Floor Statements

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

Mr. President, I am proud to honor a group of 120 World War II veterans from all over Louisiana who will travel to Washington, DC, on May 9 to visit the various memorials and monuments that recognize the sacrifices of our Nation's invaluable servicemembers.

Louisiana HonorAir, a group based in Lafayette, LA, sponsored this trip to the Nation's Capital. The organization is honoring each surviving World War II Louisiana veteran by giving them an opportunity to see the memorials dedicated to their service. The veterans will visit the World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iwo Jima memorials. They will also travel to Arlington National Cemetery.

This is the third of four flights Louisiana HonorAir is making to Washington, DC, this spring. It is the 16th flight to depart from Louisiana, which has sent more HonorAir flights than any other state to the Nation's Capital.

World War II was one of America's greatest triumphs but was also a conflict rife with individual sacrifice and tragedy. More than 60 million people worldwide were killed, including 40 million civilians, and more than 400,000 American servicemembers were slain during the long war. The ultimate victory over enemies in the Pacific and in Europe is a testament to the valor of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. The years 1941 to 1945 also witnessed an unprecedented mobilization of domestic industry, which supplied our military on two distant fronts.

In Louisiana, there remain today more than 33,000 living WWII veterans, and each one has a heroic tale of achieving the noble victory of freedom over tyranny. This group had 44 veterans who served in the U.S. Army, 27 in the U.S. Air Force, 42 in the Navy, 3 in the Coast Guard and 4 in the Marines.

Our heroes trekked the world for their country. They fought in Germany, France, Italy, Africa, Japan, Guam, Guadalcanal, China, Okinawa, the Philippines, New Guinea, Korea, Thailand, and Saipan. Their journeys included the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge. Their fight for freedom extended to New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.

One of our Army Airborne veterans navigated a glider plane and became a prisoner of war. He also lost a brother during the D-day invasion and earned many awards, including the Purple Heart. One of our Army Air Corps veterans flew 50 European missions in a B-24 bomber as a flight engineer. Another of our Army Air Corps heroes flew 20 missions as a tail gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress. And one of our Navy veterans fought at Pearl Harbor.

I ask the Senate to join me in honoring these 120 veterans, all Louisiana heroes, who will visit Washington, and Louisiana HonorAir for making these trips a reality.

Mr. President, I know we are probably going to move forward on discussing the underlying bill. I ask unanimous consent to speak about a resolution I would like to discuss for a moment, about a wonderful event that actually took place in our country this weekend.

Mr. President, every year for 135 years, the country has been watching and cheering and celebrating the Kentucky Derby.

While this event is not held in Louisiana--it is held in Kentucky-- many people in my State and around the country tune in. Some people have the opportunity to actually attend what has become one of the most extraordinary sporting events in our Nation's calendar year. This weekend was no exception. It was an extraordinary race. Anyone who watched it could attest to the tremendous skill of the Louisiana born- and-bred jockey who rode Mine That Bird to a victory in a heart- pounding, quite shocking and surprising victory. So this resolution just simply says:

Whereas Calvin Borel, born and raised in St. Martin Parish,

Louisiana, began riding match horses at the age of 8;--

As my husband says, we just sort of strap them on and let them go, but he most certainly learned at a young age--

Whereas Mr. Borel began his professional career as a jockey

at the age of 16;

Whereas [he] has won more than 4,500 career starts;

Whereas [he] won the 135th Kentucky Derby by 6\3/4\ length,

the greatest winning margin since 1946;

Where [he] is the first jockey since 1993 to win both the

Kentucky Oaks--

Which is the fillies race--

and the Kentucky Derby in the same year;

Whereas in 2 minutes and 2.66 seconds, [he] and Mine That

Bird completed the race and placed first, making it [his]

second Kentucky Derby victory: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate commends Calvin Borel and Mine

That Bird for their extraordinary victory at the 135th

Kentucky Derby.

It is sporting events like this and races run like this on a horse that cost $9,500, I understand, that was trailored by the owner and its manager that keeps this sport exciting and open for so many. For all of us in Louisiana, we are very proud of this young jockey from down in the bayou, as we say, and for the pride that he brings to our State and to a wonderful industry.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Finally, let me take a moment before the Senator comes back to debate the underlying bill and submit to the Record a statement about an event that took place last week on Capitol Hill and actually around the country. It is an event that Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and I proudly and happily, joyfully sponsor every year for the Senate; that is, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

It was started 17 years ago by Ms. Magazine, thinking it might be a good idea for girls, particularly girls between the ages of 10 and 16, to have an opportunity to go to work with their parents because many women, of course, do wonderful work at home raising children and working out of the home. But a lot of important work goes on outside of the home as well. Ms. Magazine thought it would be a great opportunity for girls, particularly, and then, of course, have included boys, to go anywhere where their parents work, whether that work is out of the home or in the home and actually come to appreciate the work that goes into keeping our society moving forward and this country moving forward.

So Kay Bailey Hutchison and I cohosted. The Senator from Texas and I host this every year. I would like to first acknowledge her support, also acknowledge Ms. Magazine that founded this day, and to thank all of our Senators and staffers and workers around the Capitol who participated in that day.

I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the names of the young ladies who joined me that day.

These young ladies and many young men who joined them had a wonderful day, understanding what happens at the Capitol, working in the Senate. I thank them and their parents for making this day special for us and hope and trust that their day was inspirational to them as they think about their career opportunities in the future.

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

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

Mr. President, I wish to speak for up to 10 minutes, maybe slightly longer, about the nomination of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I wish to speak on behalf of the Governor because I think she is such an outstanding candidate for this particular job.

As I look across the country, as many of my colleagues, and think who could fill this position, I have to say I was very pleased with the President's action to tap her for this important position because right now this Secretary is going to be charged with fulfilling the President's idea that all Americans should have health coverage. This is an idea that other Presidents have shared and about which many leaders in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have thought. It would be remarkable and wonderful for our country, the extraordinarily developed Nation that we are, to find a way--a cost-effective way, in my view; hopefully, a market-based approach--to solving one of the great challenges of our time, which is to provide health insurance, good coverage, for workers in the most productive Nation on Earth.

It really is a failing, in my view, of our organized society and our Government that we have not in over 240 years been able to accomplish that. We have accomplished so many things that are a credit to our country, but this has eluded us.

When President Obama ran in his campaign, and as I heard him speak even here and in the House Chamber for a joint session, he again expressed his passion for trying to find a solution. One of the first steps to finding a solution is finding a leader who has a good record of finding solutions on their own, a good record of working across party lines to get difficult jobs done. So in his action to achieve this goal, he has made a great first step to at least present to the Senate for our consideration a person who does not have a weak record but a strong record in this effort.

I submit that as a Democratic Governor of Kansas, you have to be pretty good as a Democrat, first of all, to get elected in Kansas because, like Louisiana, it tends to be a more conservative State on some issues. Obviously, I think this Governor has demonstrated over and over, as insurance commissioner and as Governor of Kansas, the ability to get the job done. She was tapped before she was Governor by a Governor of Kansas to help actually implement and lead the children's health program. Her record is clear in the success of this program.

She, as insurance commissioner, had a great deal of interaction with health insurers in that State and others that indicates to us she has the experience and the ability to do this. Working with the Federal Government during her time as Governor on all of these health care matters leads me to the conclusion that she is the right person to help us get this job done. The sooner we confirm her the better.

I was very impressed to hear--I do not serve on this committee--that at her hearing, Senator Roberts, our colleague who is of the other party, spoke in her favor and voted for her. Even more impressive to me was that former Senator Bob Dole testified for her.

This is not at all a typical partisan appointment. This is a person who has demonstrated through her leadership for many years in the State of Kansas the ability to tackle the toughest jobs and bring people from various viewpoints together. That is the kind of leadership I think America is looking for right now.

I might add that in the most recent days, the outbreak of the swine flu in our country should compel the Members of this body to know this is not a job that should have a vacancy sign on the door right now. There could potentially be a pandemic. The Government is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. While Secretary Napalitano has been charged with the task to coordinate Federal agencies, frankly I do not feel very comfortable having this job vacant. The faster we can get her in this position with her extraordinary credentials the better.

I would like to make a few other points. As the chair of the Small Business Committee, I have to say again for the record--and I think Senator Snowe from Maine, my ranking member and long-serving member of this committee, would say the same thing if she were here--that no matter what we call a meeting on in the Small Business Committee--it could be on procurement, it could be a hearing on credit markets, it could be a hearing, which we have had, on the Small Business Administration itself, as I am standing here, every small business person, almost to the man or woman, will say: Senators, before I leave, or, Senators, I know this isn't the subject of this hearing, but could I please say I can't afford my health insurance; can I please say that it is very important for this country to find a way for small business entrepreneurs to get health insurance.

Just for the record, for small businesses that employ the vast majority of people in this country, the percentage of coverage has dropped in the last

7 years from 68 percent of those businesses providing coverage down to 59 percent. I know in my personal experience dozens of people who would say: You know, Mary, I would like to start a business. I think I have a good idea, and actually I have some money to start it, but I can't give up my health insurance because I have a preexisting condition or I have a son with leukemia or I have a daughter who has a compromised immune system.

I cannot tell you how strongly I feel that our country is actually not only throwing cold water but almost freezing water on the entrepreneurial spirit because we can't seem to figure out how to provide health insurance--and not just for big companies but for medium companies and for emerging companies--and to have that coverage be portable and available when people want to leave a company and take a risk. They might risk their business, but they are not going to risk their life. That is a little too much risk to ask in order to start a business. You may risk your home, you may risk your fortune, but to ask people to risk their life is a little ridiculous. Yet that is where we are. So the faster we can get someone in this position who can help put their shoulder to the wheel and help our small businesses come up with a way, the better off we will be.

Finally, I wish to mention two issues briefly. We concentrate a lot in this department on health care and that, of course, is the President's priority and it is our priority, but I don't want to fail to mention that I believe this Governor would be an extraordinary advocate for foster care children. There are 500,000 of these children, many of them with 4.0 grade point averages, amazingly. Many of them are the most extraordinary children. I have gotten to meet many of these young people as chairman of the Adoption Caucus and an advocate for foster care. This is despite the fact that some of them have spent several years of their youth living in an automobile.

One of these children said to me one day that she got so hungry she would just eat paper. The only thing that made it edible was that she would pour salt on it, just to try to put something in her stomach. These 500,000 children and young people need someone such as Governor Sebelius because these are people in the custody of the Government. The U.S. Government, along with partners in our 50 States, have an obligation to these children for their health, for their education, and to try to help them launch successfully in life. Once we have terminated their parental rights--in many instances for good cause--we then have an obligation to be their parents and to reconnect them through adoption, if possible, or to long-term guardianship. We need somebody in this position who can do that.

I know of Governor Sebelius's heart for foster care, for orphans, and for adoption. I think she will be a wonderful advocate to keep our adoption tax credit in place and to help Senator Grassley and I--we have been working on this with many other Members--find a way to reform the financing mechanism and the way we fund our foster care adoption system in this country, which right now funds the system and not the child. We want the money to support the decision of that good, solid judge who has a plan for the child. The problem is there is no money for the child because we are giving the money to the system instead of tying the money to the child. Senator Grassley and I have a vision to make that better.

I hope we can confirm Governor Sebelius, knowing she has a proven record of governing her State, which is not easy for a Democrat, and remained very popular. That takes a great deal of effort in this day and age, given the partisan nature of our politics. We need to have a ``position filled'' sign as opposed to a ``vacancy'' sign in this position, and we need somebody who understands the commonsense practical approach to governing that is going to deliver for this President and for us--for the American people--a health care system we can depend on, that we can afford, and that promotes risk-taking and entrepreneurship, which is the founding principle, in many ways, of this wonderful country.

I thank the Presiding Officer for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Governor, and I urge my colleagues to not wait any longer and to confirm this nominee and give her the support she needs. Do not apply any litmus test on any particular issue, but give her the chance I think she wants to have--I am confident she wants to have--to do a good job for us all.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I am proud to honor a group of 98 World War II veterans from all over Louisiana who will travel to Washington, DC, on April 25 to visit the various memorials and monuments that recognize the sacrifices of our Nation's invaluable service members.

Louisiana HonorAir, a group based in Lafayette, LA, sponsored this trip to the Nation's Capital. The organization is honoring each surviving World War II Louisiana veteran by giving them an opportunity to see the memorials dedicated to their service. The veterans visited the World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iwo Jima memorials. They also traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns.

This is the second of four flights Louisiana HonorAir is making to Washington, DC, this spring. It is the 15th flight to depart from Louisiana, which has sent more HonorAir flights than any other State to the Nation's Capital.

World War II was one of America's greatest triumphs but was also a conflict rife with individual sacrifice and tragedy. More than 60 million people worldwide were killed, including 40 million civilians, and more than 400,000 American service members were slain during the long war. The ultimate victory over enemies in the Pacific and in Europe is a testament to the valor of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. The years 1941 to 1945 also witnessed an unprecedented mobilization of domestic industry, which supplied our military on two distant fronts.

In Louisiana, there remain today more than 33,000 living WWII veterans, and each one has a heroic tale of achieving the noble victory of freedom over tyranny. This group had 31 veterans who served in the U.S. Army, 23 in the U.S. Air Force, 35 in the Navy, 1 in the WAVES-- Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service--7 in the Marines, and 1 in the Merchant Marines.

Our heroes trekked the world for their country. Their journeys spanned Europe, the Utah and Omaha Beaches, France, the Rhineland, Central Europe, Holland, Italy and North Africa. They fought in the Pacific as well--at Russell Island, Gilbert Island, the Philippines, Tarawa, Luzon, New Guinea, Tinian, Guam, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, New Hebrides, Saipan and Bougainville. Their fight for freedom extended to Alaska, Azores, Iceland, and the Aleutian Islands.

One of our Army Air Corps veterans received the Croix de Guerre Avec Palm and the Bronze Service Star for campaigns in Northern France, Central Europe, and the Rhineland. He also fought at Utah Beach on D- day. Another of our Army Air Corps veterans fought in the Mediterranean Theater and completed 50 missions as a ball turret gunner.

One of our marines received the South Pacific Purple Heart, and an Army veteran fought at Omaha Beach with GEN George Patton. Yet another Army veteran was on GEN Douglas McArthur's staff.

I ask the Senate to join me in honoring these 98 veterans, all Louisiana heroes, who will visit Washington, and Louisiana HonorAir for making these trips a reality.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 3 minutes.

Madam President, I rise to lend my support to the three nominees with the Justice Department that are pending today and to give my support to Tony West for Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, Lanny Breuer for Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, and Christine Varney for Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division. I have documents I wish to submit for the Record for all three.

I wish to speak for a moment about Lanny Breuer, a friend and someone whom I know somewhat socially through actually children's activities, but I have known of him and his reputation for quite some time. I wanted to come to the floor to say how pleased I am that the committee has seen fit to pass his nomination on to us. I believe the ranking member and the chairman have outlined his phenomenal credentials, but I would just add that, having been a graduate of one of the most prestigious law schools in the country--Columbia Law School--he began his career as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York City, which is a good place to begin to really cut your teeth and learn the ropes, if you will, a place that they say: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. And this is true of the work he has undertaken for his life.

He served as a White House counsel, the Office of Special Counsel for, of course, President Clinton. I think most notable to me and to many of my colleagues is the endorsements he has received not just from Democrats but from Republicans as well, people such as Michael Chertoff, who worked with him. He led the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice during the Bush administration. He said Mr. Breuer has ``exceptionally broad legal experience as a former prosecutor and defense attorney.'' He has ``outstanding judgment, a keen sense of fairness, high integrity and an even temperament.'' For the job we have called him to do, he is going to need all of those qualities and qualifications. Brad Berenson, a veteran of the Bush administration's White House Counsel's Office, writes that Mr. Breuer is ``everything one could hope for in a leader of the Criminal Division.'' So he comes with not just great academic credentials, great life experience, tremendous qualifications for this post, but from his peers--both Democrats and Republicans--who believe he is the right person for this job.

So I am pleased to come to the floor for a few minutes today to lend my support to this outstanding nominee, and I look forward to working with him and these other nominees as we build a stronger justice system in the city of New Orleans, south Louisiana, and parts of the gulf coast that still remain, as my colleagues know, in a rebuilding mode from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. What people don't realize, it

is not just houses and schools, but the criminal justice system was hard-hit in terms of jail space, the sheriff's office, the district attorneys. So we have an extra responsibility to work with this team in Washington to make sure they keep their eyes on our people down in the gulf coast as we rebuild that great region of this country. I know this team will, and I am happy to support Lanny Breuer for Assistant Attorney General.

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

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I rise to speak about amendment No. 931 which is at the desk, as modified. I will ask the chairman at a later time for it to be voted on and in order.

I wanted to speak about an issue in the budget as we discuss the importance of laying out a framework for how we may allocate future revenues that come into our general fund from offshore oil and gas drilling.

A couple of years ago, in 2006, Senator Domenici and I led a bipartisan effort to establish what I believe is a breakthrough process as we seek to build a system or a method of energy security for our Nation which would, as the debate is going on in the Congress, include more domestic oil and gas drilling and an expansion of our nuclear capability for the production of electricity. I am very hopeful about alternative energy--wind and solar. We also have some interesting experiments underway with geothermal and energy created by our tides. There are also exciting opportunities for new hydro projects. It is going to take all of the above to help our country maximize domestic energy sources.

Representing the State of Louisiana, I am offering this amendment with the Senator from Alaska as well, Mr. Begich, who also represents a State that has contributed a great deal to conventional oil and gas production. It is important that the revenue streams associated with this production are shared equitably and fairly, not only with the Federal Treasury but with States that serve as platforms for this industry and with counties and, in the case of Louisiana, parishes that serve as platforms for this great industry.

More than ever, people in businesses and residences, individuals and families are focused on the cost of energy and electricity, both on the electricity side and the transportation side. While we are not there yet, we are pushing forward with the President's new initiatives and agenda to find a way to make America more energy secure.

In large measure, this debate has actually been led by the chairman of the Budget Committee, who is doing an outstanding job on the budget, but has also been flexing his muscle and lending his voice, and we are so grateful and appreciative, to pushing our country to energy security.

I offer this amendment as a basis to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund that will continue the precedent and practice that was set by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which will set aside 50 percent of future funds to be allocated in a budget-neutral fashion for revenue sharing for States and local governments, along with contributions out of that fund made to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and to investments in energy innovation--those three allocations of funding, whether it is for revenue sharing to establish a partnership with State and local governments, as we consider where else in America we can drill.

This amendment does not say where we are going to drill. It does not authorize drilling. It says when those decisions are made that the revenues should be shared with State and local governments appropriately, to enter into strong, reliable partnerships and mutually beneficial partnerships for increased drilling domestically. I think this is a very smart way to proceed, and it has been voted for by over 72 Members of this Senate, both Republicans and Democrats.

In addition, we understand that a part of this money could be dedicated to conservation, land and water. It could also go to energy innovation, research, and development. So, again, it does not tie our hands to the specifics. It does not authorize any drilling that is not already authorized under the law. But it does establish a deficit reserve fund for us to act in the future.

I understand my time has come to an end. I thank the chairman for his consideration. We will call this amendment up, No. 931, at the appropriate time.

Mr. President, this amendment seeks to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund based on the current law supporting revenue sharing for coastal States contributions to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and a fund for innovative energy technology.

It would save up to, which is the current law today, which 26 Senators voted on, up to 50 percent which can be set aside from future oil and gas revenues for revenue sharing for coastal States for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and for funds to be created to invest in alternative energy technologies.

This is something that has been debated in the Senate but has been broadly supported by Republicans and Democrats. There has been some opposition. I suspect there may be some today. But there has been broad bipartisan support for revenue sharing for coastal States contributions to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and alternative energy sources.

This does not change the current law, it does not direct drilling anywhere in the country that does not already exist. That is the essence of the amendment I offer with myself and Senator Begich from Alaska.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, today the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously reported the President's nomination of Karen Gordon Mills to serve as Administrator for the Small Business Administration. I would like to thank my ranking member, Senator Snowe, who recommended Ms. Mills for this post and her staff for their work on this nomination.

I am pleased that President Obama nominated Karen Mills. I believe she has the right mix of experience and education and a willingness to serve that will benefit her in this challenging position. As our new SBA Administrator, Ms. Mills will be an extraordinary role model for entrepreneurs across America--particularly for women entrepreneurs.

Ms. Mills graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a degree in economics. She then stayed at Harvard to earn her MBA. She started out working as a product manager for General Mills and then segued into what was to become her true passion--growing new businesses. Ms. Mills is a founding partner and was managing director of Solera Capital, a NY-based venture capital firm run largely by women. She currently serves as President at MMP Group, Inc., a private equity investment and advising firm.

Ms. Mills has balanced her role in private, for-profit enterprises with active involvement in her community. This has been demonstrated in the work she has done in Maine, serving on the boards of many nonprofits that work to promote economic development. It also shows in the work that she has done for organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations.

From my meetings with Ms. Mills, it is clear that we share many of the same priorities--for example, assisting women and minority entrepreneurs and making sure small businesses can access credit in these trying economic times.

The SBA is an agency at a crossroads. Under the previous administration, the agency's funding was slashed by 28 percent--the biggest cut of any Federal agency. In my view, the agency was relegated to the back benches during important policy debates on health care, trade and technology innovation, to name a few.

We need strong, capable leadership to return this agency to its rightful place as a Federal advocate for small business interests. In Ms. Mills, I am confident that we have it.

I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I thank the Chair.

(The remarks of Ms. Landrieu pertaining to the introduction of S. 727 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar.) Without objection, it is so ordered.

Midwest Floods

Madam President, I thought I would take a minute while I was on the floor to speak about a subject you are well aware of, because in North Dakota and Minnesota, people are struggling right now and have been now for several days. There is a lot of fear that is gripping the community, and I wanted to come and show solidarity to the delegation that represents this area.

This picture was quite gripping in the paper this morning and brought back horrible memories of what we in Louisiana experienced almost 4 years ago, with water up to the rooftops of people's homes. The only difference is that the temperature was 105 degrees in Louisiana; here it looks like it is 5 degrees below zero or worse. I do not know whether it is worse to be sweltering from the heat or freezing from the cold. But, in any case, it is not pleasant at all to have your home and everything you own under 14 or 15 or 20 feet of water, it looks like in this case. It is horrible. I wanted to come to the floor to say I hope the work that the Homeland Security Committee has done over the last 2 years--and particularly the work our subcommittee has put into place-- provides sharper tools so that when this delegation goes to work with the Governors and mayors and local officials, as that work is going on now with the sandbags, and the sheriffs, and the communication, the strain on the communications system, about where this water is going to go and how people need to evacuate and what shelters are available for them, and what insurance might be available for them, they will know how these communities will be rebuilt, whether they can get a $2,000 authorized loan or a $50,000 loan on their home, or what their community is entitled to by virtue of community loans, and when those loans have to be paid back, and whether the SBA can grant them quick access.

I hope a lot of the work we have done will go to help this community. And it may be more rural in nature, it may not be the kind of urban setting that affected literally hundreds of thousands before, but it still is catastrophic and devastating to rural communities. In some cases, I understand it potentially could threaten a town that had not too long ago been completely destroyed or in large measure destroyed.

So let's hope that the system will work better. And if it does not, I wanted to say publicly that I am willing to continue to work through our subcommittee and many other subcommittees to make sure the people of North Dakota and Minnesota have what they need to recover in a swift way and to be a great help. Because, in my view, and I will conclude with this, the Federal Government should never again be absent or anemic in situations such as this. And they were in some cases absent and anemic. They need to be bold and muscular and aggressive and work with local governments to get this job done.

These are hard-working, taxpaying American citizens who deserve to have their Government step up. We are not a third world nation. We are not a developing nation. We are a sophisticated nation of governments and law, where people pay insurance, they pay their taxes. This is something beyond the wildest imagination or completely out of control, like ice getting stuck in the river where the ice is--I understand there may be chunks that are as big as an automobile or a truck.

Madam President, this is your area, and the water is backed up because of these ice packs. Again, I would just get this off my chest too. People sometimes on the other side of the aisle say: Let individuals find their own way. Well, there are times when individuals, even collectively, are not strong enough to do what needs to be done and the Government needs to come in and blow up this ice and provide help for these victims of the flooding, along with the private sector, properly, and the nonprofit groups.

So I wanted to come to the floor to speak and to say to you, Madam President, if I or my office can be of any assistance to you, please let me know.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I rise today to introduce a piece of legislation that this body has seen before, and actually we have passed a version of it by an overwhelming majority. But we have had difficulty as this bill has left this body and moved across the Capitol, and the efforts to pass this bill have actually been thwarted--not so much on the floors of the Congress or the Senate, but in committee rooms and conference committees--sometimes out of full public view. It has become an issue that must be dealt with on its substance, but also the way that sometimes bills find themselves coming to dead ends, in my view in inappropriate ways.

The record of this subject has been long discussed on the floor. But the bill attempts to end the transport of horses for slaughter to Canada and to Mexico.

This Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, a majority, has gone on record saying that the practice of inhumane slaughter of these majestic and very noble animals has no place in America. We do not use their meat for human consumption. It is no longer used even in our pet foods. This is not true in other parts of the world but it is true here in America. So we want to have a better system to handle the breeding, the raising, and the disposal of horses that are old, infirm, and sick. But taking a perfectly healthy animal and slitting its throat and then cutting it up with hatchets and saws and moving equipment while it is still alive is not what people in America would like to believe is going on. In fact it is--or was until a few years ago, until some of us got together with a great coalition and ended the practice of slaughter in the United States.

There were only three plants operating--two in Texas, one in Illinois. Those State legislators and the leaders in those States stepped up and closed down those plants. But the problem is now the 100,000 or so horses out of 900,000 that die naturally every year. We have about 9 million horses in America, 900,000 die, approximately, every year. And the great part of this story is that 95 percent of all horses die a natural and humane death because the owners are very good, they are very responsible.

Most people do what is right. That is what happens in most places, on most subjects. But there is always that small group that, for whatever reason, proceeds down a path that is wholly inappropriate, although right now legal--we hope to solve that problem--and inhumanely slaughters horses.

The USDA and our own investigation show that 98 percent of the horses that are inhumanely transported over our borders now to places that are, of course, unregulated by our Government and very modestly regulated, if at all, by the Governments of Canada and Mexico, 94 percent of these animals--92, I am sorry, 92.3 percent of those horses being sent to slaughter are healthy. They are not sick and they are not infirm and they are not old.

People say to me: Well, Senator, do you not think we have to find a way to

get rid of horses that are sick or too old? I say: Absolutely. There are humane ways to get rid of horses. But the myth and the lie and the shame of this slaughtering that is going on is that 92 percent of those animals are healthy. Many of them are young. Many of them have a great future. But because there is a loophole in our law right now, they are being treated in this way.

So I am introducing this bill with my good friend and colleague John Ensign, Senator Ensign from Nevada, the leading cosponsor, also with Senators Cardin, Boxer, Graham, Collins, McCain, Lautenberg, Menendez, Levin, Carper, Lieberman, Byrd, Kerry, and Leahy as cosponsors, original cosponsors of this legislation, entitled the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.

The way this bill would be put into place, should it be passed and signed by the President into law, is if a person is found in violation of this act, they are found to knowingly transport or sell or purchase a horse with the intent to slaughter it for human consumption, they will be fined, and there will be criminal penalties associated with this practice. If a defendant is found guilty, he or she could be sentenced up to 1 year of prison if he or she has no prior convictions. If he or she does have prior convictions, the penalty will be increased.

As I have said, although U.S. slaughterhouses have been closed, thousands of horses are inhumanely, every day, 1,500 a week, transported across our borders to this deplorable fate. Sometime horses are shipped as many as 600 miles with limited food and water. I could show you dozens of pictures. I will spare those who are on the floor and those watching from the horror of some of these pictures. But if you want to see them, there are ample pictures and evidence on the Internet available for what is a mindless and barbaric practice we want to stop.

When people say to me: Senator, how are farmers and ranchers going to afford it? It is expensive to put down a horse. It costs about $225 to humanely euthanize a horse. It costs $225 to feed a horse for 1 month. So if you can afford to purchase an animal, if you can afford to maintain an animal, you most certainly can afford the price of putting it down humanely, for the work that is done on your behalf, for the pleasure it has provided you or the transportation it has provided you.

Horses are used in our country for many different and very necessary purposes. I want to say this has been a long battle. It started many years ago. But in September of 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Illinois statute that banned the slaughterhouse from continuing.

In April of that same year, the Senate Commerce Committee voted 15 to 7 to ban slaughter. In 2007, in January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declared the slaughter of horses for food illegal in Texas, upholding a law that dated back to 1949. And on September 7--you might have still been there--the House passed H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Unfortunately, that Congress adjourned before the Senate could take it up, and the Senate did, in October, take up this matter in the agriculture appropriations bill, only to have it scuttled again.

So I submit to you that there is a broad base of bipartisan support for this legislation. I submit to you that the practice is cruel and inhumane. I submit to you that I have every court, both at the district and appellate level, that has weighed in has weighed in on the side of our efforts here today. And it is my intention, working with Senator John Ensign from Nevada, to finally get this bill passed, so we will have, once and for all, ended inhumane slaughter and created a way for horses to be put down or to die naturally and to be disposed of properly in this country, which we think will be a great testimony to the rising awareness of animal care in this Nation.

Now, when people say: She has gone too far and we are going to do the same thing for cows and goats and chickens--horses are not raised for the same purpose as cows and goats and chickens. They are never raised for slaughter. They are raised for companionship, for partnership, and that is where the line, I hope, will be drawn.

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

I rise today to introduce a piece of legislation that this body has seen before, and actually we have passed a version of it by an overwhelming majority. But we have had difficulty as this bill has left this body and moved across the Capitol, and the efforts to pass this bill have actually been thwarted--not so much on the floors of the Congress or the Senate, but in committee rooms and conference committees--sometimes out of full public view. It has become an issue that must be dealt with on its substance, but also the way that sometimes bills find themselves coming to dead ends, in my view in inappropriate ways.

The record of this subject has been long discussed on the floor. But the bill attempts to end the transport of horses for slaughter to Canada and to Mexico.

This Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, a majority, has gone on record saying that the practice of inhumane slaughter of these majestic and very noble animals has no place in America. We do not use their meat for human consumption. It is no longer used even in our pet foods. This is not true in other parts of the world but it is true here in America. So we want to have a better system to handle the breeding, the raising, and the disposal of horses that are old, infirm, and sick. But taking a perfectly healthy animal and slitting its throat and then cutting it up with hatchets and saws and moving equipment while it is still alive is not what people in America would like to believe is going on. In fact it is--or was until a few years ago, until some of us got together with a great coalition and ended the practice of slaughter in the United States.

There were only three plants operating--two in Texas, one in Illinois. Those State legislators and the leaders in those States stepped up and closed down those plants. But the problem is now the 100,000 or so horses out of 900,000 that die naturally every year. We have about 9 million horses in America, 900,000 die, approximately, every year. And the great part of this story is that 95 percent of all horses die a natural and humane death because the owners are very good, they are very responsible.

Most people do what is right. That is what happens in most places, on most subjects. But there is always that small group that, for whatever reason, proceeds down a path that is wholly inappropriate, although right now legal--we hope to solve that problem--and inhumanely slaughters horses.

The USDA and our own investigation show that 98 percent of the horses that are inhumanely transported over our borders now to places that are, of course, unregulated by our Government and very modestly regulated, if at all, by the Governments of Canada and Mexico, 94 percent of these animals--92, I am sorry, 92.3 percent of those horses being sent to slaughter are healthy. They are not sick and they are not infirm and they are not old.

People say to me: Well, Senator, do you not think we have to find a way to

get rid of horses that are sick or too old? I say: Absolutely. There are humane ways to get rid of horses. But the myth and the lie and the shame of this slaughtering that is going on is that 92 percent of those animals are healthy. Many of them are young. Many of them have a great future. But because there is a loophole in our law right now, they are being treated in this way.

So I am introducing this bill with my good friend and colleague John Ensign, Senator Ensign from Nevada, the leading cosponsor, also with Senators Cardin, Boxer, Graham, Collins, McCain, Lautenberg, Menendez, Levin, Carper, Lieberman, Byrd, Kerry, and Leahy as cosponsors, original cosponsors of this legislation, entitled the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.

The way this bill would be put into place, should it be passed and signed by the President into law, is if a person is found in violation of this act, they are found to knowingly transport or sell or purchase a horse with the intent to slaughter it for human consumption, they will be fined, and there will be criminal penalties associated with this practice. If a defendant is found guilty, he or she could be sentenced up to 1 year of prison if he or she has no prior convictions. If he or she does have prior convictions, the penalty will be increased.

As I have said, although U.S. slaughterhouses have been closed, thousands of horses are inhumanely, every day, 1,500 a week, transported across our borders to this deplorable fate. Sometime horses are shipped as many as 600 miles with limited food and water. I could show you dozens of pictures. I will spare those who are on the floor and those watching from the horror of some of these pictures. But if you want to see them, there are ample pictures and evidence on the Internet available for what is a mindless and barbaric practice we want to stop.

When people say to me: Senator, how are farmers and ranchers going to afford it? It is expensive to put down a horse. It costs about $225 to humanely euthanize a horse. It costs $225 to feed a horse for 1 month. So if you can afford to purchase an animal, if you can afford to maintain an animal, you most certainly can afford the price of putting it down humanely, for the work that is done on your behalf, for the pleasure it has provided you or the transportation it has provided you.

Horses are used in our country for many different and very necessary purposes. I want to say this has been a long battle. It started many years ago. But in September of 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Illinois statute that banned the slaughterhouse from continuing.

In April of that same year, the Senate Commerce Committee voted 15 to 7 to ban slaughter. In 2007, in January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declared the slaughter of horses for food illegal in Texas, upholding a law that dated back to 1949. And on September 7--you might have still been there--the House passed H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Unfortunately, that Congress adjourned before the Senate could take it up, and the Senate did, in October, take up this matter in the agriculture appropriations bill, only to have it scuttled again.

So I submit to you that there is a broad base of bipartisan support for this legislation. I submit to you that the practice is cruel and inhumane. I submit to you that I have every court, both at the district and appellate level, that has weighed in has weighed in on the side of our efforts here today. And it is my intention, working with Senator John Ensign from Nevada, to finally get this bill passed, so we will have, once and for all, ended inhumane slaughter and created a way for horses to be put down or to die naturally and to be disposed of properly in this country, which we think will be a great testimony to the rising awareness of animal care in this Nation.

Now, when people say: She has gone too far and we are going to do the same thing for cows and goats and chickens--horses are not raised for the same purpose as cows and goats and chickens. They are never raised for slaughter. They are raised for companionship, for partnership, and that is where the line, I hope, will be drawn.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to grant floor privilege to Brian Carter, a fellow on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for the duration of the debate on H.R. 1388.

Mr. President, I so appreciate the Senator from Maryland for managing this important bill and the Senator from Utah, both of whom have done an excellent job, along with Senator Kennedy's guidance and support during the times he could be with us to move this bill, because it has been a great work of many Members of this body, both Democrats and Republicans. Of course, Senator Enzi has also been a great leader in this effort. It is such a timely and important subject as Americans are searching amidst all of the difficulties faced in the economic climate and uncertainty on the international front.

Americans are realizing the importance of loved ones and family. They are realizing the importance of the community that is around them. For better or worse, even though we are a great travel destination--and I do want to encourage people to continue traveling as they can, particularly to places such as New Orleans and Louisiana that see a number of visitors--I think Americans are turning a little bit more inward and want to spend more time with their families and right at home in their communities.

So this bill is timely because it basically calls America to come together, and it recognizes that some of our greatest assets are not just our money--which is fleeting, as we can tell these days. I remember my father used to tell me when I was growing up, he said: The easiest thing for me to give you, sweetheart, is a $20 bill, even though we didn't have a lot of them floating around the house, but the hardest thing for me to give you is my time. That is what this bill calls for. This bill calls for us to give our time and our talents. God has given us all an equal amount; we all get 24 hours in a day. A life is made by how people spend that time, either serving themselves, worshiping idol gods, or spending their time on the things that matter.

I think this bill has such significance for us as a Nation now as we think about how to revitalize our service programs, update them, modernize them, particularly in light of the fact that we have so many healthy seniors, men and women who have achieved unimaginable success, different than many generations in the past. They find themselves at a great point in their life, in their late sixties or early seventies, very healthy, or even mid fifties. They are retiring and want to serve. So I think this is an excellent bill.

Mr. President, I come to the floor only to again congratulate the leaders and offer an amendment that gives a slight twist to a piece of this that I think is very important. I know a lot of great work has gone on. The amendment I wish to call up is amendment No. 717.

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

Mr. President, I wish to take a minute to explain the amendment. I understand both Senators managing have looked at this and both their staffs have looked at it as well. It is a slight change to the mentoring portion of this bill dealing with children at risk.

If you think of America having 300 million people, about a third of those would be children. So we have about 100 million children in America, I guess between the ages of zero and 18 or 21. That is a lot of kids to care for. We as a nation are trying to do our best as individual parents and families and communities. However, there is a special group of children--and I am going to take a minute more--there is a special group of children who are actually our children. All of these 100 million are ours theoretically. But definitely--and not in theory, but in actuality there are 500,000 children--as the Senator from Maryland knows very well because her career started as the only social worker, I think, in this body--500,000 children who are in foster care actually are children of the government, of the State, of our national and State governments. We are primarily responsible as a government for their care, their welfare, and their education.

So my amendment is quite simple. It adds a provision for a mentoring program for this special group of children, foster children who sometimes spend a few years there--sometimes a long time, unfortunately. Despite our great efforts to make foster care temporary, we know there are barriers for reunification or adoption. We are trying to work through those barriers. But we have some extraordinary, I say to my colleagues Senator Hatch and Senator

Mikulski, some extraordinary pilots underway in this country.

In States such as California, where Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger joined to support this program, there are promising results coming back about foster children in elementary and high schools who have mentors of their same age. We have always had grandparent mentoring, and that is very effective, where seniors are mentoring children. But, as you know, if you have teenagers, as I do, sometimes teenagers don't like to listen to adults. But teenagers will listen to their peers.

This is a great opportunity to have mentors from colleges and high schools coming to mentor our children who are in foster care. I will submit for the Record--because my colleague is going to speak--some exciting results.

I ask unanimous consent that a list of these results be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, that is basically the substance of my amendment. It doesn't add a special corps, but it is an amendment that says when we care for children in need, let's look especially at foster care children and promote those kinds of mentorship programs that we know work and that can make a difference.

Of all the children in America, I say to the Senator from Maryland, these children really need our focus, our attention, our love and our support. I understand this amendment can be taken up at any time that is appropriate for the managers.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation entitled the Lower Mississippi River National Historic Site Study Act. This bill will direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in Plaquemines Parish along the Lower Mississippi River Area as a unit of the National Park System. I cannot think of a more timely occasion to reintroduce this bill as Secretary Salazar is expected to be touring southeast Louisiana tomorrow.

The first step to becoming a unit in the National Park System is to conduct a special resources study to determine whether an area possesses nationally significant natural, cultural, or recreational resources to be eligible for favorable consideration. This is exactly what my bill does--it asks the Department of the Interior to take the first step in determining what I already know--that the Lower Mississippi River Area would be a suitable and feasible asset to the National Park Service.

I am proud to come to the floor today to reintroduce this bill. This area has vast historical significance and is an area with rich cultural history. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers traveled along the banks of the river. In 1682, Robert de LaSalle claimed all the land drained by the area. In 1699, the area became the site of the first fortification on the Lower Mississippi river, known as Fort Mississippi. Since then, it has been the home to 10 different fortifications, including Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson.

Fort St. Philip, which was originally built in 1749, played a key role during the Battle of New Orleans when soldiers blocked the British navy from going upriver. Fort Jackson was built at the request of GEN Andrew Jackson and partially constructed by famous local Civil War General P.G.T. Beauregard. This fort was the site of the famous Civil War battle know as the Battle of Forts which is also referred to as the ``night the war was lost.'' Mr. President, as you can see, from a historical perspective, this area has many treasures that provide us a glimpse into our past. These are areas that have national significance. They should be maintained and preserved.

There are also many other important and unique attributes to this area. This area is home to the longest continuous river road and levee system in the United States. It is also home to the ancient Head of Passes site, to the Plaquemines Bend, and to two national wildlife refuges.

Finally, this area has a rich cultural heritage. Over the years, many different cultures have made this area home including Creoles, Europeans, Indians, Yugoslavs, African-Americans and Vietnamese. These cultures have worked together to create the infrastructure for transportation of our nation's energy which is being produced by these same people out in the Gulf of Mexico off our shores. They have also created a fishing industry that contributes to Louisiana's economy.

I think it is easy to see why this area would make an excellent addition to the National Park Service. That is why I am reintroducing this bill--to begin the process of adding this area as a unit to the National Park Service by conducting a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of bringing this area into the system. I look forward to working with my colleagues to quickly enact this bill.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation entitled the Lower Mississippi River National Historic Site Study Act. This bill will direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in Plaquemines Parish along the Lower Mississippi River Area as a unit of the National Park System. I cannot think of a more timely occasion to reintroduce this bill as Secretary Salazar is expected to be touring southeast Louisiana tomorrow.

The first step to becoming a unit in the National Park System is to conduct a special resources study to determine whether an area possesses nationally significant natural, cultural, or recreational resources to be eligible for favorable consideration. This is exactly what my bill does--it asks the Department of the Interior to take the first step in determining what I already know--that the Lower Mississippi River Area would be a suitable and feasible asset to the National Park Service.

I am proud to come to the floor today to reintroduce this bill. This area has vast historical significance and is an area with rich cultural history. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers traveled along the banks of the river. In 1682, Robert de LaSalle claimed all the land drained by the area. In 1699, the area became the site of the first fortification on the Lower Mississippi river, known as Fort Mississippi. Since then, it has been the home to 10 different fortifications, including Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson.

Fort St. Philip, which was originally built in 1749, played a key role during the Battle of New Orleans when soldiers blocked the British navy from going upriver. Fort Jackson was built at the request of GEN Andrew Jackson and partially constructed by famous local Civil War General P.G.T. Beauregard. This fort was the site of the famous Civil War battle know as the Battle of Forts which is also referred to as the ``night the war was lost.'' Mr. President, as you can see, from a historical perspective, this area has many treasures that provide us a glimpse into our past. These are areas that have national significance. They should be maintained and preserved.

There are also many other important and unique attributes to this area. This area is home to the longest continuous river road and levee system in the United States. It is also home to the ancient Head of Passes site, to the Plaquemines Bend, and to two national wildlife refuges.

Finally, this area has a rich cultural heritage. Over the years, many different cultures have made this area home including Creoles, Europeans, Indians, Yugoslavs, African-Americans and Vietnamese. These cultures have worked together to create the infrastructure for transportation of our nation's energy which is being produced by these same people out in the Gulf of Mexico off our shores. They have also created a fishing industry that contributes to Louisiana's economy.

I think it is easy to see why this area would make an excellent addition to the National Park Service. That is why I am reintroducing this bill--to begin the process of adding this area as a unit to the National Park Service by conducting a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of bringing this area into the system. I look forward to working with my colleagues to quickly enact this bill.