Floor Statements

Mr. President, today, I am reintroducing the Corporate Management Accountability Act, which asks each publicly traded company to disclose its policies on whether senior executives or shareholders bear the costs of paying the company's fines and penalties.

In 2014, William Dudley. then the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, gave a speech on Enhancing Financial Stability by Improving Culture in the Financial Services Industry. In this speech, President Dudley said, ``in recent years, there have been ongoing occurrences of serious professional misbehavior, ethical lapses and compliance failures at financial institutions. This has resulted in a long list of large fines and penalties, and, to a lesser degree than I would have desired employee dismissals and punishment. . . . The pattern of bad behavior did not end with the financial crisis, but continued despite the considerable public sector intervention that was necessary to stabilize the financial system. As a consequence. the financial industry has largely lost the public trust.''

Since 2009, banks globally have paid $372 billion in penalties, according to the Boston Consulting Group. However, despite these fines, financial institutions continue to engage in unacceptable behavior, whether it is Wells Fargo betraying the trust of its customers by opening unauthorized accounts or it is Equifax endangering millions of consumers by compromising critical personal information. Indeed, in my home State of Rhode Island, almost half the State may have been impacted by the cybersecurity breach at Equifax. These and other breaches and lapses illustrate how far financial institutions have to go in rebuilding the trust of Rhode Islanders and the American people.

At the same time, it is evident that simply fining and penalizing financial institutions at the corporate level is not enough to deter bad actors. Senior executives, many of whom are all too eager to take credit for a company's good news, must also take more responsibility for the bad news, especially if it is true that the buck stops with them. For example, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded ``the financial crisis reached cataclysmic proportions with the collapse of Lehman Brothers,'' and yet, according to the Congressional Research Service. not a single senior executive officer at Lehman Brothers at the Federal level was charged, went to jail, or personally paid a Federal fine or penalty for the damage caused at Lehman Brothers that rippled through our economy in 2008.

According to Professor Peter J. Henning, who also writes the White Collar Watch column in the New York Times. ``a problem in holding individuals accountable for misconduct in an organization is the disconnect between the actual decisions and those charged with overseeing the company, so that executives and corporate boards usually plead ignorance about an issue until it is too late.''

The Corporate Management Accountability Act I am reintroducing today is one attempt at helping to solve this problem. The bill simply asks publicly traded companies to disclose whether they expect senior executives or shareholders to pay the cost of corporate fines or penalties. This approach is supported by University of Minnesota Law School Professors Claire Hill and Richard Painter, who also served as President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer, as well as Americans for Financial Reform.

I urge all my colleagues to join this legislative effort to hold senior executives accountable for their actions.

Mr. President, today, I am reintroducing the Corporate Management Accountability Act, which asks each publicly traded company to disclose its policies on whether senior executives or shareholders bear the costs of paying the company's fines and penalties.

In 2014, William Dudley. then the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, gave a speech on Enhancing Financial Stability by Improving Culture in the Financial Services Industry. In this speech, President Dudley said, ``in recent years, there have been ongoing occurrences of serious professional misbehavior, ethical lapses and compliance failures at financial institutions. This has resulted in a long list of large fines and penalties, and, to a lesser degree than I would have desired employee dismissals and punishment. . . . The pattern of bad behavior did not end with the financial crisis, but continued despite the considerable public sector intervention that was necessary to stabilize the financial system. As a consequence. the financial industry has largely lost the public trust.''

Since 2009, banks globally have paid $372 billion in penalties, according to the Boston Consulting Group. However, despite these fines, financial institutions continue to engage in unacceptable behavior, whether it is Wells Fargo betraying the trust of its customers by opening unauthorized accounts or it is Equifax endangering millions of consumers by compromising critical personal information. Indeed, in my home State of Rhode Island, almost half the State may have been impacted by the cybersecurity breach at Equifax. These and other breaches and lapses illustrate how far financial institutions have to go in rebuilding the trust of Rhode Islanders and the American people.

At the same time, it is evident that simply fining and penalizing financial institutions at the corporate level is not enough to deter bad actors. Senior executives, many of whom are all too eager to take credit for a company's good news, must also take more responsibility for the bad news, especially if it is true that the buck stops with them. For example, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded ``the financial crisis reached cataclysmic proportions with the collapse of Lehman Brothers,'' and yet, according to the Congressional Research Service. not a single senior executive officer at Lehman Brothers at the Federal level was charged, went to jail, or personally paid a Federal fine or penalty for the damage caused at Lehman Brothers that rippled through our economy in 2008.

According to Professor Peter J. Henning, who also writes the White Collar Watch column in the New York Times. ``a problem in holding individuals accountable for misconduct in an organization is the disconnect between the actual decisions and those charged with overseeing the company, so that executives and corporate boards usually plead ignorance about an issue until it is too late.''

The Corporate Management Accountability Act I am reintroducing today is one attempt at helping to solve this problem. The bill simply asks publicly traded companies to disclose whether they expect senior executives or shareholders to pay the cost of corporate fines or penalties. This approach is supported by University of Minnesota Law School Professors Claire Hill and Richard Painter, who also served as President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer, as well as Americans for Financial Reform.

I urge all my colleagues to join this legislative effort to hold senior executives accountable for their actions.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act along with Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy. This bill will help securities regulators better protect investors and demand greater accountability from market players. Even after a financial crisis that devastated our nation's economy, we continue to see calculated wrongdoing by some on Wall Street, and without the consequence of meaningful penalties to serve as an effective deterrent, I worry this disturbing culture of misconduct will persist.

Today, the amount of penalties the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can fine an institution or individual is restricted by statute. During hearings I held in 2011 as Chairman of the Banking Committee's Securities, Insurance, and Investment Subcommittee, I learned how this limitation significantly interferes with the SEC's ability to perform its enforcement duties. At that time, a Federal judge had criticized the SEC for not obtaining a larger settlement against Citigroup, a major player in the financial crisis that settled with the agency in an amount that was far below the cost the bank had inflicted on investors. The SEC explained that a statutory prohibition against levying a larger penalty led to the low settlement amount. Indeed, then SEC Chairman

Mary L. Schapiro in 2011 also explained that ``the Commission's statutory authority to obtain civil monetary penalties with appropriate deterrent effect is limited in many circumstances.''

The bipartisan bill we are reintroducing seeks to update the SEC's outdated civil penalties statutes. This bill strives to make potential and current offenders think twice before engaging in misconduct by increasing the maximum statutory civil monetary penalties, directly linking the size of the penalties to the amount of losses suffered by victims of a violation, and substantially raising the financial stakes for repeat offenders of our nation's securities laws.

Specifically, our bill would expand the SEC's options to tailor penalties to the specific circumstances of a given violation. In addition to raising the per violation caps for severe, or ``third tier,'' violations to $1 million per offense for individuals and $10 million per offense for entities, the legislation would also give the SEC additional options to obtain greater penalties based on the ill- gotten gains of the violator or on the financial harm to investors.

Our bill also strives to deter repeat offenders on Wall Street through two provisions. The first would allow the SEC to triple the penalty cap applicable to recidivists who have been held either criminally or civilly liable for securities fraud within the previous five years. The second would allow the SEC to seek a civil penalty against those who violate existing federal court or SEC orders, an approach that would be more efficient, effective, and flexible than the current civil contempt remedy. These changes would greatly improve the SEC's ability to levy robust penalties against repeat offenders.

Slightly more than half of all U.S. households are invested in the stock market. All of our constituents deserve a strong cop on the beat that has the necessary tools to go after fraudsters and pursue the difficult cases arising from our increasingly complex financial markets. The Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act will enhance the SEC's ability to demand meaningful accountability from Wall Street, which in turn will increase transparency and confidence in our financial system. I urge our colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act along with Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy. This bill will help securities regulators better protect investors and demand greater accountability from market players. Even after a financial crisis that devastated our nation's economy, we continue to see calculated wrongdoing by some on Wall Street, and without the consequence of meaningful penalties to serve as an effective deterrent, I worry this disturbing culture of misconduct will persist.

Today, the amount of penalties the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can fine an institution or individual is restricted by statute. During hearings I held in 2011 as Chairman of the Banking Committee's Securities, Insurance, and Investment Subcommittee, I learned how this limitation significantly interferes with the SEC's ability to perform its enforcement duties. At that time, a Federal judge had criticized the SEC for not obtaining a larger settlement against Citigroup, a major player in the financial crisis that settled with the agency in an amount that was far below the cost the bank had inflicted on investors. The SEC explained that a statutory prohibition against levying a larger penalty led to the low settlement amount. Indeed, then SEC Chairman

Mary L. Schapiro in 2011 also explained that ``the Commission's statutory authority to obtain civil monetary penalties with appropriate deterrent effect is limited in many circumstances.''

The bipartisan bill we are reintroducing seeks to update the SEC's outdated civil penalties statutes. This bill strives to make potential and current offenders think twice before engaging in misconduct by increasing the maximum statutory civil monetary penalties, directly linking the size of the penalties to the amount of losses suffered by victims of a violation, and substantially raising the financial stakes for repeat offenders of our nation's securities laws.

Specifically, our bill would expand the SEC's options to tailor penalties to the specific circumstances of a given violation. In addition to raising the per violation caps for severe, or ``third tier,'' violations to $1 million per offense for individuals and $10 million per offense for entities, the legislation would also give the SEC additional options to obtain greater penalties based on the ill- gotten gains of the violator or on the financial harm to investors.

Our bill also strives to deter repeat offenders on Wall Street through two provisions. The first would allow the SEC to triple the penalty cap applicable to recidivists who have been held either criminally or civilly liable for securities fraud within the previous five years. The second would allow the SEC to seek a civil penalty against those who violate existing federal court or SEC orders, an approach that would be more efficient, effective, and flexible than the current civil contempt remedy. These changes would greatly improve the SEC's ability to levy robust penalties against repeat offenders.

Slightly more than half of all U.S. households are invested in the stock market. All of our constituents deserve a strong cop on the beat that has the necessary tools to go after fraudsters and pursue the difficult cases arising from our increasingly complex financial markets. The Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act will enhance the SEC's ability to demand meaningful accountability from Wall Street, which in turn will increase transparency and confidence in our financial system. I urge our colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joining Senator Blunt in introducing the Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act.

According to the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there are currently only 8,300 child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) in the United States--many of whom are not practicing full time--far short of the estimated need of over 30,000 CAPs. On average, patients wait almost two months to see a CAP, a startling concern given that the incidence rates of mental illness and behavioral disorders among children in the United States continue to grow. Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin at age 14; seventy-five percent by age 24.

The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSCLRP) was created by Congress over forty years ago to help recruit and place trained individuals in underserved communities to provide needed health care services. Licensed health care providers may earn up to $50,000 toward

student loans in exchange for a two-year commitment at an NHSC-approved site, within two years of completing their residency. Accepted participants may serve as primary care medical, dental, or mental/ behavioral health clinicians.

NHSCLRP provides critical relief to physicians who have completed pediatrics or psychiatry residency training programs; however, pediatric subspecialists, such as child and adolescent psychiatrists, are effectively barred from participating due to the extra training these physicians are required to take after completing their residency. This extra training, which often results in increased student debt, typically consists of a fellowship that takes place in the two-year window of eligibility for NHSCLRP. The creation of NHSCLRP preceded the expansion of many pediatric subspecialties, not taking into account the extra years of training required for these physicians.

The Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act would correct this loophole and allow pediatric subspecialists practicing in underserved areas to benefit from the NHSCLRP. By so doing, this bill would increase access to specialty care for children and improve mental health parity for children.

Providers across the spectrum of care support this bipartisan legislation including: the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Arthritis Foundation, Children's Hospital Association, March of Dimes, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I look forward to working with these and other stakeholders as well as Senator Blunt and our colleagues to pass the Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act in order to help ensure children have greater access to the health care they need.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joining Senator Blunt in introducing the Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act.

According to the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there are currently only 8,300 child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) in the United States--many of whom are not practicing full time--far short of the estimated need of over 30,000 CAPs. On average, patients wait almost two months to see a CAP, a startling concern given that the incidence rates of mental illness and behavioral disorders among children in the United States continue to grow. Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin at age 14; seventy-five percent by age 24.

The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSCLRP) was created by Congress over forty years ago to help recruit and place trained individuals in underserved communities to provide needed health care services. Licensed health care providers may earn up to $50,000 toward

student loans in exchange for a two-year commitment at an NHSC-approved site, within two years of completing their residency. Accepted participants may serve as primary care medical, dental, or mental/ behavioral health clinicians.

NHSCLRP provides critical relief to physicians who have completed pediatrics or psychiatry residency training programs; however, pediatric subspecialists, such as child and adolescent psychiatrists, are effectively barred from participating due to the extra training these physicians are required to take after completing their residency. This extra training, which often results in increased student debt, typically consists of a fellowship that takes place in the two-year window of eligibility for NHSCLRP. The creation of NHSCLRP preceded the expansion of many pediatric subspecialties, not taking into account the extra years of training required for these physicians.

The Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act would correct this loophole and allow pediatric subspecialists practicing in underserved areas to benefit from the NHSCLRP. By so doing, this bill would increase access to specialty care for children and improve mental health parity for children.

Providers across the spectrum of care support this bipartisan legislation including: the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Arthritis Foundation, Children's Hospital Association, March of Dimes, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I look forward to working with these and other stakeholders as well as Senator Blunt and our colleagues to pass the Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act in order to help ensure children have greater access to the health care they need.

Madam President, I am pleased to join my colleague Senator Whitehouse in celebrating the tenure of Sister Jane Gerety as president of Salve Regina University. Sister Jane has served the Salve Regina University community since 1995. First, she was a member of the board of trustees, and, starting in 2009, she became its seventh president. She has been an extraordinary leader, educator, and friend. We will miss her dearly in Rhode Island as she retires and embarks upon her next venture.

Salve Regina University is a special institution. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, its original charter authorized establishing a college to ``promote virtue, and piety and learning.'' In 1947, after the acquisition of Ochre Hall, Salve Regina College enrolled its first class of 58 students. In doing so, it opened the gates of some of the mansions of America's gilded age to serve a new and better purpose of expanding educational opportunities in the pursuit of wisdom and universal justice.

It comes as no surprise that Senator Pell made Salve Regina University his home away from home upon his retirement from the Senate. Senator Pell was committed to a just and harmonious world. He was a man, born of privilege, who dedicated his career in public service to expanding educational and cultural opportunities that had previously been reserved for the elite to all Americans.

Senator Whitehouse and I share a keen sense of responsibility to protect and build on Senator Pell's legacy. In Sister Jane, we had a true partner in that effort, and we are grateful for her service.

Sister Jane embodies the founding principles of Salve Regina College, now Salve Regina University. On campus, she is known as the students' president, perhaps the highest praise for a university leader.

She has been a real presence in student life on campus. From the athletic fields to the dining halls to her office, where the doors were always open, students knew that she had their back. She was their president.

It was only fitting that the university has dedicated Wakehurst Hall, the hub of student activities and home to the office of community service, the student government association, and the campus activities board, in her honor. It is now called Gerety Hall, a name that in Sister Jane's reflection on her family speaks to love, fidelity, and perseverance.

Under Sister Jane's presidency, Salve Regina University has grown, thrived, and helped address vital needs in the community. Sister Jane oversaw the expansion of academic programs, including a new doctorate program in nursing, a master of fine arts degree program in creative writing, additional experiential learning opportunities in business, ground-breaking research programs in the sciences, and a new campus in Warwick, Rhode Island to serve the academic needs of working adults in graduate and continuing education programs.

She improved the campus infrastructure, spearheading the renovation of the O'Hare academic building, creating spaces for collaborative learning, and renovating laboratories for programs in science and nursing. Sister Jane also worked to ensure that the university addressed emerging areas of need, opening a digital forensics lab and incorporating cyber education across the undergraduate curriculum.

Even more significantly, Sister Jane worked to ensure that students from all walks of life could afford a Salve Regina education. She led the campaign ``Scholars and Scholarships'' to reach 100 gifted, endowed funds valued at over $15 million to support students, faculty, and research. Over the last 10 years, Salve Regina's annual Governor's Ball for Scholarships nearly doubled in support, raising more than $500,000 in 2019 alone as the university's signature event.

Sister Jane's accomplishments at Salve Regina University are but some of her many professional and academic achievements. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in French and a doctorate in English. She is a William Butler Yeats scholar. She has been a teacher at many levels--junior high, high school, and college and an academic dean.

She had a notable career in the healthcare sector, serving as a senior administrator for St. Joseph's Health System in Atlanta before coming to Salve Regina University. In each of these roles, Sister Jane answered her vocation to live a life of mercy. In her words and in her deeds, she promotes universal justice and works for a world that is harmonious, just, and merciful. We are all better off for knowing Sister Jane.

I will miss her advice and counsel and wish her well in her next endeavors. As she told the students when she announced her retirement, ``Looking forward, we all share a bit of fear for the unknown and also hope for the excitement that is to come.''

May we all follow her example and work to make what is to come harmonious, just, and merciful.

I yield to my colleague, Senator Whitehouse.

Mr. President, on Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend the 104th anniversary commemoration of the Armenian genocide, hosted at the Armenian Martyrs Memorial in Providence, RI. I was pleased to be able to join with so many in the Armenian community in my home State for this solemn event.

Over a century ago, one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century began when the Young Turk leaders of the Ottoman Empire executed more than 200 prominent Armenians. What followed was an 8-year campaign of oppression and massacre. By 1923, an estimated 1 and a half million Armenians were killed and over a half a million survivors were exiled. These atrocities affected the lives of every Armenian living in Asia Minor and throughout the world.

The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during this dark time, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., unsuccessfully pleaded with President Wilson to take action, and later remembered the events of the genocide, saying, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.''

Those who survived the Armenian genocide, however, persevered due to their unbreakable spirit and steadfast resolve, going on to greatly contribute to the lands in which they established new homes and communities, including the United States. That is why we not only commemorate this grave tragedy each year, but also take the time to celebrate the traditions, the contributions, and the bright future of the Armenian people. Indeed, my home State of Rhode Island continues to be enriched by our strong and vibrant Armenian-American community.

To honor the memory of this tragedy, I have once again joined with several of my colleagues on a resolution to encourage the U.S. to officially recognize the Armenian genocide. We must find a way to come together to recognize the truth of what happened and support and assist those facing persecution today.

As ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I also remain committed to supporting assistance to Armenia to strengthen security, promote economic growth, and foster democratic reforms and development.

As we remember the past, we remain committed to forging a brighter future. We must continue to guard against hatred and oppression so that we can prevent such crimes against humanity from happening again.

Mr. President, the PCAOB Enforcement Transparency Act, which I reintroduce today with Senator Grassley, will permit the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to make public the disciplinary proceedings it has brought against auditors and audit firms earlier in the process.

More than fifteen years ago, our markets were victimized by a series of massive financial reporting frauds, including those involving Enron and WorldCom. In response to this crisis, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs conducted multiple hearings, which produced consensus on a number of underlying causes, including weak corporate governance, a lack of accountability, and inadequate oversight of accountants charged with auditing public companies' financial statements.

In a 99 to 0 vote, the Senate passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to address the structural weaknesses and faults revealed by the hearings. Among its many provisions, this law called for the creation of a strong and independent board, the PCAOB, responsible for overseeing auditors of public companies in order to protect investors who rely on independent audit reports on the financial statements of public companies.

To conduct its duties, the PCAOB, under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), oversees more than 1,800 registered accounting firms, as well as the audit partners and staff who contribute to a firm's work on each audit. The Board's ability to begin proceedings that can determine whether there have been violations of its auditing standards or rules of professional practice is an important component of its oversight.

However, unlike the SEC, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other oversight bodies, the Board's disciplinary proceedings cannot be made public without consent from the parties involved.

Of course, parties subject to disciplinary proceedings have no incentive to consent to publicizing their alleged wrongdoing and thus these proceedings typically remain cloaked behind a veil of secrecy. In addition, the Board cannot publicize the results of its disciplinary proceedings until after the appeals process has been completely exhausted, which can often take several years.

Concealing PCAOB disciplinary proceedings from the public creates a lack of transparency that invites abuse and undermines the Congressional intent behind the PCAOB, which was to shine a bright light on auditing firms and practices, and to bolster the accountability of auditors of public companies to the investing public.

Over the years, some bad actors have used this loophole to shield themselves from public scrutiny and accountability. Former PCAOB Chairman James Doty repeatedly stated in testimony provided to both the Senate and House of Representatives that the secrecy of the proceedings ``has a variety of unfortunate consequences'' and that such secrecy is harmful to investors, the auditing profession, and the public at large.

For example, an accounting firm continued to issue no fewer than 29 additional audit reports on public companies without those companies knowing that it was subject to a PCAOB disciplinary proceeding. Disturbingly, these investors and the public company clients of that audit firm were deprived of important information about the proceeding against the firm and the substance of any violations. There are other critical reasons why the Board's enforcement proceedings should be open and transparent.

First, the incentive to litigate cases in order to shield conduct from public scrutiny as long as possible frustrates the process and requires both litigants and the PCAOB to expend needless resources.

Second, agencies such as the SEC have found that open and transparent disciplinary proceedings can be valuable because they inform peer audit firms of the type of activity that could lead to enforcement action by the regulator. In effect, transparent proceedings can serve as a deterrent to misconduct because of a perceived increase in the likelihood of ``getting caught.'' Accordingly, the audit industry as a whole would also benefit from timely, public, and non-secret enforcement proceedings.

Our bill will make hearings by the PCAOB, and all related notices, orders, and motions, transparent and available to the public unless otherwise ordered by the Board. This would more closely align the PCAOB's procedures with those of the SEC for analogous matters.

Increasing transparency and accountability of audit firms subject to PCAOB disciplinary proceedings bolsters investor confidence in our financial markets and better protects companies from problematic auditors. I hope our colleagues will join Senator Grassley and me in supporting this legislation to enhance transparency in the PCAOB's enforcement process.

Mr. President, the PCAOB Enforcement Transparency Act, which I reintroduce today with Senator Grassley, will permit the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to make public the disciplinary proceedings it has brought against auditors and audit firms earlier in the process.

More than fifteen years ago, our markets were victimized by a series of massive financial reporting frauds, including those involving Enron and WorldCom. In response to this crisis, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs conducted multiple hearings, which produced consensus on a number of underlying causes, including weak corporate governance, a lack of accountability, and inadequate oversight of accountants charged with auditing public companies' financial statements.

In a 99 to 0 vote, the Senate passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to address the structural weaknesses and faults revealed by the hearings. Among its many provisions, this law called for the creation of a strong and independent board, the PCAOB, responsible for overseeing auditors of public companies in order to protect investors who rely on independent audit reports on the financial statements of public companies.

To conduct its duties, the PCAOB, under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), oversees more than 1,800 registered accounting firms, as well as the audit partners and staff who contribute to a firm's work on each audit. The Board's ability to begin proceedings that can determine whether there have been violations of its auditing standards or rules of professional practice is an important component of its oversight.

However, unlike the SEC, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other oversight bodies, the Board's disciplinary proceedings cannot be made public without consent from the parties involved.

Of course, parties subject to disciplinary proceedings have no incentive to consent to publicizing their alleged wrongdoing and thus these proceedings typically remain cloaked behind a veil of secrecy. In addition, the Board cannot publicize the results of its disciplinary proceedings until after the appeals process has been completely exhausted, which can often take several years.

Concealing PCAOB disciplinary proceedings from the public creates a lack of transparency that invites abuse and undermines the Congressional intent behind the PCAOB, which was to shine a bright light on auditing firms and practices, and to bolster the accountability of auditors of public companies to the investing public.

Over the years, some bad actors have used this loophole to shield themselves from public scrutiny and accountability. Former PCAOB Chairman James Doty repeatedly stated in testimony provided to both the Senate and House of Representatives that the secrecy of the proceedings ``has a variety of unfortunate consequences'' and that such secrecy is harmful to investors, the auditing profession, and the public at large.

For example, an accounting firm continued to issue no fewer than 29 additional audit reports on public companies without those companies knowing that it was subject to a PCAOB disciplinary proceeding. Disturbingly, these investors and the public company clients of that audit firm were deprived of important information about the proceeding against the firm and the substance of any violations. There are other critical reasons why the Board's enforcement proceedings should be open and transparent.

First, the incentive to litigate cases in order to shield conduct from public scrutiny as long as possible frustrates the process and requires both litigants and the PCAOB to expend needless resources.

Second, agencies such as the SEC have found that open and transparent disciplinary proceedings can be valuable because they inform peer audit firms of the type of activity that could lead to enforcement action by the regulator. In effect, transparent proceedings can serve as a deterrent to misconduct because of a perceived increase in the likelihood of ``getting caught.'' Accordingly, the audit industry as a whole would also benefit from timely, public, and non-secret enforcement proceedings.

Our bill will make hearings by the PCAOB, and all related notices, orders, and motions, transparent and available to the public unless otherwise ordered by the Board. This would more closely align the PCAOB's procedures with those of the SEC for analogous matters.

Increasing transparency and accountability of audit firms subject to PCAOB disciplinary proceedings bolsters investor confidence in our financial markets and better protects companies from problematic auditors. I hope our colleagues will join Senator Grassley and me in supporting this legislation to enhance transparency in the PCAOB's enforcement process.

Mr. President, I want to take a moment to join in the

Mr. President, today is National Service Recognition Day, when we take a moment to honor AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members for the many contributions they make

in communities across the nation. As Americans, we take inspiration from those who have answered the call to serve, whether in defense of our Nation abroad or to strengthen our communities at home. The willingness to serve a purpose greater than ourselves is a hallmark of our Nation and those who commit themselves to the betterment of our country deserve and have earned our support. That is why this year, on National Service Recognition Day, I am joining Senators Coons and Duckworth and Congressman Larson and other colleagues in introducing the America's Call to Improving Opportunities Now (ACTION) for National Service Act of 2019. Our legislation calls for a great expansion of the number of service opportunities and an increased investment in those who serve.

Since 1994, over one million individuals have served through the AmeriCorps program. Annually, roughly 220,000 seniors over the age of 55 volunteer through the Senior Corps programs. These individuals have addressed critical community needs in education, economic development, health, and many other areas. They are among the teams of first responders when disaster strikes. Unfortunately, we have not created the capacity to support all Americans who want to serve.

The question of service is vital to our Nation. I was proud to have joined my friend and colleague, the late Senator John McCain, in laying out a vision and plan to support and encourage service--military, national and public--by establishing the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. After meeting with communities across the country, the Commission submitted its interim report, which highlighted that Americans value service and are interested in pursuing transformative efforts to involve many more Americans in service. Yet, the Commission also reported that there are many barriers to service, particularly financial ones. Furthermore, there is a lack of awareness about existing programs and opportunities.

The ACTION for National Service Act will honor our national value of service, while addressing the barriers that limit citizens' opportunities to serve. Our legislation will set us on a path to one million national service positions within ten years. It will increase the educational award so that an individual completing two full years of service will earn the equivalent of four years of the average in- state tuition at a public institution. Those who are willing to serve should not have to carry a heavy burden of student loan debt to achieve their educational goals. The ACTION for National Service Act will also ease other financial barriers to service, increasing the living allowance and eliminating the tax liability for the education awards and living stipends. The bill calls for a robust outreach campaign, requiring that all eligible individuals be notified of their options to serve. Finally, the ACTION for National Service Act calls for elevating the Corporation for National and Community Service to a cabinet-level agency and establishes a National Service Foundation to leverage private sector resources to support national service activities.

Mr. President, it is time we reinvigorate the social contract between America and its citizenry. Americans have a deep tradition of national service, starting with the dedicated men and women of our armed forces and including all those who have served in AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps. However, as more Americans wish to serve, it is important that they be given the opportunity to do so. Just as critical is investing in the education and professional development of those who have sacrificed and given so much to our Nation. Developing the talents of our most committed citizens pays life-long dividends. Our investment in the GI Bill not only honors our service members, but also enriches our Nation. Similarly, the education awards for those who have served through our national programs have economic impacts beyond the individuals who earn them. That is the new deal that the ACTION for National Service Act offers.

All AmeriCorps members take a pledge to get things done for Americans, to make communities safer, smarter and healthier, and to bring us together. I'd like to thank Senators Coons, Duckworth, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Brown, Baldwin, and Blumenthal for signing on as original cosponsors and urge our colleagues to join us in pledging to ensure that all who want to answer the call to serve can do so by cosponsoring the ACTION for National Service Act and working for its passage.

Mr. President, today is National Service Recognition Day, when we take a moment to honor AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members for the many contributions they make

in communities across the nation. As Americans, we take inspiration from those who have answered the call to serve, whether in defense of our Nation abroad or to strengthen our communities at home. The willingness to serve a purpose greater than ourselves is a hallmark of our Nation and those who commit themselves to the betterment of our country deserve and have earned our support. That is why this year, on National Service Recognition Day, I am joining Senators Coons and Duckworth and Congressman Larson and other colleagues in introducing the America's Call to Improving Opportunities Now (ACTION) for National Service Act of 2019. Our legislation calls for a great expansion of the number of service opportunities and an increased investment in those who serve.

Since 1994, over one million individuals have served through the AmeriCorps program. Annually, roughly 220,000 seniors over the age of 55 volunteer through the Senior Corps programs. These individuals have addressed critical community needs in education, economic development, health, and many other areas. They are among the teams of first responders when disaster strikes. Unfortunately, we have not created the capacity to support all Americans who want to serve.

The question of service is vital to our Nation. I was proud to have joined my friend and colleague, the late Senator John McCain, in laying out a vision and plan to support and encourage service--military, national and public--by establishing the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. After meeting with communities across the country, the Commission submitted its interim report, which highlighted that Americans value service and are interested in pursuing transformative efforts to involve many more Americans in service. Yet, the Commission also reported that there are many barriers to service, particularly financial ones. Furthermore, there is a lack of awareness about existing programs and opportunities.

The ACTION for National Service Act will honor our national value of service, while addressing the barriers that limit citizens' opportunities to serve. Our legislation will set us on a path to one million national service positions within ten years. It will increase the educational award so that an individual completing two full years of service will earn the equivalent of four years of the average in- state tuition at a public institution. Those who are willing to serve should not have to carry a heavy burden of student loan debt to achieve their educational goals. The ACTION for National Service Act will also ease other financial barriers to service, increasing the living allowance and eliminating the tax liability for the education awards and living stipends. The bill calls for a robust outreach campaign, requiring that all eligible individuals be notified of their options to serve. Finally, the ACTION for National Service Act calls for elevating the Corporation for National and Community Service to a cabinet-level agency and establishes a National Service Foundation to leverage private sector resources to support national service activities.

Mr. President, it is time we reinvigorate the social contract between America and its citizenry. Americans have a deep tradition of national service, starting with the dedicated men and women of our armed forces and including all those who have served in AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps. However, as more Americans wish to serve, it is important that they be given the opportunity to do so. Just as critical is investing in the education and professional development of those who have sacrificed and given so much to our Nation. Developing the talents of our most committed citizens pays life-long dividends. Our investment in the GI Bill not only honors our service members, but also enriches our Nation. Similarly, the education awards for those who have served through our national programs have economic impacts beyond the individuals who earn them. That is the new deal that the ACTION for National Service Act offers.

All AmeriCorps members take a pledge to get things done for Americans, to make communities safer, smarter and healthier, and to bring us together. I'd like to thank Senators Coons, Duckworth, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Brown, Baldwin, and Blumenthal for signing on as original cosponsors and urge our colleagues to join us in pledging to ensure that all who want to answer the call to serve can do so by cosponsoring the ACTION for National Service Act and working for its passage.

Mr. President, we all recognize that a postsecondary education is required for most family-sustaining, middle-class jobs, and that an educated workforce is essential to a modern, productive economy. A report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that college-level intensive business services have replaced manufacturing as the largest sector in the U.S. economy, and that while college-educated workers make up only 32 percent of the workforce, they now produce more than 50 percent of the Nation's economic output, up from 13 percent in 1967. A college degree also pays off, with one recent analysis estimating that the typical college graduate will earn $900,000 more of their lifetime than the typical high school graduate.

Yet just as there is growing recognition that postsecondary education is indispensable in the modern economy, families are being required to shoulder growing debt burdens that threaten access to college and their financial health. According to an analysis by the Federal Reserve, student loan debt per capita doubled between 2005 and 2014, rising from $5,000 to $10,000. This is a growing drag on our economy. As student loan debt has grown, young adults have put off buying homes or cars, starting a family, saving for retirement, or launching new businesses. They have literally mortgaged their economic future.

We know that student loan borrowers are struggling. The Secretary of Education just testified before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee that 43 percent of the student loans in the nearly $1.5 trillion Federal student loan portfolio are in default, more than 30 days delinquent, or negatively amortized. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that the balance of defaulted loans now exceeds $120 billion. More than 8 million borrowers currently have a loan in default.

Default is catastrophic for student loan borrowers. Only in rare instances can the debt be discharged in bankruptcy. The Federal government has the power to withhold tax refunds, garnish wages, and even garnish Social Security benefits to collect defaulted student loans.

We have seen the costs to students and taxpayers when institutions are not held accountable. Corinthian Colleges and ITT are two examples of institutions that failed their students while benefitting from Federal student aid. Their fraudulent business practices eventually led to their demise, but not before leaving their students and taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in student loan debt. More recently, we have seen the closure of Argosy University, South University, and the Art Institutes, all operated by the Dream Center, leave roughly 26,000 students in the lurch.

We cannot wait until an institution is catastrophically failing its students before taking action. Institutions need greater financial incentives to act before default rates rise. Simply put, we cannot tackle the student loan debt crisis without States and institutions stepping up and taking greater responsibility for college costs and student borrowing.

That is why I am pleased to reintroduce the Protect Student Borrowers Act with Senators Durbin, Warren, and Murphy. Our legislation seeks to ensure there is more skin in the game when it comes to student loan debt by setting stronger market incentives for colleges and universities to provide better and more affordable education to students, which should in turn help put the brakes on rising student loan defaults.

The Protect Student Borrowers Act would hold colleges and universities accountable for student loan defaults by requiring them to repay a percentage of defaulted loans. Only institutions that have one- third or more of their students borrow would be included in the bill's risk-sharing requirements based on their cohort default rate. Risk- sharing requirements would kick in when the default rate exceeds 15 percent. As the institution's default rate rises, so too will the institution's risk-share payment.

The Protect Student Borrowers Act also provides incentives for institutions to take proactive steps to ease student loan debt burdens and reduce default rates. Colleges and universities can reduce or eliminate their payments if they implement a comprehensive student loan management plan. The Secretary may waive or reduce the payments for institutions whose mission is to serve low-income and minority students, such as community colleges, Historically Black Institutions, or Hispanic-Serving Institutions--if they are making progress in their student loan management plans.

The risk-sharing payments would be invested in helping struggling borrowers, preventing future default and delinquency, and increasing Pell Grants at institutions that enroll a high percentage of Pell Grant recipients and have low default rates.

With the stakes so high for students and taxpayers, it is only fair that institutions bear some of the risk in the student loan program.

We need to tackle student loan debt and college affordability from multiple angles. All stakeholders in the system must do their part. With the Protect Student Borrowers Act, we are providing the incentives and resources for

institutions to take more responsibility to address college affordability and student loan debt and improve student outcomes. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and look forward to working with them to include it and other key reforms in the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Mr. President, we know that the quality of teachers and principals are two of the most important in-school factors related to student achievement. Yet the pipeline into the profession is in disrepair. A report from the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education showed that the number of education degrees awarded peaked at 200,000 per year in the 1970s and has dwindled to fewer than 100,000 today. This is at a time when all fifty States have reported experiencing statewide teacher shortages in at least one teaching area for the 2016-17 or 2017-18 school year. If we want to improve our schools, it is essential that we invest in the professional preparation of teachers, principals, and other educators. As such, today, I am reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act with my colleagues Senators Casey and Coons to ensure that the Federal government continues to be a partner in addressing this critical national need.

The impact of educator shortages falls the hardest on our most vulnerable students in our highest need communities. Rhode Island is no exception, with Providence, the largest school district, facing an acute shortage of teachers certified to teach English language learners. My home State has also reported shortages in special education, science, math, world languages, and school nurses.

We cannot solve this problem without improving both teacher and principal preparation. We need to make sure that our educator preparation programs are worthy of the professionals entering the field and the students they will serve. The Educator Preparation Reform Act is a key part of the solution.

Our legislation builds on the successful Teacher Quality Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It continues the partnership between high-need school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparation programs to reform pre-service programs based on the unique needs of the partners. Among the key changes are specific attention and emphasis on principals and the addition of a residency program for new principals. Improving instruction is a team effort, with principals at the helm. This bill better connects teacher preparation with principal preparation. The Educator Preparation Reform Act will also allow partnerships to develop preparation programs for other areas of instructional need, such as for school librarians, counselors, or other academic support professionals.

The bill streamlines the accountability and reporting requirements for teacher preparation programs to provide greater transparency on key quality measures such as admissions standards, requirements for clinical practice, placement of graduates, retention in the field of teaching, and teacher performance, including student-learning outcomes. All programs--whether traditional or alternative routes to certification--will report on the same measures.

Under our legislation, States will be required to identify at-risk and low-performing programs and provide them with technical assistance and a timeline for improvement. States would be encouraged to close programs that do not improve.

Our legislation also makes important improvements to the TEACH Grants. It focuses the grants on the later years of teacher preparation, reducing the potential of the grants being converted to loans if a student decides to change majors. Additionally, it allows prorating the amount of grants converted to loans, giving teachers credit for partially completing the service requirement. Finally, it requires the Department of Education to establish an appeals process for grants wrongly converted to loans and to report to Congress annually on the number of conversions and appeals.

We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation Reform Act include: the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Federation of Teachers, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, National Education Association, Public Advocacy for Kids, and the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.

I look forward to working to incorporate this legislation into the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. I urge my colleagues to join us in this effort and support this legislation.

Mr. President, we all recognize that a postsecondary education is required for most family-sustaining, middle-class jobs, and that an educated workforce is essential to a modern, productive economy. A report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that college-level intensive business services have replaced manufacturing as the largest sector in the U.S. economy, and that while college-educated workers make up only 32 percent of the workforce, they now produce more than 50 percent of the Nation's economic output, up from 13 percent in 1967. A college degree also pays off, with one recent analysis estimating that the typical college graduate will earn $900,000 more of their lifetime than the typical high school graduate.

Yet just as there is growing recognition that postsecondary education is indispensable in the modern economy, families are being required to shoulder growing debt burdens that threaten access to college and their financial health. According to an analysis by the Federal Reserve, student loan debt per capita doubled between 2005 and 2014, rising from $5,000 to $10,000. This is a growing drag on our economy. As student loan debt has grown, young adults have put off buying homes or cars, starting a family, saving for retirement, or launching new businesses. They have literally mortgaged their economic future.

We know that student loan borrowers are struggling. The Secretary of Education just testified before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee that 43 percent of the student loans in the nearly $1.5 trillion Federal student loan portfolio are in default, more than 30 days delinquent, or negatively amortized. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that the balance of defaulted loans now exceeds $120 billion. More than 8 million borrowers currently have a loan in default.

Default is catastrophic for student loan borrowers. Only in rare instances can the debt be discharged in bankruptcy. The Federal government has the power to withhold tax refunds, garnish wages, and even garnish Social Security benefits to collect defaulted student loans.

We have seen the costs to students and taxpayers when institutions are not held accountable. Corinthian Colleges and ITT are two examples of institutions that failed their students while benefitting from Federal student aid. Their fraudulent business practices eventually led to their demise, but not before leaving their students and taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in student loan debt. More recently, we have seen the closure of Argosy University, South University, and the Art Institutes, all operated by the Dream Center, leave roughly 26,000 students in the lurch.

We cannot wait until an institution is catastrophically failing its students before taking action. Institutions need greater financial incentives to act before default rates rise. Simply put, we cannot tackle the student loan debt crisis without States and institutions stepping up and taking greater responsibility for college costs and student borrowing.

That is why I am pleased to reintroduce the Protect Student Borrowers Act with Senators Durbin, Warren, and Murphy. Our legislation seeks to ensure there is more skin in the game when it comes to student loan debt by setting stronger market incentives for colleges and universities to provide better and more affordable education to students, which should in turn help put the brakes on rising student loan defaults.

The Protect Student Borrowers Act would hold colleges and universities accountable for student loan defaults by requiring them to repay a percentage of defaulted loans. Only institutions that have one- third or more of their students borrow would be included in the bill's risk-sharing requirements based on their cohort default rate. Risk- sharing requirements would kick in when the default rate exceeds 15 percent. As the institution's default rate rises, so too will the institution's risk-share payment.

The Protect Student Borrowers Act also provides incentives for institutions to take proactive steps to ease student loan debt burdens and reduce default rates. Colleges and universities can reduce or eliminate their payments if they implement a comprehensive student loan management plan. The Secretary may waive or reduce the payments for institutions whose mission is to serve low-income and minority students, such as community colleges, Historically Black Institutions, or Hispanic-Serving Institutions--if they are making progress in their student loan management plans.

The risk-sharing payments would be invested in helping struggling borrowers, preventing future default and delinquency, and increasing Pell Grants at institutions that enroll a high percentage of Pell Grant recipients and have low default rates.

With the stakes so high for students and taxpayers, it is only fair that institutions bear some of the risk in the student loan program.

We need to tackle student loan debt and college affordability from multiple angles. All stakeholders in the system must do their part. With the Protect Student Borrowers Act, we are providing the incentives and resources for

institutions to take more responsibility to address college affordability and student loan debt and improve student outcomes. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and look forward to working with them to include it and other key reforms in the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.