. This is high tech. The R&D tax credit is critical to be extended.

It is about jobs. There are many provisions in this amendment just objected to that directly relate to jobs, directly relate to our way of life in this country, creating opportunity, as well as supporting our troops. One of the provisions treats combat pay as earned income under the earned income tax credit for our brave men and women in uniform. Who would not support doing that as quickly as possible? I regret this amendment was not supported.

Let me go on to say, as our leader Senator Reid indicated, there is another bill that affects middle-class Americans that is being held up, essentially is being used for political maneuvers right now, that affects upwards of 45 million people in this country. That is the pension bill. We are talking about people who have paid into a defined benefit plan all their lives. They assumed it would be there. They assume in the United States of America one shouldn't have to worry, after paying into a pension, that the funds would not be there at retirement. Yet that is happening for too many people I represent and too many people around the country.

We have a bill that has been worked on very hard. People on both sides of the aisle in the Senate have worked together in a bipartisan effort, a good-faith effort--the Committee on Finance, with Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus, and the HELP Committee, with Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi, working very hard along with Senator Mikulski on our side playing such a critical role to make sure we get it right. Unfortunately, the process for this bill has been a disaster despite the best efforts of people on both sides of the aisle in the Senate.

Unfortunately, the price is being paid by families who find their economic interests, their future, their retirement security, put on the back burner. Three failed deadlines have occurred on this bill, 7 months of lost time in conference. Now the same families are being told they have to wait some more so we can take up a tax bill with provisions that do not even expire until 2010. People have pensions in jeopardy because of the possibility we will not act

in 2 days, and we are not acting. Hopefully we will get this done. We ought to get this done now before we focus on legislation that affects only .2 percent of the wealthiest in this country, people who are not even impacted for 4 years. There is something wrong with this picture.

There is no way to justify this. In my opinion, it is immoral to watch working Americans lose pensions they have earned over the last 30 or 40 years, and not step up and do something about it as quickly as possible. People have waited too long. In Michigan alone we have over 1.5 million families counting on their pension plan. They are counting on Congress to make sure it will be there. They are counting on Congress to make sure what they have worked for all their life will be there.

There is a fundamental principle: You work all your life, you pay into a pension, you ought to get it, period. We shouldn't be spending the time to take up another bill. This should have been done months ago. I don't understand this.

The families I represent are betting on us to help them. They are counting on us to make sure they have their pensions. Unfortunately, the leadership on the other side of the aisle has decided to prioritize a bill that impacts .2 percent of the wealthiest taxpayers while a bill that affects upwards of 45 million people is waiting to come to the Senate floor. We have no guarantee it will be passed this week. We cannot count on the fact when all of this is done on Friday that they will even proceed with this critical pension bill.

On the pension bill itself, I commend, as I said before, my colleagues, our leaders, who have worked so hard. I commend the conferees for considering the unique aspects of manufacturing and the auto industry. These are tough times in Michigan. The bill as it passed the Senate did not fully represent what we need for manufacturing. In the conference committee, people of good will worked together. We fixed those things. I am very pleased about that. Our automakers are trying to do the right thing, trying to fund their pension plans. The pension bill addresses those things that will allow them to continue to do the right thing.

We also have folks in the construction industry and building trades, the multiemployer plans, who are asking for flexibility to fix their pension plans. That is in this bill. We have companies such as Northwest Airlines, which has gone into bankruptcy but has chosen up to this point not to dump their pensions in the Pension Guaranty Fund. We have to make sure we do everything possible to help. Thousands of people, their livelihoods, their future, their retirement security, are at stake.

I thank all those working on the pension bill. I thank all of my colleagues who have worked to address our manufacturing issues and the multiemployer provisions. I am proud to be one of the sponsors of the amendment to address the pension plans of about 10 million Americans in what is called multiemployer pension plans. I thank the conferees for including that, as well. I thank all of those businesses that are trying to hang in there and do the right thing.

Most importantly, people are counting on us to do the right thing. Part of the American dream has been to work hard all your life, care for your family, put money aside for retirement, be able to afford college, which this last amendment would have addressed if it had not been objected to.

Right now, too many people in America are feeling squeezed on all sides. They see decisions being made, issues being brought up, that have nothing to do with their lives. They see policies being proposed that have nothing to do with helping them do better, hoping they will able to keep the American dream, be able to protect their way of life.

It is time we had a new direction in this country. It is time we had a new direction and focus on that which will directly affect people every day so they will trust in their Government again that we will have the right values and priorities that allow every middle-class American, every working American, everyone who is working hard and playing by the rules, to have a chance to know they will not only make it but we will keep our promises, as well.

In conclusion, I urge my colleagues, urge the leadership in the Senate, to bring before the Senate a bill that can have universal support, overwhelming support in the pension bill.

As we complete this very important Defense bill, this funding bill critical to our men and women, our troops, a bill we all want to see passed, I urge we then bring up the pension bill and let us pass it so 45 million people will have the assurance by the end of this week that their pensions will remain intact, or at least we will have given it our very best effort.

Mr. President, today I am pleased to offer this resolution in honor of Will Keith Kellogg, who founded the Kellogg Company in 1906 in Battle Creek, MI. I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues, Senators Isakson, Chambliss, and Levin.

Today, Kellogg's company employs more than 25,000 people worldwide and operates production sites in thirteen states. Additionally, the Kellogg Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic institutions in the world. Last year, it celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary and has donated more than $3 billion to health, education, agricultural, and youth-development projects.

I am proud of the work of Mr. Kellogg and the great work of both the Kellogg Company and the Kellogg Foundation. I ask for unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart concerning the violence taking place in Israel and Lebanon. On July 12, Hezbollah committed a reckless act of aggression against Israel by killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others.

Following this outrageous act, I joined with all of my colleagues in the Senate to support a resolution reaffirming Israel's rights to defend itself. I stand by that commitment, because Hezbollah and its large cache of arms is a threat to Israel and to America.

But I also watched the last 2 weeks, and those last 2 weeks have brought bloodshed on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border--innocent people dying, families being torn apart, communities being destroyed. It has gone on too long, and it must stop.

I am proud to represent the great State of Michigan. When you come from Michigan, violence in the Middle East isn't just a news story. It isn't just ``over there.'' It is here, and it affects thousands of people--friends of mine, people whom I know and respect. In the case of Lebanon and Israel, this

violence affects mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and whole communities on both sides.

Some people call Bint Jubail a Hezbollah stronghold--and I understand that. But 15,000 of my constituents call it their hometown. In fact, Dearborn, MI is home to the Bint Jubail Cultural Center that provides sort of a home away from home for many families.

Tragically, many Michigan families, their relatives, and their loved ones are trapped in Bint Jubail at this moment. They are caught in heavy fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, and people are dying on both sides. Today I pray for them and grieve with their families.

The lucky ones were able to get out--such as Rania Horani from Dearborn who was vacationing with her family in Bint Jubail when the fighting broke out. Fortunately, Rania was evacuated, but she spoke to the Associated Press about this terrifying experience. She said:

You're waiting, you're scared, you don't know if you are

going to die. But you have to get out because you're going to

die either from starvation, fear, stress, or a bomb. Thank

God we're [in Cyprus].

We share that sentiment.

But the tragedy continues for hundreds of others stuck in Bint Jubail right now. The State Department must not stop the evacuations until every American and their family is safely out of Lebanon.

Last evening I spoke with one of the assistant Secretaries of State about American citizens and their family members who are still there. And I appreciate the attention of the assistant Secretary and of the Embassy, but we can not stop the ships.

We can not stop the rescue missions until all Americans and their families can come home. Too many people are still stuck there.

On the Israeli side, there is also too much destruction and loss of life. I understand how they must feel. Thousands of Americans fear for their families. Thousands of people in Michigan, friends of mine, hundreds of Michigan teenagers were evacuated in the middle of a summer trip to Israel because they were close to Hezbollah rocket attacks. I know their families and the fear of their moms and dads about whether their children would come home safely from a summer trip.

Brandon Lebowitz, a student at West Bloomfield High School, was a few miles away from the bombings in Tiberius. He talked about his harrowing experience:

We saw the missiles hitting the city and the smoke and we

heard them from across the sea. We were pretty close to the

missiles exploding.

I know how I would feel if that were my son.

Innocent Americans from both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border have fled to Michigan, have come back home to escape the violence, watch the news every day, waiting to see what will happen to their families.

Unfortunately, many civilians did not escape the violence. Over 400 Israelis and Lebanese have died in the fighting. This has got to stop. The U.S. Government must push hard to stop the hostilities and the violence against innocent citizens. Innocent citizens are being killed in Lebanon and in Israel. I believe it is our responsibility to stand up and do everything possible to bring that violence to an end. That is why I am pleased to be a cosponsor of a resolution with Senator Dodd, my colleague, Senator Levin, and Senator Sununu that expresses support to attain a cessation in hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. We know this is not easy, but we know innocent people--families, Americans--are counting on us to show leadership.

Regrettably, over the last 5 years our Government has not played the leadership role so critical in the Middle East, the leadership role played by every other administration, whether Democrat or Republican. It is time to assert our leadership and put a stop to the violence as soon as possible. The innocent people of Lebanon and Israel have had enough of the violence and bloodshed. It is time for them to be able to live their lives in peace.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Senior Nutrition Act, which will make needed improvements to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to prevent our seniors from having to make the difficult choice between food and medicine as they try to balance their budgets.

I am pleased to have the support of my friend, Senator Domenici of New Mexico, who has been one of the Senate's strongest supporters of CSFP. Also I am pleased to have the support of Senators Johnson and Durbin.

Nationally, 32 States and the District of Columbia participate in CSFP, which works to improve the health of both women with children and seniors by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. According to USDA, more than half a million people each month participated in CSFP during fiscal year 2005, with the overwhelming majority being seniors.

My State of Michigan has one of the largest and oldest CSFP network in the Nation. Last year, over 80,000 people in Michigan benefited from this important program.

The bill I am introducing today will make the following important changes to CSFP.

First, categorical eligibility is granted for seniors for CSFP if the individual participates or is eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program. No further verification of income would be necessary in such cases. The Food Stamp Program provides a medical expense deduction, which seniors may use to account for their high prescription drug costs.

Second, this bill says that the same income standard that is currently used to determine eligibility for women, infants, and children in CSFP--185 percent of the poverty income guidelines--would be applied to seniors as well. The current income eligibility standard for seniors has been capped at just 130 percent. Under the current Federal poverty guidelines, a single senior cannot earn more than $12,740 per year to qualify. By raising the standard to 185 percent of poverty, the same senior can earn as much as $18,130 to qualify for food. This will make a major difference in the lives of so many seniors who are struggling with the high cost of prescription drugs.

This bill has been endorsed by the National CSFP Association as well as several national and Michigan senior advocacy and faith-based groups. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of these support letters be printed in the Record following my remarks.

Thank you, Mr. President. Before speaking about this very important piece of legislation we are about to pass, I wish to briefly just indicate a thank you to the State Department.

(The remarks of Ms. Stabenow are printed in today's Record under ``Morning Business.'')

Mr. President, I rise in support of the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, and Cesar Chavez Voting Rights Reauthorization Act of 2006. We all know that this reauthorizes existing but currently expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act for 25 more years. I personally believe that when this was instituted in 1965, there should not have been an expiration date and would prefer that in this bill there not be an expiration date. But I am appreciative of the fact that we have bipartisan support to continue this provision, and hopefully at some point we will be able to take off the ending date.

I think about standing in this very important spot in the Senate. Right around the corner from us is a room we call the President's Room that President Lyndon Johnson used in 1965 to sign the original legislation because of its significance. We all know this is the bedrock of our democracy, the right to vote, the right to vote without harassment, intimidation, with correct information, knowing your vote in fact will be counted.

I am proud of the fact that one of the folks who this bill is named after is Rosa Parks, who is from Detroit. We claim her as our own and are so proud of all she has done, along with the others this bill has been named after. But we are very proud that the mother of the civil rights movement is from our own beloved Detroit.

Before 1965 and the bill's passage, we had communities with explicit poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent people of color from voting. We have in fact made great progress on civil rights since the original law. But as many of my colleagues have said, there is much more to be done. Now, unfortunately, we have more subtle and sometimes not so subtle forms of voter intimidation and suppression. Voters too many times are being told of the wrong polling place or flyers and phone calls tell people that the election was moved. I know in my State we have struggled with misinformation going out around elections. Why is it that it is predominantly in our cities where the lines are the longest, the voting machines are the oldest, and, in fact, there are fewer machines? We need to know we are not done with what this bill represents until those things are fixed, until every voting machine works, until there is enough to make sure everyone can vote, until there is a paper backup so we know the votes are being recorded accurately, and until every person or group that attempts to harass anybody in terms of exercising their American right to vote has been stopped.

These practices are a reminder that our laws are only as good as the people who enforce them. That is the commitment we have behind it, to make sure that the principles and ideals of our democracy and of America are upheld.

Passing this bill is a very important step for us. I am pleased this has been placed on the agenda and that we are going to come together overwhelmingly and pass it today. We need to make sure we are willing to take the next steps. We have election reform legislation introduced in the Senate that needs to be passed. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why when I go to the ATM machine, I can get a piece of paper, a receipt that tells me about my transaction, and yet there is resistance to us having a paper backup so we know that in fact the integrity of our vote and the voting process has been maintained. I hope this will be phase one in a series of things we do to make it clear that everyone in America has the right to vote, that we are stronger because of that. We certainly know we are a better country, a stronger country because of the law that was passed in 1965, the Voting Rights Act, and that we will be stronger because of this legislation's passage and that we, in fact, will be at our strongest and our best when we are fully committed to an accurate, full, and open voting process for every person and every community in America.

I urge adoption of the bill and thank the Chair.

Mr. President, earlier this week I spoke about the fact that there would be tremendous hardship on people who are currently in Lebanon--American citizens leaving in the midst of a war zone. The stated policy, earlier this week, was to require people to pay a fee to leave, and I am appreciative of the fact that, after speaking out and after introducing a bill that, in fact, would allow them to waive the fees, in fact, the Secretary of State has done that.

I appreciate the fact that they are proceeding with that and the fact that people are now beginning to move from the region. I urge that that continue to happen as quickly as possible. We have many innocent people in harm's way. We need to remember that and do everything we possibly can to protect them.

Yes. Through the Presiding Officer to the chairman, thank you very much for including me in this process. My question would only be, how much time does the Senator from Missouri require?

Certainly, Mr. Chairman, I would have no objection.

Mr. President, first, I thank the distinguished chairman of this important bill and the ranking member for allowing me to speak about a different subject for a few moments. This is a very important bill which is before the Senate. It is very important to Michigan. I very much appreciate all the hard work they have put into bringing this bill to the floor.

I also thank my friend and colleague from California for allowing me to use a few moments of her time.

(The remarks of Ms. Stabenow are printed in today's Record under ``Morning Business.'')

Mr. President, I appreciate being able to come to the floor to speak about something of great urgency for people in Michigan and all across our country who have family and friends who are trapped in Lebanon--and certainly people in Israel as well--as a result of what is happening with the violence in the Middle East. We understand those Americans in Israel are able to leave and come home, but we have literally up to 25,000 Americans who are in Lebanon and trapped and unable to leave. They are frightened, and family members here are worried about their families in desperate situations, and they are asking for us to act much more quickly than has been occurring.

It is deeply disconcerting to me as I watched other countries, such as Italy, Spain, Great Britain, and France, on Saturday beginning to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon, taking them to Cyprus or taking them to other places to safety, and yet I understand that even though we have had some helicopters that have gone in--and I am grateful to the Department of State for that because we have families from Michigan who have been evacuated because of medical emergencies--the vast majority of people are waiting for ships.

One ship was supposed to come today. I understand that was delayed, and now they are waiting until tomorrow. And there will be, I understand, two ships--one that will allow 1,400 people to leave, and one that will allow 1,800 people to leave. But we are talking about in Michigan alone over 5,000 people, mostly women and children who have gone to see grandparents, have gone home for weddings, funerals, birthday parties, gone to see grandpa and grandma or elderly, people going home who are frightened and who are in harm's way.

I am deeply concerned that we have not moved more quickly. I have images of people sitting on rooftops in New Orleans waiting to be evacuated, waiting to be rescued, and now we have a similar situation going on with people waiting now 5 days, 6 days to leave a country that is in a war zone.

On top of that, we are now hearing that people who find themselves in a war zone, not of their making, who thought they were going to visit family during their vacation time while the children were off school or for some special event, are going to have to pay. Our Federal Government is requiring them to sign a promissory note to pay to leave to take their families to safety. That makes absolutely no sense.

So I plan to introduce a bill that will give the Secretary of State the authority to waive the reimbursement requirement for U.S. citizens who wish to evacuate Lebanon. The bill would waive the requirement in two cases: if it would create an undue financial hardship for a family or for an individual who is evacuated or if those citizens would be unable to recoup the cost of or reuse or get credit for a previously purchased airline ticket. That is the least we can do given the current situation that is underway.

This would give those who cannot afford thousands in unexpected travel costs an option for help. We cannot abandon American citizens who are currently in a war zone.

I have been in touch with hundreds of people from Michigan. I am proud to have thousands of members of Michigan who are an important part of our community, who have family members and friends trapped in the conflict in the Middle East. Frankly, our Government should be focused on the fastest, the safest way to bring people home, not how much we are going to bill them once they get here.

Let me share a couple of the hundreds of calls we have taken.

Iman Hatoum called her two young children, girls 14 and 7, who were in Lebanon visiting their grandmother when the conflict broke out. She was terrified, of course, for their safety, as anyone would be, and was working to get them out, but she was worried because this promissory note our Government is requiring them to sign would not be able to be signed by a minor. So we were able to help her work through that situation and to move forward. But she was terrified of what was going to happen to her children.

Samar Saad: Her family members--her cousins--were in Lebanon attending a wedding. They were all registered as requested by the Department of State on the Web site. But now one of her cousins was critically injured in the bombings and is in the hospital. We now find the family having to worry about medical bills because they were caught in a bombing and someone is now in a hospital, and they are having to pay for, of course, the physical injuries suffered by their family. We should not be charging them to come home, to come back to America where they will be safe.

Hoda Amine sent this very desperate e-mail to my office:

Here we are stuck in Beirut, Lebanon, with over 25 family

members. We need you and others to contact our gov. locally

and nationally to get us out of here. We are all U.S.

citizens and tax payers. Let our money be put to good work by

saving ``real U.S. citizens who are in desperate need to be

saved. We have infants (my granddaughter) and elders (in-

laws and friends) who need help desperately.

It goes on to indicate that they have registered with the embassy three times and have been informed to stay put, paying $150 each night at a hotel, and they say they are in a real, real emergency. Help us.

We need to do that. We need to be doing two things. We need to be getting ships there as quickly as possible. They should already have been there. If ships from other countries could be there Saturday or Sunday or Monday--now we are talking about not having something happen until Wednesday--there is no excuse for this.

The U.S. State Department estimates there are approximately 25,000 American citizens currently in Lebanon; 15,000 have registered with the State Department's Lebanon task force to receive evacuation information. We are keeping in constant contact with the task force.

Unfortunately, while we are working through all of this, current law requires that U.S. citizens and others who qualify to be evacuated by the Federal Government sign a promissory note pledging to reimburse the Government for their travel. They are later going to be billed by the State Department for the cost of any air, land, or sea transportation.

I am sure we all can imagine the situation or have family and friends--I have many friends, I have many people with whom I have talked, a friend over the weekend whose wife and young child went to visit family and have tried various roads and avenues to leave and have not been able to do that. People are frightened, people who are American citizens, who are asking us to help quickly and to please not put them in a situation of more financial hardship because they thought they were visiting their family in the summertime or they thought they were going to a beautiful wedding celebration or they were sharing the sorrow of a funeral or visiting grandpa or grandma or schoolchildren going on buses.

A colleague from the other side of the aisle has 300 members of a church community who are in Lebanon right now and have not been able to leave. Surely we can come together on a bipartisan basis. I know there is bipartisan interest in this issue. I am hopeful that we can come together and agree that we ought not to be charging for these people to leave in order to be able to survive with their families. They did not know this was going to happen. They had no idea they were going to be facing this situation. But now they find themselves needing help from their Government to bring them home and to keep them safe. We have a responsibility to make sure innocent people are not losing their lives or concerned about the safety of their children or their family members because of this situation. That is our responsibility, I believe, very strongly.

This situation is frightening enough without people being placed in financial hardship to pay for a ship to Cyprus and then find themselves where their airline ticket doesn't work from Cyprus so they have to buy a whole new ticket, or whatever it takes--thousands of dollars. People are being told that it is anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 to be able to protect their families and leave. That is just not right.

I really am hopeful--I know colleagues are concerned about this--I am hopeful that this legislation will be strongly embraced and that we can quickly give the Secretary of State the authority. We have been told by legislative counsel they do not now have the authority to waive these costs. So I am hopeful we will give them that authority very quickly and the Secretary of State will then be able, in a humanitarian way, to address a very critical and frightening situation for many Americans right now in Lebanon.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.