Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise to discuss this postal reform bill. The Postal Service keeps rural America connected. It helps Montana seniors receive everyday necessities such as medicines, it allows our small businesses to conduct business, and it even makes sure our election ballots get counted on time. That is why this reform bill is so critically important all across rural America.

First, I wish to thank my colleagues on the committee for their hard work on the substitute amendment to the postal reform bill. I want them to know how much I appreciate their efforts to work across the aisle with my colleagues and me to address several of our concerns with this bill. This bill has come a long way from the version I opposed in committee. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure it works for rural America.

I have been working for several months on some changes, such as preserving the requirement for overnight delivery and providing better protection for rural communities that could lose their post offices. But we need to go further to find more ways to keep rural post offices open and functioning. That is why Senator Franken and Senator Levin and I have submitted an amendment to prevent the Postal Service from closing a post office if it leaves rural communities without sufficient access to Postal Services, from buying stamps to regular mail service.

Our amendment gives the Postal Regulatory Commission more teeth in being able to reject the Postal Service's efforts to close post offices and mail processing facilities if the Postal Service does not follow the criteria laid out in the bill.

The Postmaster General is seeking to close around 3,700 post offices and over 200 mail processing facilities in this country.

This bill will result in the reduction of another 100,000 postal employees. It will rewrite the rules of workers' compensation across the entire Federal Government. In short, it will change the lives of many people--to say nothing of the millions of Americans who will be impacted by a change in mail service.

With this in mind, I think it is critically important that the upper management at the Postal Service and the Board of Governors lead by example. That is why I am offering an amendment to reduce the number of Governors on the Postal Board of Governors from nine to seven. The Board is currently not at capacity, and it should be encouraged to work with the six Governors who presently sit on the Board.

Governors receive compensation for expenses and a stipend of about $30,000 a year, with total compensation up to about $42,600. It seems like a small savings. However, reducing up to $80,000 a year by cutting two positions could save three post offices in my State: For example, in Dupuyer or Wyola or Coffee Creek.

We need to make sure everyone is tightening their belts, not just the folks who depend on mail service or the employees who will be forced into retirement or laid off over the next few years.

My final amendment limits the six most senior postal executives-- including the Postmaster General--to a base salary of not more than $200,000, which is what a Cabinet Secretary makes.

I know there are some folks who think the Postal Service should be a private enterprise and that the pay of the postal executives should reflect that. But the reality is, the Postal Service is a public service. It is right there in the Constitution that the Congress has the power to establish post offices. You cannot get much more public than that.

Again, the savings from this amendment may seem like a drop in the bucket, but saving just $200,000 a year in reduced executive compensation is the same savings we would get from the closure of the mail processing centers in Helena, Montana's State capital, and Havre, an important town in north-central Montana.

To me, the choice is simple. If the Postal Service is out of money and painful cuts have to be made, they need to be felt up at the top as much as at the bottom.

I hope we get a chance to consider these amendments. They are relevant to the bill. This is a debate that is long overdue. It is time to have a serious debate in the Senate about what we want the Postal Service to look like. That is why I voted to begin the debate on a bill I cannot support yet. I want to get to the point where we have a bill that is going to save the Postal Service and not lead to its dismantling.

So let's have the debate, let's look at amendments, and let's start voting.

I'd like to add one additional point that is of critical importance to rural America.

I have expressed my concern that the Postal Service is rushing to close rural post offices, and I have asked the Postmaster General to find alternatives to this effort.

Many people aren't aware that, in rural America, nearly 90 percent of postal facilities are owned by private parties and leased to the Postal Service, rather than the Postal Service owning those facilities itself. Across the nation as a whole the Postal Service leases more than one- third of its facilities.

Without the Postal leasing program, the Postal Service would not be able to meet its mandate of universal service. It would not be able to provide mail service to huge swaths of our nation in rural America. By partnering with the private sector, the Postal Service has facilities and provides service without the enormous expense of constructing, owning and maintaining its own buildings.

More than 40 of the postal facilities in Montana are leased by the Postal Service. In all, more than 3,000 private property owners lease facilities to the USPS across America. Without the Postal leasing program, the infrastructure to serve many parts of America either would simply not exist or would require massive expenditures on building facilities that the Postal Service cannot afford.

As the Postal Service explores options about the future of rural post offices across America, I urge it to look carefully at the leasing program and to realize the role it plays in saving money and providing universal mail service. Both of those roles are critically important. So as we make the tough choices about the how we can preserve rural post offices, I hope that the Postal Service will continue to consider the leasing program as part of its future.

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

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Mary Mack, a veteran of World War II.

Mary was born in Butte, MT and graduated from Girls Central High School before attending Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane, WA.

Sixty-eight years ago, Mary enlisted in the Army as a registered nurse. She was assigned to the 203rd General Field Hospital. Her mission was to provide medical support for troops staged in England as they prepared for the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe in Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944. One month after the invasion, Mary, along with the 203rd Field Hospital, crossed the English Channel and arrived at Utah Beach in Normandy, France. From there they traveled on foot past scenes of war and destruction to set up a hospital for troops as they continued on into Europe. After the liberation of Paris in late August 1944, the 203rd established the largest general hospital in the European Theater of Operations in the French capital. There they treated over 65,000 patients.

While stationed in Paris, Mary achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. She later served in Africa and the Middle East.

Mary was honorably discharged from the Army on January 7, 1946. Because honors were made known toward the end of the war, many members of the 203rd may not have been aware of their eligibility or received their awards.

After the war, she returned to Montana where she committed herself to raising a family and serving her community.

Mary passed away last month on March 15. I had the honor of presenting Mary's family with a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars. This decoration represents the gratitude of the Nation she served and the wish that her family continues to share the memories of this courageous woman.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask to speak for up to 10 minutes, with Senator Merkley following me.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in strong support of the capital formation bill that we received cloture on a few minutes ago.

In a place where we too often get bogged down by politics, this legislation reflects a strong, bipartisan commitment to creating jobs by ensuring that small businesses have access to critical capital that they need. This legislation has tremendous potential to create jobs and spur economic growth and innovation. The key component to achieving all of these goals is ensuring that small businesses have access to the capital they need to grow their businesses and create jobs.

This legislation is a rare instance in Congress where both Chambers in both parties come together to focus on this Nation's most urgent priority, and that is jobs. The President has already expressed his support for it. So let's get this bill done and off to him for his signature.

Over the past few years, I have held 12 small business opportunity workshops all over the State of Montana. Without a doubt, access to capital is always one of the most critical issues that I hear from small business owners. Access to capital makes all the difference for a small business. If the money is there, so is the expansion; so is the capacity to do more research and development; so is the next great idea. Without capital, though, there is no growth, no risk-taking, and there are no jobs.

Montana is a State of entrepreneurs. It is a frontier State. It has a tradition of self-reliance, which is clearly reflected in the entrepreneurs and the successful and innovative small businesses they have created and grown in this great State. They clearly reflect America's entrepreneurial spirit, which helps keep rural America strong and makes our economy the most innovative in the world.

Our small businesses in Montana vary from family farms, ranches, and one-man manufacturing shops, to innovative biotech companies and cutting-edge information analytics firms. Many of these newer firms have the opportunity to change the landscape when it comes to diversifying Montana's economy.

According to research from the Kauffman Foundation, nearly all net jobs created since 1980 have come from firms 5 years or younger. The role of startups in creating jobs and driving innovation has been well documented, but that ability to create jobs is limited if these firms do not have access to financing to scale and to grow their companies. So central to job creation is making sure investors and capital markets are accessible for startups.

Because of this potential for growth, we need to do all we can to empower these businesses with the tools they need to survive and thrive at every stage of their development. These young companies must be able to access the capital they need to bring innovative ideas and products to the marketplace.

Back in July I held the first of a series of hearings in the Banking Committee to examine the challenges and opportunities facing innovative small businesses as they try to access capital. A major take-away from the hearing was the need to ensure that capital markets remain within reach of startups at various stages of their development, particularly in the stages before they may be ready to go public.

A key recommendation offered at the hearing came from Rob Bargatze of Ligocyte Pharmaceuticals in Bozeman, MT. He said we should take a closer look at updating SEC regulation A to better enable small businesses to raise capital through these public offerings. The regulation A exemption was created in the Securities Act of 1933 to provide small companies with an opportunity to raise capital without being subject to full registration with the SEC.

Ligocyte is developing a new norovirus vaccine with the potential to prevent hospitalization and save significant health care costs--and to create those jobs of the future. Working through the FDA approval process is not easy. It requires years of hard work and tens of millions of dollars. It can be tough for any company to stick it out for that long or for that much money, but for a small firm in Bozeman, MT, it can be especially difficult. Access to capital to fund their clinical trials will be the determining factor in their ability to gain FDA approval.

Back in September, Senator Toomey and I introduced the Small Company Capital Formation Act to update regulation A by increasing the total amount of capital that can be raised through these offerings to $50 million, while protecting new investors. Currently, the businesses can only raise $5 million under regulation A--a limit that has not been updated in nearly 20 years and one that many view as too low to be a valuable tool in raising capital.

The bill maintains the most attractive elements of regulation A, including the ability for issuers to test the waters before registering with the SEC. It also preserves the nonrestricted status of securities sold through a reg A offering so that these securities can be resold to investors after the initial offering.

New investor protections include a requirement that issuers file an audited financial statement with the SEC--a requirement that has been included in the legislation that I introduced as well as the House bill before us today. The bill also directs the SEC to establish additional disclosure requirements and requires issuers to electronically file offering statements with the Commission.

Additionally, the bill subjects those offering or selling securities under regulation A to negligence-based liability under section 12(a)(2), and it includes disqualification provisions to prevent bad actors from making these offerings in a way that is consistent with Dodd-Frank.

From what I have heard said about the House version of regulation A, you would presume none of these investor protections are included. Let me clarify that the bill I introduced with Senator Toomey, S. 1544, is identical to the language included in the House bill, H.R. 3606, that is before us today.

The truth is that the substitute amendment that was voted on yesterday made very minor changes to this portion of the House bill, such as changing a ``may'' to a ``shall'' and adding a study by the SEC 5 years after implementation of these changes.

We should have been able to pass this bill by a voice vote here in the Senate since this bill has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the Senate, with six bipartisan cosponsors. Regardless of that, I am pleased that this balanced bill also enjoyed a 420-to-1 vote in the House--420 for, 1 against. Imagine that--all but one voting Member of the House of Representatives agree on this bill.

I would also note the SEC's recently released recommendation from its Forum on Small Business Capital Formation increasing the regulation A exemption to $50 million was one of the top recommendations at this forum.

By the way, this is an idea which has been in the SEC's Forum on Small Business Capital Formation recommendations almost every year since 1993, the year after the limit was last raised to $5 million. So the idea that this is some risky new idea is not correct. In fact, at a briefing with the SEC a few weeks ago, SEC lawyers suggested that there was absolutely nothing scary about S. 1544 and that they felt very comfortable with the existing investor protections included in that bill.

The bottom line is that I am thrilled we will finally have an opportunity to pass this legislation--hopefully very soon--and get it to the President's desk.

What does this legislation mean for Montana entrepreneurs? Let me cite a few examples.

For Brett Baker, president and CEO of Microbion Corporation in Bozeman, lifting the cap on regulation A offerings will provide him with broader opportunities to raise capital. Instead of worrying about where the next phase of financing will come from, he can focus on discovery and research, working with the Department of Defense to use compounds Microbion discovered to treat antibiotic-resistant wounds. These changes will also allow a company such as Microbion to access capital at an earlier stage without diluting its earlier investors who believed in them from the earliest days of that company. And raising capital publicly through regulation A would also give folks in Bozeman who know about the company an opportunity to share in its success, something that is not possible now unless they are an accredited investor.

More broadly, this legislation is going to provide small businesses in Montana's emerging data and biotech industries with new tools and options to access capital at different stages of development, and it will also provide necessary updates to existing regulations. For example, changes to the SEC's 500 shareholder rule would ensure companies, such as investment brokerage D.A. Davidson in Great Falls, can continue to provide their employees with stock in the company without having to go through a costly and time-consuming registration process with the SEC. This Montana-grown company dates back over 75 years and has always believed in rewarding its employees so they can have a stake in the success of the firm, which now operates in 16 States. Without these changes, a company such as D.A. Davidson would be faced with the choice of costly public registration or potentially eliminating existing employee shareholders.

For companies such as Rivertop Renewables in Missoula, this legislation will provide them with an onramp to going public if that is an option they choose to take one day. Rivertop has begun full-scale production of their groundbreaking green biochemical products used in commercial products such as dishwashing detergents and de-icer. These changes will ensure that Rivertop will have multiple strategies at their disposal so they can go public at a time that is right for them and take advantage of the public markets as they continue commercialization of their products.

For Lance Trebesch of ticketprinting.com and Ticket River, this legislation will enable him to grow his ticket printing, event management, and online ticket printing firm. Since 1997 this company has expanded its reach internationally, with over 25 employees in Bozeman and Harlowton, MT.

This bill will ensure that entrepreneurs across the State of Montana will have a whole new set of tools at their disposal so they can make smart decisions about their future to develop and expand their businesses. They will have more choices and better access to capital markets, which should also give them more leeway to create and innovate.

We have seen ecosystems of support for small businesses such as these as they spring up in virtually every county in Montana. Obviously, the success of these companies has implications for job creation and growth, but there are also tremendous opportunities for innovation.

It is not surprising that in Montana so many startups have located near universities in Missoula and Bozeman. In fact, many of these firms got their start with discoveries in the labs at Montana State and the University of Montana. With this legislation, the possibilities are endless for Montana and for entrepreneurs and innovators across Montana and this Nation.

Mr. President, I look forward to voting on this legislation and getting it to the President for his signature.

With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the fourth annual RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill. This is a day to recognize the contribution of pharmacies to the American healthcare system. Hundreds of pharmacists, pharmacy school faculty and students, State pharmacy leaders and pharmacy company executives will visit the Capitol to share with Congress the importance of supporting legislation that protects access to neighborhood pharmacies and utilizes pharmacists to improve quality and reduce the costs of health care.

Over 260 advocates from 41 States have traveled to Washington to talk about their contributions in over 50,000 community pharmacies operating nationwide. These important health care providers are here to urge Congress to recognize the value of pharmacists and protect access to these medication experts as a part of our valued health care delivery system.

Pharmacists are some of the Nation's most accessible and trusted health care providers. Most Americans live within 5 miles of a community retail pharmacy. They are the ultimate do-it-all providers. Pharmacists prepare, bill, and dispense prescriptions. They offer patient counseling. With their specialized education, they also play a major role in medication therapy management, disease management, immunizations, and health care screenings.

Eighty-six percent of rural Americans reside within a 10-mile radius of a sole community pharmacy. As the face of community health care, pharmacies across the Nation offer these and other cost-saving programs and services to help patients take medicines appropriately to achieve positive results. For more than a century, pharmacies and pharmacists have supported folks in Montana and throughout America with these important patient care services. It is critical we work to support their unique contributions.

As we continue to make health care better and more affordable, we should adopt policies that recognize the health and financial benefits from helping patients adhere to their medications. This helps to improve health outcomes and reduces the risks of adverse events and unnecessary costly hospital readmissions and emergency room visits. Unfortunately, only half of Americans living with chronic diseases adhere to their drug regimens. Patient nonadherence costs the Nation's economy an estimated $290 billion each year, not to mention the avoidable loss of quality of life for patients and their loved ones.

Congress recognized the important role of local pharmacists when it included a medication therapy management, MTM, benefit in the Medicare Part D Program. By improving patient health outcomes, we have seen better efficiency and savings in the prescription drug program. That is why I support community pharmacys' efforts to strengthen the MTM benefit so it is available for seniors and others struggling with chronic conditions and other illnesses.

Medicaid beneficiaries also deserve access to the most cost-effective medications. The Affordable Care Act made important changes to pharmacy reimbursement for generic drugs in the Medicaid program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently issued a proposed rule to implement these important changes, and it will be critical for Congress to monitor this rulemaking to ensure it is consistent with congressional intent.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the vital role pharmacies play in the field of public health. All 50 States recognize the role pharmacists play by supporting their ability to administer immunizations and other important preventative services in Medicare, both Part B and Part D, and other Federal health programs.

Today, as the cochair of the Senate Community Pharmacy Caucus, I celebrate the value of pharmacists and support efforts to protect access to neighborhood and community pharmacies. I appreciate how pharmacies improve the quality and reduce the costs of health care.

In recognition of the fourth annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill, I would like to congratulate pharmacy leaders, pharmacists, students, and executives, and the pharmacy community for their contributions to the good health of the American people.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, I thank the Presiding Officer. I also thank the floor managers of the highway bill for allowing me a couple minutes and to let them know how appreciative I am of their efforts to move forward on an important piece of legislation--the highway legislation. Nothing creates jobs and makes our economy stronger in the long run than responsibly investing in our infrastructure. So I thank Senator Boxer and Senator

Inhofe for their good work and, hopefully, that good work will come to fruition very soon.

Last September, the Department of Labor published new child labor regulations. They would have the effect of restricting how young folks are able to work on farms. I am deeply concerned about these new rules which will keep teenagers from working on farms and ranches.

As the Senate's only working farmer, I know how important it is for young people to have the opportunity to work on farms and ranches. I am not alone in that belief. There are many folks here who understand the value of family farm agriculture. Growing up on the same farm that my grandparents homesteaded nearly a century ago--well, it was a century ago this year--my brothers and I were expected to bail the hay, pick rocks, feed the livestock, do field work, and the list goes on and on. That work ethic that was instilled in us as youngsters is a big part of my success today. It was that work ethic that built this Nation and that work ethic which I think is critical to the future of America. The skills young people learn from working on a family farm translate into a healthy work ethic that will serve them their entire lives, whether they choose to be in agriculture or in some other business.

Family farm agriculture is one of the foundations of this country, and irresponsibly regulating the ability of young people to fully experience and grow from it will be detrimental to this country's future. I know firsthand that agriculture is uniquely a family industry in the United States, in Montana, and throughout rural America. Young people are expected to help out on the family farm or ranch. That is part of the economics of family agriculture. For smaller farms and ranches to survive, it has to be everybody pitching in. By participating in production agriculture, young people learn the value of a day's work. They also learn that grain doesn't come from a box or vegetables don't come from a bag or meat doesn't come from a package. They truly get educated about where our food comes from while they build that work ethic.

These new rules get in the way of that education. That is because these rules were not written with a solid understanding of how family production agriculture works today. We are losing family farms every day in my hometown of Big Sandy, for example. In that community, I went to school with about 40 kids or so in my high school class. Today there are about 60 kids in the entire high school. That is because family farms are getting bigger, and there are fewer folks living in rural America. We ought to encourage beginning farmers and ranchers, preparing them to be our next generation of food producers in this country.

The proposed rules would expand restrictions on what duties teenagers can perform on farms, limiting them. Under these new rules, all animal operations would be off limits until a person reaches 16 years of age. That is a sad day, a missed opportunity, and a loss of an opportunity for our young folks to learn.

I am calling on the Department of Labor to withdraw this proposal as it applies to family farm agriculture and allow this country's youth to learn a solid work ethic. The common sense that goes with that work ethic is so critically important to our Nation's future.

With that, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Mark Hamill, a native Montanan and a veteran of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

It is my honor to share the story of Mark's service during the first gulf war. Mark was in the Army Reserves as a helicopter crew chief. In the fall of 1990, he was assigned to a Medivac unit and deployed to Saudi Arabia.

As a helicopter crew chief, Mark was responsible for making sure the Medivac helicopters were ready to fly at a moment's notice. Two helicopters went to Bahrain and two were on standby to go north for Medivac calls.

When Mark returned to the United States, the maintenance platoon never got their medals from the U.S. Army. The pilots and medics from the helicopters did but the men and women who were responsible for the safety of the helicopters were forgotten about.

Earlier this month, in the presence of Mark's wife, parents, and friends, it was my honor to correct this oversight and finally present Mark with the medals he earned nearly 20 years ago.

I presented to Mark the Southwest Asia Service Medal with Three Bronze Stars, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

I also had the honor of presenting to Mark the Kuwait Liberation Medal--Saudi Arabia, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal--Kuwait.

These four decorations are small tokens, but they are powerful symbols of true heroism, sacrifice, and dedication to service.

These medals are presented on behalf of a grateful nation.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Paul Walborn, a veteran of Vietnam.

Paul, on behalf of all Montanans and all Americans, I stand to say ``thank you'' for your service to this Nation.

It is my honor to share the story of Paul Walborn's sacrifice in Vietnam, because no story of heroism should ever fall through the cracks.

Paul joined the Navy in December of 1963. He was an Electrician's Mate, based on a landing craft. From Coronado, CA, he flew to Japan. On May 5, 1965, one of Paul's first assignments was to be part of a convoy from Okinawa, Japan to Vietnam. Paul was part of the third wave that took Marine Corps artillery equipment to the Chu Lai beach. Intelligence reports were unclear whether Viet Cong forces would meet them on the beach.

From Chu Lai, Paul went to Da Nang where he unloaded Navy and Merchant Marine equipment. His boat then made several trips up the Perfume River to deliver equipment to support the war effort.

When Paul returned to America, he wanted to get back to normal life. His DD-214 form was correct but the Navy had no record of him serving in Vietnam, even though he unloaded cargo onto Vietnamese beaches.

He says there was just too much going on in 1967 for the Navy to worry about getting his paperwork processed correctly.

Earlier this month, in the presence of his family, it was my honor to finally present to Paul the National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal with one Bronze Star.

I also presented to Paul the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with the 1960 device.

These four decorations are small tokens, but they are powerful symbols of true heroism. Sacrifice. And dedication to service.

These medals are presented on behalf of a grateful nation.

Mr. President, I wish to thank the Senator from Alaska for his explanation of what has been going on as far as executive compensation with FHFA.

Amendment No. 1492 to Amendment No. 1470

Mr. President, I would ask the Senate set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment No. 1492.

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

Mr. President, I ask that the amendment be set aside, and I ask unanimous consent to call up amendment No. 1503.

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

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent to be recognized to speak on this amendment for up to 5 minutes.

Mr. President, I am pleased to offer this amendment with Senator Cochran and ask unanimous consent that he be added as a cosponsor.

This is a straightforward amendment. It simply requires candidates for the Senate, both challengers and incumbents, file their quarterly campaign finance reports electronically. Anyone seeking the Presidency or a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives is required to submit campaign finance records electronically right now, but Senators or would-be Senators are not. It makes no sense.

Right now, Senate candidates drop off a hard copy of their filing report with the Secretary of the Senate. Someone from the FEC comes over and then takes the reports over to the FEC to make copies, and then, finally, the copies are put online.

These documents often run hundreds of pages in length. The FEC estimates it wastes about $250,000 of taxpayer money each year just to make those copies and put them online. Now, that might not sound like a lot of money in Washington, DC, but the idea of spending $1/4 million on an outdated process represents what is wrong with Washington, DC.

Americans deserve to know how much money candidates raise and from whom, and they deserve to be able to access that information in real time.

It is not just the cost of the current process that folks should be angry about. The process of making copies and posting the documents online takes weeks. That is not just a waste of time, it is bad for the democratic process.

Campaign finance data filed right before a general election is not available to the public until the following February, long after the election has already taken place.

Since the Citizens United ruling, folks aren't able to tell who is funding third-party advertisements. It is hard enough to know who is spending the money on third-party advertisements. The least we can do is to make sure that folks have better access to the information about who is giving to the candidates.

My bill from the last Congress had strong bipartisan support--14 Democrats, 6 Republicans, and 5 of the cosponsors are members of the Homeland Security Committee. I especially appreciate, and I wish to thank, the Republican manager of the STOCK Act, Senator Collins, for being a supporter of that original bill.

We have an opportunity to do something that cuts government spending and adds more transparency and accountability to the elections process. I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today the Senate will be given the opportunity to ban insider trading by Members of Congress and their staff. Insider trading is illegal for everyone in America, and there is no doubt about that. But when it comes to the information that folks in Congress learn before the general public learns it, there are no clear- cut rules, and that is unacceptable. Folks in Congress clearly have advanced knowledge of which bills and issues Congress will consider. They know how those bills will affect basic goods and services, and often the legislation we pass impacts how well a company does on the stock market.

Good men and women work for Congress, and I have the deepest respect for my colleagues. I would say all come to the Senate with good intentions and carry out their daily responsibilities without thinking about using information they learn for personal financial gain. That is why banning insider trading should be an easy lift. The fact that Members of Congress and their staffs are allowed to buy and sell stocks based on privileged information is incredible to me.

Congress has historically low approval ratings from the American people. They believe many in Congress do not represent them and have forgotten what it means to be a normal American. Most folks would assume Congressmen and Senators already cannot trade stocks based on information they get in their jobs, but it turns out this may not be true. That is just one more example of why the American people have lost faith in this institution.

As elected officials, it is our duty to regain the trust of the American people. We have an obligation to be as transparent and as accountable as possible. That is why I was the first Member of Congress to post my public schedule online for everybody to see. My constituents can look at my schedule every day to see with whom I meet and which hearings I attend.

Now we have the opportunity to help regain trust in this body by bringing our own rules in line with the rest of America. By adding transparency and accountability, the American people will know we are working on their behalf without considering personal financial gains.

This bill contains a provision Senator Begich and I sponsored to ensure that the annual financial disclosure forms filed by Members of Congress are available electronically. As with most transparency, full transparency means the public has the right and the ability to see our records. In the 21st century, there is no reason we can't do it right away. Letting those disclosures sit in a filing cabinet somewhere in the Capitol Complex is not transparency; putting the files online in a searchable format is.

At a time of hyperpartisanship, this is an opportunity for both sides to work together on a bill we sorely need. There is not a Democratic or Republican angle to this. Every elected official should want to make sure the rules we are held to are consistent and transparent and in line with the rest of the Nation. In fact, this is as nonpartisan a bill as can be, with ideas from Senator Gillibrand and Senator Scott Brown but carried by Senator Lieberman. This bill covers each section of the political spectrum. It is a straightforward bill that is long overdue. The STOCK Act will be a step toward ensuring that when people run for Congress or come to work for Congress, they are doing so because they want to work on behalf of the American people and not for their own personal benefit.

I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes on this act so we can restore faith in Congress.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Val Molaison, a fellow in my office, be granted the privilege of the floor today.

Mr. President, today I wish to discuss the life of a great American, a fellow Montanan, and a true patriot who served his country proudly in World War II, Army SGT Lee Osterholm, a native of Butte, MT.

Born on April 24, 1919, Lee served in the Border Patrol in Texas prior to World War II. When our country was thrust into war, Lee answered the call of duty, enlisting in the U.S. Army on March 8, 1943, and was soon on the battlefields of Central Europe fighting for our very freedom.

Between 1943 and 1945 Lee's unwavering commitment to duty and courage under fire was evident as he led men into combat throughout the European theater and performed superbly in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Air Corps. Sadly he never received the recognition he deserved once the war ended and he was discharged on February 9, 1946.

Over 65 years later, his country is finally recognizing Lee's accomplishments by awarding him the Bronze Star posthumously. I ask unanimous consent that the citation to accompany this award be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent to speak for 10 minutes.

Madam President, I rise today to talk about jobs and politics.

There are a lot of folks in Washington who pay lipservice to jobs and a lot of people that are playing politics.

But it sure doesn't seem that many folks are interested in doing the hard job of creating jobs.

Folks all over Montana have been asking for good-paying, liveable- wage jobs, the kind of jobs that can't be outsourced, jobs that put folks to work in our forests, jobs that build the energy infrastructure this country needs. Right now there are two proposals that will do just that.

First, I would like to talk about my Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. This bill will stabilize the wood products industry in Montana by ensuring a dependable timber supply that will give certainty to loggers in the woods and workers in the mills.

This bill will allow for the restoration of 100,000 acres of national forest lands in Montana, reducing the chances of out-of-control forest fires that could devastate our communities, our watersheds, and our way of life.

Recent data released by the Forest Service shows that wildfires that burn where the trees were thinned were less expensive to fight, they were easier to control, and did less structural damage to neighboring buildings.

This bill also puts people to work by rolling up roads, improving our water quality, and protecting big game habitat. It protects nearly 1 million acres for our children and grandchildren in wilderness and recreation areas.

This is a bipartisan solution, supported by industry and conservationists. It is the product of people who were on polar opposites of the issue who came together to find solutions for how we can manage our forests better. We could take a lesson from their example. They brought those solutions to me to be put into law. This is a bill that will move the country in the right direction with a responsible balanced solution, and it will create jobs.

But rather than getting this bill passed, it has become a political football in the appropriations process. Some House Republicans seem to be more concerned with their own job rather than creating Montana jobs by passing my Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. That isn't fair to Montanans who are anxious to get back to work, to reclaim a life that has been disappearing in a rapid rate. We lost over 1,700 jobs in the timber industry in 2009, more last year, and still more this year.

I would ask folks who are negotiating this final deal right now to think about the folks who are counting on us to set politics aside and do what is right for our country and for Montana.

This same logic applies to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Right now, the President has the power to create jobs by approving this pipeline. He could make the decision to approve this pipeline in the very near future.

Now, let me be clear. He should do it right. Doing it right means approving this pipeline while respecting private property rights. I support the pipeline. But I will never support any corporation--much less a foreign corporation--given the right to take away property from Montanans or any other American without a fair deal that is negotiated in good faith.

Doing it right also means ensuring that the highest possible safety standards are followed throughout Montana and rural America. I do not believe we should have to wait until January of 2013 for a decision that can create American jobs right now. In Montana, we need the jobs. We need the ability to provide incentives to boost production in places where it makes the most sense, such as the Bakken formation in eastern Montana.

Now, many folks don't know that the Keystone Pipeline will actually include an onramp in Baker, MT. That onramp will tap into the booming Bakken formation, and it will ensure that we are getting the most out of American energy resources. That matters to our economy and it matters to our energy and national security. The Keystone XL pipeline will transport North American oil and will help move this country away from spending billions of dollars per day in Middle Eastern countries that do not like us very much.

At the same time, I am concerned about the way folks on both sides of this issue are handling it right now. We do not need to entangle this issue with a payroll tax in the House bill that would add more than $25 billion to our debt and that would cut Medicare benefits.

It is time to quit playing politics and start doing what is right, whether it is the Forest Jobs Act or the Keystone pipeline. It is time to move forward, working together to create jobs in this country.

Instead, politicians on both sides are using these important items as political footballs and that is too bad. We should be acting responsibly to create jobs with this pipeline and to put folks back to work in the woods with my bill. Instead, we are watching political maneuvering designed to score points rather than create jobs. We all know this is how Washington acts. The people who lose are the hard- working Americans and Montanans who want to get back to work. They want to build and maintain the infrastructure that powers and protects America.

I am proud to again offer my support for the Keystone XL pipeline and the jobs it will create. We need a quicker decision based on the merits of the project. After setting aside their differences and working together to protect our forests, Montanans also deserve the passage of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Instead of irresponsible partisan fights, it is time that Congress finally takes a page from those who constructed the forest jobs bill. They set aside nearly 30 years of partisan bickering to find solutions where everyone gives a little and gains a lot. It is the right way to do it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, first, I wish to start by thanking Chairman Levin and Senator McCain for their continued dialog on a matter of overseas basing priorities. I very much appreciate their efforts to work to get at least the first steps in place for a thorough review of our overseas basing needs and finally getting some answers on the costs of these bases.

I also wish to especially thank my colleague from Texas, Senator Hutchison, for her continued leadership on this issue and for joining me on amendment 1145, a bipartisan effort to establish an overseas basing commission.

I realize there are concerns that this is not the right time to establish such a commission. However, I think it is the perfect time. So let me reiterate one point I mentioned yesterday. The commission would be charged with saving taxpayers money by identifying potential savings from reevaluating and potentially realigning our overseas military base structure and investments.

It is time we take some commonsense steps to identify and cut overseas military facilities and construction projects that have minimal negative impacts on our national security and military readiness. There is no better time than the present to begin this work. In a spirit of compromise and understanding that establishing a commission is not currently acceptable to some, I have worked with my colleagues to include an independent assessment of our overseas basing in this legislation.

I ask unanimous consent to speak now as in morning business for 5 minutes.

What I would like to speak on now is regarding the payroll tax votes that we are going to be taking later today or possibly even this evening. I wish to tell you exactly why I am going to vote against both of these proposals. I believe they are gimmicks, designed more for political posturing than what Congress ought to be doing right now; that is, working together to create jobs on a long- term basis; to create long-term certainty for businesses throughout this country, Montana included, while we work to cut our deficit.

The Democrat's proposal is the same included in the President's American Jobs Act, which I voted against several weeks ago. My reasons for voting against that proposal have not changed. It would temporarily extend the Social Security payroll tax holiday through 2012 and pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy. Although I support making sure millionaires and corporations pay their fair share in taxes, I do not believe this particular proposal will create jobs or give our economy the boost it needs right now.

A small 1-year temporary tax cut will not give Main Street businesses the long-term certainty they need to grow and hire.

The proposal by the Senate Republicans also temporarily extends the payroll tax holiday but only by cutting certain Medicare benefits and cutting jobs and extending a current pay freeze for our folks who serve in public service. Neither of these proposals is right for Montana and neither will earn my vote.

I want to take you back to a few weeks ago, in November, when Congress unanimously passed my veterans jobs bill, called the VOW to Hire Heroes Act. The President has already signed it into law. I believe Congress has a responsibility to spend more time passing legislation such as that--real solutions that create real jobs, and not political theater.

I know we can do it. It was appropriate for us to work together for the veterans. It is also appropriate for us to work together to create jobs for all Americans.

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