Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Cesar Estrada Chavez, a man whose leadership and nonviolent crusade for justice changed millions of lives throughout America. Cesar Chavez helped give all of us a chance at a better future.

On March 31, 2012, we will celebrate Cesar Chavez Day to commemorate his life and his legacy. We will also pause to remember that the actions of one person can empower an entire community to fight for equal treatment and civil rights.

Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, AZ, to a family of farm workers. When his father was unable to work, Chavez joined the millions of people who worked in the fields to provide for their families and was inspired to do something to help his community. Daily, he saw and felt the farm workers' suffering. Working conditions on the farms were extremely dangerous and compensation was poor. Chavez taught migrant farm workers across the West that the life they deserved was very different from the one they had been living. He knew the farm workers' struggles intimately and used that knowledge as motivation to help the entire community find the tools it needed to overcome those struggles. Change initially took root in California, swiftly spreading to the rest of the Western United States. Colorado's heritage is richer because of his influence and his legacy.

Chavez's message reached Colorado's Hispanic community during the days of the civil rights movement. Chavez led advocacy efforts to empower people across Colorado, bringing about improved living and working conditions for Colorado's farm workers. Additionally, his teachings inspired many Coloradans to join him in teaching farm workers, students, and veterans the importance of equality, justice, and empowerment. A Coloradan who became one of these leaders was Rodolfo ``Corky'' Gonzales, who would become a voice for the voiceless and a masterful poet and teacher in Colorado's Hispanic community.

Cesar Chavez's and Rodolfo Gonzalez's selflessness, patience, and commitment mobilized Latinos and non-Latinos in Colorado and across America to fight for equality, justice, and civil rights. Chavez is especially remarkable because he truly embodied his own teachings. Throughout his life, he turned down many prestigious job offers and opportunities, choosing to work long hours in the fields side by side with migrant workers. Chavez gave a human face to agriculture. He taught many across the country that the grapes, onions, tomatoes, or other foods they purchased at the grocery store were part of a much larger story. Moreover, he believed that the world's real wealth lies in the act of helping others. It is this belief that sustained him in the face of long odds.

In a speech inspired by the nonviolent messages of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi, Cesar Chavez said, ``You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. And you cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.'' Chavez's life and legacy has taught millions of people far more than just pride and bravery. He inspires all of us to fight for a better future for the world, for ourselves and for our neighbors. Cesar Chavez is a role model for Coloradans and for all Americans.

On March 31, Coloradans across the State will come together to give back to their communities. I am proud to speak on behalf of them and on behalf of all Americans fighting to give their children and the people in their communities a better life, regardless of their background or color of skin. Together, we honor those who are continuing Cesar Chavez's fight for justice and celebrate the remarkable influence of his vision.

Mr. President, I would like to acknowledge the majority leader and the great work he has put forth on this important opportunity we have. I know the majority leader has some additional comments he would like to make. But I intend to stay after the majority leader concludes and make my case, once again, for why this is so important.

Mr. President, if I might, I am going to expound on what the majority leader just shared with the body.

The whole point of what we are going to do on the JOBS Act is to expand access to capital for businesses across our great country. But the legislation I have introduced on a bipartisan basis that also has a bipartisan twin in the House of Representatives is aimed at truly small businesses. I would like to explain a little bit more about what I mean.

What we would do is, in effect, lift a regulation. We have talked about deregulation in Washington, unleashing the creativity in our business sector. What this legislation would do is deregulate an industry that is raring to go to help small businesses.

Before I get into the specifics, I would like to thank my Republican cosponsors, who include Senators Olympia Snowe, Rand Paul, and Susan Collins. The legislation in the House has been introduced by Republican Ed Royce, with whom I served when I was a Member of the House, and he has over 40 Republican cosponsors in the effort on the other side of the Capitol.

In sum, this is a bipartisan, commonsense way to create jobs and help our small businesses without costing taxpayers a dime. When we add the elements in what we are trying to do, there are positives across the board.

The reason this is so important is that there continues to be a phenomenon in our country where small businesses are starving for credit, but the Federal Government is standing in the way of them procuring that credit. As I said to start my remarks, I am talking about the smallest of small businesses. These are the men and women who need $50,000, $100,000, maybe even $200,000 to move from their garage to a retail storefront, to renovate their sales floor or to upgrade or purchase equipment and, in the process, they will expand. Too often, frankly, they are too small to be worth the time of banks or they don't fit the lending guidelines of the bank's corporate headquarters. But credit unions are standing ready to lend money to these Americans to support their businesses and create jobs.

The leader just moved to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act; the acronym is the JOBS Act. That is appropriate. The House passed it last week. This bill is aimed at increasing the availability of startup companies by expanding and easing the process of undergoing an IPO. That is an acronym for initial public offering. That is a noble goal, especially as our economy still struggles to create jobs. But the problem is we are still leaving small businesses behind. Why is that? The JOBS Act is aimed at companies with revenue under $1 billion. Let me repeat that: $1 billion, with a B. These companies may well need help with an IPO, but I am talking about offering relief to Main Street.

In light of this, I am still committed--and I appreciate the majority leader's comments. I have been very persistent. I am still committed to allowing credit unions to increase the amount of money they can lend to small businesses and our bipartisan Small Business Lending Enhancement Act was the first amendment filed to this bill and I still hold hope that we will find a way to include it in the bill. We ought to pass it immediately. We would see immediate results if we did so.

Let me share a couple examples of why I think this is so important, and they are Colorado centric. I know the Presiding Officer makes a point to talk about his home State on an ongoing basis and to highlight Ohioans who make a difference. So let me talk about two small business owners in Colorado who made a difference with the help of credit unions.

Stacy Hamon owns the 1st Street Salon in Thornton, and Lisa Herman of Broomfield owns Happy Cakes Bakeshop in Denver's Highland Square. They were turned away from their banks. In the breach, credit unions arrived and they lent to these two small businesswomen and they were able to grow their businesses and hire their fellow Coloradans to help them in those business enterprises. They didn't need a billion-dollar IPO. They needed a small bridge loan. We could be making a huge difference in many communities with mere pennies on the dollar of what the JOBS Act is focused on. If my amendment were to be considered in this JOBS Act, it would actually help small businesses directly create jobs.

Credit unions, simply put, specialize in these small business loans to small business. In fact, the Federal Reserve has told us that many banks have quit considering loans such as those under $200,000 because they aren't worth the bank's time. Credit unions know these small business owners, and they have money to lend to them. Unfortunately, Federal law still limits the amount of small business loans a credit union can extend to these businesses to 12 percent of their assets. Over 500 credit unions nationally have had to stop or slow down their business lending because of this--I can't think of any other word but ``strange''--strange Federal limit on helping small businesses. It is hard to believe. Government is telling these financial institutions they can't help create jobs in their local communities, and that is why my bipartisan amendment would double the amount of money credit unions can offer to small businesses.

We have heard from the banks over the years they think it is unfair they have to compete with credit unions. But the fact is, it is not about banks or credit unions; it is about small businesses. I have to say these two different kinds of financial institutions serve very different small business populations. Credit unions serve the smallest of small businesses that often must resort to their credit cards, literally, to invest in their businesses and keep their cash flow going, but in the process they create jobs. These are business owners who have been, by and large, turned away by the banks. I am not talking about taking business away from anyone. I am suggesting, at the very least, we let the credit unions loan to these small business owners whom the banks don't want to do business with because they are too small.

Credit unions have been in existence for over 100 years, and today they only represent about 5 percent to 6 percent of all small business loans. Even if they were to increase their lending, if credit union lending were to increase and their market share were to double as a result, they would still only have 7 to 9 percent of market share, and banks would have nearly 90 percent of the markets for themselves.

Let me rebut another concern that has been expressed. The banks say this proposal is unproven or somehow an unsound way of increasing small business loans, but as I have said, the credit unions have been making small business loans since the early 1900s. There were not any limits on how much credit unions could lend until 1998. The credit union sector has a regulator, the National Credit Union Administration, and it has endorsed lifting or even eliminating the small business lending cap. It just makes sense to do this, and I cannot believe we are going to let these squabbles between the banks and credit unions keep job creators from going to work in the small small business sector.

There is a rush to pass the JOBS Act, which would help billion-dollar companies with their IPOs. But how about we take a little bit of time to help small business owners, such as Stacy and Lisa, by passing our bipartisan amendment? After all, if we are going to tell

the American people this bill is about increasing access to capital, let's start by helping the small business owners on Main Street that fuel our job engine. This is what we would do in Colorado. It is how we would apply our commonsense approach to business.

I plead with my colleagues to consider the important effect this would have. So, in summary, our bipartisan amendment is projobs, it is deregulatory, and it would not cost the taxpayers a dime. It would release $10 billion in capital across our country and, conservatively, 100,000 new jobs would be a result.

Let's take this up. Let's fuel the economic engine with the capital of our small business sector.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, I have come to the floor to speak about an opportunity to expand capital for small businesses by lifting the arbitrary limit on the credit unions ability to serve small businesses. I have done this on a number of occasions over the last couple of years so the President knows that this is a cause that is important to me. It is important to me because there is a phenomenon in our country where small businesses are starving for credit. Yet the Federal Government is still standing in their way.

I am talking about the smallest of small local businesses. These are the men and women who need $50,000, $100,000 or maybe $200,000 to move from their garage to a retail storefront, to renovate their sales floor or upgrade their equipment and expand. They are often too small to be worth a bank's time or they don't fit the lending guidelines of the bank's corporate headquarters. But these small business owners know credit unions in their community have money to lend and these credit unions truly want to help. They probably see each other at Little League games, church, play cards together--they socialize. Instead of being able to offer the bridge loans that the small local businesses need, the credit unions end up saying: Sorry, we want to help you but the Federal Government has set a limit on how many businesses we can loan funds to.

Now we are moving to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the

JOBS Act, that the House passed last week. That bill is aimed at increasing the availability of credit to startup companies by expediting and easing the process of undergoing an IPO, or an initial public offering. I think that is a noble goal, especially as our economy still struggles to create jobs. But the problem is we are still leaving the little guys behind--the people in each and every one of our neighborhoods who want to expand their businesses and hire people as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the JOBS Act is aimed at companies with revenue under $1 billion. Let me repeat that--billion with a B. These companies may well need help with IPOs, but I am talking about offering relief to traditional Main Street businesses.

I am still committed to allowing credit unions to increase the amount of money they can lend to small businesses. So I will, once again, introduce the bipartisan Small Business Lending Enhancement Act as an amendment which would open additional credit to small businesses without costing taxpayers a dime.

I know the Presiding Officer has many small, wonderful towns in her State where she sees many small businesses. I wish to talk about a couple small businesses in my State. Stacy Hamon is a Coloradan who owns the 1st Street Salon in Thornton. She was turned away by a bank because her loan was too small to be worth the risk. She went to her credit union. They wanted to help her. They helped her. She opened a larger business and she has created jobs in the process.

I am also talking about people such as Lisa Herman of Broomfield, CO. She is the co-owner of Happy Cakes Bakeshop in Denver's Highland Square, and she needed a loan to expand and cater more weddings. She was turned away by her bank. She went to her local credit union and that credit union was able to provide her with the loan she needed to continue to grow her successful business and hire more Coloradans.

Stacy and Lisa don't need a $1 billion IPO, they need a small bridge loan. We could be making an enormous difference in these local communities with mere pennies on the dollar, which is what the JOBS Act is focused on. Yet my amendment would be the only single piece of the JOBS Act that would actually help small businesses or directly create jobs.

Put simply, credit unions specialize in these small loans to small business. In fact, the average credit union small business loan is just $219,000. In contrast, the Federal Reserve has told us many banks have quit considering loans under $200,000 because they are not worth their time.

Credit unions know these small business owners and they have money to lend to them. Unfortunately, Federal law still limits the amount of small business loans a credit union can extend to 12 percent of their assets. Nearly 350 credit unions are facing this cap and over 500 are having to slow down or stop their business lending altogether. That is hard to believe; it seems such a missed opportunity. In effect, we in government are telling these financial institutions they cannot help create jobs in their local communities. That is why my amendment would double the amount of money credit unions can offer small businesses.

Let me turn to my friends in the banking sector. We have heard from banks over the years, and they say they think it is unfair that they have to compete with the credit unions. The fact is this isn't about banks or credit unions; it is about small business. These financial institutions, quite frankly, serve very different small business populations. Credit unions serve the smallest of small businesses that often must resort to relying on credit cards with comparatively high interest rates in order to invest in equipment to grow their businesses.

These are business owners who have been turned away or ignored by large banks. We are talking about new loans to new and growing small businesses. After over 100 years of lending to small businesses, credit unions only represent 5 to 6 percent of all small business loans. Even if increasing the limit on credit union lending were to double their market share, banks would still have 90 percent of the market to themselves.

I have also heard the banks say this proposal is unproven or somehow an unsound way of increasing small business loans. But the truth is credit unions have been making small business loans since their inception in the early 1900s. That is, by my math, over 100 years. It wasn't until 1998 that there were any limits whatsoever on how much they could lend.

The credit unions' own regulator, the National Credit Union Administration, has endorsed lifting or even eliminating the small business lending cap. The NCUA chairman testified before Congress that ``increased business lending is good not only for the credit union, but also for its members and the communities in which the credit union operates.''

I have to say I am frustrated. Why can we not agree on uninhibited small business support growth and job creation? Let's not let the squabbles between banks and credit unions keep these jobs from out-of- work Americans.

I will conclude by acknowledging that we passed earlier today a bipartisan transportation bill and, in so doing, we voted on amendments dealing with everything under the Sun, from contraception to privatizing rest stops. So I sure hope we can have an open amendment process during consideration of the JOBS Act and include this important amendment, this important legislation, which would help small business. After all, if we are going to tell the American people this bill is about increasing access to capital--we have heard that said over and over, that this is about access to capital--we sure better be willing to start with those small business owners on Main Street. Colorado common sense and New Hampshire common sense could prevail. We ought to at least have a chance to consider this important issue and to debate this idea on the floor of the Senate and, I hope, include it in the JOBS Act. Because access to capital is what is needed right now and the credit union sector is willing and able to do so.

Madam President, thank you for your attention. I yield the floor and I note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today I want to recognize Mike Shaw, an outstanding Coloradan and this year's recipient of the prestigious TIME Dealer of the Year award. This award is given to outstanding new-car dealers who have also performed community service and exhibited a commitment to improving the world. Mike is an exceptional business owner in Colorado, an active philanthropist, and a role model in his community. I applaud Mike's achievement and would like to take a few moments to share his work with you.

Mike has long been devoted to serving his community, a value that was instilled early in his life. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Vietnam, and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I want to extend my gratitude for his service to our country.

After returning home and entering the new-car business, Mike opened the Mike Shaw Chevrolet Saab dealership in the heart of Denver. Today he is the owner of seven dealerships throughout Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Mike's entrepreneurial spirit serves as a perfect example of how small businesses take root and help drive our economy, creating jobs and taking care of their customers and communities.

The auto industry has served as the backbone of American manufacturing. When it was hit hard by the 2008 recession and neared bankruptcy in 2009, thousands of dealerships across the country were at risk of closing. I had the privilege of working with Mike to help give these important Colorado businesses and the jobs they support a second chance. He stood up to inform Congress of the actual impacts of closing auto dealerships and helped promote solutions to keep them in business. He has been a steadfast leader in Colorado, and we can all learn from his principled approach. As Mike says, ``My mantra in business is that quality comes first, customers are always the focus, and integrity is never compromised.''

I also want to commend him for his commitment to expanding education and opportunity for the youth in our State. His reach has extended to countless organizations and boards on which he has served or contributed to in other ways. The Denver Zoological Foundation, the Urban League of Denver, Kempe Children's Foundation, the National Western Stock Show Association, and St. Joseph Hospital Foundation are just a few that have felt his impact.

His exceptional leadership in the auto industry and involvement with these important community partners has earned Mike the Dealer of the Year award. His achievements are far-reaching, and each one of them is in the spirit of service to his community.

Mike is a determined and selfless community leader whose drive has helped provide our children a brighter future and made Colorado a better place to live. I extend to him my congratulations for being honored as the 2012 TIME Dealer of the Year, and I look forward to his continued leadership throughout Colorado.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Healthy Kids from Day One Act--a bill that will add another tool to our toolbox for tackling the national epidemic of childhood obesity. Today, about one in three children is either overweight or obese, and nearly 21 percent of our littlest ones--those in preschool--are obese or overweight. This problem has become an epidemic, and I want to thank Senators Coons, Carper, Franken, and Tom Udall for joining me in introducing this important legislation.

The Healthy Kids from Day One Act seeks to focus on the childcare setting as a part of our strategy to combat childhood obesity and get kids healthy and moving again. This bill recognizes that in order to reduce the prevalence

of childhood obesity, we must reach children in as many settings as possible and particularly in the places where they live, learn, and play. With 75 percent of U.S. children aged 3 to 5 years in childcare and 56 percent in centers, including nursery schools, preschools, and full-day centers, it makes sense to focus on the preschool and childcare environment. Experts are increasingly acknowledging this setting as critical to obesity prevention. For example, this past October the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a research synthesis on how childcare settings can promote healthy eating and physical activity. Furthermore, an article in the January 2012 issue of Pediatrics examined barriers to children's physical activity in childcare.

Childcare providers want to create healthy environments for children but vary in the expertise or resources needed to achieve this goal. This legislation builds on a bill I introduced with Senator Franken in 2010 by supporting the establishment of childcare collaborative workshops at the local level to offer childcare providers the tools, training, and assistance they need to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. This bill supplements some of the work being done right now by the First Lady in her Let's Move Child Care initiative, as it would bring together, in interactive collaborative learning sessions, relevant entities needed for meaningful childhood-obesity prevention.

Obesity has serious health and economic consequences. It puts our children at greater risk of costly but preventable chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Obesity also comes at a tremendous cost to our society. The total economic cost is estimated at $300 billion annually, and, as the Nation's youth continues to age, further costs will be added to the national health care system if these trends continue. Obesity also has impacted our ability to recruit healthy, young servicemembers into the military and maintain a strong national defense.

My childhood and much of my adult life has been spent in the great outdoors, and I have tried to bring my enthusiasm for being active and exploring the world around us here to the U.S. Congress as a cochair of the Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus. I firmly believe that we need to reconnect folks with the idea that being active is fun and rewarding, and it can help us lower health care costs and improve the quality of life here in America.

I would like to thank Nemours, Trust for America's Health, the YMCA of the USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association for working with me to develop this legislation. This bill builds upon their expertise with obesity prevention.

I urge my colleagues to join me in the fight against childhood obesity by supporting this bill.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Healthy Kids from Day One Act--a bill that will add another tool to our toolbox for tackling the national epidemic of childhood obesity. Today, about one in three children is either overweight or obese, and nearly 21 percent of our littlest ones--those in preschool--are obese or overweight. This problem has become an epidemic, and I want to thank Senators Coons, Carper, Franken, and Tom Udall for joining me in introducing this important legislation.

The Healthy Kids from Day One Act seeks to focus on the childcare setting as a part of our strategy to combat childhood obesity and get kids healthy and moving again. This bill recognizes that in order to reduce the prevalence

of childhood obesity, we must reach children in as many settings as possible and particularly in the places where they live, learn, and play. With 75 percent of U.S. children aged 3 to 5 years in childcare and 56 percent in centers, including nursery schools, preschools, and full-day centers, it makes sense to focus on the preschool and childcare environment. Experts are increasingly acknowledging this setting as critical to obesity prevention. For example, this past October the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a research synthesis on how childcare settings can promote healthy eating and physical activity. Furthermore, an article in the January 2012 issue of Pediatrics examined barriers to children's physical activity in childcare.

Childcare providers want to create healthy environments for children but vary in the expertise or resources needed to achieve this goal. This legislation builds on a bill I introduced with Senator Franken in 2010 by supporting the establishment of childcare collaborative workshops at the local level to offer childcare providers the tools, training, and assistance they need to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. This bill supplements some of the work being done right now by the First Lady in her Let's Move Child Care initiative, as it would bring together, in interactive collaborative learning sessions, relevant entities needed for meaningful childhood-obesity prevention.

Obesity has serious health and economic consequences. It puts our children at greater risk of costly but preventable chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Obesity also comes at a tremendous cost to our society. The total economic cost is estimated at $300 billion annually, and, as the Nation's youth continues to age, further costs will be added to the national health care system if these trends continue. Obesity also has impacted our ability to recruit healthy, young servicemembers into the military and maintain a strong national defense.

My childhood and much of my adult life has been spent in the great outdoors, and I have tried to bring my enthusiasm for being active and exploring the world around us here to the U.S. Congress as a cochair of the Senate Outdoor Recreation Caucus. I firmly believe that we need to reconnect folks with the idea that being active is fun and rewarding, and it can help us lower health care costs and improve the quality of life here in America.

I would like to thank Nemours, Trust for America's Health, the YMCA of the USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association for working with me to develop this legislation. This bill builds upon their expertise with obesity prevention.

I urge my colleagues to join me in the fight against childhood obesity by supporting this bill.

Mr. President, before the Senator from Illinois departs the floor, I wish to associate myself with his remarks--the standpoint the majority leader has pointed out in order to build an economy, built to last, we have to invest in our people and in our infrastructure and research and development. We can't cut our way to prosperity. Every business man and woman knows that. Every economist knows that. As our economy grows, then we can meet the challenge that is presented to us when it comes to our deficits and long-term debt. That is how we are going to get a handle on that particular problem. I wish to thank the Senator from Illinois for his compelling remarks.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor to talk about an environmental problem that affects many parts of Colorado as well as other western States; that is, abandoned hardrock mines.

These mines pollute thousands of miles of streams and rivers in America with truly a toxic soup of heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, and mercury. That pollution impairs drinking water and kills aquatic and plant life for miles downstream.

This is a problem that doesn't get enough attention in the Congress, and it is my hope that by speaking, I can spur all of us in this body and the administration to take greater steps to help solve this problem. I would, in that spirit, invite my colleagues to join me in this effort.

If I might first, a little background: Starting in the 1800s, miners flocked to the West in search of fortune following the discovery of precious metals, such as gold, lead, copper, and silver. They settled in places with romantic names such as Leadville, Silverton, and Gypsum. Mining became an important part of our history, of our settlement, and of our development in Colorado. But it also left a very dirty and deadly legacy.

When a claim was mined for all its worth, the miner frequently packed up and left without a thought about the lasting problems the mine would cause. And this was an era before modern mining laws that hold miners accountable for their impact on the land.

Then, as a followup, in many cases it became impossible to identify the persons responsible for the vast majority of these abandoned mines. The Government Accountability Office estimates that there are over 160,000 such abandoned hard rock mines in the West; 7,300 are in Colorado, 47,000 are in California, and another 50,000 are in Arizona.

Today, highly acidic water still drains from these mines, polluting entire watersheds. I want to follow the logic that a picture is worth a thousand words. I want to show my colleagues what an acid mine drainage looks like. This is the Red and Bonita Mine in San Juan County, CO, which is near Silverton. For scale, I want viewers to note the pickup truck on the left side of this photograph. You can see a couple of individuals up there as well. Over 300 gallons of water drains from this mine every minute, and the water is contaminated with all kinds of heavy metals that produce the orange and the red streaks you see in this photograph. Highly acidic water flows into the Cement Creek and eventually into the Animas River, impairing water quality and aquatic life. For a region of Colorado that thrives on tourism, including angling, this situation is extremely harmful.

From EPA data, we can conservatively estimate that over 10,000 miles of streams and rivers and nearly 350,000 acres of lakes are impaired in this country as a result of acid mine drainage. With that backdrop, what is being done? For one, at those sites where a responsible party can be identified, the Federal Government has the tools at its disposal to hold them accountable. Also, the Federal Land Management agencies have a variety of programs that mitigate abandoned hard rock mine pollution.

However, the efforts I want to focus on today are those undertaken by a third category of people: entities that had no role in creating the pollution at an abandoned mine site yet want to make the situation better. Appropriately enough, we refer to these entities as Good Samaritans. One such Good Samaritan is the Animas River Stakeholders Group in southwestern Colorado. They are working to find solutions to clean up the Red and Bonita Mine. Often, Good Samaritans are nonprofits with a mission to restore the natural environment. Sometimes they are community groups that want to improve their cities and their towns. Sometimes they are mining companies looking to be good stewards in the communities in which they operate. Sometimes they are State and local governments.

For example, take the Tiger Mine near Leadville, CO. The picture I want to show you was taken before any remediation activities took place. You can see the piles of mine waste and drainage coming from the mines beside it. At peak flows, as much as 150 gallons of water per minute contaminated with cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, and iron flows out of the Tiger Mine.

As you can see in the second picture, some remediation work has been done. The mine waste was moved out of the way, capped, and revegetated, and the ditches were put in above the mine to divert surface water runoff and to further reduce contamination.

You can also see in this picture that four pits have been dug below the mine, and this represents the next phase of cleanup being lead by Trout Unlimited, another Good Samaritan. Eventually these pits will become what is known as a sulfate-reducing bioreactor. Now, the Presiding Officer knows I was not a chemistry major, so I won't attempt to describe how this works. But the end result is a good thing, I can tell you that. The acid mine drainage flows in and cleaner water flows out. However, Trout Unlimited has run into a problem that has frustrated many Good Samaritans. The bioreactor counts as a point source of pollution; therefore, before Trout Unlimited can turn the bioreactor on, they must obtain a clean water permit. Trout Unlimited cannot meet the stringent permit requirements without investing in far more expensive water treatment options, nor can they afford to assume the liability that comes with the permit. As a result, the bioreactor sits unused.

Federal law is, in effect, sidelining some of the best hopes for remediation. I have tried for several years--I said several years, but it feels like a lifetime--I think at least a decade to give Good Samaritans some relief. I have introduced legislation to every Congress since 2002 that creates a unique permit specifically for this kind of work. Unfortunately, I have not been able to convince enough of my colleagues just how good of an idea this is, but I am going to keep trying.

In addition, I have been working with Senator Boxer to encourage the EPA to better use the administrative tools it has at its disposal. Good Samaritans report to me that administrative tools have been cumbersome to use so far, and they don't offer the full Clean Water Act protection they need.

Senator Boxer, along with Senator Bennet, has asked the EPA to make this tool more accessible to Good Samaritans. Last week we asked the agency to provide Good Samaritans with assurances that they would not be subject to enforcement for appropriate actions to clean up acid mine pollution.

I am grateful for the work the EPA has done to focus on these issues and for Senator Boxer's leadership. Good Samaritans are too valuable a resource to keep on the sidelines. Congress

should do what is necessary to bring their efforts to bear on the cleanup of abandoned mine pollution. Good Samaritans cannot solve all of our abandoned mine pollution problems, but we cannot afford to turn away those willing to help any longer.

Mr. President, I thank you for your interest on this important topic to those of us in the West.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I want to recognize a friend and a great Coloradan the Honorable Wilma J. Webb. Wilma is a transformative leader who has left her indelible mark on the State of Colorado and the character of our country.

On February 16, 2012, the Anti-Defamation League's Mountain States Office will present Wilma with the prestigious 2012 Civil Rights Award. Given all of her work on behalf of the African-American community, it is especially appropriate that Wilma will receive her award during Black History Month. I congratulate her on being the recipient of such an esteemed honor and I applaud her for her remarkable achievements in the struggle for civil rights. Wilma's award presents me with an opportunity to tell the U.S. Senate about her remarkable life and work.

Wilma is a native of the Centennial State, born in Denver and raised in the city's Five Points Neighborhood. She later attended the University of Colorado at Denver, and is an alumna of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As a testament to her dedication to public service in Colorado, Wilma also has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Northern Colorado and the Art Institute of Colorado.

By 1980, Wilma had become a state representative in the Colorado General Assembly, where she served for 13 years, distinguishing herself as a trailblazing leader in the State Capitol. Among her achievements, Wilma spearheaded legislation to prevent discrimination in its many forms. For example, Wilma successfully secured the ability of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Division to use the power of subpoena in cases of discrimination. The first woman to represent House District 8, she was also a champion for the rights of women and led legislation to make it unlawful to discriminate against women in the workplace or in the pursuit of an education. Wilma fought to help women and minority professionals lead successful businesses in Colorado. Additionally, Wilma served as an advocate to end discrimination on the basis of a person's sexual orientation or physical disability.

In the 1980s, the United States was considering a policy of divestment in South Africa because of its abhorrent system known as apartheid. At this time, early in her career as a State Representative, Wilma had the foresight and determination to lead the divestment effort in Colorado. To do so, she carried bills to discourage investment in South Africa until Nelson Mandela was freed from imprisonment on Robben Island and justice was restored to the country's political system. It's a stance that many of us think is common sense now, but we must remember that it took brave leaders like Wilma to be on the forefront of the fight several decades ago.

Wilma's leadership to expand civil rights is laudable, and includes many successful initiatives that make Coloradans proud. She is perhaps most widely known and celebrated for her effort to establish Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a State holiday in Colorado. Founding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission along with Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Governor Richard D. Lamm, Wilma committed 18 years to serving as its President and Chairman. The commission, helmed by Wilma, was responsible for organizing the annual ``Marade'' in the heart of Denver and has served to unite and educate communities across Colorado on the spirit and contributions of Dr. King. The Marade, uniquely named for being both a march and a parade, is one of the largest celebrations of its kind across the country. I have had the distinct privilege of participating in it over the years. In fact, just last month I was in Denver to mark the occasion, and it is among the most important ways we have to celebrate our diverse communities and honor the values to which Dr. King devoted his life. To me, Wilma's visionary leadership in honoring Dr. King's legacy symbolizes our nation's inexorable march toward greater equality and justice for all Americans.

There are many other notable achievements of Wilma Webb. I would like to discuss a few more.

She has been a pioneer on education issues, fighting for a level playing field

and full-day kindergarten so that Colorado's children are able to get a quality education. I will note that in President Obama's most recent State of the Union address, he called for a nationwide effort to establish a mechanism to keep students in school until they are 18 years old or graduate high school. It did not surprise me to learn that Wilma, in her days as a state legislator, carried measures to do the same for Colorado's youth over 20 years ago.

Wilma served as a voice for the community's poor by carrying legislation that supported Colorado's most vulnerable populations, and she successfully advanced provisions that improved the living conditions of both the elderly and troubled youth.

Wilma also developed a prowess tackling thorny budgetary issues. As she rose to become an influential member of the State legislature, she was the first minority woman to earn a prestigious spot on the Joint Budget Committee responsible for guiding Colorado's budget priorities.

Yet Wilma's achievements go beyond what I have mentioned here and are not limited to her time in the General Assembly. Those of us who know Wilma know that her life extends far beyond that.

Wilma was the first African-American woman to be the First Lady of Denver. She stood by her husband, former Mayor Wellington Webb, as an active leader in the affairs of the city and a respected figure within its diverse communities. I know how proud my friend Wellington is of his wife, and vice versa. They are the epitome of a ``power couple,'' but more importantly, a couple devoted to public service.

As First Lady, Wilma was unyielding in her efforts to end drug abuse and consequently devoted much of her time and energy to strengthening Colorado's comprehensive anti-drug abuse programs. These programs, the first of their kind, were enacted as a result of a bill she carried during her days in the Colorado State House.

Wilma was also devoted to resolving the unique issues facing families and youth throughout Denver. As if that did not keep her busy enough, Wilma took on the responsibility of hosting local, national and foreign dignitaries in Denver, and also traveling abroad to over 23 countries to represent Denver and build relationships with worldwide partners. She was instrumental in creating and implementing the Mayor's vision for the arts and played a key role in revitalizing the cultural and artistic vitality of Denver. In one notable example, Wilma founded the Denver Art, Culture and Film Foundation to raise money for public art projects.

And she certainly did not stop after her First Lady of Denver duties were done. Colorado and the Mountain West were fortunate to have Wilma's leadership extend to a new position: she became the U.S. Secretary of Labor's Representative for the Department of Labor's Region VIII. To no one's surprise, Wilma yet again blazed a new trail as the first woman to fill this role, where she had significant budgetary oversight and directed special projects to resolve labor and workforce issues in the West. Her commitment to public service on the Federal level was just as productive as her time working at the State level.

It is clear Wilma has had an extraordinary career. She is warm, she is a visionary leader, she is exceptionally skilled, and she is driven by the desire to do what is right for Coloradans. Yet throughout her years as a leader, she has maintained a strong sense of the importance of family. As a daughter, a wife, a mother and a grandmother, she has been a cornerstone for all those around her. As someone who values the importance of balancing work life with family life, I respect the example that Wilma sets in that regard.

As I conclude, let me say to my colleagues that I am proud--and Coloradans are proud to count Wilma among our numbers. She has earned the 2012 Civil Rights Award through her years of dedication, innovation and persistence in making Colorado a better place. She is a pioneer for civil rights and a forward-thinking public servant who has etched her mark on the lives of Colorado's families, youth and marginalized communities. I commend Wilma for advancing the rights of every Coloradan and for a lifetime of service to others. On behalf of all Coloradans, I extend hearty congratulations on Wilma's well-earned honor, with full confidence that she will continue her groundbreaking work.

Madam President, I rise to join my fellow Coloradans, my colleagues in the U.S. Congress and others across the Nation to celebrate Black History Month. I am honored to recognize the contributions of the African-American community in the United States and especially in my home State of Colorado.

I am particularly proud to reflect on the legacy of community involvement exemplified by Colorado's Black community, from Colorado's earliest days as a western territory to the present. There have been many community leaders, public officials, and entrepreneurs who have contributed immensely over the years to make our great State what it is today, from our historic and cultural institutions, to the farms and small businesses of our rural communities.

One gentleman named James Beckwourth, whom I have recognized in previous years as a true frontiersmen, exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that led to the building of the economic foundations that supported the formation of our great State. He led expeditions into Colorado's Rocky Mountains in the 1820s and returned in the 1830s to serve at Fort Vasquez near Denver. In the 1840s, he co-founded a trading post and settlement named Fort Pueblo to serve as a trading hub for the Native Americans, Mexican settlers and other American frontiersmen along the Santa Fe Trail. This settlement eventually became the City of Pueblo and still serves as a commercial hub for Southeast Colorado.

Mr. Beckwourth exemplifies the entrepreneurship that continues to thrive in all of Colorado's African-American communities. Today, I would like to specifically recognize the importance of the continuation of the entrepreneurial spirit in Black communities throughout Colorado and share how much it has strengthened Colorado's economy and will continue to help lead our country on the path to economic recovery.

The increase in the number of minority-owned businesses has been a bright spot in our economy. According to the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), operated by the Department of Commerce, minority-owned businesses contributed $1 trillion to the economy last year and created 5.8 million jobs. Specifically, the total number of African-American owned businesses grew to 1.9 million firms between 2002 and 2007, an increase of 61 percent. This figure is particularly impressive when compared to the employment growth in the rest of the country during that same time period, which was less than 1 percent.

In Colorado, the total number of minority-owned firms increased by 19 percent between 1997 and 2002. By 2007, this figure had increased even further as there were over 59,000 firms, employing over 74,000 workers, and the numbers continue to grow. African-American-owned businesses are an important part of this driving force in our State's economy. Along with all other minority-owned businesses, the increase in African- American owned businesses in Colorado has helped sustain our economy and stimulate job growth. The most recent data show there are more than 9,000 African-American-owned businesses in Colorado. These businesses are especially valued in Colorado because they not only provide jobs to Coloradans, they also provide essential services that meet the needs of both African-American and non-African-American communities. And as we know, successful businesses have a positive economic ripple effect throughout our communities.

In spite of the rising number of minority-owned businesses in Colorado, barriers to success still exist, and in some cases the challenges facing minority-owned businesses can be particularly difficult. This is why I was proud to welcome the creation of the Denver Minority Business Center last summer. The Denver Minority Business Center is an extension of the Minority Business Development Agency, and will further supplement our State's commitment to supporting minority owned businesses by providing the resources to develop technical skills and to access capital and contracting opportunities. Within the last 3 years alone the MBDA has helped create 11,000 new jobs nationally and helped save thousands of existing jobs at minority-owned firms by helping secure $7 billion in contracts.

As we celebrate the diverse and profound contributions of African- Americans to our State, I hope we will remember to appreciate the positive and sustaining impact of African-American owned businesses, and I hope we will continue to support the creation of new minority owned businesses in all corners of our State. I encourage all Coloradans to join me in reflecting on the invaluable contributions of African Americans to our State and throughout our great Nation--not only during Black History Month, but every month of the year.

Mr. President, I rise in support of amendment No. 1473. Senator Coburn and I have introduced this critical amendment to curb Congressional temptations to create more programs, laws and regulations, without first analyzing what already exists. Senator Hatch and I have also introduced legislation to create an official ``Unauthorizing Committee'' that would reinstitute a committee in Congress to rid our government of outdated and ineffective laws.

In the next few weeks, the GAO will release a report showing the extent of the wasteful and duplicative programs in the federal government. It shows that too often Congress focuses on creating new programs and regulations while neglecting our important role of overseeing and reforming existing laws. Our amendment would require that any new bill that is reported from committee contain an analysis from the Congressional Research Service determining if the bill creates any new federal program, office, or initiative that would overlap existing programs. Opponents worry that this amendment will slow the legislative process, but I believe that we must first pursue informed legislating and efficient government.

Senator Coburn and I don't always agree on the reach of government and the investments we ought to make, but we agree that our government ought to be smart, it ought to be efficient, and we shouldn't have duplication. This amendment would see us to that goal. Sixty-three of us voted for this amendment last year. Let's get 63 votes and more.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 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 the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 286 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Inouye amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.