Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Melissa Zolkeply, an intern for the Senate Commerce Committee, be granted floor privileges during the consideration of S. 2663.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor National Peace Corps Week and the 47th anniversary of the Peace Corps. I add my voice to celebrate the hard working men and women who volunteer for Peace Corps service.

As an Arkansan and a believer in Senator J. William Fulbright's legacy, I consider this program to be one of the most important mechanisms we have to encourage international cooperation, peace, and security. I believe we are morally obliged to help those in need around the world and work to reduce poverty in order to fight global epidemics, to enhance education, and to reduce hunger.

I am continually heartened by the good works of Arkansans in the State, Nation, and abroad. Our State has a storied history of service, and I am pleased that there are 36 Arkansans currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. I am proud to say that Arkansas is also home to one of the pioneering families of the Peace Corps, Carolyn and the late Bob Moffett. Inspired by President Kennedy's challenge to the American people, Bob entered into service as a volunteer in the summer of 1962. Carolyn was with Bob every step of the way and devoted her life to taking care of her family and the other volunteers; hosting holidays, weddings, and even funerals.

But Bob and Carolyn are just one story in the 47 years of Peace Corps history. Working in the fields of education, health and HIV/AIDS, the environment, youth, agriculture, information technology, and business development, 190,000 brave men and women, serving in 139 countries, have dedicated over 2 years of their lives to make significant achievements, enriching the lives of others and serving their country.

In these uncertain times, Peace Corps volunteers remain committed to the goals of international peace, friendship, and understanding by sharing their unparalleled experience to those back home. I pray that the good work of these and other Peace Corps volunteers will raise awareness and that others will be called to follow their good example.

For the record, I would like to submit the names of the 36 Arkansans currently serving in the Peace Corps. They are John Armstrong, Amanda Barker, Anthony Barnum, Melanie Berman, Susan Boswell Pierce, Robert Bryant, Allyson Carr, Adam Carson, Garrard Conley, Erin Gibbs, Jared Gillis, Laurel Gladish, Allison Green, Rebecca Hedges, Cameron Highsmith, Brian Hilburn, Joseph Hill, James Hollins, Jenny Hurst, Julia Jones, Adelia Kittrell, Nicholas Klinger, Theodis Lever, Tara Loftis, Stanley Luker, Jennifer Lusk, Daniel McGinley, Joshua Mosley, Danielle Rinke, Mary Rinnert, Rebecca Robinson, Deborah Romes, Christin Spradley, Kristen Straw, Jackson Taylor, Nikolette Williams. I thank them all for their devoted service to their country and steadfast dedication to improving the lives of the disadvantaged.

Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a great Arkansan, Mrs. Vada Webb Sheid. Mrs. Sheid was a civil servant; she was an entrepreneur; she was an inspiration. After a long battle with Alzheimer's, Vada Sheid passed away on February 11, 2008, at the age of 91. She will be sorely missed.

Born and raised in rural Arkansas near Calico Rock in the north central part of the State, she became known as one of the Twin Lakes area's biggest movers and shakers. She came from a rare breed of politicians, one marked with sincere intentions and a sense of duty. Starting as the Izard County Welfare Director at the young age of 19, her public service career stretched across five decades. Her love of public service, the area, and the people of her area was apparent in her work.

She understood the needs of her constituents and committed her time and efforts to addressing them. From the time she was first elected in 1966, she set out to replace the ferry system on Norfork Lake by building bridges across it. After nearly 20 years of unwavering pursuit, the Norfork Lake bridges were constructed, an act credited as her crowning achievement.

Education was another cornerstone of her tenure. As a supporter of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, Mrs. Sheid donated her papers to the University of Arkansas Special Collections in 1989 so that they may be shared and studied for generations to come. North Central Arkansas did not have much to offer as a means of college education prior to the work of Vada. During her tenure, she introduced a measure that established the North Arkansas Community College in Harrison and was a key factor to the creation of the Arkansas State University at Mountain Home.

Vada and my father, David Pryor, were dear friends and had a close relationship during their many years of public service in Arkansas. I had the privilege of serving with her in the Arkansas House of Representatives. She had this calming influence about her that led her to become a mentor to many of us. Given her reputation, she was trusted as a sounding board across the State on key issues and new ideas. There is not really a story I could tell about Vada Sheid to encompass the person she was. Her story was filled with a lifetime of integrity and a steadfast passion for public service.

Her accomplishments and passion for public service continue to be an inspiration to me. I recognize the value and impact of her work in Arkansas, and during my time in the Senate, I have worked to secure Federal funding for the Vada Sheid Community Center on the Arkansas State University at Mountain Home campus. With the groundbreaking set for April 11, I am committed, now more than ever, to working with stakeholders to complete this project as a tribute to Mrs. Sheid.

Arkansas has a rich heritage of powerful, groundbreaking women. Vada Sheid's accomplishments place her in the ranks of historic greats like Hattie Caraway, Judge Elsijane Trimble Roy, my dear colleague, Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln, and my grandmother, Susie Newton Pryor. This woman rose above the times and crossed milestones in so many of her endeavors. She was the first woman to be elected in her own right to the Arkansas Senate, and the first woman to serve in both Chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly.

My heart goes out to her family, friends, and Arkansans alike as we mourn this loss. Vada left Arkansas and the world a better place than when she found it and her legacy will continue to live on for generations to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I wish honor Ken Harper, a fellow Arkansan who has embraced the spirit of patriotism. Not only has he served our country in the military, but he has created inspirational poetry and a special commemorative gift to veterans. Ken Harper has a unique talent for writing poetry of a ``military significance'' and ``significance of character'' that gives inspiration to those who read it.

Ken Harper proudly served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. He served a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy beginning in 1979. In 1985, he chose to continue his military career by serving in the U.S. Army. After his military service was completed, Ken still had the desire to serve.

Inspired by the fallen sailors and marines of Pearl Harbor, Ken requested a few American flags to be flown from military memorials and ships on behalf of some retired veterans he knew. The success of this motivated him to have more flags flown in dedication of other veterans. Later, he would have two special flags he claims as his own raised on several naval ships and even on board a NASA space ship.

Because Ken Harper has selflessly honored so many, today we honor him for his efforts, talents, and service to our country.

Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that today I commend a great American and Arkansan on his last day of duty in the Marine Corps. Cpl Justin B. ``Jeb'' Neel grew up in Little Rock and attended Little Rock Catholic High where he was a member of their prestigious and well-known Marine Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. He went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas, my alma mater, with his bachelor's of art in criminal justice. He was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, of which I am a member.

Upon his graduation in 2003, Jeb enlisted in the Marine Corps and answered the call to serve his country. After completing boot camp in San Diego, Jeb was assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC. While there, Jeb served as a member of the world famous U.S. Marine Body Bearer section. This small but vital group is composed of marines within one of the ceremonial drill companies at the Marine Barracks.

As a marine in Bravo Company, Jeb was charged with the difficult duty of receiving marines who had been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eventually, Jeb was called to serve in the global war on terror, and in February 2007, he deployed to Al Anbar Province in western Iraq. While in Al Anbar, Jeb and his fellow marines performed missions that included month-long hikes up the Euphrates River searching for weapons caches and fallen marines. They also performed foot patrols in cities across Al Anbar including Fallujah and Hit. By all accounts Jeb and his fellow marines greatly contributed to the mission of increasing peace and stability for the Iraqi people.

Jeb returned from Iraq at the end of 2007 to his strong and supportive family and finished the rest of his military service at Camp Lejeune. I am proud to have citizens like Jeb from the State of Arkansas who so valiantly and honorably serve this Nation.

I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Jeb before he deployed to Iraq, and I was truly inspired and impressed by his commitment and duty to our country. It is with great thanks that I commend Corporal Neel for his service. Today, Jeb leaves the Marine Corps and moves on to do other great things with his life. I think we should all take this opportunity to recognize what our service men and women like Jeb Neel sacrifice for this great Nation. I thank him for his service.

Mr. President, I wish to speak on an issue that is extremely important to families all across the country--consumer product safety. I have spent the past year working with several of my colleagues to reform and reinvigorate the agency charged with protecting consumers from unsafe products, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC. These efforts have resulted in good progress. We have restored the Commission's ability to conduct business without a quorum, we have provided historic increases in CPSC's funding, and we have passed pool safety legislation to protect children from drain entrapment.

Earlier this fall, I introduced legislation, S. 2045, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007, to ensure the CPSC has the authority and tools they need to protect families from dangerous imported products. We have all seen enough evidence in the press and on our retailers' shelves to know that reform is needed. Senators Inouye, Durbin, Klobuchar, Bill Nelson, Brown, Schumer, Menendez, Casey, and Harkin have all joined me in this historic effort, and their contributions to the bill have been enormous. The Senate Commerce Committee reported S. 2045 in October by voice vote. Since that time, we have been working in a bipartisan fashion to move our legislation out of the Senate and to provide these protections for the American public.

As many of you are aware, the House of Representatives is scheduled to consider their version of CPSC reform today. I applaud the House for getting involved in this very important issue and was pleased to see that many of the ideas we developed in S. 2045 were incorporated into the House bill. I believe this effort is a very important first step to reauthorize this agency and provide it with some of the tools necessary to work more diligently on behalf of the American consumer. This is a goal that I share with all cosponsors of my bill, many of my colleagues in the Senate, and my counterparts in the House. While the House bill is a good step, I believe S. 2045 contains many additional reforms critical to improving our consumer product safety laws. I also believe the Senate now stands poised to build upon the actions of the House and provide even greater assurances to the American public.

Though I would have preferred to accomplish this task this year--and we have worked very hard to make this a reality--it seems the timing of the rest of the week simply makes this task nearly impossible. I would say to my colleagues in the Senate that we are very close to achieving bipartisan compromise to allow this bill to go forward early next year. I have expressed to the majority leader my desire to continue to move forward with S. 2045, and I hope to secure time for floor consideration at the earliest possible time when Congress returns in January. Consumer product safety is too important to the American people to not give them our very best effort, and I believe the Senate needs time to consider this legislation on the Senate floor.

I would like to take a moment to highlight some areas of concern that I have with the House legislation where the Senate legislation provides greater protection, areas that I hope to improve upon when Congress returns next year. To begin, S. 2045 provides greater reauthorization levels for a longer length of time than H.R. 4040. While the House seeks to reauthorize the CPSC for three years, S. 2045 reauthorizes the CPSC for 7 years. S. 2045 provides over $526 million more in authorized funding than H.R. 4040. Our legislation takes a long term approach to reauthorize the agency, which I believe brings stability to the agency in addition to their enforcement efforts. The last time the CPSC was reauthorized was in 1990 for only a 2-year period. During the 17 years between the last authorization and now, the CPSC has withered on the vine, a victim of underfunding and understaffing. I believe the systemic problems that have surfaced over these 17 years demonstrate the need for looking forward to the future as we debate reauthorization.

The Senate bill also gives greater authority to State attorneys general to assist the CPSC in their consumer product enforcement efforts. While H.R. 4040 only provides State attorneys general with a very limited role in protecting consumers, S. 2045 ensures that these officials can act as real cops on the beat, looking out for consumers and restoring confidence in the marketplace by enforcing the provisions of the entire Consumer Product Safety Act, not limited sections.

S. 2045 also furthers the mission of the CPSC by placing more information about dangerous products in the hands of families when the dangers become known instead of allowing manufacturers to bog down the disclosure of information through lengthy court battles. S. 2045 will allow parents to make educated and cautious decisions about the products they are placing in their homes. While the House bill only seeks to clarify the existing statute in this respect, the Senate bill can actually place real and timely information in the hands of consumers. I believe such a result can only enhance the security and well-being of our fellow Americans.

One very important difference between the House and Senate version of this legislation is the standards set for testing children's toys. H.R. 4040 asks the CPSC to decide if current voluntary standards are feasible for manufacturers' testing procedures and whether they should be adopted. It is very obvious to me, as well as millions of moms, dads, and grandparents around the country that testing requirements must be elevated. S. 2045 would make these voluntary standards mandatory for testing and safety.

Furthermore, S. 2045 adds real teeth to the enforcement capabilities of the CPSC. Though I applaud the House for increasing civil penalties to which a violator may be subject to $10 million, I do not believe this level is sufficient to deter bad actors. Placing dangerous products in the hands of American consumers must not be the cost of doing business. S. 2045 increases the cap in civil penalties to $100 million and strengthens criminal penalties for those aggravated violators that seemingly show a disregard to the health and safety of consumers and the laws enacted by this body. H.R. 4040 does not remove the requirement that the CPSC notify violators of noncompliance prior to seeking criminal penalties. This may seem minor, but this provision of the Consumer Product Safety Act has hamstrung the CPSC's ability to pursue egregious violators to the point

where only one such violator has been pursued. Even the President's Import Safety Working Group has recommended this change.

Last, S. 2045 provides important protections for employees who stand up for public safety by blowing the whistle on unsafe products or practices. These whistleblower protections are extremely important to catching unsafe products before they enter the stream of commerce. Employees are often on the front lines of consumer product safety, and I believe they deserve protection from retribution if they report activities they believe to be in violation of the law. H.R. 4040 does not provide whistleblower protections.

There are many other areas I could highlight where S. 2045 can provide more meaningful reform than H.R. 4040, but I believe these to be some of the most important. I would like my colleagues to know of my commitment for this body to consider and pass meaningful consumer product safety reform next year. I will continue to work tirelessly on this legislation over the holiday recess, and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation. I thank them for their hard work during this process and am encouraged with the progress we have made in just the past few days.

Finally, I would like to thank the cosponsors of this legislation for their leadership and persistence on consumer product safety. This has certainly been a team effort, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to resolve this matter when we return.

Mr. President, I would like to express my support for a provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008. Specifically, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight and clarify language included in Division E, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2008 regarding the secure handling of ammonium nitrate.

This legislation reduces the risk of large quantities of ammonium nitrate falling into the wrong hands, while ensuring access for agriculture professionals and farmers who use this fertilizer for legitimate purposes. It requires that ammonium nitrate sellers and purchasers register and receive a registration number in order to distribute or buy the product. Doing so reduces the possibility that ammonium nitrate will be misused. First, it allows Department of Homeland Security and relevant law enforcement agencies to know who has access to ammonium nitrate. Second, it requires registration number applicants to be matched against the terrorism screening database before being authorized to buy or sell ammonium nitrate. Finally, by making the sale or purchase of ammonium nitrate more difficult, it deters acquisition of this explosive precursor by dangerous persons.

Farmers who use ammonium nitrate in agriculture production normally obtain the ammonium nitrate from a retail fertilizer dealership. Any retail fertilizer dealership that stores and sells ammonium nitrate would have to register under this legislation. The intent of this legislation is ``track and trace''--to provide law enforcement officials with the ability to know where ammonium nitrate is being stored and the establishment of a prescreening process before a person can purchase and take away ammonium nitrate.

Retail fertilizer dealerships provide many services for farmers and one of those services is custom application. Many farmers buy the fertilizer, but never physically take possession of the ammonium nitrate. Instead, farmers purchase the services of a dealer who spreads the ammonium nitrate on their fields. In the southeastern United States, nearly 90 percent of the 41,800 tons of ammonium nitrate purchased is directly applied to the field from the custody of the fertilizer dealer or applicator company. Only 10 percent of the ammonium nitrate purchased in the southeastern United States is ever under the direct control and possession of the farm customer.

Businesses and employees who provide custom application services would be subject to the registration requirements of the legislation. It is not the intent of this legislation to require registration by individuals who use custom application services but never physically control any ammonium nitrate.

I believe this bill will help keep ammonium nitrate out of would-be terrorists' hands while allowing farmers to use it for legitimate purposes.

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to Senator Lott in the Congressional Record be printed as a Senate document and that Senators be permitted to submit statements for inclusion in the Record until January 30, 2008.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 61, the adjournment resolution.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 279 and that the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble,

as amended, be agreed to, that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, that any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 53 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to; the amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record without further intervening action or debate.