Floor Statements

Madam President, first, before I make my comments--I want to talk about the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act--I want to say to my friend from West Virginia, I know they are struggling under incredible issues--even before the storm that occurred. I know he has efforts he is doing to build infrastructure, and his statements are right on the mark.

In western Alaska, 40 percent of the communities do not even have water infrastructure. It is not a question of rebuilding it; they do not have it. So I recognize the Senator and his great work for West Virginia, making it a better place. His points are well thought out and right to the mark about what we need to do to rebuild this country. A good part of all that is it is about American jobs, American workers building those water and sewer lines and putting those transmission lines back up--whether they be above or below the ground.

So, again, I commend the Senator for his work in West Virginia.

Madam President, I have come down to talk about the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act. I come from the small business world. I know people come down to the Senate floor on the other side of the aisle and talk about being from the small business world. I always like to look and see what that really means. It is always amazing to me.

When someone is from the small business world, here is what it is really about: It is not about working for some corporation, having a nice title, not really worrying about making it from day to day or worrying about a payroll. At the end of the day, if the business is not good, they do not get a check. That is how it works in the small business world.

So when I hear people come down and talk about small business, it surprises me, to be very frank, the lack of understanding, the lack of knowledge they have about the small business world. I have been in it from the age of 14. My wife has grown a business from serving and selling smoked salmon on the street corner to now, having a couple retail stores and doing very well. But she has struggled just like everyone else. She has had to deal with the bureaucracy. She has had to figure out how to raise the capital, put retirement money on the table, maximize her credit cards--do everything possible to take her dream and make it a reality, just as I have done for all my years in the small business world.

So I come here not just as a Senator from Alaska, representing Alaskans and small businesses, but also as someone who has lived it, worked it, and understands it. We have a chance--and I appreciate the 80-to-14 vote to let us proceed to this bill, which is the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act. This is an important bill. It has two components that seem simple in a lot of ways but have great impact.

First, I want to mention the idea that you can get a tax credit for hiring people. Some say, well, small businesses will not use a tax rate just to hire people. I, maybe, agree to a certain extent on that, but why is this important? If you are a small businessperson and you are going to increase your payroll--maybe you are giving raises or bonuses, and so forth, or you are going to hire part-time or full-time people, if you hire those people--and just a clear example is if your payroll is $200,000, and your payroll goes up by $20,000 to $220,000, you will get a tax break of 10 percent, which is $2,000.

What will that small business do with that $2,000? In a big business that just gets lost in some pile. Maybe it goes to some corporate salary. But here is what a small businessperson will do with it. They will get that $2,000, and they might now go recarpet their lease-hold improvement or their rental space they are using for their small business.

What does that mean? That $2,000 now goes to the carpet layer and the carpet seller. What will they do with it? They will put it into the next part of the economy. It just keeps moving much quicker and faster in the economy. As a matter of fact, every $1 we see out there has a multiplier effect that is pretty significant for small business.

So the one piece is giving tax credits for small businesses to increase their payrolls. It may be for increased salaries or for increased employment. Either way you are putting more money into the working people of this economy and, therefore, they are putting it back into the economy.

The second piece of the act is the depreciation. If you are not a small businessperson, you do not really pay a lot of attention to this. But the way the IRS Code works is if you invest in new equipment, carpeting, sheet rock, lighting, whatever, the IRS has these schedules to deappreciate this over many years.

Here is how it works: First, we have the tax credit for payroll, and now we have a second piece of this bill, which is accelerated or bonus depreciation, which means if you are thinking of an idea--I will tell you, a small business I just visited in Alaska called Lime Solar, by Chet Dyson and Jessie Moe--these are two young men who are starting a small business to sell solar products for homes and businesses, but they got a lease-hold space. They rented a space. It had no sheet rock, no lighting. They are responsible for paying for all of that.

So they invested, they cleaned it up, sheet-rocked it, fixed it all up, put equipment in. All that expense now--if this bill passes--can be written off in the first year instead of depreciating it over multiple years.

Why is that important? Let's assume they spent $100,000 renovating their facility and they are in a 25-percent tax bracket. They will save in the first year $25,000--like that--instead of spreading that over the next 10 or 15 years. Why is that important? That $25,000 they save in taxes or depreciation they will be able to reinvest, reinvest into their business as they struggle to figure out how to build their markets.

Another friend of mine, Jack Lewis, opened his second restaurant recently, Firetap. Restaurants are not a cheap business. I have been in that business. I would not wish it on anybody. It is a tough business. Margins are thin. But, again, he invested, he built it, built it all out of scratch. Now he can, again, under this bonus depreciation schedule depreciate it, write it off in the first year. That is a huge benefit for these small businesses.

When I look at another small company called SteamDot Coffee--it is a small coffee company. Jonathan White owns it. They brew their own coffee, have their own coffee, and they also package it and manufacture it for resale. That takes a lot of equipment. Now they get to write that off in the first year.

What this bill does is simple, but yet it has a huge impact. As a matter of fact, under the depreciation it is estimated that for every $1 we give in the tax benefit, there is a $9 benefit to the GDP, a 1- to-9 ratio. Any businessperson would love that deal. That is a great deal.

So this bill, I hope--our colleagues have shown by 80 to 14 this is a great bipartisan effort. I hope we now move to the next stage. Maybe we will have some amendments and work through it. But lets do it for the small business community of this country, for the State I live in, and for every State.

I say to the Acting President pro tempore, the State of New York is piled with small businesses. When you go through New York City, every inch of the street has a small businessperson. That is what drives this economy. That is what makes this economy happen. That is where we need to put our investment.

I will end on this note: I know we will have some pro forma votes, as I call them, show-and-tell. We will vote on this 20-percent tax rate deduction that is being proposed by the House. It sounds good, but there is no guarantee that is going to go back into the economy. As a matter of fact, if you are a hedge funder, you will get that break. If you are an attorney, you will get that break. If you are a small businessperson, you will get that break. But there is no guarantee that money goes back into the economy. So if we are going to give these tax incentives, let's make sure it is helping the economy and building jobs and building a future for us.

So, Madam President, I just wanted to come down and speak on this bill and encourage my colleagues to support the Small Business Jobs and Tax

Relief Act, not only through the pro forma vote we had yesterday to move forward on it but also to really pass it.

We have done a great job the last few months passing a lot of legislation out of this body. Let's continue that effort and help our economy grow.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 11, 2012, at 10 a.m., in room SD-215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a roundtable to discuss ``Medicare Physician Payments: Perspectives from Physicians.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 11, 2012, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing titled ``The Future of Homeland Security: Evolving and Emerging Threats.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 11, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the Impact on Competition of Exclusion Orders to Enforce Standard-Essential Patents.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 11, 2012, at 2 p.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Judicial Nominations.''

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a very important piece of legislation--the Mental Health First Aid Higher Education Act. The bill authorizes a nationwide demonstration program that treats Mental Health First Aid like the first aid training offered by Red Cross chapters across the United States.

Mental Health First Aid teaches the warning signs and risk factors for schizophrenia, major clinical depression, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, trauma, and other common mental disorders, crisis de- escalation techniques, and equips college and university staff with a 5-step action plan to help individuals in psychiatric crisis connect to professional mental health care.

One in four adults and 10 percent of children in the United States will suffer from a mental illness this year. We know what to do if someone has a heart attack, but how do we react to someone having a panic attack? Why do we wait for a tragic event to take notice and then bring out emergency measures?

When I was Mayor of Anchorage, we worked with the local NAMI organization to train our police in Crisis Intervention Teams, great when responding to a crisis by police officers, but now we need to go further. Mental Health First Aid is for the financial aid workers, the dormitory resident advisers, coaches, and faculty members, to name a few. These are the front-line folks who will learn the warning signs and risk factors before tragedy strikes.

You have heard me say this before, an it is not something to be proud of in Alaska: we have one of the highest suicide prevalence rates in the country. Further, we are a very rural State, where access to mental health care and medical services is often very difficult.

Even today, it is not widely known that fully \2/3\ of Alaska can only be accessed by airplane. By educating the general public about the warning signs of common mental disorders, we can intervene early, facilitate access to care, improve clinical outcomes, reduce costs, and maybe save lives.

My bill focuses on higher education because many mental illnesses are ``adult onset conditions,'' meaning onset of full symptoms generally occurs in late adolescence or young adulthood--just as young people are headed off to college. Therefore, the audiences for this vital training will encompass on-campus counseling center staff, dormitory resident advisers, university threat assessment teams, members of disciplinary committees, coaches and faculty members. The instruction will highlight available mental health resources in local communities including Community Mental Health Centers, emergency psychiatric facilities, hospital emergency rooms and other programs offering psychiatric crisis beds.

The program may also help to avert violence incidents; Mental Health First Aid gained wide public recognition in the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson, AZ, involving our former colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Mental disorders are more common than heart disease and cancer combined and a recent Governing magazine article reports that many states and localities are moving ahead--teaching their employees how to recognize the signs of mental health problems and how to help.

In this time of austerity, the training is not only important, because it will save lives, it is also inexpensive. Courses costs about $180, a small price to pay to potentially save lives.

In closing, yes, we are in a presidential election year and the political season often highlights the issues that divide us as Americans. But the Mental Health First Aid Higher Education Act is not one of them.

In the Alaska tradition, I seek to work across the aisle, and I strongly believe this legislation merits bipartisan support. Please join me in supporting this vital education program that helps to avert suffering, prevent violence and ultimately will save lives.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a very important piece of legislation--the Mental Health First Aid Higher Education Act. The bill authorizes a nationwide demonstration program that treats Mental Health First Aid like the first aid training offered by Red Cross chapters across the United States.

Mental Health First Aid teaches the warning signs and risk factors for schizophrenia, major clinical depression, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, trauma, and other common mental disorders, crisis de- escalation techniques, and equips college and university staff with a 5-step action plan to help individuals in psychiatric crisis connect to professional mental health care.

One in four adults and 10 percent of children in the United States will suffer from a mental illness this year. We know what to do if someone has a heart attack, but how do we react to someone having a panic attack? Why do we wait for a tragic event to take notice and then bring out emergency measures?

When I was Mayor of Anchorage, we worked with the local NAMI organization to train our police in Crisis Intervention Teams, great when responding to a crisis by police officers, but now we need to go further. Mental Health First Aid is for the financial aid workers, the dormitory resident advisers, coaches, and faculty members, to name a few. These are the front-line folks who will learn the warning signs and risk factors before tragedy strikes.

You have heard me say this before, an it is not something to be proud of in Alaska: we have one of the highest suicide prevalence rates in the country. Further, we are a very rural State, where access to mental health care and medical services is often very difficult.

Even today, it is not widely known that fully \2/3\ of Alaska can only be accessed by airplane. By educating the general public about the warning signs of common mental disorders, we can intervene early, facilitate access to care, improve clinical outcomes, reduce costs, and maybe save lives.

My bill focuses on higher education because many mental illnesses are ``adult onset conditions,'' meaning onset of full symptoms generally occurs in late adolescence or young adulthood--just as young people are headed off to college. Therefore, the audiences for this vital training will encompass on-campus counseling center staff, dormitory resident advisers, university threat assessment teams, members of disciplinary committees, coaches and faculty members. The instruction will highlight available mental health resources in local communities including Community Mental Health Centers, emergency psychiatric facilities, hospital emergency rooms and other programs offering psychiatric crisis beds.

The program may also help to avert violence incidents; Mental Health First Aid gained wide public recognition in the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson, AZ, involving our former colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Mental disorders are more common than heart disease and cancer combined and a recent Governing magazine article reports that many states and localities are moving ahead--teaching their employees how to recognize the signs of mental health problems and how to help.

In this time of austerity, the training is not only important, because it will save lives, it is also inexpensive. Courses costs about $180, a small price to pay to potentially save lives.

In closing, yes, we are in a presidential election year and the political season often highlights the issues that divide us as Americans. But the Mental Health First Aid Higher Education Act is not one of them.

In the Alaska tradition, I seek to work across the aisle, and I strongly believe this legislation merits bipartisan support. Please join me in supporting this vital education program that helps to avert suffering, prevent violence and ultimately will save lives.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I would like to have the Record reflect if there had been a rollcall vote, I would have voted no on this item.

Madam President, I would like to thank my colleagues for coming to the floor and especially thank Senator Whitehouse for organizing all of us to come here to speak on an issue that is really the core of what we do here: to figure out how to build infrastructure for this country so our private sector can have the infrastructure to work from and play off of. But let's be very blunt and very honest about what is happening. This Transportation reauthorization bill passed this body with 74 votes. It was a bipartisan effort, hard fought, with incredible debate, encompassing many different issues. Now it sits in a conference committee with House Members, led by the Republican majority over there, not wanting to move forward.

Let's be very blunt about this. Not only do we have that bill over there, we have the VAWA bill, the FDA bill, the postal reform bill, and they are all just piling up over in the House. People wonder why the economy has been struggling this last month. Well, all the business that we should be doing and that we are doing here on the Senate side-- we are passing stuff--is all piling up over there on the House side.

Actually, I did what we were calling ``Begich Minutes,'' give or take a few seconds. I went to the middle of the Capitol and described this incident of where we pass a bill, and then I physically pointed to the House side to show where the bill is now stalled. We have a small group within the Republican majority over there that is holding the Speaker hostage, literally, because they want to cut the Transportation bill by over one-third, which would devastate the infrastructure of this country.

Let me say from my own experience--and I know Senator Whitehouse has heard this, and others have as well--as a former mayor, I was in charge of the metropolitan planning organization for our community of Anchorage, which maintained at that time approximately 45 or 48 percent of the population of the State. We were in charge of managing the road money. Every time Congress delayed their action or were ineffective in getting their work done, as a mayor, I had to put projects off, stall projects, and hold contracts and tell contractors they couldn't get to work. That created uncertainty, which at the end of the day does one thing: It costs more money. And the people who pay for that are the taxpayers.

So they sit over there in the House. I saw a comment that they want to do another extension. Well, we have had nine extensions. For people who don't know what extensions are, it is where the Congress says: Well, we will extend this bill for another week, another 2 weeks, another month. But these extensions create more uncertainty and add more cost. Every time you hear the word ``extension'' from the other side, that just means you--the taxpayers of this country--are paying more in taxes. That is what that means, pure and simple. ``Extension'' means you pay more for a project that should have been on the board and moving forward.

We have a bipartisan bill, with 74 Democrats and Republicans on the Senate side having voted for it. It is now lingering in conference.

We are now in the midst of the construction season. In Alaska--and I know my colleague from Minnesota, who has joined us, will know about this--the construction season is short. We need to have contracts let in early spring in order to construct in the summer and be completed by September or October because the asphalt plants close. When the asphalt plants close, you can't put asphalt on the streets. It is very simple. We have a very limited time. So the contracting community is frustrated and angry because they do not get the certainty they need to hire the people. They can't get them to work.

So I plead with the folks on the other side, the extreme folks in the Republican majority over there who are holding the Speaker hostage on this issue, let's do what is right for America. Let's make sure these jobs, these 3 million jobs that could be retained and added, move forward. In an economy where every job makes a difference, we are talking here about 3 million jobs. Let's move this forward. Let's quit the politics.

What is amazing about this--and I heard Senator Whitehouse say this more than once--if the Speaker of the House would just allow the Senate bill to go to the floor for a vote, I can guarantee what will happen: Democrats and a group of Republicans will support that bill and pass it. But that is not the issue. We have a very small subset of the majority of the Republicans over in the House who have told the majority leader he is not moving anything--nothing, zero--because they are not betting on America like we are. We bet on America. We are betting on the right things. What they want to do is to cripple this country for their own political gamesmanship.

I have to say--and I would bet every one of my colleagues here would say the same thing--that when I go back home to Alaska, I hear how fed up people are with this. They are frustrated by the inability of Congress to do its work. And I have told my folks back in Alaska that the Senate is doing its work. We are passing bipartisan bills. But they get jammed up by a small group of extreme Republican tea party folks who believe the best way to solve problems is to do nothing and to let this economy falter.

So I hope Members will come to their senses over there. I can say that my

Congressman, the Republican from Alaska, is working hard to get this bill passed. He is on the conference committee. He is one of the Republicans who would vote with Democrats to get things done on this Transportation bill. Why? Because he likes building things. I like building things. But there are some other folks over there who have no interest in helping to build this country and make it a better place.

So, again, I yield my time. I hope folks on the other side in that extreme group will get some sense knocked into them. Maybe the American people will do it. I hope so.

Madam President, I yield the floor at this point for my friend from Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I wish to memorialize the Honorable Robert Boochever, a retired jurist of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Born in New York in 1917, Judge Boochever led a distinguished and balanced life while he helped to build a community, define the laws of a new State, and serve his country. Among the rarest of men, he is remembered as much for his love of family as for his commitment to community and dedication to duty.

As a graduate of Cornell University's School of Law, Bob joined the U.S. Army Infantry and in 1941 was stationed in Newfoundland. There, Captain Boochever met Connie, an Army nurse, who was to be his wife until her death in 1999. After his 1945 discharge, the couple came north to Alaska where Bob served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Alaska Territory.

In 1947 Bob entered private practice at the law firm Faulkner, Banfield, Boochever, and Doogan. For the next 25 years, he focused his diverse talents on his firm, his family and his community. As the leader on more than a dozen community and professional boards, he helped to shape the capital city of Juneau and the State of Alaska. Whether as president of the Juneau or Alaska Bar Association, Juneau Rotary, or the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, Bob had a hand in policy development and quality of life for a developing territory and State. He chaired Juneau's first city Planning Commission, helped to develop a comprehensive plan, and served on the selection committee to choose a site for the University of Alaska Southeast. He was recognized with an honorary doctorate at UAS, and in 1974, was chosen as ``The Man of the Year'' for the Juneau Chamber of Commerce. He also received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Cornell Law School.

A quiet man of many talents, Bob was an accomplished athlete. He lettered in four sports during high school and two at Cornell--football and tennis. In the Army he learned to ski, so in Juneau he helped to develop Eaglecrest, a highly acclaimed community operated ski slope. His granddaughter, Hilary Lindh, got her start there and became a silver medalist at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

A quiet man with a twinkle in his eye, Bob loved his family and, with Connie, helped to raise four wonderful daughters. Complementing Connie's love and advocacy for the arts, he was a poet, a writer, and played the piano, creating stories and songs for each of his children. He championed family camping trips, bird watching, fly fishing, and made major expeditions to explore for new places to fish. He wrote stories for publication in Alaska Magazine about his travels.

In 1972, ready for a new professional challenge, Bob accepted Governor Bill Egan's appointment to the Alaska Supreme Court. During eight years on the bench, he served four as Chief Justice. Many cases in which he played an integral part are frequently referenced, in particular: Ravin v. State established the right to privacy in a person's home; and Aguchak v. Mongtomery Ward limited a creditor's ability to collect a debt against a rural Alaskan by filing a case in an Alaska court distant from their home.

Recognized for his protection of individual rights and liberties, Justice Boochever was tapped in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the Nation's largest appellate court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The first Alaskan so appointed, he presided as an active member for six years before achieving senior status, which he held until his passing on October 9, 2011.

Praised as a man who wanted to improve the administration of justice, Judge Robert Boochever was someone who championed the rights of minorities and the disadvantaged. His colleagues have said he was the best writer on the bench--succinct, clear, and to the point. He was a person of integrity who was honest, warm and caring; and a gentle, generous man who was a tireless advocate.

Robert Boochever was among the best of men and a great Alaskan. We are better because of his caring and compassion for family and community, his commitment to public service and fair adjudication, and his outstanding contributions and investments in the humanities.

Our deepest condolences are extended to his family--daughters Barbara Lindh, Ann Boochever, Linda Boochever, and Miriam Medenica; step- daughters Betty Thompson, Joan Stark and Laurie Craig; his 11 grandchildren; and his 3 great-grandchildren.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize a friend of Alaska for his extraordinary 34 years of service to the U.S. Coast Guard and our Nation. In Alaska, we know him best for his service as the commander of the Coast Guard 17th District, but he has served valiantly across our Nation throughout his long and distinguished career. On June 1, he will retire as the deputy commander of the Coast Guard's Pacific Area Command in Alameda, CA.

Rear Admiral Colvin is a native of Erie, PA. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and entered Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in November 1978, earning his commission in March 1979. His 34-year Coast Guard career has included a variety of operational and staff assignments on both coasts. He served aboard eight Coast Guard cutters and commanded three. In 2003 he commanded Coast Guard Cutter DALLAS, WHEC 716, while attached to the USS Truman/ USS Roosevelt battle force conducting combat operations during the first 6 months of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004, Rear Admiral Colvin served as commander of Coast Guard forces off Haiti and as the maritime component commander to Joint Task Force Haiti, helping prevent a mass migration and preserving order in Port au Prince Harbor following the unexpected departure of former Haitian President Aristide. He is a 1999 graduate of the Naval War College in Newport, RI, earning a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies. His staff expertise is in cutter management, operations, strategy, and readiness. He has enforced U.S. sovereignty in the maritime arena by interdicting illegal drugs, detaining illegal migrants, seizing foreign fishing vessels, and saving lives.

Rear Admiral Colvin's first flag assignment was as the deputy director of operations for U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, CO. From there he was assigned as the commander of the 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, AK, from 2009 to 2011, when he was responsible for Coast Guard operations throughout Alaska and the U.S. Arctic. He currently serves as the deputy commander of the Coast Guard's Pacific Area Command in Alameda, CA. His many notable accomplishments from his current assignment include coordinating USCGC HEALY's historic 2011 to 2012 icebreaking mission to mitigate a critical fuel shortage in the city of Nome, AK.

Rear Admiral Colvin married his wife Kristin in 1985, and they have two children. Their son Mark is a high school freshman and their daughter Meagan is a student at the University of Central Florida. Rear Admiral Colvin's parents are Dr. Charles and Evelyn Colvin of Erie, PA.

Mr. President, on behalf of the State of Alaska, I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in recognizing Rear Admiral Colvin's exceptional career. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his commitment to the Coast Guard and to our Nation. We wish him well in his retirement.

Madam President, to mark the occasion of President Obama's Camp David G8 Summit focusing, in part, on the problem of food security in Africa, I want to take this opportunity to address the necessity for the United States to help foster stable and democratic nations as partners as we build multilateral coalitions to tackle global issues like hunger and poverty.

Alaska is a long way from Africa, but the citizens of my State are committed to a stable and prosperous Africa. Many Alaskans contribute their time and resources toward this goal.

A year ago in Deauville, France, President Obama joined other leaders of the G8 in reaffirming that ``democracy lays the best path to peace, stability, prosperity, shared growth and development.'' As the events in North Africa and the Middle East have shown, supporting reliable autocrats who are helpful on matters of security and economics at the expense of human dignity, basic democratic rights, and access to economic opportunity is more perilous than ever to long-term U.S. national security interests.

It is for this reason that I make a few points about our reliable partner in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia. Two weeks ago at the World Economic Forum, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made hopeful remarks about the virtues of democratic society. I publically commit my continuing support for efforts to make such important principles a reality in Ethiopia. It is in the U.S. interest to match Ethiopia's progress in economic development and poverty reduction with movement toward economic opportunity, social justice and judicial independence. It has been said that basic human rights and free and fair elections are nothing but dreams for all except for the developed countries of the world. I do not believe that to be true; Ethiopia is ready to realize that dream. To foster the benefits of a diverse citizenry, the many political prisoners and journalists should be released, the Charities and Societies Act, as designed and as it is implemented, should be prevented from strangling peaceful civil society advocacy.

Beginning in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt and Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II launched a long and mutually beneficial history of working together on important geopolitical and economic strategic partnerships that last to this day. Our friend and partner, Ethiopia, has been a champion with the United States during many critical times for almost 110 years. When Italy invaded Ethiopia, we refused to recognize the conquest. When the United States asked for help during the Cold War, Haile Selassie was ready to help. When the regime of Mengistu Haile- Mariam failed, the United States came to Ethiopia's side with help to prevent violence in Addis Ababa, by facilitating Mengistu's departure. We gave this support for the mutual benefit and promise of democratization in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's macroeconomic successes of rapid growth rates and better than average performance in poverty reduction have been celebrated at this past week's G8 Summit, and at the recent World Economic Forum. There Prime Minister Meles pondered aloud:

What is the substantive political thing that creates such

an environment [of fair economic opportunity for all

citizens]? The one [thing] that creates such an environment

is an engaged citizenry that is able to create an environment

where corruption and loot cannot happen at the lower level,

at the mid-level, at the higher level, and that goes beyond

elections every four and five years.

On the microeconomic level, aside from the lack of progress on land reform, this is good news indeed, given recent complaints about poor state of economic opportunity for all of Ethiopia's citizens. We are hopeful this is a sign that Ethiopia's federal ministries are ready to engage and assist the local citizenry in issues that relate to their

economic interests. Many observers are pessimistic, but I prefer to think of the glass as half full, and ready to be filled to the brim.

The Prime Minister's sentiments raise many issues, including: the nation's commitment to an environment conducive to free speech and citizen participation; a commitment to building an informed and engaged citizenry as a key to inclusive, long term economic development; a call for the quick and unconditional release of journalists and political prisoners as a measure of good faith; and commitment to a diverse and multi-party election in 2015, free from federal government interference.

Hopeful as I am, I urge my Senate and House colleagues to re-commit to assistance we have offered the people of Ethiopia and their government in the past.

Let us help build a national consensus on the value of the following goals in Ethiopia: robust public institutions that represent the diversity of perspectives in Ethiopia; free and fair political processes drawing legitimacy from broad citizen participation; an independent judicial system as outlined in Ethiopia's constitution; a press with institutional independence and legal protection to enable it to accommodate and a broad range of perspectives and ensure the free flow of information, ideas and opinions that are necessary in a democratic society, as outlined in Ethiopia's constitution; an environment where each citizen can take advantage of Ethiopia's economic success; and the security that comes with the assurance that universal rights are respected and protected.

Our international partnerships are stronger and more enduring when we share values of opportunity and freedom with our partners. A more democratic Ethiopia would represent a more stable and reliable partner for the United States and serve the long-term interests of peace and security in the Horn of Africa. A more democratic Ethiopia would ease the free flow of information, which would ease trade and ensure more informed investments. A more democratic Ethiopia would ensure that government policies are the result of broad national consultation with all segments of society.

Such are hallmarks of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and they provide a return of accountability and transparency to both American taxpayers and Ethiopian citizens. Let's do what we can to help our fast and true friend, Ethiopia, extend opportunity and freedom to the majority of its citizenry.

Mr. President, I rise to commend the members of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division from Fort Wainwright, AK upon completion of their deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I am pleased to offer a resolution with Senator Lisa Murkowski to recognize the service of these Arctic Wolves and honor the 21 brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the Nation.

Deployed to Kandahar, one of the most volatile areas of Afghanistan, the 1/25 SBCT conducted more than 7,500 patrols and over 60 named operations. They made significant gains against insurgents in the Southern region. Our nation will forever be grateful to them and we will never forget those who perished or were wounded during their tour.

We must also never forget Private Danny Chen. While the actions of those involved in the maltreatment of Private Chen are not a reflection of the honorable service of thousands of others in the brigade, abuse and hazing of another individual must never be tolerated under any circumstances. Private Chen was a son, he was a friend, he was a soldier. He will be remembered.

I also want to thank the families of the Arctic Wolves for their service and sacrifice. The support of their loved ones gives strength to our military.

I urge my colleagues to join me in thanking the Arctic Wolves and their families for the sacrifices they make every day on behalf of our country.

Madam President, I come down to talk about the issue of student loans, as someone who has two ends of this equation--one as the former chairman of the Student Loan Corporation for the State of Alaska for 7 years. I took that corporation from the brink of bankruptcy, junk bond rating, you name it--it was in dismal condition. We turned it around, and 7 years later the corporation ended up paying a hefty annual dividend to Alaska for higher education and had one of the lowest interest rates in the country and increased the capacity for students to borrow money not only for 2- and 4-year degrees and master's degrees but also for career education, something most people told me, when I became chair of that corporation, would never be able to be done. Good luck. We wish you the best. And off they went and most of them got off the board very quickly. We were able to bring it together. In the process, in my experience around the issue of education, in making sure young people had the capacity to borrow money at reasonable rates, it went down about 2 percent, which is a pretty incredible rate for a student or parent to borrow money at.

I was also chair of the Postsecondary Education Commission for 7 years, a copartner with the Student Loan Corporation, making sure we had strong educational institutions to provide career, college, and other types of education for young people. I come with that experience, and also I come from experience as a small businessperson, which I will get to in a minute, with regard to how we are trying to pay for this interest rate, controlling the interest rates and making sure they don't rise. The rate for subsidized interest loans will rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in July. That will increase the average cost for students by $1,000 over the course of a loan. Students are truly waiting and families are waiting, as kids are graduating right now across this country from high school, getting ready to move on to higher education and making their plans--be they scholarships or grants or loans or whatever they need to cobble together the amount of money needed to move on to a higher education and to ensure they can afford it. And the interest rate is part of that equation. Doubling the interest rate would be damaging to our young families who are making sure their kids can get on and have an opportunity to be educated.

As you know, many of us have gone onto our Facebook page and Twitter accounts and asked constituents from our districts to tell us their stories--tell us what is happening: If this interest rate doubles, what will happen to you. One Anchorage resident says her granddaughter graduated from Charter College. I know this college well. This is a privately run college which has an incredible placement rate--almost 90-percent placement rate once they graduate with their degree. It is an intensive program. It is like a job. Students are there 8 to 5 every day, all day, for several months, and they consolidate the time. She has been working on her accounting degree, and now, 6 years later-- because she had to work two jobs while going to school, trying to pay for this and borrowing money--her total debt is $72,000. She is 31 years old. Her family is truly wondering how she will ever get out of debt if this bill doesn't pass, because if the interest rates adjust, it is truly money that comes out of her pocket to literally pay off interest, and the net result is she gets deeper and deeper in debt.

We know the cost of college is more and more expensive every year, and one way we are going to make sure students can afford this is by making sure we do not double the interest rate. We had a vote earlier this week that did not succeed. We tried on this side to move it forward. It is important for us to make sure every kid has access to education--whether it is higher education, career education, voc education or whatever the new title is they like to use to describe it--because we are in a globally competitive economy, and we need to make sure our kids are well educated and have access to education, which means affordability.

Yesterday I was listening to the debate, and this is where my small business part comes in. I have been in the small business arena since the age of 14. I have operated and owned a variety of businesses--some successful, some not so successful. Hopefully, you learn from those that are not so successful, and I think I have. The Democrats' pay- for--the majority's pay-for--was to close a tax loophole used by high- income earners--basically lawyers, lobbyists, and consultants. No disrespect to their fields, but they basically use the system to avoid paying the Medicare taxes, for example, that all of us pay. All of us who sit in this Chamber, the people who work at the restaurants outside here, the people who drive the buses, and everyone else, pays that tax. But some use this to organize under an S corporation. It is a technical term under the IRS Code that allows those profits to go right to the individual. So they decided instead of paying it as a wage, they would take it as profit or a dividend, thus avoiding the Medicare taxes all of us pay. They are getting a free ride.

I heard the phrase used yesterday on the floor, ``a bunch of new taxes.'' These aren't new taxes. These are taxes that are owed. They just found a loophole--again, consultants, lobbyists and lawyers-- through the writing of the laws. And they probably wrote them. Actually, they did, if you look at the history of it. They wrote the law so they could avoid the Medicare taxes everyone else has to pay. So when I hear people saying it is the restaurant owner, it is the retailer, the plumber, I think, that is a bunch of baloney. That is misinforming the public. It is unbelievable. I know this, because as a former retailer who had an S corporation, we paid our taxes. We paid with a wage. We paid it all.

This loophole is clear. All you have to do is look at it. They have to meet three standards: modified gross income above $250,000 for joint filers, $200,000 for individuals and shareholders, and an S corporation that derives 75 percent or more of gross revenues from services of three or fewer shareholders. Service is defined as lobbying, law, engineering, architect, accounting, actuarial science--which is a science--performing arts, athletes, and brokerage services. I am looking here, and I don't see where it says retailers. It doesn't say the mom-and-pop folks who work every day and pay their taxes.

So for Members to come to the floor and try to trick the public-- because

that is what they tried to do by using convoluted words, knowing people are getting the 10-second sound bites--saying, oh, it is going to raise new taxes and cause all these small businesses not to hire, that is baloney. This is about lawyers, lobbyists, and consultants who wrote the law making sure they didn't have to pay a dime. That is what that is about. For people to come to the floor and say we are going to raise the interest rate on hard-working families who are trying to get their kids through college is unbelievable.

I hope we take this up again. I hope we vote on it and get this thing resolved, and make sure working families can afford to get their kids into college and can afford the high cost so they can become productive parts of this country, perhaps opening their own small business and paying their taxes, as every other small business does.

I was appalled when I heard some of the Members speaking on this, and they sounded so logical. But to be frank with you, there are not many in this body--no disrespect to my colleagues--who have owned and operated a true small business. I am talking about starting with a few nickels and dimes because you got turned down by the bank; where the banker told you your idea was a dumb idea. I can say this from personal experience. Three years later, I sold that business for three times what I had invested. I thought it was a good idea, but the banker didn't. But I had to scratch together two nickels to make that business successful. I had to work 12 to 15 hours every day to make sure it was successful. That is a small businessperson. There are not many in this body.

So when a Member comes to the floor and sounds so professional in their description of how it is going to affect certain people, it is incorrect. And one thing I wouldn't mind in this body is to have factual debates. That is what the public deserves, not this kind of 10- second media bite, where they can get away with anything and then say back home, we didn't raise taxes, we didn't do this. What they are doing is jacking up rates on students. That is what is going to happen at the end of the day here, by July 1, if we don't take action.

And we have taken action on this side. But the end result will be that families, hard-working families, middle-class families, will pay more for their students' education, and students will pay more for their education because of a simple law that we can correct. All we have to do is close the loophole that lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants are taking advantage of and wrote to their advantage to stick it to the middle class. I think it is time to reverse the trend, for once, around this place--just once--and give the middle class a break here. This is a break they deserve and it will help to build our economy in the future because we will have a highly educated workforce meeting this global economy.

I know there is another alternative out there. There is a new pay- for, and here is what that does: It takes away prevention funds for health--$226 million used to reduce diabetes and heart disease. I don't know about my colleagues, but if we don't prevent it, then we may have a higher cost later. Those are preventable diseases. This money is well invested. They also want to take away the $93 million used for anti- tobacco education and $190 million used for immunizations.

Our Republican friends do not like the plan that closes the loophole on lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants, but they do like the one that takes away prevention programs that help the middle class, that helps our young families who might be experiencing signs of a preventable disease--heart disease. And a little prevention might save their lives, but it will also save on health care costs in the future.

I see this proposal as crazy talk. I don't know how else to describe it. I am trying to keep it simple. Let's get on with closing the loopholes people took advantage of by lobbying and wheeling and dealing in the halls of Congress. Let's fix that and protect our working families, our middle-class families, and make sure we are doing the right thing. That is what they sent us here to do, and I think we have an obligation.

Again, I hope we move forward and make sure we are not going to allow the rates on these loans to double. I am not for doubling the rates; 3.4 percent is a good rate. We should ensure students can get that rate as they get prepared for the fall session and are borrowing money to get on with their higher education.

I thank the Chair, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, on the occasion of his upcoming inauguration for his second term in office, I am pleased to commend Republic of China, Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou. President Ma has shown himself to be a dedicated public servant, continually electing to serve his nation even through difficult times.

During his first term, President Ma--like many world leaders had to struggle with the worldwide economic crisis. His stewardship during this difficult time helped Taiwan avoid some of the worst disasters that other countries have faced and also helped Taiwan recover more quickly than many other countries.

Taiwan has been a great economic partner for Alaska in the past years under President Ma's leadership, and we are fortunate to have such a relationship. Taiwan has remained in Alaska's top 20 export markets for the past 15 years. Alaska's exports to the country have totaled more than $22 million in sectors such as energy, forest products, machinery, and seafood products. In addition, Taiwan is one of Alaska's three sister states or provinces, and it is my hope that we will continue this sister-state exchange for many years to come.

We witnessed during President Ma's first years in office his diligence in dealing with economic and international challenges, and the upcoming 4 years for President Ma will continue to be challenging. I am confidant President Ma will overcome difficulties and serve his nation to the best of his ability.

Once again, I offer my congratulations to President Ma, and I wish him all the success in his future endeavors, and for the future of Taiwan.

Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague from Arkansas, Senator Boozman, to introduce a bill that will help veterans who have been forced out of their homes because of domestic violence. This bill will expand the definition of homeless veteran to include domestic violence.

Due to an oversight in the law, the legal definition of ``homeless veterans'' differs significantly from the existing definition of homelessness. Existing law recognizes individuals who have

been forced from their homes by domestic violence as ``homeless'' but for the purposes of special ``homeless veteran'' benefits, this situation is overlooked. The small wording change in our bill will allow those veterans who are in a domestic violence situation access to the same benefits available to other homeless veterans. In order to qualify for benefits offered to homeless veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, must meet the definition of homeless in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. That is all we are changing.

One out of four women will experience domestic violence sometime in her lifetime, including veterans who have served honorably for this country. They should qualify for the benefits they deserve and need to protect them.

This bill simply updates the legal definition of ``homeless veteran'' to bring it to the same standard as the rest of the law--correcting a grievous oversight that could deny those who served our country the support and benefits they earned a thousand times over with their patriotism and courage.

In closing, it is an honor for me to serve as a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. I feel very privileged to work on behalf of our veterans. I appreciate the work of my distinguished colleagues on the committee and ask them and all senators to join me in supporting this small but very important expanded definition of homeless veterans.

Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague from Arkansas, Senator Boozman, to introduce a bill that will help veterans who have been forced out of their homes because of domestic violence. This bill will expand the definition of homeless veteran to include domestic violence.

Due to an oversight in the law, the legal definition of ``homeless veterans'' differs significantly from the existing definition of homelessness. Existing law recognizes individuals who have

been forced from their homes by domestic violence as ``homeless'' but for the purposes of special ``homeless veteran'' benefits, this situation is overlooked. The small wording change in our bill will allow those veterans who are in a domestic violence situation access to the same benefits available to other homeless veterans. In order to qualify for benefits offered to homeless veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, must meet the definition of homeless in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. That is all we are changing.

One out of four women will experience domestic violence sometime in her lifetime, including veterans who have served honorably for this country. They should qualify for the benefits they deserve and need to protect them.

This bill simply updates the legal definition of ``homeless veteran'' to bring it to the same standard as the rest of the law--correcting a grievous oversight that could deny those who served our country the support and benefits they earned a thousand times over with their patriotism and courage.

In closing, it is an honor for me to serve as a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. I feel very privileged to work on behalf of our veterans. I appreciate the work of my distinguished colleagues on the committee and ask them and all senators to join me in supporting this small but very important expanded definition of homeless veterans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The Committee will hold a hearing entitled, ``The Need for Privacy Protections: Perspectives from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 10 a.m., in room SD 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Nominations.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The National Flood Insurance Program: The Need for Long-Term Reauthorization and Reform.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 2 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Is Simpler Better? Limiting Federal Support For Financial Institutions.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 9, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled; ``Building and Maintaining an Effective Human Resource Workforce in the Federal Government.''