Floor Statements

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

Mr. President, I rise today to mark the anniversary of the death of a young woman whose courage and willingness to help others should inspire us all. Fern Holland, who was murdered near the Iraqi city of Karbala at the age of 33 a year ago today, lived her life to create the most equal and just global society obtainable. In light of International Women's Day, which was yesterday, I think it is only fitting that we honor the life of someone who led the fight to protect women throughout the world. Fern Holland realized the importance of helping others early in her life, which is exemplified by the path she chose.

There are hundreds of people whose lives have been touched by Fern Holland and I believe her legacy will live long beyond her years on Earth. In the January before her death Holland wrote in an e-mail to her former boss, Tulsa lawyer Stephen Rodolf. ``I love the work and if I die, know that I'm doing precisely what I want to be doing--working to organize and educate human rights activists and women's groups.

I urge my colleagues to remember Fern Holland when they have lost the strength to continue to work for the good of all people. We must diligently work to sustain the passion Fern Holland possessed. As a living memorial to her, I challenge each of my colleagues to continue to work for a better future for all people, particularly those without their own voice. I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to her family who are feeling this loss more than anyone else.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and use this day as a time to remember Fern Holland's extraordinary life and to use her example to recommit ourselves to the better good of all people.

Mr. President, tax day is right around the corner; just over a month away. For most Americans, April 15 is rather routine. You spend several days or weeks determining the amount you owe and you pay it. But for Christina and Raymond F., two of my constituents--I will not use their last name to maintain their privacy--of Avondale, LA, this upcoming tax day is going to be anything but routine. Earlier this year, Christina and Raymond received a letter from their parish government informing them that they must add $45,000 to their gross income this year.

You see, Christina and Raymond's home is located in a flood zone. That is not unusual in Louisiana. Twenty percent of the coastal zone of my state lies below sea level, including 80 percent of our largest city New Orleans. In order to protect their home from rising waters, they applied to their local parish to get flood mitigation assistance to raise their home above the base flood elevation in their area. To qualify, they had to raise $20,000, which they did by refinancing their home, and the parish paid the remaining $45,000 through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. What Christina and Raymond did not realize was that at the very same time that they were having this work done on their home, the Internal Revenue Service had decided that FEMA disaster mitigation assistance should be taxable. So now, this couple is going to have to pay taxes on $45,000 even though they never saw a dime of this money.

This news hit this family like a Category 4 hurricane. When Christina called my office she thought she said she would have to sell her house in order pay the IRS. This is a family with modest means, living in a neighborhood that they describe as working class. Her husband's medical costs are astronomical--$1,400 per month for his medication alone. The house is worth about $100,000 and the mitigation work did not add a significant amount to its value according to an appraisal they received. You can imagine that under these circumstances, the taxes on an additional $45,000 would wipe them out.

In a place like Louisiana where hurricanes and floods are as much a part of life as crawfish boils and Mardi Gras, the key to our peace of mind is the National Flood Insurance Program administered by FEMA. In Louisiana, 377,000 property owners participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. It is a real Godsend to the people of my state.

In addition, the National Flood Insurance Program provides funding for property owners to flood-proof their homes through the flood mitigation grant program. FEMA distributes these grant funds to the states which then pass them along to local communities. The local communities select properties for mitigation and contract for the mitigation services. Communities use these funds to put homes on stilts, improve drainage on property, and to acquire flood proofing materials. These mitigation grants encourage property owners to take responsible steps to lessen the potential for loss of life and property damage due to future flooding. The grants also have the added benefit of saving money in the long term for the Flood Insurance program.

But the IRS has turned this valuable disaster preparedness and prevention program into a financial disaster for responsible property owners by making these payments taxable. The first time Christina and Raymond learned that this funding was taxable was when their local community sent them a letter at the beginning of this year.

All the people in my state ask for is a warning and an opportunity to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones from these disasters. Through the state-of-the-art systems developed by the National Weather Service, we can get a warning about a hurricane. We have sophisticated radar to track these storms as they move through the Gulf of Mexico, or up the East Coast. When a Category 4 is coming we can prepare and pray. The IRS is making us prepare and pay.

This tax is unfair, unexpected, and an unfortunate policy decision. Unfair and unexpected because no one told Christina and Raymond that they would be taxed for accepting FEMA disaster mitigation assistance. The local officials in their parish were just as surprised as the property owners were. It is unfortunate policy because in the long term, the IRS will undercut the effectiveness of using mitigation as a means of decreasing future costs to the flood insurance program. It will force people to take risks that they will not be hit by a disaster.

Today, I am introducing legislation to protect these responsible property owners from this unfair tax. My bill excludes disaster mitigation assistance from gross income. I have made it retroactive to last year in order to protect those property owners who received assistance in 2004.

I understand that a companion measure has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Mark Foley of Florida. It is supported by a number of House members from states with high incidents of flooding and other natural disasters, many from Louisiana. I applaud their efforts.

But this is not a regional, special-interest bill. FEMA makes mitigation grants for a variety of hazards in addition to flooding: fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, thunderstorms, dam failures, and a host of others. This is not a problem just for properties that flood. So if your citizens have used a federal disaster mitigation program to help make their properties safer, the tax man will come for them too.

It is essential that the Congress consider this legislation and pass it as soon as possible. As I said at the start of my remarks, tax day is coming. We need to act to protect responsible property owners from paying this unfair tax.

Mr. President, tax day is right around the corner; just over a month away. For most Americans, April 15 is rather routine. You spend several days or weeks determining the amount you owe and you pay it. But for Christina and Raymond F., two of my constituents--I will not use their last name to maintain their privacy--of Avondale, LA, this upcoming tax day is going to be anything but routine. Earlier this year, Christina and Raymond received a letter from their parish government informing them that they must add $45,000 to their gross income this year.

You see, Christina and Raymond's home is located in a flood zone. That is not unusual in Louisiana. Twenty percent of the coastal zone of my state lies below sea level, including 80 percent of our largest city New Orleans. In order to protect their home from rising waters, they applied to their local parish to get flood mitigation assistance to raise their home above the base flood elevation in their area. To qualify, they had to raise $20,000, which they did by refinancing their home, and the parish paid the remaining $45,000 through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. What Christina and Raymond did not realize was that at the very same time that they were having this work done on their home, the Internal Revenue Service had decided that FEMA disaster mitigation assistance should be taxable. So now, this couple is going to have to pay taxes on $45,000 even though they never saw a dime of this money.

This news hit this family like a Category 4 hurricane. When Christina called my office she thought she said she would have to sell her house in order pay the IRS. This is a family with modest means, living in a neighborhood that they describe as working class. Her husband's medical costs are astronomical--$1,400 per month for his medication alone. The house is worth about $100,000 and the mitigation work did not add a significant amount to its value according to an appraisal they received. You can imagine that under these circumstances, the taxes on an additional $45,000 would wipe them out.

In a place like Louisiana where hurricanes and floods are as much a part of life as crawfish boils and Mardi Gras, the key to our peace of mind is the National Flood Insurance Program administered by FEMA. In Louisiana, 377,000 property owners participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. It is a real Godsend to the people of my state.

In addition, the National Flood Insurance Program provides funding for property owners to flood-proof their homes through the flood mitigation grant program. FEMA distributes these grant funds to the states which then pass them along to local communities. The local communities select properties for mitigation and contract for the mitigation services. Communities use these funds to put homes on stilts, improve drainage on property, and to acquire flood proofing materials. These mitigation grants encourage property owners to take responsible steps to lessen the potential for loss of life and property damage due to future flooding. The grants also have the added benefit of saving money in the long term for the Flood Insurance program.

But the IRS has turned this valuable disaster preparedness and prevention program into a financial disaster for responsible property owners by making these payments taxable. The first time Christina and Raymond learned that this funding was taxable was when their local community sent them a letter at the beginning of this year.

All the people in my state ask for is a warning and an opportunity to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones from these disasters. Through the state-of-the-art systems developed by the National Weather Service, we can get a warning about a hurricane. We have sophisticated radar to track these storms as they move through the Gulf of Mexico, or up the East Coast. When a Category 4 is coming we can prepare and pray. The IRS is making us prepare and pay.

This tax is unfair, unexpected, and an unfortunate policy decision. Unfair and unexpected because no one told Christina and Raymond that they would be taxed for accepting FEMA disaster mitigation assistance. The local officials in their parish were just as surprised as the property owners were. It is unfortunate policy because in the long term, the IRS will undercut the effectiveness of using mitigation as a means of decreasing future costs to the flood insurance program. It will force people to take risks that they will not be hit by a disaster.

Today, I am introducing legislation to protect these responsible property owners from this unfair tax. My bill excludes disaster mitigation assistance from gross income. I have made it retroactive to last year in order to protect those property owners who received assistance in 2004.

I understand that a companion measure has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Mark Foley of Florida. It is supported by a number of House members from states with high incidents of flooding and other natural disasters, many from Louisiana. I applaud their efforts.

But this is not a regional, special-interest bill. FEMA makes mitigation grants for a variety of hazards in addition to flooding: fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, thunderstorms, dam failures, and a host of others. This is not a problem just for properties that flood. So if your citizens have used a federal disaster mitigation program to help make their properties safer, the tax man will come for them too.

It is essential that the Congress consider this legislation and pass it as soon as possible. As I said at the start of my remarks, tax day is coming. We need to act to protect responsible property owners from paying this unfair tax.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life of Mr. John ``Red'' Bourg, who passed away last October. Red Bourg served his family, his State and his country well, and deserves the recognition of this body.

Red was a devout Christian, and he made a wonderful home in Baton Rouge with his wife Mildred and their two children, Brenda and Ronnie. Red loved and cared for the people of the State of Louisiana and the United States, and worked to improve their quality of life until the day he died.

In addition to being a great family man, Red Bourg served our country in peace and in war. As a young man, he joined the United States Marine Corps and fought in the Korean War, serving with honor and distinction. Years after returning, Red was selected to become the Louisiana State Commander of the Marine Corps League, an impressive honor, for an equally impressive person.

However, Red was best known for his work with the Louisiana AFL-CIO. He worked his way up the union ladder, beginning as a member of the Local 995 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and climbing all the way to become the president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO. Red joined the staff at the AFL-CIO in 1967, becoming the assistant to the president and in 1997, some 30 years later, he became President of that great organization. I think that says a lot about the hard work and determination of the man.

I once again honor my friend, Mr. John ``Red'' Bourg, for his efforts on Louisiana's behalf. I knew Red my entire adult life and can attest that he is truly missed. I know I speak for many others when I say that Red Bourg will always be fondly remembered for the outstanding service he has rendered to his State and his Nation.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the service of Sibal Holt, who is the first female and the first African American to serve as the President of the Louisiana AFL-CIO. Firsts like these have become commonplace for this barrier-breaking woman.

She has long been a trailblazer in the State of Louisiana. She became the first African American to be hired into the Bell System and also the first registered lobbyist in the State of Louisiana, both remarkable achievements given the climate of the times.

Sibal Holt has been a selfless steward of her community. She formerly served as the president of the Louisiana American Red Cross, as well as other charitable organizations, such as Volunteer Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Women's Resource Center. Sibal is probably most recognized for her pioneering efforts in voter registration. Holt once led a statewide voter registration drive, resulting in an astounding 70,000 new voters for Louisiana.

But it is the AFL-CIO where she has left her biggest imprint. Sibal began her work at the AFL-CIO in 1975, not surprisingly becoming the first minority selected to join the Executive Board of any State's AFL- CIO. Twenty-two years later, in 1997, she became the union's Secretary/ Treasurer, serving in that capacity until she was elected president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO in November 2004, replacing John ``Red'' Bourg after his untimely death.

I once again congratulate my friend, Sibal Holt, for her groundbreaking accomplishments on behalf of the working class in the State of Louisiana. It is people such as Sibal that continue to make Louisiana such a dynamic State.

I thank the Chair. I rise to say a few words to congratulate my colleague, a gentleman I have known for many years and so many in Louisiana and around the Nation have come to admire and respect for his energy and commitment. I can only say the only disappointment in his maiden speech is that he did not call for the Mardi Gras to be a national holiday. The two of us are going to join forces and continue to work on that. I think most of our colleagues would readily sign that resolution, so we will see.

But let me in seriousness thank him for joining the effort and putting his shoulder to the wheel to lower prescription drug costs for the people of Louisiana and our Nation. There are many critically important and urgent issues before the Congress but that ranks among the top. I believe his expertise in that area is going to be called on often in the next few months as this debate continues.

Also, I would need to mention that I thank him for his efforts in mentioning and fighting for, both in his time in the House and the Louisiana Legislature, the issue of coastal erosion. I see our good friend, the Senator from Arkansas, in the Chamber, and I was joking with his colleague, Senator Lincoln, last night, saying if we are not successful in our efforts against coastal erosion, they, too, will have the great benefit of representing a coastal State because Louisiana may not be there if we do not address this issue.

On accountability in education, this Congress has made remarkable progress, and our State, you may not realize but as Senator Vitter knows, is leading the Nation in both accountability and also requirements in those new standards, and on transportation. I look forward to working with him.

He has two excellent committee assignments on Commerce and EPA. He will follow in the great footsteps of Senator John Breaux who served so ably on the Committee on Commerce in the area of fisheries as well as coastal issues on that committee, and on Transportation.

So I say to Senator Vitter, welcome to the Senate. Your energy, your enthusiasm, and your vision are going to mean a great deal to strengthen this already august body. Thank you and God bless you in your term.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Tomorrow evening the Louisiana State University women's basketball team, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the Nation, will take on the fifth ranked University of Tennessee's Lady Volunteers. On Friday, LSU's lady gymnastics team, ranked third in the Nation, will face the women of the University of Georgia, ranked seventh nationally.

While I mention these two sporting events to highlight the achievements of the lady Tigers, I am also citing them to show how far women's sports have come in the past 35 years. Girls and women in sports today are leading our high schools, our colleges and universities, and our society. Seimone Augustus, the 6' 1" guard for LSU's women's basketball team, is now a candidate to receive the Player of the Year Award for 2005. Last year, Carly Patterson of Baton Rouge, LA, became the first American woman since Mary Lou Retton to win the women's all-around competition for gymnastics.

In an age in which one in six girls are obese and heart disease is the number one cause of death among American women, it is important that we encourage our girls to participate in athletics and other physical activities. And the benefits that girls receive from participating in sports are far more than physical. Through sports, young girls learn leadership, self confidence, teamwork, and a host of other skills that they will use through their entire life. It is important that we, as a society, support these girls and women in their athletic endeavors.

Aside from just praising the fine women sports teams of Louisiana, I would like to offer special thanks to the organizations that are members of the coalition for National Girls and Women in Sports Day: the American Association of University Women, Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, the National Women's Law Center, the Women's Sports Foundation, and the YWCA USA.

Introducing our young women to athletics and encouraging their active participation in such events, is an important task, and one I look forward to doing with my own daughter. Today I commend the achievements of all girls and women throughout this country that participate in sports, and ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Mr. President, I join with my colleague, the junior senator from Virginia, to resubmit our resolution of apology for the Senate's failure to pass anti-lynching legislation. We brought this legislation to the Senate's attention in the closing days of the 108th Congress, and indicated then that we would return in February, Black History Month, and seek its adoption his body.

When submitting the resolution earlier, I provided a narrative that described the horrors lynching. It is not necessary to review those facts at this time. The focus of my comments today concerns a critique of the need for this bill. As with many historical errors, there are those who suggest that we are looking at history with twenty-twenty vision. They assert we cannot pass judgment on people living in another context; everyone is blind to their own prejudices, while seeing those of the past clearly.

That is a critique that has a lot of merit in some cases. Societal morays evolve. In fact, our nation's entire history may be viewed as a giant experiment. Viewed from this perspective we find a slow, evolutionary understanding of the meanings of justice, liberty and democracy. However, Senator Allen and I remain confident in what we are seeking to do. The reason is that the Senate's failure to pass anti- lynching legislation is not merely a tragedy now, it was a tragedy then.

Socrates taught us that ``the greatest way to live with honor in this world is

to be what we pretend to be.'' The Senate filibusters that blocked anti-lynching legislation on three separate occasions besmirched the honor of this institution. We style ourselves the greatest deliberative body in the world, yet we showed little real deliberation on those days. We think of ourselves as the ``saucer'' that cools the passions of the House of Representatives. Yet the passions that needed cooling were found in this chamber. We argue that the Senate is the institution that protects the grand traditions of our nation, yet it was the traditions of the Declaration of Independence that we trampled over on those occasions. In short, when we consider the Senate's role in anti- lynching legislation, we simply were not what we pretend to be.

There is other contextual evidence that the Senate was out of step with justice and morality even when viewed at the time. In 1918, in the midst of the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson pleaded for the enactment of anti-lynching legislation. He stated:

There have been many lynchings and every one of them has

been a blow at the heart of ordered law and humane justice.

No man who loves America, no man who really cares for her

fame and honor and character, or who is truly loyal to her

institutions, can justify mob action while the courts of

justice are open and the Governments of the States and the

Nation are ready and able to do their duty . . . We proudly

claim to be the champions of democracy. If we really are in

deed and in truth, let us see to it that we do not discredit

our own. I say, plainly, that every American who takes part

in the action of a mob or gives any sort of countenance is no

true son of this great democracy, but its betrayer, and does

more to discredit her by that single disloyalty to her

standards of law and right than the words or her statesmen or

the sacrifices of her heroic boys in the trenches can do to

make suffering peoples believe her to be their savior.

There are two remarkable things about this quote. First, it is an indication of just how much lynching was impacting our country's reputation. In the middle of an enormous military effort that allied the forces of democracy against the great autocratic empires, the President had to take to reprimand his own countrymen. Furthermore, historians have long noted that President Wilson did not hold particularly progressive views of African Americans. Nevertheless, here he is taking his countrymen to task. Why? Because the injustice of our actions was clear to him, and were being laid bare--rather embarrassingly--before the whole world. While we struggled to demonstrate the strength and righteousness of democracy, we were belying our own story with lynchings. Once again, we simply were not being what we pretended to be.

Finally, I know in my heart that the people of the South were aware of the injustice that they were inflicting on African Americans. I know because I understand how deeply important religion and Christianity are to the people of the South. It pervades every aspect of our culture and history. But it was surely lost on no one in the South that the greatest victim of mob violence was Jesus. When looking at James Allen's book ``Without Sanctuary'' I think people will get a sense of God's suffering. You will also see the tragedy of humanity in the faces of the crowds. You quickly realize that man's inhumanity to man is an ancient question that still plagues us today. Yet in the helpless nobility of the victims, we are also reminded that God intends true peace and justice to come in the next world and not this one.

We have an opportunity today to teach, an opportunity to express remorse, and most importantly an opportunity to be what we pretend to be. In so doing, I hope we may return some of the lost honor of this Chamber.

Mr. President, it has been said that ``ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.'' Sadly, this great body, in which I am so proud to serve, once allied its power with ignorance. In so doing, it condoned unspeakable injustice that diminished the role of the Senate, and heaped untold suffering on Americans sorely in need of our protection. I am referring to the Senate's role in the decades long campaign to end lynching in this country. On three separate occasions, our colleagues in the House of Representatives passed anti- lynching legislation with overwhelming majorities. On all three of those occasions members of this Chamber blocked, or filibustered the consideration of that legislation.

Between 1882, when records first began to be collected, and 1968 4,742 Americans lost their lives to lynch mobs. The experts believe that undocumented cases might double that figure. The vast majority of those killed --3,445 Americans--were African American. Sadly, a disproportionate number of those deaths occurred within my home region of the South, but 46 of the 50 States experienced these atrocities. Lynching was truly a national problem deserving the attention of the national legislative bodies.

Frederick Douglas seems to have captured the real reason for this dark period of our national history. These acts of terrorism were not so much an admission of African Americans' weakness, but of their perseverance, and indomitable spirit. Douglas wrote:

It is proof that the Negro is not standing still. He is not

dead, but alive and active. He is not drifting with the

current, but manfully resisting it . . . A ship rotting at

anchor meets with no resistance, but when she sails on the

sea, she has to buffet opposing billows. The enemies of the

Negro see that he is making progress and they naturally wish

to stop him and keep him in just what they consider his

proper place.

It was, in short, the ability of African Americans to overcome Jim Crow laws, to overcome share-cropping, to overcome second-class citizenship that provoked such savagery. Its an old story that repeats itself throughout human history. Whether it was the Israelites in Egypt, the colonial empires in Africa or America's own history of Apartheid, rulers that assume superiority inevitably prove themselves models of mankind's basest instincts.

It should also be noted that this was not only an outrage committed against African Americans. The effort to dehumanize people on the basis of race or ethnicity did not limit itself to black Americans. In fact, the single largest incident of lynching occurred in my home State, in my home town of New Orleans. Yet, the victims were not black. They were Italians. On March 14, 1891, 11 Italian immigrants were lynched in the city of New Orleans. These immigrants too were thought to be less than human, and were simply rounded up as a group of the ``usual suspects'' following the murder of Police Superintendent David Hennessy. Already edgy from a media prompted Mafia scare, a mob surrounded the prison and eventually battered down the doors. An armed group of 25 men overtook the guards and summarily riddled the bodies of the 11 Italian prisoners with bullets. Their bodies were hung on lampposts outside the prison. Eyewitnesses described the cheering of the crowd as deafening.

Of course, the attacks on that day are an example of mob justice and its irrational prejudices. However, in nearly 25 percent of all lynchings the motivations of the attackers came down to a bald attempt to maintain a caste system in this country. The NAACP cataloged the reported motivations for these forms of attack. They included: using disrespectful, insulting, slanderous, boastful, threatening or incendiary language; insubordination, impertinence, or improper demeanor, a sarcastic grin, laughing at the wrong place, a prolonged silence; refusing to take off one's hat to a white person or to give the right-of-way when encountering a white on the sidewalk; resisting assault by whites; being troublesome generally; disorderly conduct, petty theft or drunkenness; writing an improper letter to a white person; paying undue or improper attention to a white female; accusing a white man of writing love letters to a black woman; or living or keeping company with a white woman; turning or refusing to turn State's evidence; testifying or bringing suit against a white person; being related to a person accused of a crime and already lynched; political activities; union organizing; conjuring; discussing a lynching; gambling; operating a house of ill fame; a personal debt; refusing to accept an employment offer; vagrancy; refusing to give up one's farm; conspicuously displaying one's wealth or property; and trying to act like a white man.

In many instances, lynchings were little more than a way to remove an economic competitor and confiscate his property. This was true in a number of cases in Mississippi involving successful African American landowners,

and in one notorious Hawaiian case involving a Japanese immigrant competing with established white businessmen.

Many of my colleagues might wonder why now? After all, some of these incidents are over a century old. There are two reasons. First, this aspect of American history is not well known or understood. As reconstruction concluded in the South, a very ugly struggle to reassert the social structure that preceded the Civil War took place. A great deal of it occurred with the tacit consent of the Federal Government, and the most part, the media either shared in the common prejudice, or simply ignored what was occurring.

Fortunately, we have the publication of the book ``Without Sanctuary'' by James Allen, Hilton Als, Congressman John Lewis, and Leon F. Litwak to serve as a focal point for our attention to this neglected history. This is a difficult book to examine. It serves as a catalog of inhuman crime perpetrated by very ordinary citizens. Looking at anything so tragic as the victims of these crimes would be disturbing, but that is not what will leave a lasting impression. It is the festive attitude, the smiles and smirks on the crowd gathered around the victim. They clearly take a perverse pride in this act. Hannah Arendt, the famous political philosopher, subtitled her book on Adolph Eichman's war crimes trials ``A Report on the Banality of Evil.'' When you look at the expressions on the faces of the murders in these photos, that is all you can think about. These are not crazed killers, these are rational people going about their every day lives, and committing unspeakable acts in the process.

Photos like these serve to remind us that a healthy society is not something that is built up over time, and then like a great monument, exists for centuries. Rather, a healthy society is a thin levee that must be constantly improved and maintained to hold back the worst instincts of mankind. I think the horrible pictures that came from Abu Gharib prison served as a reminder of this lesson. This book is even greater testimony that atrocities are not events that only occur in far off places. They can and have occurred here in the United States.

The only way to maintain a healthy society is to acknowledge and discuss our mistakes. No one would defend the Senate's filibuster of anti-lynching legislation today. I would like to think that any Senator who did so would quickly be looking for another line of work. However, despite the change of attitude we have taken no action to remedy our wrong. That is the purpose of this resolution today. I would like to extend my deep thanks to my courageous colleague, the Junion Senator from Virginia. He seemed to instantly understand the significance of this effort, and I believe it was vitally important to proceed with this resolution in a bipartisan manner. His input and drive have made this effort much more successful than it otherwise would have been.

It is our intention to introduce this legislation today, and use the recess period to confer with our colleagues about it. When we reconvene next year, we will re-introduce this resolution, and at that time, we hope to have the co-sponsorship of every member of this body. Then, we endeavor to enact the resolution to commemorate Black History month.

I said ignorance allied with power is justice's most ferocious enemy. Yet imagine what truth allied with power can bring. For over 50 years, African American achievement was seen as a threat to the majority of people in this nation. It is time to close the book on that tragic period and begin to celebrate the achievements of black Americans as accomplishments that have bettered us all. I believe that this resolution of apology will be an important symbolic step in this process of healing and growth.

Mr. President, we have all heard the expression, ``To err is human.'' We teach our children that mistakes are okay because we learn from them. However, there are some mistakes that are more costly to make than others. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled, ``To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.'' The report revealed the following devastating statistic: every year, between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized people in the United States die due to medical errors.

Science has not yet found a cure to cancer or even the common cold, but it has discovered a way to prevent the thousands of fatalities that occur every year due to medical errors. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations developed a universal protocol that calls for surgical teams to literally call a ``time out'' before surgeries begin. This ``time out'' serves a brief period for surgeons and nurses to verify the patient's identity, the procedure to be performed, and the site of the procedure. Endorsed by the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Hospital Association, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, this idea of a ``time out'' may seem almost simplistic, but the fact of the matter is even the best surgeon in the world can make a very costly mistake if he or she does not stop for a moment for surgery and take a ``time out.

Therefore, it is my pleasure to rise today to submit this resolution, which promotes a National Time Out Day and promotes the adoption of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's universal protocol for preventing errors in the operating room.

To err may be human, but for the thousands of relatives that are currently sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery, human error is not an acceptable answer.

Mr. President, in Louisiana, hurricanes and floods are as much a part of life as crawfish boils and Mardi Gras. Twenty percent of the coastal zone of my State lies below sea level, including 80 percent of our largest city New Orleans. Because of this our State has one of the finest and extensive levee systems in the world. Our communities have well developed flood plain management plans. We have built flood walls to protect neighborhoods from rising waters and homeowners in flood zones have built their houses on stilts.

Even with all of this preparation, flood damage does occur. It is estimated that Louisiana suffered more than $47 million in losses from flooding in 2003. To address this, 377,000 property owners participate in the National Flood Insurance Program--a program that is a real godsend to the people of my State. This program is fully financed by insurance premiums paid by property owners to cover damage to their homes and businesses as a result of flooding. The program also provides funding for property owners to flood-proof their homes under the mitigation grant program. They can use these grants to put their homes on stilts, improve drainage, and obtain waterproofing materials.

All the people in my state ask for is a warning and an opportunity to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones from these disasters. Through the state-of-the-art systems developed by the National Weather Service, we can get a warning about a hurricane. We have sophisticated radar to track these storms as they move through the Gulf of Mexico, or up the East Coast. When a Category 4 is coming we can prepare and pray.

But they did not have any warning that the Federal government--more specifically the IRS--would begin to tax the money they received to prevent damages to their property from hurricanes and floods. Yet that has not stopped the IRS from making and implementing one of the most misguided and unfair decisions.

Let me be clear about what this has meant for people in my State. I heard from one man who told me that he was going to be liable for tax on an additional $218,000 in income for grant money used to do mitigation work on his home. He said he would have to work until he was 90 years old in order to pay off the tax bill.

What is worse, is that this misguided decision by the IRS will hit all natural disaster mitigation assistance covered by the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and the National Flood Insurance Programs. Instead of protecting their properties, the IRS decision will force people to take risks that they will not be hit by a disaster.

I applaud my colleague from Missouri for introducing this legislation to fix this problem and I am proud to be an original cosponsor. This is not a regional, special-interest bill. Natural disasters can strike almost anywhere at any time. If your citizens have used a federal program to help make their property safer, the tax man will come for them too. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. President, in Louisiana, hurricanes and floods are as much a part of life as crawfish boils and Mardi Gras. Twenty percent of the coastal zone of my State lies below sea level, including 80 percent of our largest city New Orleans. Because of this our State has one of the finest and extensive levee systems in the world. Our communities have well developed flood plain management plans. We have built flood walls to protect neighborhoods from rising waters and homeowners in flood zones have built their houses on stilts.

Even with all of this preparation, flood damage does occur. It is estimated that Louisiana suffered more than $47 million in losses from flooding in 2003. To address this, 377,000 property owners participate in the National Flood Insurance Program--a program that is a real godsend to the people of my State. This program is fully financed by insurance premiums paid by property owners to cover damage to their homes and businesses as a result of flooding. The program also provides funding for property owners to flood-proof their homes under the mitigation grant program. They can use these grants to put their homes on stilts, improve drainage, and obtain waterproofing materials.

All the people in my state ask for is a warning and an opportunity to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones from these disasters. Through the state-of-the-art systems developed by the National Weather Service, we can get a warning about a hurricane. We have sophisticated radar to track these storms as they move through the Gulf of Mexico, or up the East Coast. When a Category 4 is coming we can prepare and pray.

But they did not have any warning that the Federal government--more specifically the IRS--would begin to tax the money they received to prevent damages to their property from hurricanes and floods. Yet that has not stopped the IRS from making and implementing one of the most misguided and unfair decisions.

Let me be clear about what this has meant for people in my State. I heard from one man who told me that he was going to be liable for tax on an additional $218,000 in income for grant money used to do mitigation work on his home. He said he would have to work until he was 90 years old in order to pay off the tax bill.

What is worse, is that this misguided decision by the IRS will hit all natural disaster mitigation assistance covered by the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and the National Flood Insurance Programs. Instead of protecting their properties, the IRS decision will force people to take risks that they will not be hit by a disaster.

I applaud my colleague from Missouri for introducing this legislation to fix this problem and I am proud to be an original cosponsor. This is not a regional, special-interest bill. Natural disasters can strike almost anywhere at any time. If your citizens have used a federal program to help make their property safer, the tax man will come for them too. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. President, I am pleased to recognize that today, February 2, 2005, is National Appreciation Day for Catholic Schools. As a proud graduate of Catholic schools, I am delighted to be able to meet some of these Catholic school student leaders to let them know what an investment in our future they are.

The spirit of Catholic schools has been present in the United States since the first settlers arrived in America. In 1606 the Franciscans opened a school in what is now St. Augustine, FL. During the next century, the Franciscans and Ursulines established Catholic schools throughout the American colonies: in Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and even in non-British colonial locales, such as New Orleans. After the American Revolution, Catholic patriots worked to open the first official parochial school in the United States, St. Mary's School, established in 1782 in Philadelphia. In 1789 Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the United States, was founded right here in the District.

Catholic schools have offered much more to the United States than just longevity, however; America's Catholic schools have offered an academic excellence that has helped to influence the moral, intellectual, physical, and social values of our youth for over 300 years. As Baltimore Archbishop Cardinal James Gibbons said, ``Education must make a person not only clever but good.'' For more than three centuries, Catholic schools in this country

have worked to do just that. They have inspired our youth, enriched our communities, and provided a moral support for millions.

Today, with over 2.6 million students enrolled in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, they are working as hard as ever to enhance the education of our youth.

On a personal level, Catholic schools have greatly influenced who I am today. It was at my alma mater, Ursuline Academy of New Orleans, that I sought my first elected office. As seventh grade class vice- president, I took to heart the Academy's motto of serviam and fully embraced the words of the founder of the Ursuline Sisters, St. Angela Merici that it is better ``to serve than to be served.'' The promotion of educational excellence, the development of the whole person, community, and family, and the dedication to service are values that I am grateful Ursuline reinforced.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I offer my utmost congratulations and thanks to the Catholic schools, students, parents, and teachers across the Nation and specifically in Louisiana for the ongoing contributions they have made in the area of education. You have done remarkable work over the years, and I thank you for everything.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today on World Wetlands Day to acknowledge the proclamation by the Governor of our State that today, February 2, America's Wetlands Day in Louisiana. World Wetlands Day is a day that we join together with people around the world to bring public awareness to the benefits and values of wetlands as well as the severe challenges that confront them. February 2 of each year marks the date of the signing in 1971 of the Convention on Wetlands which provided a framework for national action and international cooperation toward the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Wetlands can be found in every country and are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.

Those of us from Louisiana bring a rather unique perspective to the subject of wetlands. You see, Louisiana's coast is really America's wetland. It is not a beach, but a vast landscape of wetlands. The landscape that extends along Louisiana's coast is one of the largest and most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America. It is the seventh largest delta on Earth, where the Mississippi River drains two-thirds of the United States. It is also one of the most productive environments in America--``working wetlands'' as they are known to Louisianians--producing more seafood than any other State in the lower 48. It is the nursery ground for the Gulf of Mexico and habitat for the one of the greatest flyways in the world for millions of waterfowl and migratory songbirds.

Louisiana's coastal wetlands provide storm protection for ports that carry nearly 500 million tons of waterborne commerce annually--the largest port system in the world by tonnage. That accounts for 21 percent of all waterborne commerce in the United States each year. In fact, four of the top ten largest ports in the United States are located in Louisiana.

These wetlands also offer protection from storm surge for 2 million people and a unique culture. However, what should be of fundamental interest to those of us here is the role these wetlands play in our Nation's energy security by not only protecting the Nation's critical energy infrastructure but also providing the energy supply that runs our daily lives.

Eighty percent of the Nation's offshore oil and gas supply, which is almost 30 percent of all the oil and gas consumed in this country, passes through these wetlands to be distributed to the rest of the Nation. There are more than 20,000 miles of pipelines in Federal offshore lands and thousands more inland that all make landfall on Louisiana's barrier islands and wetland shorelines. The barrier islands are the first line of defense against the combined wind and water forces of a hurricane, and they serve as anchor points for pipelines originating offshore.

Annual returns to the Federal Government of oil and gas receipts from production on the Outer Continental Shelf, OCS, average more than $5 billion annually. No single area has contributed as much to the Federal treasury as the OCS. In fact, since 1953, the OCS has contributed $140 billion to the U.S. Treasury.

Between 80 and 90 percent of that amount has come from offshore Louisiana. In 2003, almost $6 billion in offshore revenues went into the Federal treasury, and more than $5 billion, or 80 percent of that amount came from offshore Louisiana. Today the OCS supplies more than 25 percent of our Nation's natural gas production and more than 30 percent our domestic oil production, with the promise of more--expected to reach 40 percent by 2008. In fact, the OCS supplies more oil to our Nation than any other country including Saudi Arabia.

In addition to domestic production, Louisiana's coast is the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, LOOP, America's only offshore oil port. LOOP handles about 15 percent of this country's foreign oil and is connected to more than 30 percent of the total refining capacity in the U.S. Much of the support infrastructure is located in the most rapidly deteriorating coastal areas. In addition to LOOP, one will find two storage sites for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, SPR, and Henry Hub, one of the Nation's major natural gas distribution centers.

Port Fourchon, which supports 75 percent of the deepwater production in the Gulf, is the geographic and economic center of offshore drilling efforts along the Louisiana Coast. This port, and much of the Nation's energy supply, is connected to the mainland by a 17-mile stretch of two-lane highway--LA 1--that is inundated by flooding in relatively mild storms and is vulnerable to being washed out completely.

The oil and gas produced offshore Louisiana moves through a maze of pipelines that crisscross our State delivering energy to other regions of the country. In order to preserve this supply, Louisiana must be able to continue to host this production. Unfortunately, the very coastal wetlands that support the critical infrastructure necessary to deliver the energy are washing away at an alarming rate leaving pipelines and other energy infrastructure vulnerable to the whims of Mother Nature.

When Hurricane Ivan struck back in September, it should have been a wake-up call to us all. Although the storm did not directly hit Louisiana, its impact on prices and supply continues to be felt today. Four months later, a percentage of oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains offline as a result of the storm, directly contributing to higher oil and gas prices in our country. One can only imagine what the impact would have been to supply and prices had Ivan cut a more Western path in the Gulf.

Louisiana is losing its coastal land at the staggering rate of 25 square miles a year. That is square miles, not acres. That is a football field every 30 minutes. We lost more than 1,900 square miles in the past 70 years, and the U.S. Geological Survey predicts we will lose another 1,000 if decisive action is not taken now to save it. The effects of natural processes like subsidence and storms combined with the unintended consequences of Federal actions like the leveeing of the Mississippi River and impacts from offshore oil and gas exploration and development have led to an ecosystem on the verge of collapse.

With the loss of barrier islands and wetlands over the next 50 years, New Orleans will lose its wetland buffer that now protects it from many effects of flooding. Hurricanes will pose the greatest threat, since New Orleans sits on a sloping continental shelf that makes it extremely vulnerable to storm surges.

More than 2 million people in inland south Louisiana will be subject to more severe and frequent flooding than ever before. Coastal communities will become shore-front towns, and the economic and cultural costs of relocation are estimated in the billions of dollars.

Louisiana takes pride in its role as the country's most crucial energy provider. Ours is a State rich in natural resources. However, given the contribution my State makes to the Nation, it is time for all of us to consider what

the effects will be should we continue on our present track and ignore the problem. The fate of the country's energy supply and infrastructure are just one example of what is at stake.

There are increasing signs that people around the country understand the seriousness of the situation. In a poll released today, 90 percent of the respondents said it was important to fund national efforts to restore Louisiana's wetlands in and around New Orleans as a means to limit the damage that a direct hit from a hurricane would cause to the area. It is now long past time for the Federal Government to step up and invest in a State that gives so much to the rest of the country.

Rules of Procedure--Committee on Armed Services

Mr. President, today I rise, along with Senator Vitter, to introduce a bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in Louisiana. This legislation has particularly special meaning to those of us from Louisiana because of the importance of the cultural and natural resources of the Atchafalaya region to the Nation. It would establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote these unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources of the region.

This legislation, which has been passed by the full Senate 3 times, once during the 107th Congress and twice during the 108th Congress, would establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote these unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources of the region.

Specifically, the legislation would establish a National Heritage Area in Louisiana that encompasses thirteen parishes in and around the Atchafalaya Basin swamp, America's largest river swamp. The heritage area in south-central Louisiana stretches from Concordia parish to the north, where the Mississippi River begins to partially flow into the Atchafalaya River, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The thirteen parishes are: St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafayette, West Baton Rouge, Concordia, and East Baton Rouge. This boundary is the same area covered by the existing Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area.

This measure will appoint the existing Atchafalaya Trace Commission as the federally recognized ``local coordinating entity.'' The commission is composed of thirteen members with one representative appointed by each parish in the heritage area. Both the Atchafalaya Trace Commission and the Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area were created by the Louisiana Legislature a number of years ago. The Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area program currently receives some State funding, and already has staff working at the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, DCRT, under Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco. State funds were used to create

the management plan for the heritage area, which followed ``feasibility analysis'' guidelines as recommended by the National Park Service. Therefore, the recently-completed management plan need only be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for approval as this legislation would recognize an existing local coordinating entity that will oversee the implementation of this plan. We are very proud that this state heritage area has already completed the complicated planning process, with participation of local National Park Service representatives, while using a standard of planning quality equal to that of existing national heritage areas. All at no cost to the Federal Government.

Please let me also emphasize that this legislation protects existing private property rights. It will not interfere with local land use ordinances or regulations, as it is specifically prohibited from doing so. Nor does this legislation grant any powers of real property acquisition to the local coordinating entity or heritage area program. In addition, the legislation does not impose any environmental rule or process or cause any change in Federal environmental quality standards different from those already in effect.

Heritage areas are based on cooperation and collaboration at all levels. This legislation remains true to the core concept behind heritage areas. The heritage area concept has been used successfully in various parts of our Nation to promote historic preservation, natural and cultural resource protection, heritage tourism and sustainable economic revitalization for both urban and rural areas. Heritage areas provide a flexible framework for government agencies, private organizations and businesses and landowners to work together on a coordinated regional basis. The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area will join the Cane River National Heritage Area to become the second National Heritage Area in Louisiana, ultimately joining the 23 existing National Heritage Areas around the Nation.

The initiative to develop the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area is an outgrowth of a grassroots effort to achieve multiple goals of this region. Most important among these is providing opportunities for the future, while at the same time not losing anything that makes this place so special. Residents from all over the region, local tourism agencies, State agencies such as the DCRT and the Department of Natural Resources, the State legislature, Federal agencies including the National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, parish governments, conservation and preservation groups, local businesses and local landowners have all participated in this endeavor to make it the strong initiative it is today. These groups have been very supportive of the heritage area effort, and as time moves on, the heritage area will continue to involve more and more of the area's most important resource, its people.

I would also like to give you a brief overview of the resources that make this place significant to the entire country. Not only is it important to our Nation's history, but it is also critical to understanding America's future. The name of the place itself, Atchafalaya, comes from the American Indians and means ``long river.'' This name signifies the first settlers of the region, descendants of whom still live there today.

Other words come to mind in describing the Atchafalaya: mysterious, dynamic, multi-cultural, enchanting, bountiful, threatened and undiscovered. This region is one of the most complex and least understood places in Louisiana and the Nation. Yet, the stories of the Atchafalaya Heritage Area are emblematic of the broader American experience. Here there are opportunities to understand and witness the complicated, sometimes harmonious, sometimes adversarial interplay between nature and culture. The history of the United States has been shaped by the complex dance of its people working with, against, and for, nature. Within the Atchafalaya a penchant for adventure, adaptation, ingenuity, and exploitation has created a cultural legacy unlike anywhere else in the world.

The heart of the heritage area is the Atchafalaya Basin. It is the largest river swamp in the United States, larger than the more widely known Everglades or Okefenokee Swamp. The Atchafalaya is characterized by a maze of streams, and at one time was thickly forested with old- growth cypress and tupelo trees. The Basin provides outstanding habitat for a remarkably diverse array of wildlife, including the endangered American bald eagle and Louisiana black bear. The region's unique ecology teems with life. More than 85 species of fish; crustaceans, such as crawfish; wildlife, including alligators; an astonishing array of well over 200 species of birds, from waterfowl to songbirds; forest- dwelling mammals such as deer, squirrel, beaver and other commercially important furbearers all make their home here. Bottomland hardwood- dependent bird species breed here in some of the highest densities ever recorded in annual North American Breeding Bird Surveys. The Basin also forms part of the Mississippi Valley Flyway for migratory waterfowl and is a major wintering ground for thousands of these geese and ducks. In general, the Atchafalaya Basin has a significant proportion of North America's breeding wading birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, and spoonbills. Some of the largest flocks of Wood Storks in North America summer here, and the southern part of the Basin has a healthy population of Bald Eagles nesting every winter.

The region's dynamic system of waterways, geology, and massive earthen guide levees reveals a landscape that is at once fragile and awesome. The geology and natural systems of the Atchafalaya Heritage Area have fueled the economy of the region for centuries. For decades the harvest of cypress, cotton, sugar cane, crawfish, salt, oil, gas, and Spanish moss, have been important sources of income for the region's residents. The crawfish industry has been particularly important to the lives of Atchafalaya residents and Louisiana has become the largest crawfish producer in the United States. Sport fishing and other forms of commercial fishing are important here, too, but unfortunately, natural resource extraction and a changing environment have drastically depleted many of these resources and forced residents to find new ways to make a living.

Over the past century, the Atchafalaya Basin has become a study of man's monumental effort to control nature. After the catastrophic Mississippi River flood of 1927 left thousands dead and millions displaced, the U.S. Congress decreed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should develop an intricate system of levees to protect human settlements, particularly New Orleans. Today, the Mississippi River is caged within the walls of earthen and concrete levees and manipulated with a complex system of locks, barrages and floodgates. The Atchafalaya River runs parallel to the Mississippi and through the center of the Basin. In times of flooding the river basin serves as the key floodway in controlling floodwaters headed for the large population centers of Baton Rouge and New Orleans by diverting water from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. This system was sorely tested in 1973 when floodwaters threatened to break through the floodgates and permanently divert the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya. However, after this massive flood event, new land started forming off the coast. These new land formations make up the Atchafalaya Delta, and is the only significant area of new land being built in the United States. These vast amounts of Mississippi River sediment are also rapidly filling in the Basin itself, raising the level of land in certain areas of the basin and filling in lakes and waterways. And to demonstrate just how complex this ecosystem is, one only needs to realize that just to the East of the Delta, Terrebonne parish, also in the heritage area, is experiencing some of the most significant coastal land loss in the country.

Over the centuries, the ever-changing natural environment has shaped the lives of the people living in the Basin. Residents have profited from and been imperiled by nature. The popular cultural identity of the region is strongly associated with the Cajuns, descendants of the French-speaking Acadians who settled in south Louisiana after being deported by the British from Nova Scotia, formerly known as Acadia. Twenty-five hundred to three

thousand exiled Acadians repatriated in Louisiana where they proceeded to re-establish their former society. Today, in spite of complex social, cultural, and demographic transformations, Cajuns maintain a sense of group identity and continue to display a distinctive set of cultural expressions nearly 250 years after their exile from Acadia. Cajun culture has become increasingly popular outside of Louisiana. Culinary specialties adapted from France and Acadia such as etouffee, boudin, andouille, crepes, beignets and sauces thickened with roux, delight food lovers well beyond Louisiana's borders. Cajun music has also ``gone mainstream'' with its blend of French folk songs and ballads and instrumental dance music, and more recently popular country, rhythm-and-blues, and rock music influences. While the growing interest in Cajun culture has raised appreciation for its unique traditions, many of the region's residents are concerned about the growing commercialization and stereotyping that threatens to diminish the authentic Cajun ways of life.

While the Atchafalaya Heritage Area may be well known for its Cajun culture, there is an astonishing array of other cultures within these parishes. Outside of New Orleans, the Atchafalaya Heritage Area is the most racially and ethnically complex region of Louisiana, and has been so for many years. A long legacy of multiculturalism presents interesting opportunities to examine how so many distinct cultures have survived in relative harmony. There may be interesting lessons to learn from here as our Nation becomes increasingly heterogeneous. The cultural complexity of this region has created a rich tapestry of history and traditions, evidenced by the architecture, music, language, food and festivals unlike any place else. Ethnic groups of the Atchafalaya include: African-Americans, Black Creoles, Asians, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Cajuns, Spanish Islenos, Italians, Scotch-Irish, and American Indian tribes such as the Attakapa, Chitimacha, Coushatta, Houma, Opelousa and Tunica-Biloxi.

This heritage area has a wealth of existing cultural, historic, natural, scenic, recreational and visitor resources on which to build. Scenic resources include numerous State Wildlife Management Areas and National Wildlife Refuges, as well as ten designated state scenic byways that fall partially or entirely within the heritage area. The Office of State Parks operates three historic sites in the heritage area, and numerous historic districts and buildings can be found in the region. There are also nine Main Street communities in the heritage area. Outdoor recreational resources include two State Parks and a multitude of waterways and bayous. Hunting, fishing, boating, and canoeing, and more recently birdwatching and cycling, are popular ways to experience the region. Various visitor attractions, interpretive centers and visitor information centers exist to help residents and tourists alike better understand and navigate many of the resources in the heritage area. Major roads link the heritage area's central visitor entrance points and large population centers, especially New Orleans. Much of the hospitality industry servicing the Atchafalaya exists around the larger cities of Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Houma. However, more and more bed and breakfasts and heritage accommodations, such as houseboat rentals, are becoming more numerous in the smaller towns and rural areas.

These are just some of the examples of the richness and significance of this region. This legislation will assist communities throughout this heritage area who are committed to the conservation and appropriate development of these assets. Furthermore, this legislation will bring a level of prestige and national and international recognition that this most special of places certainly deserves.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, One Hundred and Thirty Nine years ago, before the term Homeland Security was even coined, a group of men devoted themselves to securing the frontiers of this Nation. They protected Americans in their homes; they deterred hostile invaders, and they secured the blessings of liberty for a young country. Even more remarkable, they secured these blessings for others, while they could not fully enjoy them themselves.

I am referring to the Buffalo Soldiers. These brave men instituted a tradition of professional military service for African Americans that spans the greater part of American history. African American military service is as old as our nation. There were black soldiers during the revolution, a unit of free black men played a pivotal role in the Battle of New Orleans, and the exploits of African Americans during the Civil War have been captured in novels and on film. However, it was not until the Army Reorganization Act of 1866 that soldiering and service to country became a realistic option for African Americans seeking to improve their quality of life. In so doing, they raised the bar of freedom, and revealed the injustice of preventing the defenders of democracy from fully participating in it.

The City of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana have a rich history. They have given more than their fair share of sons to the service of our Nation. Much of this history is commemorated throughout the State. Yet, these great sons of New Orleans remain unacknowledged in their home. For in Louisiana's great military tradition, surely one of its greatest military contributions were the 9th Cavalry Regiment and the 25th Infantry Regiment.

These two forces, recruited and organized in New Orleans, represent half of all the units of buffalo soldiers. The 9th Cavalry alone constituted 10% of all the American cavalry. Their list of adversaries reads like a who's who of the Old West--Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Poncho Villa. In movies, when settlers encounter Apaches, the cavalry always comes to the rescue. Yet how many times were the cavalry that rode over the horizon African American? Of course, the reality is that the Buffalo Soldiers comprised some of our nations most capable and loyal troops. Despite suffering the worst deprivations known to any American soldiers of the period, they had the lowest desertion rates in the Army. The 9th Cavalry was awarded 10 Congressional Medals of Honor, including a native Louisianan, Sgt. Emanuel Stance--a farmer from Carroll Parish.

For these reasons, I am offering legislation today along with Senator Vitter that would authorize the creation of a suitable memorial in New Orleans for these gallant soldiers. There is an excellent statue to the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Leavenworth, KS. It commemorates the 10th Cavalry Regiment stationed there. However, I believe that these men deserve to be recognized in their home city. Furthermore, it should be in an a location where thousands of visitors will have the opportunity to come to appreciate the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. I believe that the City of New Orleans is the perfect location.

We have made a number of changes to this legislation after consultations with the American Battle Monuments Commission. I believe these changes should address any concerns that they have expressed. Furthermore, we have an able and dedicated organization of individuals in the state who desperately want to see this project to completion. Last year, I had the pleasure of being in New Orleans with another of this Nation's great military heroes, Senator Daniel Inouye. We addressed a group of distinguished veterans from all around the state. Among them was George Jones, President of the Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Association. They have been working with Eddie Dixon, the artist for the beautiful Fort Leavenworth statute, to develop an appropriate memorial in the City of New Orleans for over a decade. This bill will fulfill that noble ambition.

This Nation has sadly found the need to say thank you to its servicemen and women after the fact on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, this is another. We are fortunate to have living memories of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments today. The regiments were not disbanded until the conclusion of World War Two, where they served with distinction. We should take this opportunity to honor these veterans, and in so doing, honor the principles of liberty, freedom and democracy for which they fought and sacrificed. They have given so much to their nation, we owe them this public expression of gratitude.

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

Mr. President, today I rise, along with Senator Vitter, to introduce the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act of 2005. This bill was passed unanimously by the Senate during the 108th Congress.

The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve was established in 1978 to preserve for present and future generations significant examples of the rich natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi delta region. The park seeks to illustrate the influence of environment and history on the development of a unique regional culture. It is named for Jean Lafitte who was a pirate, or privateer as he like to be called, that fought alongside U.S. forces in the Battle of New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812. The park consists of six physically separate sites and a park headquarters located in New Orleans. The sites in Lafayette, Thibodaux and Eunice interpret the Acadian culture of the area. The Barataria Preserve, in Marrero, interprets the natural and cultural history of the uplands, swamps and marshlands of the region. Six miles southeast of New Orleans is the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans and the final resting place for soldiers from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II and Vietnam. The park's visitor center, which is located in the historic French Quarter, interprets the history of New Orleans and diverse cultures of Mississippi delta region.

It is the Barataria site that is the focus of our attention today. The Bill before us would merely adjust the boundary of the Barataria preserve unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and by doing so protect a crucial component of one of the largest and most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America--coastal Louisiana or as they are known: America's Wetlands. The Barataria preserve is the only part of our coastal wetlands preserved in the National Park System. As we strive to find ways to stem the tide of coastal erosion in Louisiana, and bring about the restoration of wetlands already lost, it is equally important that we protect those areas that remain such as the Barataria preserve so that Americans can experience, first hand, the amazing beauty and fertility of Louisiana's bountiful coastal wetlands--the most threatened wetland ecosystem in the country--disappearing at a rate of 25 to 35 square miles a year. Located on the outskirts of New Orleans, where it is accessible not only to the people of New Orleans but also to the millions of tourists from around the world that visit New Orleans and south Louisiana, Barataria serves as an interpretive experience of this greatest of coastal wetlands.

This bill expands this national treasure without any cost to the Federal Government while preserving private property rights. It simply transfers to the Park over 3,000 acres of wetlands already in Federal ownership, already paid for by the American people. These lands, which are adjacent to the Preserve, became Federal as a result of the settlement by the Justice Department of two lawsuits brought by the landowners against Federal agencies. However, because these acres are not managed by the park, they are presently unavailable for public use. An Act of Congress is necessary to allow inclusion of these lands into a new boundary.

My bill does just that, opening these lands for canoeing, wildlife viewing, exploration, fishing, and hunting, all under the management and protection of the park service. The bill grants long-term protection to crucial resources that the Park Service has found suitable and feasible for inclusion within a new boundary through a 1996 boundary study.

The Park is immediately adjacent to the developed areas of the Westbank of Jefferson Parish along much of its boundary while the Barataria unit in particular is right next door to a hurricane levee. Making more of the park boundary contiguous with the levee

that divides developed land from undeveloped wetlands enhances opportunities for direct cooperation between these communities and the Park for management of shared concerns. These concerns include the routing of storm-water run-off; the discharge of treated sewage; estuarine water quality and its effects on fisheries and recreational uses; wetland restoration and mitigation; and a number of other problems and opportunities. The Park has worked with Jefferson Parish in seeking creative solutions to these problems and will continue to do so. The addition of these properties will only enhance their chances for success.

It is for all of these reasons that I am hopeful the Senate can approve of this measure in the near future. The expansion we seek in this Bill benefits us today as well as tomorrow.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I rise, along with Senator Vitter, to introduce a bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in Louisiana. This legislation has particularly special meaning to those of us from Louisiana because of the importance of the cultural and natural resources of the Atchafalaya region to the Nation. It would establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote these unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources of the region.

This legislation, which has been passed by the full Senate 3 times, once during the 107th Congress and twice during the 108th Congress, would establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote these unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources of the region.

Specifically, the legislation would establish a National Heritage Area in Louisiana that encompasses thirteen parishes in and around the Atchafalaya Basin swamp, America's largest river swamp. The heritage area in south-central Louisiana stretches from Concordia parish to the north, where the Mississippi River begins to partially flow into the Atchafalaya River, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The thirteen parishes are: St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafayette, West Baton Rouge, Concordia, and East Baton Rouge. This boundary is the same area covered by the existing Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area.

This measure will appoint the existing Atchafalaya Trace Commission as the federally recognized ``local coordinating entity.'' The commission is composed of thirteen members with one representative appointed by each parish in the heritage area. Both the Atchafalaya Trace Commission and the Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area were created by the Louisiana Legislature a number of years ago. The Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area program currently receives some State funding, and already has staff working at the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, DCRT, under Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco. State funds were used to create

the management plan for the heritage area, which followed ``feasibility analysis'' guidelines as recommended by the National Park Service. Therefore, the recently-completed management plan need only be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for approval as this legislation would recognize an existing local coordinating entity that will oversee the implementation of this plan. We are very proud that this state heritage area has already completed the complicated planning process, with participation of local National Park Service representatives, while using a standard of planning quality equal to that of existing national heritage areas. All at no cost to the Federal Government.

Please let me also emphasize that this legislation protects existing private property rights. It will not interfere with local land use ordinances or regulations, as it is specifically prohibited from doing so. Nor does this legislation grant any powers of real property acquisition to the local coordinating entity or heritage area program. In addition, the legislation does not impose any environmental rule or process or cause any change in Federal environmental quality standards different from those already in effect.

Heritage areas are based on cooperation and collaboration at all levels. This legislation remains true to the core concept behind heritage areas. The heritage area concept has been used successfully in various parts of our Nation to promote historic preservation, natural and cultural resource protection, heritage tourism and sustainable economic revitalization for both urban and rural areas. Heritage areas provide a flexible framework for government agencies, private organizations and businesses and landowners to work together on a coordinated regional basis. The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area will join the Cane River National Heritage Area to become the second National Heritage Area in Louisiana, ultimately joining the 23 existing National Heritage Areas around the Nation.

The initiative to develop the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area is an outgrowth of a grassroots effort to achieve multiple goals of this region. Most important among these is providing opportunities for the future, while at the same time not losing anything that makes this place so special. Residents from all over the region, local tourism agencies, State agencies such as the DCRT and the Department of Natural Resources, the State legislature, Federal agencies including the National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, parish governments, conservation and preservation groups, local businesses and local landowners have all participated in this endeavor to make it the strong initiative it is today. These groups have been very supportive of the heritage area effort, and as time moves on, the heritage area will continue to involve more and more of the area's most important resource, its people.

I would also like to give you a brief overview of the resources that make this place significant to the entire country. Not only is it important to our Nation's history, but it is also critical to understanding America's future. The name of the place itself, Atchafalaya, comes from the American Indians and means ``long river.'' This name signifies the first settlers of the region, descendants of whom still live there today.

Other words come to mind in describing the Atchafalaya: mysterious, dynamic, multi-cultural, enchanting, bountiful, threatened and undiscovered. This region is one of the most complex and least understood places in Louisiana and the Nation. Yet, the stories of the Atchafalaya Heritage Area are emblematic of the broader American experience. Here there are opportunities to understand and witness the complicated, sometimes harmonious, sometimes adversarial interplay between nature and culture. The history of the United States has been shaped by the complex dance of its people working with, against, and for, nature. Within the Atchafalaya a penchant for adventure, adaptation, ingenuity, and exploitation has created a cultural legacy unlike anywhere else in the world.

The heart of the heritage area is the Atchafalaya Basin. It is the largest river swamp in the United States, larger than the more widely known Everglades or Okefenokee Swamp. The Atchafalaya is characterized by a maze of streams, and at one time was thickly forested with old- growth cypress and tupelo trees. The Basin provides outstanding habitat for a remarkably diverse array of wildlife, including the endangered American bald eagle and Louisiana black bear. The region's unique ecology teems with life. More than 85 species of fish; crustaceans, such as crawfish; wildlife, including alligators; an astonishing array of well over 200 species of birds, from waterfowl to songbirds; forest- dwelling mammals such as deer, squirrel, beaver and other commercially important furbearers all make their home here. Bottomland hardwood- dependent bird species breed here in some of the highest densities ever recorded in annual North American Breeding Bird Surveys. The Basin also forms part of the Mississippi Valley Flyway for migratory waterfowl and is a major wintering ground for thousands of these geese and ducks. In general, the Atchafalaya Basin has a significant proportion of North America's breeding wading birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, and spoonbills. Some of the largest flocks of Wood Storks in North America summer here, and the southern part of the Basin has a healthy population of Bald Eagles nesting every winter.

The region's dynamic system of waterways, geology, and massive earthen guide levees reveals a landscape that is at once fragile and awesome. The geology and natural systems of the Atchafalaya Heritage Area have fueled the economy of the region for centuries. For decades the harvest of cypress, cotton, sugar cane, crawfish, salt, oil, gas, and Spanish moss, have been important sources of income for the region's residents. The crawfish industry has been particularly important to the lives of Atchafalaya residents and Louisiana has become the largest crawfish producer in the United States. Sport fishing and other forms of commercial fishing are important here, too, but unfortunately, natural resource extraction and a changing environment have drastically depleted many of these resources and forced residents to find new ways to make a living.

Over the past century, the Atchafalaya Basin has become a study of man's monumental effort to control nature. After the catastrophic Mississippi River flood of 1927 left thousands dead and millions displaced, the U.S. Congress decreed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should develop an intricate system of levees to protect human settlements, particularly New Orleans. Today, the Mississippi River is caged within the walls of earthen and concrete levees and manipulated with a complex system of locks, barrages and floodgates. The Atchafalaya River runs parallel to the Mississippi and through the center of the Basin. In times of flooding the river basin serves as the key floodway in controlling floodwaters headed for the large population centers of Baton Rouge and New Orleans by diverting water from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. This system was sorely tested in 1973 when floodwaters threatened to break through the floodgates and permanently divert the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya. However, after this massive flood event, new land started forming off the coast. These new land formations make up the Atchafalaya Delta, and is the only significant area of new land being built in the United States. These vast amounts of Mississippi River sediment are also rapidly filling in the Basin itself, raising the level of land in certain areas of the basin and filling in lakes and waterways. And to demonstrate just how complex this ecosystem is, one only needs to realize that just to the East of the Delta, Terrebonne parish, also in the heritage area, is experiencing some of the most significant coastal land loss in the country.

Over the centuries, the ever-changing natural environment has shaped the lives of the people living in the Basin. Residents have profited from and been imperiled by nature. The popular cultural identity of the region is strongly associated with the Cajuns, descendants of the French-speaking Acadians who settled in south Louisiana after being deported by the British from Nova Scotia, formerly known as Acadia. Twenty-five hundred to three

thousand exiled Acadians repatriated in Louisiana where they proceeded to re-establish their former society. Today, in spite of complex social, cultural, and demographic transformations, Cajuns maintain a sense of group identity and continue to display a distinctive set of cultural expressions nearly 250 years after their exile from Acadia. Cajun culture has become increasingly popular outside of Louisiana. Culinary specialties adapted from France and Acadia such as etouffee, boudin, andouille, crepes, beignets and sauces thickened with roux, delight food lovers well beyond Louisiana's borders. Cajun music has also ``gone mainstream'' with its blend of French folk songs and ballads and instrumental dance music, and more recently popular country, rhythm-and-blues, and rock music influences. While the growing interest in Cajun culture has raised appreciation for its unique traditions, many of the region's residents are concerned about the growing commercialization and stereotyping that threatens to diminish the authentic Cajun ways of life.

While the Atchafalaya Heritage Area may be well known for its Cajun culture, there is an astonishing array of other cultures within these parishes. Outside of New Orleans, the Atchafalaya Heritage Area is the most racially and ethnically complex region of Louisiana, and has been so for many years. A long legacy of multiculturalism presents interesting opportunities to examine how so many distinct cultures have survived in relative harmony. There may be interesting lessons to learn from here as our Nation becomes increasingly heterogeneous. The cultural complexity of this region has created a rich tapestry of history and traditions, evidenced by the architecture, music, language, food and festivals unlike any place else. Ethnic groups of the Atchafalaya include: African-Americans, Black Creoles, Asians, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Cajuns, Spanish Islenos, Italians, Scotch-Irish, and American Indian tribes such as the Attakapa, Chitimacha, Coushatta, Houma, Opelousa and Tunica-Biloxi.

This heritage area has a wealth of existing cultural, historic, natural, scenic, recreational and visitor resources on which to build. Scenic resources include numerous State Wildlife Management Areas and National Wildlife Refuges, as well as ten designated state scenic byways that fall partially or entirely within the heritage area. The Office of State Parks operates three historic sites in the heritage area, and numerous historic districts and buildings can be found in the region. There are also nine Main Street communities in the heritage area. Outdoor recreational resources include two State Parks and a multitude of waterways and bayous. Hunting, fishing, boating, and canoeing, and more recently birdwatching and cycling, are popular ways to experience the region. Various visitor attractions, interpretive centers and visitor information centers exist to help residents and tourists alike better understand and navigate many of the resources in the heritage area. Major roads link the heritage area's central visitor entrance points and large population centers, especially New Orleans. Much of the hospitality industry servicing the Atchafalaya exists around the larger cities of Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Houma. However, more and more bed and breakfasts and heritage accommodations, such as houseboat rentals, are becoming more numerous in the smaller towns and rural areas.

These are just some of the examples of the richness and significance of this region. This legislation will assist communities throughout this heritage area who are committed to the conservation and appropriate development of these assets. Furthermore, this legislation will bring a level of prestige and national and international recognition that this most special of places certainly deserves.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.