Floor Statements

Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation to ensure that the Nation's highest court can serve its function as the court of last

resort in our judicial system. The Supreme Court's effectiveness is compromised when it does not have a full slate of nine justices sitting in a given case. When a Justice needs to recuse from a matter under the rules that govern judicial conflicts of interest, the Supreme Court may be rendered ineffective, because there are no provisions in place to allow another to be designated to sit in his or her place. Given the Court's recent rash of 5:4 rulings, the absence of one Justice could result in a 4:4 decision. In that scenario, the Supreme Court cannot serve its function and the lower court decision stands. This was a very real concern for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He explained that such a stalemate on the Court where there were conflicting rulings in the lower courts, ``would lay down `one rule in Athens, and another rule in Rome' with a vengeance.''

Under the existing statute, retired Justices may be designated to sit on any court in the land except the one to which they were confirmed. The bill I am introducing today will ensure that the Supreme Court can continue to serve its essential function. I hope that it will encourage Justices to recuse themselves when they have a financial conflict of interest or their participation would create the appearance of impropriety. In recent history, Justices have refused to recuse themselves and one of their justifications has been that the Supreme Court is unlike lower courts because no other judge can serve in their place when Justices recuse.

When I met with Justice John Paul Stevens earlier in the year before he announced his retirement, he suggested exploring legislation that would allow retired U.S. Supreme Court Justices to sit by designation on all of our federal courts. Currently, Justices Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter may sit by designation on any Federal court except the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court to which they were confirmed. This defies common sense.

Recent news about conflicts of interest has raised serious questions in the minds of Americans about the impartiality of the judiciary. These serious concerns only serve to undermine the public trust in our Nation's courts. Allowing retired Justices to sit on the Supreme Court would encourage sitting justices to recuse themselves when there is even an appearance of a conflict of interest regarding a case before the Court. Such a designation would also help to avoid the potential of 4:4 splits which concerned Chief Justice Rehnquist. I am confident the American people want the Supreme Court to serve as the final word in our federal judicial system. I encourage my fellow Senators to consider the legislation I am introducing today as a common-sense solution to preserve the role that the Supreme Court plays in our democracy.

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

There being no objetion, the text of the bill was ordered to be

Mr. President, in the opening days of this Congress, I expressed my steadfast commitment to reform of our Nation's broken immigration system. The Senate passed a bill in the 109th Congress and debated one in the 110th. Action is long overdue, but until today, no truly comprehensive immigration package has been introduced in the Senate in the 111th Congress.

I congratulate Senator Menendez on the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010, and am pleased to join him as an original cosponsor. The bill protects the rights and opportunities of American workers, while simultaneously ensuring that our Nation's employers and American farms can find the workers they need to prosper. The bill will increase national security by adding personnel and equipment where they are most needed in border communities. And by bringing undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, the bill will help to make our towns and cities safer. These are goals we can all share.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 includes several provisions that are priorities for Vermont,

such as AgJOBS, which will provide critically needed workers for farms in Vermont and across the Nation. The bill would permanently extend the EB-5 Regional Center program, which generates investment capital and creates jobs. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act also includes one of my top civil rights priorities, the Uniting American Families Act, and a bill I have long supported, the DREAM Act. And, the bill includes measures from my bill, the Refugee Protection Act. Improving protections for refugees will honor the American tradition of offering safety to victims of persecution.

There is bipartisan agreement that immigration reform is needed. I hope that the bill we introduce today will gain support from both sides of the aisle. I strongly believe that Congress is capable of finding a realistic solution to our immigration problems. Our friend the late Senator Ted Kennedy believed that, President Bush believed that, and I know President Obama believes that.

I commend Senator Menendez for his leadership and urge all Senators to join us in supporting the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010.

Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation to ensure that the Nation's highest court can serve its function as the court of last

resort in our judicial system. The Supreme Court's effectiveness is compromised when it does not have a full slate of nine justices sitting in a given case. When a Justice needs to recuse from a matter under the rules that govern judicial conflicts of interest, the Supreme Court may be rendered ineffective, because there are no provisions in place to allow another to be designated to sit in his or her place. Given the Court's recent rash of 5:4 rulings, the absence of one Justice could result in a 4:4 decision. In that scenario, the Supreme Court cannot serve its function and the lower court decision stands. This was a very real concern for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He explained that such a stalemate on the Court where there were conflicting rulings in the lower courts, ``would lay down `one rule in Athens, and another rule in Rome' with a vengeance.''

Under the existing statute, retired Justices may be designated to sit on any court in the land except the one to which they were confirmed. The bill I am introducing today will ensure that the Supreme Court can continue to serve its essential function. I hope that it will encourage Justices to recuse themselves when they have a financial conflict of interest or their participation would create the appearance of impropriety. In recent history, Justices have refused to recuse themselves and one of their justifications has been that the Supreme Court is unlike lower courts because no other judge can serve in their place when Justices recuse.

When I met with Justice John Paul Stevens earlier in the year before he announced his retirement, he suggested exploring legislation that would allow retired U.S. Supreme Court Justices to sit by designation on all of our federal courts. Currently, Justices Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter may sit by designation on any Federal court except the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court to which they were confirmed. This defies common sense.

Recent news about conflicts of interest has raised serious questions in the minds of Americans about the impartiality of the judiciary. These serious concerns only serve to undermine the public trust in our Nation's courts. Allowing retired Justices to sit on the Supreme Court would encourage sitting justices to recuse themselves when there is even an appearance of a conflict of interest regarding a case before the Court. Such a designation would also help to avoid the potential of 4:4 splits which concerned Chief Justice Rehnquist. I am confident the American people want the Supreme Court to serve as the final word in our federal judicial system. I encourage my fellow Senators to consider the legislation I am introducing today as a common-sense solution to preserve the role that the Supreme Court plays in our democracy.

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

There being no objetion, the text of the bill was ordered to be

Mr. President, in the opening days of this Congress, I expressed my steadfast commitment to reform of our Nation's broken immigration system. The Senate passed a bill in the 109th Congress and debated one in the 110th. Action is long overdue, but until today, no truly comprehensive immigration package has been introduced in the Senate in the 111th Congress.

I congratulate Senator Menendez on the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010, and am pleased to join him as an original cosponsor. The bill protects the rights and opportunities of American workers, while simultaneously ensuring that our Nation's employers and American farms can find the workers they need to prosper. The bill will increase national security by adding personnel and equipment where they are most needed in border communities. And by bringing undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, the bill will help to make our towns and cities safer. These are goals we can all share.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 includes several provisions that are priorities for Vermont,

such as AgJOBS, which will provide critically needed workers for farms in Vermont and across the Nation. The bill would permanently extend the EB-5 Regional Center program, which generates investment capital and creates jobs. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act also includes one of my top civil rights priorities, the Uniting American Families Act, and a bill I have long supported, the DREAM Act. And, the bill includes measures from my bill, the Refugee Protection Act. Improving protections for refugees will honor the American tradition of offering safety to victims of persecution.

There is bipartisan agreement that immigration reform is needed. I hope that the bill we introduce today will gain support from both sides of the aisle. I strongly believe that Congress is capable of finding a realistic solution to our immigration problems. Our friend the late Senator Ted Kennedy believed that, President Bush believed that, and I know President Obama believes that.

I commend Senator Menendez for his leadership and urge all Senators to join us in supporting the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce and bring to the Senate's attention today a resolution which recognizes the value of the defense relationship between the National Guard of the State of Vermont and the military services of the Republic of Macedonia, under the National Guard State Partnership Program.

Time and again, the Republic of Macedonia has contributed to important NATO-led missions, including several hundred troops currently deployed to Afghanistan along with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Vermont National Guard. This relationship has yielded tangible benefits for both our countries, and I am proud of the role that Vermont has played in strengthening and broadening a growing international partnership.

The Vermont National Guard began its relationship with the armed services of the Republic of Macedonia in 1994, shortly after the Department of the Army created the National Guard State Partnership Program in 1993. Since 1995, the Republic of Macedonia and the Vermont Guard have participated in more than 200 joint activities, and more than 4000 members of the Macedonian Ministry of Defense have been trained by the Vermont Guard.

Macedonia has participated in NATO-led and international military missions in Afghanistan since August 2002, increasing its troop levels there in 2010. Especially given its relatively small population, Macedonia has made a substantial, needed and welcome contribution of troops to the NATO International Security Assistance Force.

Macedonia's participation in international security efforts also precedes the Afghanistan deployment. During the Kosovo crisis of 1999, territory in Macedonia served as a staging area and main corridor for logistical support to the NATO Kosovo Force, commonly referred to as ``KFOR,'' and the Government of Macedonia has led the KFOR Coordination Centre for logistical support in Skopje since 2006. In the interest of underscoring a faithful partnership with the United States, the Government of Macedonia even deployed troops to Iraq until 2008. Macedonian

soldiers have been recognized by the U.S. military with more than 120 medals.

Given all of these valuable efforts, I believe it is time the United States Senate offered its commendation and appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Macedonia. I hope the Senate will heartily concur in this much-deserved recognition.

Mr. President, for 34 years in the Senate it was my privilege and honor to serve alongside Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. Today, I would like to pay tribute to Ted, a dedicated public servant, a respected lawmaker, and a man I was proud to call my friend.

Ted Stevens loved this country, and he dedicated nearly his entire life to public service. He served as a pilot in World War II, as a U.S. district attorney, as a senior member of the U.S. Interior Department, and as a U.S. Senator. Ted loved his State. In fact, he assisted in its birth as a State. During his more than four decades in the Senate, he was an unrelenting and unabashed advocate for Alaska and its people. I know no other Senator who has filled so central a role in their State's public and economic life as did Ted Stevens. He was a man many Alaskans knew simply as ``Uncle Ted.''

The fight for Alaskan statehood was Ted's principal work at the Department of the Interior, and, over time, he developed another appropriate nickname: ``Mr. Alaska.'' After leaving Interior, Ted returned to Alaska and was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1964. In 1968 he was appointed to the U.S. Senate, and today he remains the longest serving Republican Senator in history.

In the Senate, he was a tough negotiator and a savvy legislator, but he was always fair. He was an old-school Senator, and he kept his word. During the challenging years after statehood, Ted helped transform Alaska, playing key roles shaping the State's economic and social development. A staunch defender of the Alaskan way of life, he championed legislation to protect the fishing industry, to build the Alaska oil pipeline, to protect millions of acres of wilderness area, and to address longstanding issues surrounding aboriginal land claims. While he and I have not agreed on some issues, I have never questioned his commitment to do what he believed was right for his State and its people.

I know it can sound repetitive when people hear Senators make remarks such as these about our colleagues. But I think it is important for the public to know that despite all the squabbling that goes on in Washington, there is the deep respect, affection, and caring that goes on among the Senate's Members, who work side by side and day by day on the Nation's business and on the concerns of their constituents.

I was last with Ted at Bob Byrd's funeral. I had asked him if he would sit with me because we had not seen each other for a while and it gave us a chance to get caught up. I told him again how much his friendship meant to me and how much I missed him in the Senate. We talked about the number of pieces of legislation we had worked on together and both spoke of Ted being part of the old school of Senators--those who always stuck with agreements they had made and our concern that was not the way some were today. It was a sad day being at a memorial service, but it was a special day being with Ted.

Ted was a statesman, a public servant, and one of my closest friends in the Senate. I consider myself fortunate to have known him and served with him.

Marcelle and I wish Catherine and all his family our best wishes.

Mr. President, I strongly support the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act. These clearly justified reforms will close wasteful tax loopholes for firms that move jobs overseas and provide real incentives for firms to bring jobs back to the United States. I am proud to join Senators Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, Byron Dorgan, Barbara Boxer, Chuck Schumer, Sherrod Brown, and Sheldon Whitehouse in cosponsoring this bill.

For the past two decades our country has witnessed a disturbing trend towards outsourcing American jobs abroad. What began as a way for domestic manufacturers to cut labor costs has blown into a full-fledged sprint by some U.S. manufacturing and service companies to move as much production offshore as possible.

The devastating effects of global offshoring have hit large, manufacturing States like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and California with particular hurt, but smaller States like Vermont are not immune to the global realities of corporate outsourcing and consolidation. Unfortunately, there is quite a list of companies in recent years that have either left our State or gone out of business entirely because they moved jobs overseas or were squeezed

out of the market by competitors using cheap, foreign labor.

That is why the Senate must move forward with considering the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act.

First, the bill will eliminate the perverse tax subsidies that U.S. taxpayers provide to firms that move facilities offshore. Specifically, it prohibits a firm from taking any deduction, loss, or credit for amounts paid in connection with reducing or ending the operation of a trade or business in the United States and starting or expanding a similar trade or business overseas.

Second, the bill will close the tax loophole that rewards U.S. firms that move their production overseas and then turn around and import those now foreign-made products back to the United States for sale. Not only will this help keep good manufacturing jobs here at home, it will save American taxpayers more than $15 billion in revenue over the next decade.

Finally, to encourage businesses to create jobs in the United States, the bill will provide businesses with payroll tax relief for each new job that they bring back onshore.

During these trying economic times, too many Vermonters are struggling to find goods jobs and pay their bills. The economic collapse came swiftly, and we have all seen that there are no quick fixes to turn around our economic troubles. We staved off greater economic disaster with an essential economic rescue plan, and we have tried to jump-start the economy with a bold economic recovery plan. But employment opportunities here at home are hampered when employers push more and more jobs overseas.

Last year, Congress helped lay the groundwork for a renewed and vibrant economy by enacting tax relief for working families and businesses and making needed investments in broadband deployment, job training, electrical smart grids, water and transportation infrastructure, better schools, housing, first responders, and new energy sources. We need to ensure that these important investments by U.S. taxpayers benefit businesses and workers here at home.

Mr. President, this summer, Marcelle and I were honored to be at the Vermont Supreme Court with former Supreme Court Justice Jeff Amestoy, his wife Susan, and their daughters. Like all Vermonters, I have respected his tenure, both as attorney general and as chief justice, as both were exemplary. While the portrait captures the image of the Jeff Amestoy his friends honor and care for, his words are what should be read by everyone who cares about our judiciary. Jeff's commitment to the law, our justice system, and our sense of what makes Vermont the State we love is in his words. They were so impressive I asked him for a copy, and I ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today, I am pleased to introduce the Honest Services Restoration Act with Senator Whitehouse and Senator Kaufman. The legislation will restore critical tools used by investigators and prosecutors to combat public corruption and corporate fraud, which the Supreme Court dramatically weakened in Skilling v. United States.

In Skilling, the Court sided with an Enron executive who had been convicted of fraud, and in doing so, held that the honest services fraud statute may be used to prosecute only bribery and kickbacks, but no other conduct. That leaves other corrupt and fraudulent conduct which prosecutors in the past addressed under the honest services fraud statute to go unchecked. Most notably, the Court's decision excluded undisclosed ``self-dealing'' by state and federal public officials, and corporate officers and directors, which is when those officials or executives secretly act in their own financial self-interest, rather than in the interest of the public or, in the private sector cases, their shareholders and employees. The Honest Services Restoration Act restores the honest services statute to cover this undisclosed ``self- dealing'' by state and Federal public officials, and corporate officers and directors.

In a hearing earlier today, the Judiciary Committee heard testimony from experts who explored the kinds of problematic conduct that may now go unchecked in the wake of the Skilling decision. The testimony also considered what Congress can and should do to fill those gaps and restore strong enforcement to combat corrupt and fraudulent conduct.

It is clear that in recent years, the stain of corruption has spread to all levels of government. This is a problem that victimizes every American by chipping away at the foundations of our democracy and the faith that Americans have in their government. Recent years have also seen a plague of financial and corporate frauds that have severely undermined our economy and hurt too many hardworking people in this country. These frauds have robbed people of their savings, their retirement accounts, college funds for their children, and have cost too many people their homes.

Congress has acted, by passing the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act and other key provisions, to give prosecutors and investigators more tools to combat fraud. But we must remain vigilant, as the methods and techniques used by those who would defraud hardworking Americans continue to change. Too often, loopholes in existing laws have meant that corrupt conduct can go unchecked. The honest services fraud statute has enabled prosecutors to root out corrupt and fraudulent conduct that would otherwise slip through those loopholes; we must tighten it so it can perform that important role again.

Congress must act aggressively but carefully to strengthen our laws to root out corruption and fraud. By preventing public officials and corporate executives from acting in their own self-interest at the expense of the people they serve, the Honest Services Restoration Act closes a gap created by Skilling and strengthens a critical law enforcement tool. I look forward to working with Senators from both parties to quickly pass this bill.

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

Mr. President, in these challenging economic times, dairy farmers in Vermont, New York, and across America are experiencing particularly difficult conditions. They face both rock-bottom milk prices, and a severe labor shortage. There is an immediate solution for one of these issues. Labor shortages could be met with foreign agricultural workers under a special visa program, called H-2A, which allows farmers who are unable to fill labor needs with domestic workers to hire temporary or seasonal foreign workers. I have long sought to include dairy farmers in the H-2A program, but the Department of Labor has consistently refused to interpret the law to allow dairy farmers access to seasonal foreign workers.

Last fall, the Department of Labor initiated a rulemaking process to reconsider various aspects of the H-2A program. I repeatedly urged the Department to exercise its authority to give dairy farmers access to H- 2A workers, both through comments I submitted in the formal rulemaking and by supporting the comments of the National Milk Producers Federation.

Nonetheless, on February 11, 2010, the Department released a final rule that continues to exclude the dairy industry from this valuable program. Inexplicably, while refusing to include the dairy industry because of its year-round needs, the Department of Labor extends new access to the H-2A program to the logging industry, and continues to offer access to these purportedly seasonal worker visas to the year- round sheepherding industry.

Today, I introduce the H-2A Improvement Act with Senators Gillibrand and Schumer. This bill will finally end the inequity under current law. The H-2A Improvement Act will make explicit in law that dairy farms can use the H-2A program, ensuring that dairy farmers in Vermont, New York, and throughout the Nation can find the labor they need to stay in business, meeting the needs of their communities and American families. This legislation, which also gives statutory access to the H-2A program to sheep herders and goat herders, contains provisions to ensure that the benefit that these workers provide to farmers is maximized. The legislation authorizes this unique class of workers to remain in the United States for an initial period of 3 years, and gives U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the authority to approve a worker for an additional 3-year period as needed. After the initial 3-year period, the worker may petition to become a lawful permanent resident.

The failure to allow the dairy industry to participate in the H-2A program puts many dairy farmers in the situation of having to choose between their livelihoods and following the law. Late last year, the Department of Homeland Security audited at least four dairy farms in Vermont. Although I strongly believe that the vast majority of dairy farmers want to hire a lawful workforce, there is a critical shortage of domestic workers available to work on dairy farms. Dairy farmers are often ill-equipped to verify the authenticity of documents that job applicants present. As a result, some of the workers the farmers hire may not be lawfully authorized to work. With all the challenges facing dairy farmers today, we should help dairy farmers hire lawful workers, not leave them with the precarious choice of hiring workers who may be unauthorized, or hiring no workers at all.

Expanding the H-2A program to include dairy workers would protect both American and foreign workers. It would protect American workers from having to compete with an unlawful work force, in which unscrupulous employers pay lower wages in often unsafe conditions. At the same time, it would protect foreign dairy workers, by requiring that employers comply with existing H-2A regulations and wage and hour and occupational safety laws. This legislation, if enacted, would give foreign workers who seek employment in the dairy industry the dignity and certainty of lawful status and the opportunity to be productive members of the communities in which they work.

In 2006 and 2007, I worked to include nearly identical provisions in the Senate's comprehensive immigration bills. This legislation reflects those provisions. The measure I introduce today is a simple, targeted fix to our immigration laws that will enable dairy farmers to gain the benefits of this important program. While I recognize that many agricultural employers are frustrated by the current regulatory process, it is a critical first step, and a matter of basic fairness that dairy farmers are afforded the same opportunities to obtain labor as all other agricultural sectors.

Although this legislation is necessary to meet the immediate needs of dairy farmers, I also want to make absolutely clear that I remain in complete support of the more comprehensive AgJOBS legislation, which I joined Senator Feinstein in introducing last year, and on which Senator Feinstein and others have worked tirelessly. I will continue to strongly support that legislation, and Senator Feinstein in her efforts to see it enacted. AgJOBS is broader than the H-2A Improvement Act. It reforms the broader H-2A program to cover agricultural workers that are currently assisting American farmers, but who are not lawfully authorized to work. It also makes important, negotiated changes to streamline the H-2A regulatory process for employers and workers. I recognize that farmers across the country need a comprehensive solution--from Vermont's small dairy farms to the vast fields of California. The solution that the AgJOBS legislation proposes will benefit agriculture across the Nation and is a solution I remain committed to making a reality.

I will also continue to work with Senate leadership and Senators from both sides of the aisle to accomplish our shared goals for broader reform of our Nation's immigration system. In the meantime, America's dairy farmers must at least be placed on the same footing as other agricultural interests with respect to our current H-2A laws.

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

Mr. President, today, I am pleased to introduce the Honest Services Restoration Act with Senator Whitehouse and Senator Kaufman. The legislation will restore critical tools used by investigators and prosecutors to combat public corruption and corporate fraud, which the Supreme Court dramatically weakened in Skilling v. United States.

In Skilling, the Court sided with an Enron executive who had been convicted of fraud, and in doing so, held that the honest services fraud statute may be used to prosecute only bribery and kickbacks, but no other conduct. That leaves other corrupt and fraudulent conduct which prosecutors in the past addressed under the honest services fraud statute to go unchecked. Most notably, the Court's decision excluded undisclosed ``self-dealing'' by state and federal public officials, and corporate officers and directors, which is when those officials or executives secretly act in their own financial self-interest, rather than in the interest of the public or, in the private sector cases, their shareholders and employees. The Honest Services Restoration Act restores the honest services statute to cover this undisclosed ``self- dealing'' by state and Federal public officials, and corporate officers and directors.

In a hearing earlier today, the Judiciary Committee heard testimony from experts who explored the kinds of problematic conduct that may now go unchecked in the wake of the Skilling decision. The testimony also considered what Congress can and should do to fill those gaps and restore strong enforcement to combat corrupt and fraudulent conduct.

It is clear that in recent years, the stain of corruption has spread to all levels of government. This is a problem that victimizes every American by chipping away at the foundations of our democracy and the faith that Americans have in their government. Recent years have also seen a plague of financial and corporate frauds that have severely undermined our economy and hurt too many hardworking people in this country. These frauds have robbed people of their savings, their retirement accounts, college funds for their children, and have cost too many people their homes.

Congress has acted, by passing the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act and other key provisions, to give prosecutors and investigators more tools to combat fraud. But we must remain vigilant, as the methods and techniques used by those who would defraud hardworking Americans continue to change. Too often, loopholes in existing laws have meant that corrupt conduct can go unchecked. The honest services fraud statute has enabled prosecutors to root out corrupt and fraudulent conduct that would otherwise slip through those loopholes; we must tighten it so it can perform that important role again.

Congress must act aggressively but carefully to strengthen our laws to root out corruption and fraud. By preventing public officials and corporate executives from acting in their own self-interest at the expense of the people they serve, the Honest Services Restoration Act closes a gap created by Skilling and strengthens a critical law enforcement tool. I look forward to working with Senators from both parties to quickly pass this bill.

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

Mr. President, in these challenging economic times, dairy farmers in Vermont, New York, and across America are experiencing particularly difficult conditions. They face both rock-bottom milk prices, and a severe labor shortage. There is an immediate solution for one of these issues. Labor shortages could be met with foreign agricultural workers under a special visa program, called H-2A, which allows farmers who are unable to fill labor needs with domestic workers to hire temporary or seasonal foreign workers. I have long sought to include dairy farmers in the H-2A program, but the Department of Labor has consistently refused to interpret the law to allow dairy farmers access to seasonal foreign workers.

Last fall, the Department of Labor initiated a rulemaking process to reconsider various aspects of the H-2A program. I repeatedly urged the Department to exercise its authority to give dairy farmers access to H- 2A workers, both through comments I submitted in the formal rulemaking and by supporting the comments of the National Milk Producers Federation.

Nonetheless, on February 11, 2010, the Department released a final rule that continues to exclude the dairy industry from this valuable program. Inexplicably, while refusing to include the dairy industry because of its year-round needs, the Department of Labor extends new access to the H-2A program to the logging industry, and continues to offer access to these purportedly seasonal worker visas to the year- round sheepherding industry.

Today, I introduce the H-2A Improvement Act with Senators Gillibrand and Schumer. This bill will finally end the inequity under current law. The H-2A Improvement Act will make explicit in law that dairy farms can use the H-2A program, ensuring that dairy farmers in Vermont, New York, and throughout the Nation can find the labor they need to stay in business, meeting the needs of their communities and American families. This legislation, which also gives statutory access to the H-2A program to sheep herders and goat herders, contains provisions to ensure that the benefit that these workers provide to farmers is maximized. The legislation authorizes this unique class of workers to remain in the United States for an initial period of 3 years, and gives U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the authority to approve a worker for an additional 3-year period as needed. After the initial 3-year period, the worker may petition to become a lawful permanent resident.

The failure to allow the dairy industry to participate in the H-2A program puts many dairy farmers in the situation of having to choose between their livelihoods and following the law. Late last year, the Department of Homeland Security audited at least four dairy farms in Vermont. Although I strongly believe that the vast majority of dairy farmers want to hire a lawful workforce, there is a critical shortage of domestic workers available to work on dairy farms. Dairy farmers are often ill-equipped to verify the authenticity of documents that job applicants present. As a result, some of the workers the farmers hire may not be lawfully authorized to work. With all the challenges facing dairy farmers today, we should help dairy farmers hire lawful workers, not leave them with the precarious choice of hiring workers who may be unauthorized, or hiring no workers at all.

Expanding the H-2A program to include dairy workers would protect both American and foreign workers. It would protect American workers from having to compete with an unlawful work force, in which unscrupulous employers pay lower wages in often unsafe conditions. At the same time, it would protect foreign dairy workers, by requiring that employers comply with existing H-2A regulations and wage and hour and occupational safety laws. This legislation, if enacted, would give foreign workers who seek employment in the dairy industry the dignity and certainty of lawful status and the opportunity to be productive members of the communities in which they work.

In 2006 and 2007, I worked to include nearly identical provisions in the Senate's comprehensive immigration bills. This legislation reflects those provisions. The measure I introduce today is a simple, targeted fix to our immigration laws that will enable dairy farmers to gain the benefits of this important program. While I recognize that many agricultural employers are frustrated by the current regulatory process, it is a critical first step, and a matter of basic fairness that dairy farmers are afforded the same opportunities to obtain labor as all other agricultural sectors.

Although this legislation is necessary to meet the immediate needs of dairy farmers, I also want to make absolutely clear that I remain in complete support of the more comprehensive AgJOBS legislation, which I joined Senator Feinstein in introducing last year, and on which Senator Feinstein and others have worked tirelessly. I will continue to strongly support that legislation, and Senator Feinstein in her efforts to see it enacted. AgJOBS is broader than the H-2A Improvement Act. It reforms the broader H-2A program to cover agricultural workers that are currently assisting American farmers, but who are not lawfully authorized to work. It also makes important, negotiated changes to streamline the H-2A regulatory process for employers and workers. I recognize that farmers across the country need a comprehensive solution--from Vermont's small dairy farms to the vast fields of California. The solution that the AgJOBS legislation proposes will benefit agriculture across the Nation and is a solution I remain committed to making a reality.

I will also continue to work with Senate leadership and Senators from both sides of the aisle to accomplish our shared goals for broader reform of our Nation's immigration system. In the meantime, America's dairy farmers must at least be placed on the same footing as other agricultural interests with respect to our current H-2A laws.

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

Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will pass the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act. In doing so, we have taken this important step toward banning obscene animal crush videos, and I thank Senators Kyl, Merkley and Burr for their leadership on this issue. We worked on a bipartisan basis to ensure that this legislation respects the first amendment and the role of our court system, while at the same time giving law enforcement a valuable and necessary tool to stop obscene animal cruelty. I urge the House to quickly adopt the legislation.

Earlier this year, in United States v. Stevens, the Supreme Court struck down a Federal statute banning depictions of animal cruelty because it held the statute to be overbroad and in violation of the first amendment. Animal crush videos, which can depict obscene, extreme acts of animal cruelty, were a primary target of that legislation.

Two months ago, in response to the Stevens decision, the House overwhelmingly passed a narrower bill banning animal crush videos on obscenity grounds. The Senate Judiciary Committee regularly looks at questions raised by Supreme Court decisions and the first amendment, and the House-passed bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.

There are a few well-established exceptions to the first amendment. The United States has long prohibited the interstate sale of obscene materials, and the Supreme Court recognized this exception to the first amendment in 1957. Earlier this month, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing focused on the obscene nature of many animal crush videos. We heard testimony from experts who confirmed that many animal crush videos depict extreme acts of animal cruelty which are designed to appeal to a specific, prurient, sexual fetish. Indeed, these animal crush videos are patently offensive, lack any redeeming social value, and can be banned consistent with the Supreme Court's obscenity jurisprudence. In drafting the substitute amendment to the House bill, we were careful to respect the role that courts and juries play in determining obscenity. In any given case, it will be up to the prosecutor to prove and the jury to determine whether a given depiction is obscene, because obscenity is a separate element of the crime. The other element that occurs in animal crush videos and which warrants a higher punishment than simple obscenity is that

it involves the intentional torture or pain to a living animal. Congress finds this combination deplorable and worthy of special punishment. That is why the maximum penalty is higher than general obscenity law.

The United States also has a history of prohibiting speech that is integral to criminal conduct. The acts of animal cruelty depicted in many animal crush videos violate State laws, but these laws are hard to enforce. The acts of cruelty are often committed in a clandestine manner that allows the perpetrators to remain anonymous. The nature of the videos also makes it extraordinarily difficult to establish the jurisdiction necessary to prosecute the crimes. Given the severe difficulties that State law enforcement agencies have encountered in attempting to investigate and prosecute the underlying conduct, reaffirming Congress's commitment to closing the distribution network for obscene animal crush videos is an effective means of combating the crimes of extreme animal cruelty that they depict.

I have long been a champion of first amendment rights. As the son of Vermont printers, I know firsthand that the freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy. This is why I have worked hard to pass legislation such as the SPEECH Act, which protects American authors, journalists and publishers from foreign libel lawsuits that undermine the first amendment.

Today the Senate struck the right balance between the first amendment and the needs of law enforcement, while adhering to the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution. I commend the bipartisan coalition that worked hard, alongside the Humane Society and first amendment experts, to strike this balance, and I look forward to the time when obscene animal crush videos no longer threaten animal welfare.

Mr. President, today, I am proud to introduce the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2010, together with Senator Franken. The Justice for All Act, passed in 2004, was an unprecedented bipartisan piece of criminal justice legislation and the most significant step Congress had taken in many years to improve the quality of justice in this country, and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the American justice system. After several hearings and much work, today we begin in earnest the process of building on that foundation to go still further to ensure our criminal justice system works fairly and effectively for all Americans.

In 2000, I introduced the Innocence Protection Act, which aimed to improve the administration of justice by ensuring that defendants in the most serious cases receive competent representation and, where appropriate, access to post-conviction DNA testing necessary to prove their innocence in those cases where the system got it grievously wrong.

The Innocence Protection Act became a key component of the Justice for All Act, along with important provisions to ensure that crime victims would have the rights and protections they need and deserve, and that States and communities would take major steps to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits and give prompt justice for victims of sexual assault. These and other important criminal justice provisions made the Justice for All Act a groundbreaking achievement in criminal justice reform.

The programs created by the Justice For All Act have had an enormous impact, and it is crucial that we reauthorize them. Unfortunately, the Committee's hearings and recent headlines have made clear that simply reauthorizing the existing law is not enough. Significant problems remain, and we must work together to address them.

In too many communities around the country, large numbers of untested rape kids have come to light, many of which have not even made their way to crime labs. It is unacceptable that rape victims must still live in fear and wait for justice. We must act to fix this continuing problem.

We have also seen too many cases of people found to be innocent after spending years in jail, and we have faced the harrowing possibility that the unthinkable may have happened: the State of Texas may have executed an innocent man. We must act to ensure that our criminal justice system works as it should so that relevant evidence is tested and considered and all defendants receive quality representation.

I thank Senator Franken for working with me on these important issues and helping to craft this important bill. I also appreciate the Republican Senators, including Senators Sessions and Grassley, who have provided input for this bill and participated in the process. I am confident that this legislation will be enacted in a bipartisan fashion, just as the original Justice for All Act was, and I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to reach that goal.

The original Justice for All Act included the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Reduction Program, which authorized significant funding to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits so that victims need not live in fear while kits languish in storage. That program is named after Debbie Smith, who lived in fear for years after being attacked before her rape kit was tested and the perpetrator was caught. She and her husband Rob have worked tirelessly to ensure that others need not experience the ordeal she went through. I thank Debbie and Rob for their continuing help on this extremely important cause.

Since we passed this important law in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars going to States for the testing of DNA samples to reduce backlogs. I have worked with Senators of both parties to ensure full funding for the Debbie Smith Act each year.

As I have researched the problem of untested rape kits, there is one thing that I have heard again and again: the Debbie Smith program has been working and is making a major difference. I have heard from the Justice Department, the States, including Vermont, law enforcement, and victims' advocates, that Debbie Smith grants have led to significant and meaningful backlog reductions and to justice for victims in jurisdictions across the country.

Unfortunately, despite the good strides we have made and the significant Federal funding for these efforts, we have seen alarming reports of continuing backlogs. A 2008 study found 12,500 untested rape kits in the Los Angeles area alone. While Los Angeles has since made progress in addressing the problem, other cities have now reported backlogs almost as severe. The Justice Department released a report last year finding that in 18 percent of open, unsolved rape cases, evidence had not even been submitted to a crime lab.

That Justice Department study gets to a key component of this problem that has not yet been addressed. No matter how much money we send to crime labs for testing, if samples that

could help close cases instead sit on the shelf in police evidence rooms and never make it to the lab, that money will do no good. Police officers must understand the importance of testing this vital evidence and must learn when testing is appropriate and necessary. In too many jurisdictions, rape kits taken from victims who put themselves through further hardship to take these samples--rape kits that could help law enforcement to get criminals off the street--are sitting untested.

The bill we introduce today will finally address this part of the problem by mandating that the Department of Justice develop practices and protocols for the processing of DNA evidence and provide technical assistance to State and local governments to implement those protocols. The bill authorizes funding to States and communities to reduce their rape kit backlogs at the law enforcement stage by training officers, improving practices, developing evidence tracking systems, and taking other key steps to make sure that this crucial evidence gets to the labs to be tested.

The bill will also help us get to the bottom of this problem by calling for the development of a standardized definition of ``backlog,'' covering both the law enforcement and lab stages, and by implementing public reporting requirements to help us to identify where the backlogs are. It also takes steps to ensure that labs test DNA samples in the best order so that those samples which can help secure justice for rape victims are tested most quickly. It will also put into place new accountability requirements to make sure that Debbie Smith Act money is being spent effectively and appropriately.

The bill makes important changes to existing law to ensure that no rape victims are ever required to pay for testing of their rape kits, and that these costs are covered with no strings attached. Senator Franken has been a strong advocate of this important provision, and I thank him for his help.

We have also taken important new steps to ensure that defendants in serious cases receive adequate representation and, where appropriate, testing of relevant DNA samples. As a former prosecutor, I have great faith in the men and women in law enforcement, and I know that in the vast majority of cases, our criminal justice system does work fairly and effectively. I also know, however, that the system only works as it should when each side is well represented by competent and well-trained counsel, and when all relevant evidence is retained and tested. Sadly, we learn regularly of defendants released after new evidence exonerates them. We must do better. It is an outrage when an innocent person is punished, and it is doubly an outrage that, in those cases, the guilty person remains on the streets, able to commit more crimes, which makes all of us less safe.

This legislation takes important new steps to ensure that all criminal defendants, including those who cannot afford a lawyer, receive constitutionally adequate representation. It requires the Department of Justice to assist States that want help developing an effective and efficient system of indigent defense, and it establishes a cause of action for the Federal Government to step in when States are systematically failing to provide the representation called for in the Constitution.

This is a reasonable measure that gives the States assistance and time needed to make necessary changes and seeks to provide an incentive for States to do so. Prosecutors and defense attorneys recognize the importance of quality defense counsel. Houston District Attorney Patricia Lykos testified, quite persuasively, before the Judiciary Committee about how competent defense attorneys help her do her job as a prosecutor even better. I have also learned through this process that the most effective systems of indigent defense are not always the most expensive. In some cases, making the necessary changes may also save States money.

This legislation will also help ensure that the innocent are not punished while the guilty remain free by strengthening the Kirk Bloodsworth Post Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program, one of the key programs created in the Innocence Protection Act. Kirk Bloodsworth was a young man just out of the Marines when he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for a heinous crime that he did not commit. He was the first person in the United States to be exonerated from a death row crime through the use of DNA evidence.

This program provides grants to States for testing in cases like Kirk's where someone has been convicted, but where significant DNA evidence was not tested. The last administration resisted implementing the program for several years, but we worked hard to see the program put into place. Now, money has gone out to a number of States, and the Committee has heard strong testimony that the program is making an impact. The legislation we introduce today expands the very modest authorization of funds to this important program and clarifies the conditions set for this program so that participating States are required to preserve key evidence, which is crucial, but are required to do so in a way that is attainable and will allow more States to participate.

The bill also asks states to produce comprehensive plans for their criminal justice systems, which will help to ensure that criminal justice systems operate effectively as a whole and that all parts of the system work together and receive the resources they need. The bill reauthorizes and improves key grant programs in a variety of areas throughout the criminal justice system. Importantly, it increases authorized funding for the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant program, which is a vital program to assist forensic laboratories in performing the many forensic tests that are essential to solving crimes and prosecuting perpetrators. I appreciate Senator Sessions' longstanding support for this important program.

Finally, the legislation strengthens rights for victims of crime. It gives crime victims an affirmative right to be informed of all of their rights under the Crime Victims' Rights Act and other key laws, and it takes several steps to make it easier for crime victims to assert their legal rights in court. I thank Senators Feinstein and Kyl for their leadership in this area and their assistance in developing these provisions.

In these times of tight budgets, it is important to note that this bill would make all of these improvements without increasing total authorized funding under the Justice For All Act and that many of these changes will help States, communities, and the Federal Government save money in the long term.

Today, we rededicate ourselves to building a criminal justice system in which the innocent remain free, the guilty are punished, and all sides have the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to advance the cause of justice. Americans need and deserve a criminal justice system which keeps us safe, ensures fairness and accuracy, and fulfills the promise of our constitution. This bill will take important steps to bring us closer to that goal. I hope there will be strong bipartisan support for these efforts moving forward.

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

Mr. President, today, I am proud to introduce the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2010, together with Senator Franken. The Justice for All Act, passed in 2004, was an unprecedented bipartisan piece of criminal justice legislation and the most significant step Congress had taken in many years to improve the quality of justice in this country, and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the American justice system. After several hearings and much work, today we begin in earnest the process of building on that foundation to go still further to ensure our criminal justice system works fairly and effectively for all Americans.

In 2000, I introduced the Innocence Protection Act, which aimed to improve the administration of justice by ensuring that defendants in the most serious cases receive competent representation and, where appropriate, access to post-conviction DNA testing necessary to prove their innocence in those cases where the system got it grievously wrong.

The Innocence Protection Act became a key component of the Justice for All Act, along with important provisions to ensure that crime victims would have the rights and protections they need and deserve, and that States and communities would take major steps to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits and give prompt justice for victims of sexual assault. These and other important criminal justice provisions made the Justice for All Act a groundbreaking achievement in criminal justice reform.

The programs created by the Justice For All Act have had an enormous impact, and it is crucial that we reauthorize them. Unfortunately, the Committee's hearings and recent headlines have made clear that simply reauthorizing the existing law is not enough. Significant problems remain, and we must work together to address them.

In too many communities around the country, large numbers of untested rape kids have come to light, many of which have not even made their way to crime labs. It is unacceptable that rape victims must still live in fear and wait for justice. We must act to fix this continuing problem.

We have also seen too many cases of people found to be innocent after spending years in jail, and we have faced the harrowing possibility that the unthinkable may have happened: the State of Texas may have executed an innocent man. We must act to ensure that our criminal justice system works as it should so that relevant evidence is tested and considered and all defendants receive quality representation.

I thank Senator Franken for working with me on these important issues and helping to craft this important bill. I also appreciate the Republican Senators, including Senators Sessions and Grassley, who have provided input for this bill and participated in the process. I am confident that this legislation will be enacted in a bipartisan fashion, just as the original Justice for All Act was, and I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to reach that goal.

The original Justice for All Act included the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Reduction Program, which authorized significant funding to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits so that victims need not live in fear while kits languish in storage. That program is named after Debbie Smith, who lived in fear for years after being attacked before her rape kit was tested and the perpetrator was caught. She and her husband Rob have worked tirelessly to ensure that others need not experience the ordeal she went through. I thank Debbie and Rob for their continuing help on this extremely important cause.

Since we passed this important law in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars going to States for the testing of DNA samples to reduce backlogs. I have worked with Senators of both parties to ensure full funding for the Debbie Smith Act each year.

As I have researched the problem of untested rape kits, there is one thing that I have heard again and again: the Debbie Smith program has been working and is making a major difference. I have heard from the Justice Department, the States, including Vermont, law enforcement, and victims' advocates, that Debbie Smith grants have led to significant and meaningful backlog reductions and to justice for victims in jurisdictions across the country.

Unfortunately, despite the good strides we have made and the significant Federal funding for these efforts, we have seen alarming reports of continuing backlogs. A 2008 study found 12,500 untested rape kits in the Los Angeles area alone. While Los Angeles has since made progress in addressing the problem, other cities have now reported backlogs almost as severe. The Justice Department released a report last year finding that in 18 percent of open, unsolved rape cases, evidence had not even been submitted to a crime lab.

That Justice Department study gets to a key component of this problem that has not yet been addressed. No matter how much money we send to crime labs for testing, if samples that

could help close cases instead sit on the shelf in police evidence rooms and never make it to the lab, that money will do no good. Police officers must understand the importance of testing this vital evidence and must learn when testing is appropriate and necessary. In too many jurisdictions, rape kits taken from victims who put themselves through further hardship to take these samples--rape kits that could help law enforcement to get criminals off the street--are sitting untested.

The bill we introduce today will finally address this part of the problem by mandating that the Department of Justice develop practices and protocols for the processing of DNA evidence and provide technical assistance to State and local governments to implement those protocols. The bill authorizes funding to States and communities to reduce their rape kit backlogs at the law enforcement stage by training officers, improving practices, developing evidence tracking systems, and taking other key steps to make sure that this crucial evidence gets to the labs to be tested.

The bill will also help us get to the bottom of this problem by calling for the development of a standardized definition of ``backlog,'' covering both the law enforcement and lab stages, and by implementing public reporting requirements to help us to identify where the backlogs are. It also takes steps to ensure that labs test DNA samples in the best order so that those samples which can help secure justice for rape victims are tested most quickly. It will also put into place new accountability requirements to make sure that Debbie Smith Act money is being spent effectively and appropriately.

The bill makes important changes to existing law to ensure that no rape victims are ever required to pay for testing of their rape kits, and that these costs are covered with no strings attached. Senator Franken has been a strong advocate of this important provision, and I thank him for his help.

We have also taken important new steps to ensure that defendants in serious cases receive adequate representation and, where appropriate, testing of relevant DNA samples. As a former prosecutor, I have great faith in the men and women in law enforcement, and I know that in the vast majority of cases, our criminal justice system does work fairly and effectively. I also know, however, that the system only works as it should when each side is well represented by competent and well-trained counsel, and when all relevant evidence is retained and tested. Sadly, we learn regularly of defendants released after new evidence exonerates them. We must do better. It is an outrage when an innocent person is punished, and it is doubly an outrage that, in those cases, the guilty person remains on the streets, able to commit more crimes, which makes all of us less safe.

This legislation takes important new steps to ensure that all criminal defendants, including those who cannot afford a lawyer, receive constitutionally adequate representation. It requires the Department of Justice to assist States that want help developing an effective and efficient system of indigent defense, and it establishes a cause of action for the Federal Government to step in when States are systematically failing to provide the representation called for in the Constitution.

This is a reasonable measure that gives the States assistance and time needed to make necessary changes and seeks to provide an incentive for States to do so. Prosecutors and defense attorneys recognize the importance of quality defense counsel. Houston District Attorney Patricia Lykos testified, quite persuasively, before the Judiciary Committee about how competent defense attorneys help her do her job as a prosecutor even better. I have also learned through this process that the most effective systems of indigent defense are not always the most expensive. In some cases, making the necessary changes may also save States money.

This legislation will also help ensure that the innocent are not punished while the guilty remain free by strengthening the Kirk Bloodsworth Post Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program, one of the key programs created in the Innocence Protection Act. Kirk Bloodsworth was a young man just out of the Marines when he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for a heinous crime that he did not commit. He was the first person in the United States to be exonerated from a death row crime through the use of DNA evidence.

This program provides grants to States for testing in cases like Kirk's where someone has been convicted, but where significant DNA evidence was not tested. The last administration resisted implementing the program for several years, but we worked hard to see the program put into place. Now, money has gone out to a number of States, and the Committee has heard strong testimony that the program is making an impact. The legislation we introduce today expands the very modest authorization of funds to this important program and clarifies the conditions set for this program so that participating States are required to preserve key evidence, which is crucial, but are required to do so in a way that is attainable and will allow more States to participate.

The bill also asks states to produce comprehensive plans for their criminal justice systems, which will help to ensure that criminal justice systems operate effectively as a whole and that all parts of the system work together and receive the resources they need. The bill reauthorizes and improves key grant programs in a variety of areas throughout the criminal justice system. Importantly, it increases authorized funding for the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant program, which is a vital program to assist forensic laboratories in performing the many forensic tests that are essential to solving crimes and prosecuting perpetrators. I appreciate Senator Sessions' longstanding support for this important program.

Finally, the legislation strengthens rights for victims of crime. It gives crime victims an affirmative right to be informed of all of their rights under the Crime Victims' Rights Act and other key laws, and it takes several steps to make it easier for crime victims to assert their legal rights in court. I thank Senators Feinstein and Kyl for their leadership in this area and their assistance in developing these provisions.

In these times of tight budgets, it is important to note that this bill would make all of these improvements without increasing total authorized funding under the Justice For All Act and that many of these changes will help States, communities, and the Federal Government save money in the long term.

Today, we rededicate ourselves to building a criminal justice system in which the innocent remain free, the guilty are punished, and all sides have the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to advance the cause of justice. Americans need and deserve a criminal justice system which keeps us safe, ensures fairness and accuracy, and fulfills the promise of our constitution. This bill will take important steps to bring us closer to that goal. I hope there will be strong bipartisan support for these efforts moving forward.

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

Mr. President, I commend the House of Representatives for promptly enacting the Freedom of Information Act amendments to the Securities and Exchange Act, Investment Company Act, and Investment Advisers Act of 2010, S. 3717. This bipartisan bill will ensure that the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, remains an effective tool to provide public access to information about the stability of our financial markets.

This bill will also ensure that the important goals of the historic Wall Street reform law--enhancing transparency, accountability, and confidence in our financial system--will become a reality for all Americans. The bill eliminates several broad FOIA exemptions for Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, records that were recently enacted as part of Public Law 111-203. The bill also helps to ensure that the SEC has access to the information that the Commission needs to carry out its new enforcement activities under the new reforms.

I thank Representative Edolphus Towns, the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative Barney Frank, the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, for their support of this bill and for working with me to quickly enact this legislation. I also thank Senators Grassley, Cornyn, and Kaufman for cosponsoring this important open government bill. In addition, I commend the many open government organizations, including OpenTheGovernment.org, the Project on Government Oversight, the American Library Association, and the Sunlight Foundation for their support of this bill.

The Freedom of Information Act has long recognized the need to balance the government's legitimate interest in protecting confidential business records, trade secrets, and other sensitive information from public disclosure, and preserving the public's right to know. To accomplish this, care must always be taken to ensure that exemptions to FOIA's disclosure requirements are narrowly and properly applied. The bill accomplishes this important goal.

I commend the Congress for working in a bipartisan and expeditious manner to eliminate these overly broad FOIA exemptions. I urge the President to promptly sign this good government bill into law.

Mr. President, for each of us, our health is among the things we care the most about. Certainly one of the most common requests any of us regularly make in prayer is for good health. And of course it is not only our own health we worry about; we also want good health and proper medical insurance for our children, our parents, our siblings--for all those who are important to us.

Medical knowledge and technology have advanced tremendously during the past two and a half centuries of American life, and the pace of medical progress is accelerating. But health insurance models have not. The deck has been stacked in favor of the insurance companies, and against the practical needs of ordinary Americans. For much of the last century Americans have pointed to the obvious need for insurance reform, yet the problems have only grown worse and more urgent, leaving millions of Americans exposed to the ravages of sudden illness and the wasting effects of declining health.

Six months ago today, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, which will extend health insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans in the next few years. Reform based on good quality, affordable health insurance that has been talked about for decades is finally becoming a reality. Over 15 months starting last year, Congress debated and then passed the most sweeping and comprehensive reforms to improve the everyday lives of every American since Congress passed Medicare in 1965. It was an arduous process, but in the end the achievement proved that change is possible and that voices of so many Americans who over the years have called on their leaders to act have finally been heard.

Americans are already beginning to see some of the benefits of insurance reform. First, in states where individuals and families are excluded from health coverage because of preexisting medical conditions, these Americans can now buy insurance through special insurance plans overseen by the states and delivered by private medical providers. Second, employers across the country already have applied for and have been awarded early retiree reinsurance grants that will reimburse employers for retirees' medical claims.

Third, seniors on Medicare who have high-cost prescriptions typically fall within a coverage gap known as the ``doughnut hole.'' Beginning recently, beneficiaries who fall within the gap will receive $250 checks to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs.

And today, more benefits of real insurance reform go into effect that will help consumers take control of their own health care decisions. Known as the Patients' Bill of Rights, these new rules protect consumers against the worst health insurance industry abuses that have prevented millions of people from receiving the health care they need. Going forward, insurance plans can no longer deny children coverage because of a preexisting health condition; insurance plans are barred from dropping beneficiaries from coverage simply because of an illness; dozens of preventive care services must be covered at no cost and with no co-pay; Americans will have access to an easier appeals process for private medical claims that are denied; and adult children can stay on their parents' plans until their 26th birthdays.

Yet another major reform now protects everyday Americans from one of the most egregious insurance industry practices: setting lifetime or annual limits on health insurance coverage. Wherever I travel in Vermont I am often stopped in the grocery store, at church, on the street or at the gas station to listen to personal, wrenching stories from Vermonters who can no longer get medical treatment because they have met their annual or lifetime maximum. Many of these Vermonters were perfectly healthy before being diagnosed with cancer or diseases that can cost well beyond their means for treatment. Instead of being able to focus on getting healthy, patients instead must worry about whether or not their next doctor's visit will shove them above the insurance company's arbitrary limit.

Each of these stories is anguishing. Let me describe just one of them. A master's student from Saint Michael's College's graduate school, Ned wrote my office during the health care reform debate to share his story. A car accident when Ned was nine left him a quadriplegic. His health care costs since then have necessarily been high. In fact, recently Ned found that he had nearly met his lifetime limit on coverage from one plan and his only remaining option for health insurance coverage not only contained a lifetime cap on coverage but also a cap on expenses for durable medical equipment, which he uses frequently because of his wheelchair. But beginning today, Ned and millions of other Americans who fear reaching their coverage limits can rest easier knowing that their insurance will be there when they need it the most. Ned, and we, can look forward to a lifetime of the contributions that he will make to his community and our country.

In addition to improvements to our health insurance system that we will see this year, over time the Affordable Care Act will insure 95 percent of our population and make a substantial investment in our economic vitality in the years ahead. In addition to ending the discriminatory insurance company practices of denying coverage because of a preexisting condition or canceling coverage when beneficiaries get sick, the new law will lower costs for small businesses and individuals who simply cannot afford health coverage. And despite the specious arguments from opponents of reform, this bill is the largest deficit reduction measure upon which many in Congress will ever cast a vote. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that comprehensive reform will reduce the federal deficit by $143 billion through 2019, and by more than $1 trillion in the decades to come.

The Affordable Care Act is a tremendous achievement that will improve the lives of Americans for generations to come. For decades, we have heard heartbreaking stories about the enormous challenges Americans face because they are uninsured or underinsured. With each new implementation date of the features of the Affordable Care Act, these stories are becoming fewer and fewer and are being replaced by stories of the success of these reforms, one family at a time, all across Vermont and all across America.

There is still much more to accomplish, and there are still millions of Americans who are struggling to buy or keep adequate health insurance coverage for their families or themselves. As these reforms are implemented over the next few years, I will continue to work with Vermonters and the Department of Health and Human Services to help Americans have the access to the quality, affordable health insurance that each American needs and deserves.