Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I honor the Bren Road Education Center, in Minnetonka, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

The Bren Road Education Center is truly a model of educational success. The center serves high school students, who often present the greatest challenges for educators. Those enrolled at Bren Road have been referred by their school districts and come with behavioral problems, unsuccessful social interactions, and, in some cases, neurobiological disorders and developmental delays. Nearly all students have significant special education needs in the areas of emotional and behavior functioning. Many have substance abuse and/or mental health illnesses or a history of involvement with the juvenile courts. All the teachers and staff at the Bren Road Education Center approach these tremendous challenges with the assumption that their students will succeed.

The Bren Road Education Center opened its doors in September, 2005, with a true sense of excitement and promise. One observer said, ``There was a sense of relief that the students at the Bren Road Education Center would now have a new chance, an opportunity for success, and a bright future!''

The staff at Bren Road consider each student to be unique, and they work tirelessly to build relationships with the students by engaging them respectfully. The philosophy at Bren Road is that these young people have often struggled unsuccessfully in traditional, large high schools, because their particular needs had gone unrecognized. Given the right environment, appropriate support, positive relationships with adults, and opportunities to give and receive respect, they can do well in an academic setting.

Bren Road's individualized instruction in reading, writing, and math prepares students to pass State-level proficiency tests. Experimental learning labs including science, art, and independent living labs afford students hands-on learning and vocational experiences. One student was repeatedly suspended from his regular high school, because he could not control his anger. At Bren Road, however, he has developed his interest in woodworking and takes pride in making Adirondack furniture.

Much of the credit for the Bren Road Education Center's success belongs to its supervisor, Jan Joslin, and the dedicated teachers and staff. The students and staff at the Bren Road Education Center understand that, in order to be successful, a school must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at the Bren Road Education Center should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate the Bren Road Education Center in Minnetonka for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I honor the Eden Prairie School District, in Eden Prairie, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

The Eden Prairie School District is truly a model of educational success.

The district takes a systemwide approach to ending a subtle form of racism that can plague schools and other institutions.

Some schools use an approach to teaching that has a bias--an approach that benefits white students and puts black students at a disadvantage. Eden Prairie Schools Superintendent Dr. Melissa Krull, believes the district has made progress toward a solution.

The 2005 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, MCA, results for Eden Prairie were impressive: All schools showed dramatic improvements. However, the district found that its Black students were not realizing the same level of success as other students.

Eden Prairie found that even excluding factors such as poverty, learning disabilities, and English as a second language, the district's Black students were still not doing as well as White students, who earned approximately 22 to 25 percentage points more than Black students on the MCAs.

Eden Prairie Schools have made a great commitment of time and resources to eliminating the achievement gap. Eden Prairie administrators base their response on research and data, breaking down test results by racial groups, then determining which schools, classrooms, and students need that extra attention.

The district created a program, at one elementary school, called ``The Mom's Club,'' inviting single mothers to visit and talk with staff and other single mothers while their sons interact with male high school students to establish friendships. Through the district's Somali Liaison Program, a Somali staff member visits new Somali families to answer questions about the schools and show families how to get involved. As part of a Homework Zone Initiative, staff members go to apartment complexes with diverse families and offer free, afterschool tutoring.

Much of the credit for the Eden Prairie School District's success belongs to its superintendent, Dr. Melissa Krull, the dedicated principals, teachers, and other staff. The students and staff within the district understand that, in order to be successful, a district must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where all students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at the Eden Prairie School District should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Eden Prairie School District in Eden Prairie for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I honor the Arts High School at the Perpich Center for Arts Education, in Golden Valley, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

The Arts High School is truly a model of educational success. The school is a residential, tuition-free, public high school delivering a comprehensive education for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students motivated to focus their studies on the arts. Enrollment is limited to 310 students, affording a relatively small learning environment while allowing students from every part of Minnesota to take advantage of the wonderful arts resources in the Twin Cities. Dedicated and caring staff members furnish 24-hour supervision and coordinate many special activities for dormitory residents. Its 16-year history has demonstrated that the Arts High School is a highly effective means of promoting student achievement and artistic attainment.

In their morning classes, Arts High students study math, science, world languages, English, and social studies. In the afternoon, they delve deeply into their arts area studies; students can concentrate on dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theater, or visual arts. Over the past 5 years, the Arts High has had 9 National Merit Scholarship Finalists, 6 Semifinalists, and 18 Commended Students.

Testimonials from the Arts High School's graduates convey their appreciation of the school's merits. Ashley Wilkinson, class of 2004, says, ``My experiences at the Arts High School have given me the confidence to approach any situation and succeed. The extra confidence has made me stronger and prepared me for the world.'' Brian McManamon, class of 1993, who is an MFA candidate at the Yale School of Drama, says, ``As a student, I found myself continually interested in challenging myself and experiencing not just acting, but taking a risk once in a while and doing something I was not familiar with. I wouldn't be where I am today, if I hadn't gone to the Arts High School.''

Much of the credit for the Arts High School's success belongs to its Director, Rie Gilsdorf, and the dedicated teachers. The students and staff at the Arts High School understand that, in order to be successful, a school must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at the Arts High School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate the Arts High School in Golden Valley for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I honor Mankato East Junior High School, in Mankato, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

Mankato East Junior High School is truly a model of educational success. The school has formed a partnership with the Greater Mankato Diversity Council to augment the community's commitment to creating an environment of inclusiveness. Mankato East Junior High offers the council's prejudice reduction workshops to the seventh and eighth grades. The curriculum's core value is respect.

The seventh grade curriculum at Mankato East Junior High focuses on ``Global Awareness/World Mindedness: If the World Were a Village.'' This workshop identifies inequities in the distribution of resources among the world's people, and it encourages dialogue about how students can contribute to finding a solution to the problem.

The eighth grade workshop, ``Vive la Difference,'' gives students an opportunity to participate in an activity to learn about the feelings and behaviors accompanying inclusion and exclusion.

Mankato East Junior High School also supports P.E.A.C.E. People Experiencing and Accepting Cultures Everywhere. Approximately 50 of the school's 465 seventh and eighth graders participate in the PEACE project, helping them find new ways to increase cultural awareness, promote acceptance among all students, speak out against violence and racism, teach tolerance, lead by positive example, serve the community through special projects, improve self-esteem, and support others.

As part of its efforts to increase awareness and appreciation of other cultures, Mankato East Junior High invites the Mixed Blood Theater to perform for the entire student body. This year's presentation, the ``Black Eagle,'' tells the story of Dr. Ronald McNair, the African-American scientist who was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Another component of the success of all of Mankato's schools is the tremendous support from the community. Last fall, Mankato-area voters approved two referenda: to provide $6 million to update many existing buildings throughout the district and to provide $3.5 million over 7 years to update the schools' technology. In 2002, voters approved a $2.5 million per year operating referendum.

Much of the credit for Mankato East Junior High School's success belongs to its principal, Rich Dahman, and the dedicated teachers. The students and staff at Mankato East Junior High School understand that, in order to be successful, a school must go beyond

achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at Mankato East Junior High School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Mankato East Junior High School in Mankato for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Duluth East High School, in Duluth, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

Duluth East High School is truly a model of educational success, which is reflected in the achievements of its students. Duluth East High School boasts a 98-percent graduation rate. Ninety-one percent of its graduates go on to some type of postsecondary education, with over 66 percent enrolling in a 4-year college. The class of 2005 had two students who qualified as National Merit semifinalists; nine received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation; 23 earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average; and, all told, members of the class were offered in excess of $2 million in scholarship monies.

Duluth East provides many challenging courses for high-achieving students, offering advanced placement courses in English, calculus, and European history. All advanced placement

students are required to take the advanced placement test at the end of the term. Students scoring three or better on the test automatically earn college credit. Last year, 70 percent of all Duluth East students who took the advanced placement tests scored three or above.

In addition to the advanced placement classes, Duluth East offers College in the School classes and honors classes in English, biology, chemistry, physics, and anatomy/physiology.

Two Duluth East teachers received significant recognition last year. Peg Zahorick, a special education teacher, was designated Teacher of the Year by Arc of Minnesota. She was honored for her work on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities and their families. Cindy Grindy, a chemistry teacher at Duluth East, was named the 2005 Star of American Teaching for Minnesota. That award is given by the U.S. Department of Education.

Much of the credit for Duluth East High School's success belongs to its principal, Laurie Knapp, and to the dedicated teachers. The students and staff at Duluth East High School understand that, in order to be successful, a school must go beyond achieving academic success. It must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at Duluth East High School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Duluth East High School in Duluth for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I honor Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, in Duluth, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School is truly a model of educational success. For past 12 years, the school has embraced an environmental education emphasis, with a 100-percent commitment to recycling, breakfast and lunch waste reduction, an integrated environmental education curriculum, a composting shed, an alternative- energy tower, and annual environmentally themed service-learning projects at all grade levels. Stowe Elementary was one of six Minnesota schools to receive last year's Spotlight Award from the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation.

Improving pupils' achievement is also a primary focus at Stowe Elementary. The teachers and administrators establish annual goals relative to student achievement in reading, math, and writing, in addition to a goal related to the school's overall learning environment. The goals are comprehensive, including individual goals for every staff member. It has a summer ``Jump Start'' EXCEL Program for pupils determined to be at risk for maintaining their grade-level performance. Last year, Stowe Elementary received four stars in both reading and math from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Much of the credit for Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School's success belongs to its principal, Terry Cottingham, and to the dedicated teachers. The pupils and staff at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School understand that, in order to be successful, a school must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and pupils at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School in Duluth for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I honor Lowell Elementary School, in Duluth, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

Lowell Elementary School, a music magnet school, is truly a model of educational success. In addition to a well-rounded learning experience, the school offers an exceptional music curriculum, including a choir at each grade level--kindergarten through fifth grade--piano instruction for second, third, and fourth-grade pupils, string instrument lessons for third through fifth grades, and band instruction for grades four and five.

Lowell Elementary School's success is reflected in its popularity within the Duluth community. There are 127 students on a waiting list for enrollment in Lowell, including children for future kindergarten enrollment. An English language learner program is housed in the building, serving 33 to 38 students per year from 10 different countries. A 21st Century Program, which involves a partnership between Lowell and the YMCA, provides on-site daily mentoring and tutoring services after school until 6:00 p.m., for pupils in grades K through 5.

Parents further attest to Lowell's success. Joan Lancour states:

My child has attended Lowell for the past three years.

During this time, my child, Chris, has received extra help

from all staff that he never received at other schools. The

staff have helped him to gain confidence through the music

program . . . Over these past three years I have seen him

take strides to become an independent student through the

excellent training of Lowell staff and administrators.

Another mother, Sue Wright, adds:

We feel very fortunate to have the enrichment of music in

our children's education. The benefits of the extra music

opportunities have shown in their academic success. Lowell is

a positive school with very dedicated students, staff and

parents. It has been a wonderful place for my family to begin

a lifelong education.

Much of the credit for Lowell Elementary School's success belongs to its principal, Monte Wittman, and to the dedicated teachers. The pupils and staff at Lowell Elementary School understand that in order to be successful a school must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and pupils at Lowell Elementary School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Lowell Elementary School in Duluth for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Washington Elementary School, in Cloquet, MN, which recently earned an Award for Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements in educating children.

Washington Elementary School is truly a model of educational success. The school's teachers and administrators are to be applauded for their leadership in helping children understand the harmful consequences of bullying other students. Its Bullying Prevention Program is one of the best in the State.

The effort to address bullying at Washington Elementary began last year, after students were surveyed about their thoughts and attitudes toward a variety of school safety matters. Their responses to four key questions were significant: 22 percent of all pupils reported having been bullied at least two to three times per month; 62 percent said that when they see bullying they want to help, if only they knew what to do; children in grades 3 through 5 are the most often bullied; and the three places where bullying most frequently occurs are on the playground, in the lunchroom, and on the bus.

All licensed and nonlicensed staff at Washington Elementary received training using the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Staff learned what bullying is and how they can put an end to it. They learned how to teach students to recognize a bully and what steps to take when they encounter one. They learned that most bullying is not physical, but rather uses verbal taunts, and excludes and degrades the victim. Children who are bullied have lower self-esteem, more absences, and more anxiety, along with depression and thoughts of suicide.

The Bullying Prevention Program at Washington Elementary School has become a communitywide effort. Mailings were sent home to parents. Local business leaders, the mayor, the police chief, the media, and other local dignitaries participated in a ``Kick-off Celebration'' held earlier this school year. The program's slogan is, ``Take a Bite Out of Bullying''; the University of Minnesota--Duluth Bulldog serves as the program's mascot.

The school community is rightly proud of the results. Children are coming to school feeling safer. Attendance

is up. And the school climate has improved. The Bullying Prevention Program has been featured in local newspaper stories. High school students have come to Washington Elementary to perform skits on the bullying theme, and this May the CLIMB Theater group completed a 3-day residency on bullying.

In addition, the school can take pride in its Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test scores. Last year, the school received four-star ratings in both reading and math from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Much of the credit for Washington Elementary School's success belongs to its principal, Randy Thudin, and to the dedicated teachers. The pupils and staff at Washington Elementary School understand that in order to be successful a school must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout life. All of the faculty, staff, and pupils at Washington Elementary School should be very proud of their accomplishments.

I congratulate Washington Elementary School in Cloquet for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

Mr. President, I have arisen previously to talk about a proposal of the DM&E Railroad to reconstruct its rail line across southern Minnesota in order to run up to 36 unit coal trains, rail cars containing grain and other agricultural products, and possibly shipments of hazardous materials. The DM&E is presently seeking a $2.5 billion low-interest loan from the Federal Railroad Administration for this project, which the company initially said would be financed to the private capital markets.

Evidently unable to attract that necessary financing, DM&E has now turned to the American taxpayer to assume the enormous financial risk that such a project entails. If the project were to be successful, the financial benefits would go to DM&E's executives and investors. If the project were to fail, the losses would be paid by American taxpayers. It is for that reason that I have urged the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, who have the ultimate decision-making authorities, to exercise all necessary due diligence before their decisions about this enormous financing.

Previously, I have also expressed the strongest possible concern about DM&E's intention to run this rail line through downtown Rochester, MN, and immediately adjacent to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic and Rochester City officials vehemently oppose DM&E's intended route and maintain that it would be catastrophic to their clinic and their city. I agree.

The Mayo Clinic is known and respected nationally and worldwide for its medical excellence. Last year, the Mayo Clinic saw over 1,700,000 patients who came from throughout Minnesota, our country, and the world to seek the best possible medical care. The Mayo Clinic is the largest private employer in Minnesota, employing over 28,000 people, including 2,400 physicians.

In addition to the serious financial questions surrounding this project and major environmental concerns across its intended route, new information has just come to light that demonstrates even more conclusively how unacceptable its proposed route through downtown Rochester, MN, and adjacent to the Mayo Clinic would be. According to a report released today by the Mayo Clinic, but using public, factual information, DM&E has one of the very worst safety records in the entire U.S. railroad industry. In fact, last summer, Mr. Kevin Sheiffer, President and CEO of DM&E's parent company, told DM&E employees, in their newsletter, ``We have a very poor safety record.''

The report discloses that from 2000 through 2005, the DM&E reported train accidents at a rate 7.5 times higher than the national average; during 2005, the DM&E's rate of accidents at crossings was 2.3 times higher than the national average; the DM&E had the highest rate of employee casualties among regional freight railroads in 2004, and was a close second in 2003 and 2005; during the past 10 years, DM&E had 107 accidents involving trains carrying hazardous materials, including a record 16 in 2005; and since 2003, when the Federal Railroad Administration loaned DM&E $233 million, DM&E's main track accident rate has soared to eight times the national rate--a 175 percent increase over its pre-loan rate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the the overview of this report, ``The Sum of All Fears: Unsafe Railroad Plus Unsafe Plan Equals Disaster,'' and the forwarding letter from the Mayo Clinic to The Honorable Joseph H. Boardman, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, be printed in the Record.

Reserving the right to object, I have an amendment, possibly a second amendment if the first is not agreed to, stipulating that at least 20 percent of the agents will be directed to the northern border.

There will be an opportunity to offer and have it considered by the full Senate after this sequence?

I have no objection.

Mr. President, on rollcall vote No. 194, I voted ``yea.'' It was my intention to vote ``nay.'' Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome.

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 4663 and ask for its immediate consideration, and I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment.

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

I thank Senator Gregg and Senator Murray for their gracious help in fashioning this amendment. It does not add any additional funding to this bill. It does, however, redirect $44 million from travel and transportation, printing and reproduction to hire 236 additional Border Patrol agents to protect our country's 5,525-mile northern border which covers 13 States, including my State of Minnesota. When Congress passed the 9/11 act in 2004, there were reportedly 994 Border Patrol agents working on our northern border. Since then that number has declined to 950 border guards, and only 250 of them are working at any one time.

I recognize the very serious needs on our southern border and fully support the need for additional Federal border guards there. The fact that President Bush is calling yet again upon our National Guard to reinforce those southern border patrols evidences the shortsightedness of the administration and a majority in Congress opposed to Democratic caucus efforts in the Senate 10 times during the past 4 years to increase funding for Border Patrol and other homeland security efforts. Once again, the administration says one thing but does another. Now it has evidently actually reduced the number of northern Border Patrol agents since 2004, despite the 9/11 Commission in its report noting:

Despite examples of terrorists entering from Canada,

awareness of terrorist activity

in Canada and its more lenient immigration laws, and an

inspector general's report recommending that the Border

Patrol develop a northern border strategy, the only positive

step was that the number of Border Patrol agents was not cut

any further, despite the fact that the only terrorist caught

entering the United States, millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam,

tried to come in from Canada. We also know that criminal

gangs are trafficking Asian sex workers in Canada into the

United States. The result is that Minnesota's northern border

counties such as Kittson and Lake of the Woods are struggling

by themselves to protect their communities from drug

traffickers and other illegal invaders. They say they can't

rely on Federal Border Patrol agents because there aren't any

there. These five or six-person local police and county

sheriff operations in northern Minnesota are nearly entirely

on their own.

My amendment will increase the number of northern Border Patrol agents across this country by 24 percent while taking nothing from our southern Border Patrol reinforcement.

I urge its adoption.

I yield the floor.

I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my request with respect to vote No. 194 be vitiated.

Mr. President, this week is the long-anticipated Energy Week over at the House of Representatives. It is the response of that Chamber's leadership to the soaring energy prices which are hurting this Nation's consumers, families, and businesses.

After hearing the House Energy Week touted for months, I was naturally curious about what would be on the agenda. A plan to put more alternative fuel vehicles on the road? Incentives to make renewable fuels available to more consumers? A plan to rein in the Federal Government's vast consumption of fossil energy?

No, Mr. President, none of those worthy initiatives are being discussed during House Energy Week. In fact, I am told that their only initiative is a plan to weaken a quarter-century ban on offshore drilling. That is it. That is evidently the House's plan to provide relief for Americans from the high cost of energy. Not the slightest mention of the role that renewable fuels might play in solving this energy crisis.

For most American families who drive passenger cars, ethanol is this country's most promising alternative to foreign oil. Ethanol is not merely an additive to gasoline, it is a replacement for gasoline, which is why major oil companies have sought to block its entry into the marketplace.

I have heard from gas station franchise owners in my State of Minnesota that the major oil companies have prevented them from selling E85 with a requirement that only branded products be sold under the company's branded canopy. This means that, rather than selling E85 from one of several existing pumps, a station owner must dig a new hole in the ground somewhere in the parking lot, and install a new pump, often at costs of up to $75,000.

Perhaps this explains why, of the estimated 170,000 service stations in the country, just 800, or less than 5 percent, offer E85 fuel. And of those 800 stations, over one-fourth, or 210 stations, are located in my State of Minnesota.

I have introduced legislation, the Renewable Fuels Promotion Act, that would prohibit oil companies from restricting where E85 and biodiesel can be sold on the premises of franchised gas stations.

E85 is a very popular fuel, where it is available. This year, first quarter sales in Minnesota increased 320 percent over last year, as the price of gas soared. Americans all over the country should have access to E85, and my bill would ensure that every gas station owner who wants to sell it has the ability to do so.

My legislation also targets the Federal Government's failure to embrace renewable fuels. In his State of the Union address, the President said our Nation is addicted to oil. What he failed to mention was that the Federal Government is the biggest addict of them all. The Federal Government is far and away the largest consumer of energy in the United States. In fact, the Department of Defense alone is the single largest consumer of petroleum fuel in the world. So what would happen if the largest consumer in the most energy-hungry nation in the world used its tremendous market power to purchase renewable fuels?

Consider this: In 2004, the Federal Government consumed 2 billion gallons of petroleum diesel fuel. If every gallon of that diesel had been a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel fuel, the Government would have consumed 400 million gallons of biodiesel--a great boost for the nascent industry. Instead, the Federal Government is using its massive purchasing power to buy petroleum fuel--a windfall for the oil companies. In 2004, the Federal purchases of ethanol and biodiesel fuels combined amounted to a paltry 3 million gallons, less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the total fuel consumption.

According to the Department of Energy, ``One reason for the relatively low alternative fuel use rate is the lack of sufficient alternative fuel infrastructure.'' ``The Renewable Fuels Promotion Act'' would require every Federal fueling station to be equipped with a renewable fuels pump. On May 17, I sent a letter to President Bush asking him to accomplish the same thing with an Executive order.

In the world of renewable fuels, infrastructure is half the battle. If you don't have the pumps, you can't sell the fuel. My bill addresses the fundamental problem underlying the Federal Government's failure to embrace biofuels: the fuels are not available at Federal fueling stations. In Congress, we can't control the private energy markets, but we do have some sway over the Federal Government. My bill would ensure that the tremendous purchasing power of the Federal Government would take us in the right direction: toward a stronger biofuels industry, and away from reliance on foreign oil.

In conclusion, I wish our House colleagues the best as they proceed with their Energy Week agenda. However, I would caution them that a plan to drill offshore is not really a plan for relief from high energy prices. Even if legislation were passed today, no new oil would come online for a decade or more. Americans don't have a decade to wait.

Ethanol and biodiesel are here today. They are ready for consumers, and automakers are ready with the vehicles. The Renewable Fuels Promotions Act would help bring biofuels to the customers that need energy security today.

Mr. President, ever since I began my campaign for the U.S. Senate over 6 years ago, I have consistently promised to support the proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit the desecration of the American Flag. Indeed, I am a cosponsor of that constitutional amendment, which will soon be voted upon by the Senate.

I value and respect the first amendment's protection of free speech, and I have personally experienced its importance. When I opposed the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s, the first amendment permitted my lawful dissent, although it did not prevent President Richard Nixon's Justice Department from tear-gassing our demonstrations or from unlawfully spying upon me. A generation and another war later, the first amendment again protected my right to speak out against President Bush's policies without intimidation or incarceration, and, this time, without being tear-gassed. I would never infringe upon those precious freedoms of expression and dissent.

The question before us today is not whether we honor the first amendment, which we do, but, rather, whether an act as vile as burning the American flag should be considered ``free speech'' or is it an act of such wanton violence and outrageous disrespect that it should be ``out of bounds''? I come to the second conclusion.

Our Nation's Pledge of Allegiance was first published almost 114 years ago and was established by Congress in 1923. It states, ``I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.''

I note, parenthetically, that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1943 that under the first amendment no one can be compelled to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Nevertheless, it is one of our most revered statements of citizenship. It does not pledge allegiance to a Democratic or a Republican administration. It does not pledge allegiance to any ideology, policy, or platform.

It pledges allegiance to the flag of the United States of America-- and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In other words, allegiance to something above any one of us. To something that unites us as one people indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Those are our Nation's founding principles. They are our eternal ideals. We can disagree; we can dissent; we can lawfully protest; we can say almost anything we want and do most of what we want, because those are our rights. They are precious, inviolable rights.

But we also have responsibilities. This great country cannot succeed, if we concern ourselves with nothing more than our rights as individuals. We must equally consider our responsibilities as citizens.

This Constitutional amendment says that one of those responsibilities of citizenship is to not burn or otherwise desecrate our American flag. I am astounded that the U.S. Supreme Court could construe that as free speech, but it has. This amendment would simply permit Congress to declare otherwise and to place that senseless act of desecration outside the boundary of freedom of speech, just as the Supreme Court recently ruled burning a cross outside that boundary of protected free speech.

I am willing to take this carefully considered action, because of what I know the American flag means to millions of American citizens. Many of them are relatives or friends of heroic Americans who have given their lives to defend our country. In my view, those great American heroes have consecrated our flag with their precious blood. Honoring our flag honors their extraordinary sacrifices, as it honors the principles and ideals for which they died.

That is why I will vote for this constitutional amendment.

Mr. President today, in honor of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, one of my Minnesota constituents, Michael Pittman, has asked that I recognize Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso.

Palden Gyatso was born in a Tibetan village in 1922 and became a Buddhist monk by age 10. In 1959, during the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet, Mr. Gyatso was jailed for protesting along with thousands of religious Tibetans. Mr. Gyatso spent more than 30 years of his life in prisons and labor camps, where he was a victim to religious and class oppression. He was tortured by various methods, which included being beaten with a club ridden with nails, shocked by an electric probe, which scarred his tongue and caused his teeth to fall out, whipped while being forced to pull an iron plow, and starved.

Despite these inhumane conditions and cruel tortures, Palden Gyatso was able to survive with remarkable courage and resilience. During his torture sessions, he would practice a technique he learned while studying at a Buddhist monastery, the practice of tonglen, which is a method for connecting with suffering and awakening compassion. He would receive the anger and hatred of his torturer and would exchange it with love and compassion.

During his imprisonment, Palden Gyatso drew inspiration from elder prisoners, who told him that if he were ever to escape, he should take action to stop the torture. He has done exactly that: He has traveled to Europe and North America over 25 times and has written a book to tell his story. He has also testified before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and before the U.S. Congress.

Palden Gyatso's testimony helped secure passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which was sponsored by Representative Frank Wolf and Senator Joseph Lieberman and Don Nickles, and was signed into law by President Clinton. Palden Gyatso was also awarded the 1998 John Humphrey Freedom Award of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development.

The courage and dedication to freedom which Palden Gyatso has demonstrated serve as a powerful inspiration to everyone.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Amendment No. 4241

Mr. President, I am a proud cosponsor of Senator McCain's proposal to name this legislation after the great chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner.

I have had the privilege during my term in the Senate to serve on the Armed Services Committee under two tremendous chairmen, outstanding Senators, and terrific human beings--John Warner and Carl Levin.

Our Senate, our military, and our country have been fortunate to have their extraordinary leadership during these critical years.

Chairman Warner, for whom this legislation would be named, is more than deserving of that honor. He is greatly respected by our committee members on both sides of the aisle and, indeed, by the entire Senate. He has been unfailingly fair to all points of view, while leading us with a firm hand and resolute gaze, that he learned during his own military service and as Secretary of the Navy.

When he picks up his committee gavel, all of us--members, staff, military officers, and other interested parties--all know we have a leader well prepared in all respects for that enormous responsibility.

Our Senate and our Nation are indebted to Senator Warner and to Senator Levin for their superb public service.

Mr. President, I have listened to many of my colleagues express their views on Iraq during the past week and have waited for this opportunity to express my own.

My colleagues reflect sincere differences and I believe sincere desires to uphold the best interests of our great country in a very difficult and complicated situation. We are all patriotic Americans first and foremost and partisan politicians later.

I voted against the Iraq war resolution in October 2002, despite being presented with incorrect and misleading information by very high officials in the Bush administration, which purported to prove that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons. I questioned the veracity of that information. And I had grave concerns that an unwarranted invasion of Iraq, if no weapons of mass destruction were found, would ultimately weaken, not strengthen, the national security of the United States by seriously damaging our standing and our alliances throughout the world.

I also voted against the Iraq war resolution because I believed that such a decision by the Congress at that time was premature. President Bush was not asking Congress for a declaration of war, as the U.S. Constitution requires. He was asking for a congressional resolution authorizing him to declare war, if he determined it necessary at some later date. I do not fault the President for asking for that blank check. I fault the Congress for giving it to him. In fact, it was over 6 months later that the President made his final decision to commence military action against Iraq.

In a similar vein, I believe that both the Levin-Reed amendment and the Kerry-Feingold amendment were premature. One called for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq to begin within 6 months. The other required the almost complete withdrawal of those troops within a year.

I believe it is impossible to foresee at this time whether either of those actions would be in the best national security and foreign policy interests of the United States 6 months or 1 year from now. The situation in Iraq is too uncertain and too unpredictable to do so. That uncertainty and unpredictability evidence the failures of the Bush administration's conduct of this war effort.

It is now over 3 years since the U.S. military swept from the Iraqi border to Baghdad in only 3 weeks, overthrew Saddam Hussein and his evil regime, and liberated the Iraqi people. Yet after that swift and decisive military victory was won, the Bush administration has failed to secure it.

Administration officials ignored the advice of their own top military commanders--and this is an important lesson for us--and failed to commit

enough U.S. troops to secure the country. Other mistakes followed, leaving security and political vacuums that were filled by foreign terrorists and domestic insurgents.

During the past 3 years, violence in Iraq has steadily increased and still threatens to rip the country apart. Like it or not, our courageous troops remain the only effective protections of the Iraqi people from civil war or anarchy and a lawless bloodbath.

Unfortunately, the bad conditions in Iraq today can become even worse--much worse--if our troops begin or complete their withdrawals before Iraqi forces are able to take their place. That training and equipping of Iraqi replacements should have been completed already, but it is not. I do not know what that timetable is. I am skeptical that anyone else in this body does. The Bush administration should tell us, but they will not, which means they still do not know either.

So it seems to me necessary not to decide and certainly not to act until we have that information. It is imperative not to make future mistakes that will compound the previous mistakes. And we certainly should not decide or act until we have listened to the current views of the top U.S. military commanders, who are responsible for successfully completing our mission in Iraq and for protecting the lives and safety of the 133,000 heroic Americans who are stationed there now.

I serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and yet I have not heard those top military views recently expressed.

I respectfully ask the distinguished chairman of our committee to arrange for us to hear them as soon as possible. I read a news report 2 days ago that General Casey, the senior American commander in Iraq, will brief the Secretary of Defense later this week on his newest thinking about U.S. force levels through the end of the year. I want to hear General Casey's recommendation myself and his reasons for it before I am prepared to vote on any proposal affecting U.S. troop levels. I want to give our military commanders in Iraq and our American troops in Iraq what they need to succeed now, 6 months from now, a year from now.

Like most Americans, I wish this war were over. I wish it hadn't begun. But we are in it; we must win it. We cannot leave Iraq until the Iraqi Government has established political control over its country and until the Iraqi security forces can protect their citizens. We cannot leave what we started to end in a lawless bloodbath.

We must rely on our senior military commanders to tell us what force strength they need to successfully complete their mission. The timetable we follow should be theirs, not ours. It should be based upon American security and Iraqi survival. Again, I respectfully urge Chairman Warner to summon our top military commanders to tell us what they need and for how long. I don't want any more incidents where American soldiers are captured, brutally tortured, and murdered because there were not enough of their fellow American soldiers there to defend them.

I agree with my colleagues about the urgent need for the new Iraqi Government to accelerate their assumption of complete responsibility for their country's services, security, and success. They need to tell us their expected schedule for doing so. We need to assist them in that process, and we need to enlist other nations to help them as well. We must complete our mission in Iraq as soon as possible, but we must complete it with a lasting victory, and we cannot leave until that victory is secure.

We should be discussing what we can do to hasten that day. The Bush administration should be telling us what we need to do to hasten that day, how to accelerate the transfer of responsibilities to Iraqis, how to accelerate the social and economic reconstruction of Iraq, how to enrich the lives of Iraqi citizens rather than the livelihoods of American contractors. Instead, all we get are cheap spin-and-thin slogans rather than substantive proposals and sophisticated solutions. The administration needs to set forth a plan of action in Iraq, a roadmap to final victory. That is what we should be demanding. That is what we should be debating.

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

Mr. President, today I rise to call attention to an important but often overlooked chronic illness: dry eyes. The Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation and National Women's Health Resource Center have declared July Dry Eye Awareness Month.

Every year, chronic dry eye syndrome affects nearly 10 million Americans of all ages; many sufferers will go undiagnosed. Without tears, good vision is impossible. Dry eye syndrome can cause devastating symptoms, including constant pain, an inability to focus, and, in severe cases, serious visual impairment. It can significantly affect a person's quality of life, increasing the risk of problems with reading, professional work, computer use, and night driving.

Americans suffering with dry eye syndrome either do not produce enough tears, or have poor quality tears and/or excessive tear evaporation. Either problem causes their eyes to sting and burn, feel scratchy, become irritated, or excessively tear. Most people with

dry eye find the condition to be an uncomfortable nuisance, with many characteristics of a ``chronic pain'' type of syndrome.

One study showed that dry eye patients experienced an average of 184 days of reduced productivity in a year. Although dry eye syndrome cannot be cured, there are a variety of available treatments. However many people with dry eye continue to suffer needlessly because they are unaware of their options. Both dry eye and Sjogren's seriously endanger women's health.

Sjogren's syndrome is a painful and debilitating autoimmune disease which causes the immune system to attack its own lubricating glands, such as tear and salivary glands. Sjogren's is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders, and although it affects people of all ages, 9 out of 10 patients are women, and the average age of onset is late forties. The hallmark symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth, but Sjogren's may also cause dryness of other organs, affecting the kidneys, GI tract, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system. Patients with Sjogren's syndrome are also 40 times more likely to develop lymphoma.

Marking July as Dry Eye Awareness Month will bring more attention to this widespread and potentially debilitating condition. I thank the Minnesota members of the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation and the National Women's Health Resource Center for bringing this issue to my attention and thank them for their efforts to educate the public about this serious health concern.