Floor Statements

Mr. President, last month, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations, U.S. or multinational, are equivalent to people and should be able to spend an unlimited amount of company money on political campaigns.

I bet the framers of our constitution could not only tell the difference between businesses and people, but could predict the result if businesses are permitted to spend without limit to elect their favorite politicians.

The top three Fortune 500 companies brought in an average profit of more than $27 billion last year. The average Ohio household brought home an income of about $48,000.

If you believe our government should be by the people and for the people--flesh and blood people--then corporations already have far more influence on our political process than they should.

In 2009, corporations spent $3.3 billion lobbying Congress to influence insurance legislation and prescription drug legislation and financial reform legislation and the list goes on. Now they will be able to spend unlimited funds to elect their favorite candidates to Congress, getting in on the ground floor in the hopes that legislation they don't like will never see the light of day.

Grassroots organizations like, conservative organization and Families USA, whose members are real people with real concerns, will be left in the dust by the drug industry and other deep pocketed special interests.

The bottom-line is that our democratic form of government will sit on a cushion of corporate cash. If Corporate America wants to decide who runs our country, they will have a billion ways to do it.

Congress has--and must exercise--its constitutionally granted authority to minimize the negative impact of this decision. Today, I introduced The Citizens Right to Know Act, legislation that is intended to reduce the incentive for corporations to buy out the political process. It would also put a stop to foreign influence on U.S. elections.

To protect shareholder investments, this legislation would require all the shareholders of a corporation to vote for election spending before it happens, with approval by a majority of shareholders. Each shareholder would get one vote per share of common stock held. If shareholders know that millions or billions in potential dividends are about to be spent on campaign ads, they may help instill some reason into the, elected, leadership of the corporations they own.

It would also require corporate CEOs to do what political candidates do when they pay for political advertising: political candidates face the camera and tell the public that they sponsored the commercial. Corporate CEOs would have to do the same for their political advertisements. Issue organizations or trade groups would have to disclose their three top corporate contributors, and to disclose funding information for certain radio and print ads on their website. Shedding sunlight on the political shenanigans of billion dollar corporations may do a world of good in dampening the effects of their spending.

Finally, the bill would close a loophole that permits foreign investors, including foreign governments, to influence U.S. elections by channeling money through a U.S. affiliate. Any company that has a 51 percent or greater ownership stake from a foreign entity, be it a foreign individual, business association, or government, would be prohibited from spending money to influence. I think we can all agree that foreign governments should not have the same right to contribute to campaigns as the American people, and it would be outrageous if they could spend money to influence the outcome of the Presidential or any other race.

Americans--true, red blooded Americans--should decide who represents them in our democratic system. Billion dollar corporations make important contributions to our nation, but tilting our democratic system their way is not one of them.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 3:30.

Mr. President, almost a quarter million Ohioans are employed, directly or indirectly, by the automobile industry. The compromise bill we have negotiated--which I hope will pass tonight-- means much more than just bridge loans for auto companies. This legislation means hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers in Ohio, in Missouri, in Indiana, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan, and all over this country; hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers in my State will be able to keep their jobs--jobs for car dealerships in all 50 States, jobs for suppliers in all 50 States. It means jobs at auto assembly plants and it means jobs at auto-stamping plants and engine plants in all those States I mentioned. It means communities would not suffer yet another blow from massive job loss. It means Ohio's economy and our Nation's economy will have a fighting chance to get back on track.

Inaction means a present of pink slips for millions of American workers this Christmas. Bah humbug. There are some in this Chamber who would rather see our largest manufacturing industry go bankrupt rather than provide a bridge loan to success.

Let's be clear about what this legislation will do. The legislation provides a bridge loan to auto companies, a loan that comes with strict oversight and with strict conditions--something, frankly, the Treasury Department did not do with the financial services industry. If the auto companies don't negotiate a real plan for restructuring their businesses, all the interested parties--that means the auto dealers, the suppliers, the bondholders, the workers, management--if they don't negotiate a real plan for restructuring their businesses with all the interested parties, then the loan gets called in March or in April. This is not handing a checkbook over to the industry to make out whatever they think is fair. This legislation means accountability. It means transparency. It means no more corporate jets. It means no more golden parachutes when they hit turbulence. More importantly, passing this legislation means saving millions of jobs nationally, hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ohio and Michigan, and tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania--as I said, millions of jobs all over this country. This legislation means the potential, as the industry gets better and better--and it has shown improvement in the last couple years--it means the potential for new job creation.

This bipartisan compromise legislation will help ensure the long-term viability of the most important component in U.S. manufacturing--the auto industry. It will help ensure global competitiveness. It will help ensure and promote energy efficiency by developing advanced technology vehicles.

Let me say it again. This legislation will save jobs. This bill is about jobs. It is about creating a middle class and strengthening the middle class. It is about jobs.

Back in November, the auto companies were given the task of developing detailed plans of how they would use taxpayer support and whether we, as Members of Congress and as the public, could have some assurance they would be able to survive and ultimately thrive. They submitted their plans on December 2, and they gave detailed proposals of how they will return to profitability. There are no absolute guarantees their plans will succeed, nor can there be guarantees. But based on reasonable assumptions--again, a much higher standard than the financial institutions to which the Treasury Department has handed hundreds of billions of dollars--based on reasonable assumptions, these auto companies will return to financial health, and they will repay the Federal loans they are seeking within a few years' time.

Thirty years ago, Chrysler borrowed more than $1 billion. They paid it back. The Government made money. They paid it back, in fact, more quickly than the Government asked them to initially. In the last month, the auto companies, dealing with us in this Congress, have done their part, and now it is our turn. We have two choices. We can either provide bridge loans to the auto industry or we can drive the economy off a bridge.

Seldom are the consequences of inaction so clear. If we do nothing, there will be a cascade of bankruptcies, not just in Detroit but across the country, including in the Presiding Officer's State of Missouri, in my State of Ohio, and across the country.

Last week a steelmaker in Cleveland announced that 450 men and women need not come to work on Monday. Another week before that, in Lordstown, OH, GM announced a layoff of some number of autoworkers at the Lordstown GM assembly plant and, within days, major suppliers also announced layoffs. Some 40 percent of production goes to the auto industry from the steel plant I was talking about. It is already competing in an industry where foreign governments subsidize hand over foot.

What happens to that steel mill if one or all of the big three go bankrupt?

These layoffs are not just numbers. A young woman from Youngstown, near Lordstown, wrote me about how her family moved off welfare when her father found a job when GM was hiring. She said the interview and testing process was extensive and the stakes for her family immense. When her father got the job, he was so happy he cried tears of joy. As somebody recently hired, she fears for her father and her family. The tears may soon be those of sorrow.

Next week, Lordstown workers will conduct their annual food drive, feeding hundreds of families through the holidays. They contribute a third of the United Way budget. This plant contributes a third--these workers--to the United Way budget. They keep the hardware stores open. They keep the restaurants open. They fund the public schools with tax dollars. They keep firefighters on the street, police officers on the street.

My colleagues may not appreciate the dramatic changes that have taken place in this industry. Employment, as a whole, has been cut in half. Productivity has started to match or exceed the foreign transplant factories. The UAW has agreed to extraordinary reductions in the pay and benefits of autoworkers in 2005, again last year, in 2007, and again now. The UAW has been a partner in these negotiations, as outlined by UAW President Gettelfinger to the Banking Committee only last week, and in putting the industry on the path to match the costs of the competition.

If we fail to act, the consequences will be felt throughout the economy--in the credit markets, the supplier industries, even the local newspaper.

A little over 2 months ago it was the banking industry that faced a crisis with an urgent need for Federal help. As I said earlier, the differences in how we responded to the two crises are striking. The banking industry, initially, through the Secretary of the Treasury, gave us a three-page plan, a three-page bill for spending $700 billion. We obviously threw the three pages out because we wanted much more than that, but the revisions that came a week and a half later passed this Senate by a vote of 74 to 25.

The financial companies themselves, five of which have received more than $25 billion each, not only did not appear before Congress, they never produced a plan on how they would spend the money, nor had they been asked for one by Congress or the Bush administration. Contrast that with what we have talked about for the auto industry. They didn't have to testify about why they built or marketed structured investment vehicles, but we have heard plenty of debate about the building and marketing of sport utility vehicles.

The idea Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke made before the Senate Banking Committee on behalf of the banking industry is it needed what it called patient capital that only the Federal Government could provide. The banking industry--Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke told us--was in peril, but given Federal support, in a few years' time, it would be back on its feet. I don't quarrel with the need to help the banking industry, though I have plenty of concerns for the way we are proceeding. The need here is exactly the same in the auto industry, even though the standards for transparency we are setting are almost literally contrasted like night and day. The auto industry has been hit by the same collapse in the credit market that brought Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke to Capitol Hill on behalf of bankers. It has the same need for patient capital, a bridge loan to take it to the other side of the recession.

We know this can work; we have seen it work in the past, but we have no basis to believe people will buy cars from a company in bankruptcy. That is why we can't let it go to chapter 11 bankruptcy. A structured, prepackaged bankruptcy--whatever term the lawyers in this body wish to use--if it goes into bankruptcy, people would not buy cars in sufficient numbers to get this industry back on its feet.

As we saw with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, standing by while a company goes bankrupt would send shock waves to unexpected places throughout the economy. It was a terrible mistake that Secretary Paulson let Lehman Brothers collapse. It would be a terrible mistake if the Treasury Department doesn't step up--which apparently they will not--but it would be a terrible mistake if now the House and Senate do not step up.

If we fail to act, years from now some future Professor Bernanke, now Chairman of the Fed, will study our actions and will absolutely marvel at the missed opportunity--trillions of dollars committed to the financial sector, tens of billions denied the manufacturing sector, with millions of people losing their jobs on top of the more than 1 million who have already been laid off this year. If we fail to act, we will commit one of the biggest economic sins of omission in our history.

Majority Leader Reid is absolutely right to insist that we stay here as long as we need to get this job done. Let's make it a truly merry Christmas in millions of living rooms in Lordstown, in Walton Hills, in Toledo, in Dayton, in Sharonville, in Mansfield, in towns all across the State.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to extend morning business until 4 p.m.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, Ohio is home to more than 1 million veterans, dedicated men and women who have served in every branch of our Nation's Armed Forces and every major conflict in the modern era. They have served to keep our freedoms, so our Nation could remain secure. Ohioans have a longstanding tradition of service to our country. Ohio's veterans include Presidents and generals, from Grant to Sherman, and pioneers of American advancement, such as Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and James Lovell.

But for every well-known American veteran, there are, of course, many more heroes who have quietly served this Nation and my State of Ohio with honor and distinction.

As our Nation looks forward to the return of our loved ones from the battlefield, all of us remember the tremendous contributions our veterans have made to Ohio and to our country. We are humbled by their patriotism and their bravery.

On Veterans Day and every day, it is my honor to thank Ohio veterans and their families for their service to our great State and our great Nation.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame was created in 1992 to recognize the lifetime contributions of veterans, not just those who serve their country in the Armed Forces but also those who continue to give back since they left the service. I honor, congratulate, and salute all of them.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Class of 2008 is made up of several men and women whose stories I would like to briefly tell.

Samuel Arnold, from Butler County, is a U.S. Army veteran, Vietnam war. Arnold is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4369 board of trustees and provides dentistry to veterans who reside at Joseph House at little or no cost.

Paul Baldridge, Jr., from Franklin County, is a U.S. Navy veteran. Baldridge has served in a number of veterans organizations, including the Navy League of the United States, where he has held positions as State president, national director, and vice president.

Oscar Decker, Jr., from Union County, is a U.S. Army veteran, Army National Guard and Army Reserve in World War II and Vietnam. Decker organized the Union County Military Family Support Group in 2003 and was awarded the Legion of Honor Award from the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and the American Legion of Merit.

Rebecca Eden, a registered nurse from Cuyahoga County, is a U.S. Army Nurse Corps veteran, World War II. Eden is a lifetime member of Gold Star Wives and AMVETS. She was presented with the Veterans Affairs Commendation given by the Ohio Veterans Commission for helping veterans pursue educational goals in 1982.

Eugene Fitzthum, from Erie County, is a U.S. Army veteran, World War II. Fitzthum was presented the John L. Smith AMVET of the Year Award for all his volunteer work for AMVETS Post 17 in 2008 and Volunteer of the Year from the Ohio Veterans Home in 2006.

Nada Fleming, a registered nurse from Cuyahoga County, is a U.S. Navy veteran, Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Fleming is a past commander of Seven Hills VFW Post 7609 and was appointed as National VFW Nurse of the Year for 2006-2007.

Robert Haas, from Stark County, is a U.S. Army veteran, Korean war. Haas served as the volunteer liaison officer for the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, for the past 29 years. He is a founding member and past president of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association No. 69.

Dale Huffman, from Montgomery County, is a U.S. Army veteran. His public broadcasting skills have helped to energize veteran advocacy, and he was inducted into Dayton's Walk of Fame on September 25, 2008.

Charles Ianni, deceased, was from Cuyahoga County, U.S. Army veteran, World War II. Ianni was named Veteran of the Year by Cuyahoga County and was a charter member of the John Towle Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, Special Forces Chapter.

James Johnson, from Franklin County, is a U.S. Air Force veteran. Johnson was awarded the AFCRC Certificate of Recognition for his contribution, support, and distinguished service to his community, especially in the area of veterans affairs in 2007.

Jack M. Kennedy, from Franklin County, is a U.S. Navy veteran, Vietnam war. Kennedy has served in the Navy League of the United States, where he has held various positions, including Navy League council president. He is a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America.

Margaret Kruckemeyer, a nurse, from Green County, is a U.S. Army veteran. Kruckemeyer is the president of the American Veterans Heritage Commission and is past national board member on the Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs Foundation.

Samuel Lanza, from Trumbull County, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, World War II. Lanza was appointed to the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission in 1997. He is a past State commander for the Disabled American Veterans.

Gregory Lashutka, from Franklin County, is a U.S. Navy veteran. Lashutka is the former mayor of the city of Columbus and was selected as Municipal Leader of the Year in 1993. He has maintained continuous membership in the Columbus Chapter of the Navy League and has provided support, counsel, and advice to individual veterans and veterans groups.

Erwin Morse, from Clark County, is a U.S. Air Force veteran. Morse retired from the U.S. Air Force and went to work at the Dayton Veterans Administration Medical Center. He is the founder of the Honor Flight Network which raises funds and collaborates with a number of organizations to provide an opportunity for our Nation's World War II and terminally ill veterans from around the country to experience the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

Stanley Pace, from Cuyahoga County, is a U.S. Air Force veteran, World War II. Pace has been active in the Boy Scouts of America since 1958 and was awarded the Silver Beaver and the Silver Antelope for his service. He is also active in the United Way of Cleveland and served as chairman of the annual United Way fund drive.

Elva Pounders, from Summit County, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Vietnam war. Pounder is vice chairman for the Governor's Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and was awarded the 500 Hour Award for her extraordinary volunteer efforts at Brecksville VA Medical Center in 2006.

Tony Sustarsic, Cuyahoga County, is a U.S. Army veteran, World War II. Sustarsic is the founder, past president, and lifetime member of Euclid Veterans Club. He is also a fundraiser for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1056 and American Legion Post 343.

William Willoughby, Jr., from Lake County, is a U.S. Army veteran, Vietnam war. Willoughby is a U.S. Military Academy admissions coordinator and serves on the Veterans Issues Committee. He was very helpful to me in selecting young men and women for West Point, for the U.S. Military Academy, when I was a Member of the House of Representatives.

Herman Zerger, a long-time friend of mine, is from Monroe County, U.S. Army veteran, with service in World War II and a prisoner of war. Zerger was one of the founding charter members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5303. He is an active participant in Ohio No. 1, American Ex-Prisoner of War.

As a Member of the Senate Veterans Committee, on which I serve with the Presiding Officer from Montana, my colleague, Senator Tester, it has been my privilege to hear from Ohio veterans across the State about what matters most to them. Those discussions with veterans at roundtables and hearings in Ohio reinforce my profound respect for our veterans.

It is our duty as Members of Congress to do all we can to provide the services they have earned and deserved. I look forward to working with veterans and their families in the coming years to ensure that Ohio veterans' voices are heard in Washington.

We made major progress last year. Senator Tester, Senator Webb, Senator Sanders--many of us on the Veterans Affairs Committee--Senator Murray and others, and, of course, Chairman Akaka, made major gains in health and education benefits for veterans with the new GI bill--the most important benefits granted, the largest amount of benefits granted since the original GI bill several decades ago. I am appreciative of the work of my colleagues on that issue.

Mr. President, when I think about the debate over extending unemployment insurance, some questions come to mind.

Does anyone in Congress want more American families to lose their homes?

Does anyone in Congress want more American children to go to bed hungry?

Does anyone in the House or Senate want more American families to stop paying their heating bills, to delay their credit card payments, to skip out on their health care bills?

Does anybody in the House or Senate want consumer spending to slow even further, dragging our economy from recession to something even worse?

Assuming the answer to any of these questions is no, then voting to extend unemployment insurance for current job seekers should not be a fight, it should be a formality.

This Chamber approved a massive bailout of the financial industry, not because investment bankers might have to forsake that second or third Mercedes, not because Wall Street bonuses might drop from eight figures to seven figures. We approved that bailout because when credit markets freeze, businesses cannot get working capital, and when businesses cannot get working capital, Americans lose jobs, and when Americans lose jobs, their families suffer, their communities suffer, and our Nation suffers.

It all comes down to Main Street Americans who want to work, who want to pay their bills, who want to take care of their families; their well-being is tied to the well-being of our economy and our Nation. Unemployment insurance is the mechanism by which Americans looking for jobs but who have lost their jobs can sustain their families, can keep their financial commitments, can afford the tools needed to find a new job.

I have heard too many cases where people could not even fill their gas tanks to go out searching for jobs, particularly in rural northwest and rural southeast Ohio.

Extending unemployment insurance is key to getting the economy going. It injects dollars into the economy and helps people meet their obligations, raise their kids, and do what they need to do in the community. It is one of the most important and immediate ways to stimulate the economy.

Relief for financial institutions was intended to prevent massive job loss, to stabilize the economy, to stem foreclosures. Extending unemployment insurance is intended to promote job growth, to stabilize the economy, and to stem foreclosures. It is the smart thing to do. It is the right thing to do. It holds one important advantage over the financial bailout. The people who benefit directly from an extension of unemployment compensation, from an extension of unemployment insurance, live on Main Street, with not a single Wall Street CEO in sight.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, last night we passed an economic stabilization plan that is intended to protect business, pensions, and jobs. I know from my State of Ohio, all too often I get plant shutdown notifications and applications for shutdown assistance, for worker retraining, for all kinds of responses to economic problems. What we did last night was particularly important because of potential lost jobs. With that bill we are trying to prevent an economic crisis.

Last week, Republican Members of this body, unfortunately, set the stage for another economic crisis. They set the stage for a crisis when they blocked a bill to extend unemployment insurance for millions of Americans and their families. Congress must extend this insurance for Americans. We have a bill to do that. I urge my colleagues to support

Mr. President, I rise to thank Senator Murray. As chairman of the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, she works hard and effectively to protect workers and to champion skills development and employment services to help adults and dislocated workers and at-risk youth succeed in this highly competitive economy. I am proud to serve on this subcommittee. I thank Senator Murray for her leadership in introducting the Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act that will help young adults transition from high school to postsecondary education, including registered apprenticeship, and to the high skill jobs of the future. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation.

I thank the Senator for highlighting local workforce boards as a key stakeholder in sector partnerships. It has been brought to my attention that we can further clarify that the SECTORS Act specifies the connection to local workforce boards. It is the intent for this legislation to acknowledge our local Ohio workforce boards and other regional and local workforce boards as key stakeholders in any industry sector strategy, something that is important to champions of good workforce policy.

Mr. President, today I pay tribute to Battelle, one of Ohio's oldest and most respected organizations.

On October 22, 1938, 70 years ago next month, a sea change in printing occurred, though no one but the inventor, Chester Carlson, and Battelle had the foresight to recognize it.

The invention of dry printing, forever memorialized by the etched words ``10-22-38 Astoria,'' was the genesis of an American product so successful its name became eponymous: Xerox.

Battelle, the world's largest nonprofit independent research and development organization, began its operations in 1929 at the behest and funding of founder Gordon Battelle's will. Within a few years, it would make history with the same vision, risk taking, and wisdom its employees display to this very day.

Even in today's increasingly paperless era, it is easy to see that a simple, rapid, and inexpensive copying process was one of the 20th century's most important innovations. With the advent of the Xerox machine, the world could make copies at the push of a button.

Battelle lies at the crossroads of necessity and creativity, an intersection we know as innovation. Taking on daunting, real-world challenges with technical prowess and ingenuity is Battelle's hallmark.

In 1935, New York patent attorney and amateur physicist Chester Carlson began thinking of easier ways to duplicate material. Extra copies of patent specifications and drawings, sometimes dozens or more, were necessary with each new job. The man-hours needed for each project were staggering.

So Carlson came up with the unconventional idea of copying by creating a visible image on paper using an electrostatic charge. He filed for a patent in 1937, calling the process electrophotography. He made it work in a real world situation the next year.

Though he shopped for financial backing at more than 20 of America's largest corporations, no one saw the value in Carlson's invention. Then, in 1944, he found Battelle. Even though America was in the midst of World War II, Carlson and Battelle signed a contract to further develop the electrophotography process. Four years later on September 28, 1948 the first public demonstration of the new technology--then named xerography, Greek for dry writing--was performed in Detroit.

Partnering in 1959 with a company called Haloid Xerox, Battelle and Carlson forged ahead to produce the first fast, low-cost, and convenient office copier--the 914 model. Xerox would go on to become one of the world's largest corporations.

Battelle grew and diversified with earnings from xerography's success. As a result, Battelle is currently the world's largest independent R&D organization. It proves that success comes to those who are willing to take risks, develop needed technology, and nurture the final product with long-term commitment.

So today, 60 years after the production of the first photocopy, I would like to commend Battelle for its role in the development of the Xerox copy machine and its continued commitment to technological advancement and investment in our Nation's future.

Mr. President, in the past year, 149 Americans died after taking tainted Heparin, a widely used blood thinner. It was later learned--as reported in the New York Times--that the contaminant derived from pig intestines was produced in ``largely unregulated'' Chinese workshops. Unfortunately, Heparin is not the only drug that relies on this dangerous brand of outsourcing. More and more, drug companies are taking advantage of cheap labor and weak safety standards found outside of the U.S. to manufacture the pharmaceuticals later used in American hospitals and households. According to a Pfizer representative who testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in April, Pfizer outsources the manufacture of 17 percent of its drug products.

Consumers have a right to know where their drugs are produced. That is why I am today introducing the Transparency in Drug Labeling Act. This bill would require country-of-origin labeling for both active and inactive ingredients on all pharmaceuticals, both prescription and over-the-counter. These new drug labels would list all the countries that played a role in the manufacturing of ingredients for the drug. The order of the list would be determined by the percentage of the drug produced in each country, with the largest contributors appearing at the top.

This bill would raise consumers' awareness of where their drugs are being produced. It would also allow companies who produce their drugs in the U.S. to advertise that fact. Drug companies that produce their drugs in the U.S. and follow the corresponding safety and regulatory standards should be rewarded with increased consumer confidence in their products.

This bill takes a proactive approach to keeping Americans safe in our global, interdependent economy. When we import from overseas, we are importing the health, labor and environmental standards of those countries as well. Consumers have a right to know where their medications originate. This bill would satisfy that reasonable demand.

Mr. President, in the past year, 149 Americans died after taking tainted Heparin, a widely used blood thinner. It was later learned--as reported in the New York Times--that the contaminant derived from pig intestines was produced in ``largely unregulated'' Chinese workshops. Unfortunately, Heparin is not the only drug that relies on this dangerous brand of outsourcing. More and more, drug companies are taking advantage of cheap labor and weak safety standards found outside of the U.S. to manufacture the pharmaceuticals later used in American hospitals and households. According to a Pfizer representative who testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in April, Pfizer outsources the manufacture of 17 percent of its drug products.

Consumers have a right to know where their drugs are produced. That is why I am today introducing the Transparency in Drug Labeling Act. This bill would require country-of-origin labeling for both active and inactive ingredients on all pharmaceuticals, both prescription and over-the-counter. These new drug labels would list all the countries that played a role in the manufacturing of ingredients for the drug. The order of the list would be determined by the percentage of the drug produced in each country, with the largest contributors appearing at the top.

This bill would raise consumers' awareness of where their drugs are being produced. It would also allow companies who produce their drugs in the U.S. to advertise that fact. Drug companies that produce their drugs in the U.S. and follow the corresponding safety and regulatory standards should be rewarded with increased consumer confidence in their products.

This bill takes a proactive approach to keeping Americans safe in our global, interdependent economy. When we import from overseas, we are importing the health, labor and environmental standards of those countries as well. Consumers have a right to know where their medications originate. This bill would satisfy that reasonable demand.

Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to recognize the achievements of Dr. Roy Silverstein, an Ohioan who has dedicated his professional life to biomedical research and medicine.

Dr. Silverstein is currently chairman of the Department of Cell Biology and vice chair for translational research at the Lerner Research Institute, as well as professor of molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.

Having chaired multiple grant review panels and published over 100 articles in various publications and scientific journals, Dr. Silverstein has accomplished an extraordinary number of professional milestones and achievements.

As committee chair for the American Society of Hematology, ASH, for the past 4 years, Dr. Silverstein has led the society's efforts to educate Members of Congress about hematology and the importance of Federal research funding. In this capacity, Dr. Silverstein has visited with me and my staff to educate us about the critical issues facing hematologists.

The skilled advocacy and research of Dr. Silverstein remind many of us in Congress of how crucial it is to keep NIH funding strong. His work demonstrates that NIH funding truly is a vehicle for enhancing the health and wellbeing of Americans. In addition to continuing his own research in blood clotting and bleeding disorders, Dr. Silverstein has also shown great commitment to educating our next generation of physicians and researchers. Dr. Silverstein is a superb advocate for his

profession, and I am grateful for his lifetime contribution to treating blood diseases and advocating for biomedical research.