Floor Statements

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President. Today I commemorate the 150th anniversary of the town of Mount Chase, ME. Mount Chase was built with a spirit of determination and resiliency that still guides the community today, and this is a time to celebrate the generations of hard-working and caring people who have made it such a wonderful place to live, work, and raise families.

While this sesquicentennial marks Mount Chase's incorporation, the year 1864 was but one milestone in a long journey of progress. For thousands of years, the land surrounding Mt. Katahdin, Maine's highest peak, was the hunting and fishing grounds of the Penobscot and Maliseet tribes. In the 1830s, the first white settlers were drawn by the fertile soil, vast stands of timber, and fast-moving streams, and the young village became a center of the Maine North Woods lumber industry. The wealth produced by the forests and saw mills was invested in schools and churches to create a true community. The incorporated town that followed was named for the prominent mountain peak, Mt. Chase, which towers more than a half-mile above the farms and forests below.

The arrival of the railroads in the aftermath of the Civil War further secured Mount Chase's prominence in the lumber industry, and the town was home to the largest cold-storage plant on the line for wild game and other perishable food products. By the end of the 19th century, modern transportation and the region's spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife combined to create a new economic opportunity--great sporting camps and lodges that drew outdoor enthusiasts from around the world. Today, the people of Mount Chase continue to honor the strong land use traditions and love of the outdoors that have helped make such places as Shin Pond a favorite recreation destination for residents and visitors.

In the early 20th century, the history, industry, and beauty of the Mount Chase region were made immortal by the great Swedish-born artist Carl Sprinchorn, who spent many years at Shin Pond. From his paintings of the strenuous daily life of lumberjacks to his evocative landscapes, the artist recorded a very special time in Maine history and a place that remains special today.

This 150th anniversary is not just about something that is measured in calendar years, it is about human accomplishment, an occasion to celebrate the people who for generations have pulled together, cared for one another, and built a community. Thanks to those who came before, Mount Chase has a wonderful history. Thanks to those who are there today, it has a bright future.

Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the nomination of Dr. William ``Bro'' Adams to be Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, NEH.

The NEH is one of the largest supporters of humanities programs in the United States. The individual scholars, museums, libraries, universities, and other cultural institutions it supports enrich communities across the country. Through his extensive and impressive work in public service, education, and the humanities, Dr. Adams is well-qualified to lead the Endowment.

A Vietnam war veteran, Fulbright Scholar, college president, and board member for both the Maine Film Center and the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, Dr. Adams' diverse experiences have prepared him to lead the Nation's cultural agency. He is a graduate of Colorado College and earned his Ph.D. in the history of consciousness from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Dr. Adams recently retired from a successful tenure as president of Colby College in Waterville, ME, where he served from 2000 through June of this year. He launched and executed an ambitious plan to expand the school and its cultural presence, overseeing a $376 million capital campaign--the largest ever in the State of Maine. In doing so, Dr. Adams helped found the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, construct the Diamond Building for Social Sciences, launch a film studies program, and expand Colby's creative writing curriculum. Additionally, he played a pivotal role in growing Colby's Museum of Art into one of the largest art collections in Maine.

Under Dr. Adams' leadership, Colby College has supported several projects that have helped to reinvigorate the humanities in the Waterville community. These have included forging partnerships on major renovation projects such as of the Waterville Opera House, the Hathaway Creative Center's historic mill property, the Waterville Public Library, and the Maine Film Center.

Dr. Adams is a proven leader whose engagement and direction have enriched the State of Maine. I am confident that Bro Adams will lead the NEH and serve our country with great vision and integrity. I urge my colleagues to support this nomination.

Madam President, I wish to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Town of Newport, ME. Newport was built with a spirit of determination and resiliency that still guides the community today, and this bicentennial is a time to celebrate the generations of hard- working and caring people who have made it such a wonderful place to live, work, and raise families.

While this bicentennial marks Newport's incorporation, the year 1814 was but one milestone in a long journey of progress. For thousands of years, the region was the hunting and fishing grounds of the Abenaki, and the chain of lakes and streams formed their highway between the mighty Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers. The very name of the town a translation of Sebasticook, the Abenaki word for portage is evidence of the friendship between the first white settlers and the Native Americans.

The settlers were drawn by fertile soil, vast forests, and fast- moving waters, which they turned into productive farms and busy lumber mills that were soon followed by blacksmiths, leather manufacturing, textiles, and other endeavors vital to Maine's development. The wealth produced by the land, and by hard work and determination, was invested in schools and churches to create a true community. In the decades that followed, Newport became a center of industry and innovation with such remarkable endeavors as silk production, condensed milk manufacturing, and the fabrication of what were considered the finest carriages in Maine.

Today, the people of Newport continue to build. Their strong environmental ethic has helped make Sebasticook Lake a favorite recreation destination for residents and visitors. The Newport Industrial Center offers a home to new or expanding businesses, and the Newport Cultural Center contributes to a vibrant downtown.

A quality that runs through Newport's history is courage, best demonstrated by the memorial the town dedicated 3 years ago to SGT Donald Skidgel, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for giving his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers in Vietnam. From the Civil War to the conflicts of our time, the names of some 500 patriots from Newport who have served our Nation with honor and defended our freedom with valor are inscribed on the Veterans Memorial.

This 200th anniversary is not just about something that is measured in calendar years. It is about human accomplishment, an occasion to celebrate the people who for more than two centuries have pulled together, cared for one another, and built a community. Thanks to those who came before, Newport has a wonderful history. Thanks to those who are there today, it has a bright future.

Mr. President. I wish to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Town of Hiram, ME. Known today as a gateway to the rugged and beautiful Western Maine Mountains, Hiram was built with a spirit of determination and resiliency that still guides the community today.

Hiram's incorporation on June 14, 1814, was but one milestone on a long journey of progress. For thousands of years, the banks of the Saco River were the hunting grounds of the Sokokis Tribe, and the legendary Pequawket Trail was their route between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. The reverence the Sokokis had for the natural beauty and resources of the region is upheld by the people of Hiram today.

The very name of the town, dating to the first European settlement in the 1780s, speaks of this reverence. Like the realm of the biblical King Hiram I of Tyre, the community was established among the trees that were its first source of prosperity. With the fast-moving Saco River and its tributaries providing power, sawmills became an important industry, soon followed by blacksmiths, leather manufacturing, and other endeavors vital to Maine's development. As a junction of two of Maine's early railroads, Hiram became the gateway to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The wealth produced by the land was invested in schools and churches to create a true community.

The history of Hiram is directly connected to the very birth of our Nation. One of the town's first settlers was General Peleg Wadsworth, whose company of Minutemen answered the call of freedom at Lexington and Concord. After a life of remarkable service to our young country, in the military and in public office, General Wadsworth settled in Hiram in 1807, established a farm, and led the incorporation of the township. It is fascinating to consider the influence the beautiful surroundings had upon his grandson, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who spent many summers in Hiram as a boy.

A quality that runs through Hiram's history is courage. Some 100 young men from the town fought to save our Nation in the Civil War, and 39 gave their lives in that noble cause. It is humbling to know that Pleasant Ridge Cemetery is the final resting place for patriots from four generations of the Lyons family who served with valor and distinction.

Today, Hiram is a charming town of involved citizens. The historic Soldiers Memorial Library, built nearly a century ago in honor of those who defended our country, is avidly supported and remains a center of community activity. The saw and scythe depicted on the new bicentennial seal are reminders of Hiram's past and indicators of the hard work and enthusiasm the townspeople have put into this year's landmark birthday celebration.

This 200th anniversary is not just about something that is measured in calendar years; it is about human accomplishment, an occasion to celebrate the people who for more than two centuries have pulled together, cared for one another, and built a community. Thanks to those who came before, Hiram has a wonderful history. Thanks to those who are there today, it has a bright future.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, it appears I first need to say to my colleague and to those who are listening, there is no one in this body, in the trucking industry, among their customers who wants to see trucking accidents. All of us are committed to safer roads, and to make sure that freight is delivered in a safe manner in this country.

In fact, the former Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a letter to the committee dated June 17:

The fact is the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban

Development bill which contains a temporary suspension of two

new provisions in the 34-hour restart rule makes the roads

safer.

Makes the roads safer. That is what this debate is about.

I am very disappointed to see that the Senator from New Jersey is otherwise engaged and not listening to these comments.

Let me start with a fact. The fact is, under current law, under the Collins amendment, under the provisions we reported in the Appropriations Committee, it is illegal for any driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle when that driver's ability or alertness is impaired through fatigue, illness, or any other cause so as to make his or her driving unsafe.

That is illegal. That is illegal now. That will continue to be illegal if our provisions become law. I think that perhaps it would be helpful, given the disappointing amount of misinformation that has been circulated by the proponents of this amendment, if I were to go through some of the provisions of the hours-of-service regulation. Those are the regulations that are the foundation of the rules that govern truck safety in this country.

The fact is our Transportation-HUD appropriations bill would not suspend the entire hours-of-service regulation or the entire 34-hour restart provisions as some keep saying, both on the Senate floor and in the media. To be clear, our proposal would not change the maximum driving hours that are allowed per day. It would not change the total on-duty window in each shift. It would not change the minimum number of off-duty hours between shifts, which is 10 hours. It would not change the mandatory 30-minute rest break that is required by your eighth hour.

That is a new provision that was adopted last July.

My friend from New Jersey claims I am wiping out all of these rules. Regrettably, he is simply mistaken about that. I am not changing any of these provisions of the hours-of-service regulation, including one that was adopted last July requiring a mandatory 30-minute rest break prior to your eighth hour. I support that. I think that is a good idea. I support the provisions for a limit on how many hours a driver can be behind the wheel. I support the limit on the maximum on-duty hours. I support the requirement for 10 hours off between shifts. So to say I am repealing all of these truck safety regulations is simply false. It is a disservice to the debate on an important issue for wrong information to be circulated about what we are trying to do.

There is another important provision we are not changing that I think is going to help to improve truck safety, and that is the upcoming requirement for electronic, onboard recorders to replace the paper logs that are kept by some truckdrivers now.

The paper logs have been proven to be less accurate, and obviously there is a potential for reporting false information. With electronic logs, that goes away. I am a strong supporter of the rulemaking that is going to lead to the requirement for electronic logs, which many truckdrivers are already using. Our bill, in fact, includes some funding to help truckdrivers of smaller fleets afford the electronic logs.

What are we changing? We are changing only two provisions, and that is why our amendment--my amendment--was adopted by an overwhelmingly strong bipartisan group in the Appropriations Committee. The vote was 21 to 9 because the members of the committee took the time to understand what we were doing and what we were not doing.

Here is one of the problems. The new rules require that a truckdriver have two consecutive nights where he must be off duty and sleeping between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. There are a lot of people in this country who work a night shift, and if we talk to them they will tell you that what is disruptive to them is to work a day shift part of the week, a night shift part of the week, go back to the day shift, and go back and forth.

Many of our drivers want to drive during the overnight hours because the statistics overwhelmingly show that is the safest time for them to be on the roads.

This isn't a matter of conjecture. It is based on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's own analysis about what times of the day crashes occur. The fact is, the safest time for trucks to travel is between midnight and 6 a.m. The number of crashes nearly quadruples between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. It is five times higher between noon and 6 p.m.

Let's think about this for a moment. It just makes sense. There are far fewer vehicles on the road. Why in the world would we want to push truckdrivers to have to be on the road when children are going back and forth from school, when commuters are going to work.

One truckdriver from Maine gave me a great example. For those of us who are familiar with downtown Boston, with all of its small, curvy streets and all of its one-way streets, he said to me: If I have to wait until 5 a.m. to deliver fuel to a convenience store on the corner of two busy streets in downtown Boston and I am going to arrive there at 7 a.m.--during the rush hour, during the time when people are getting up, going to school and to work--it is far more dangerous. It is far more difficult for those commuters trying to stop at that convenience store while I am trying to deliver the fuel. It is far safer for me to be delivering that fuel at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. in the morning before the convenience store even opens and before the traffic picks up.

But, again, the Senator from New Jersey doesn't have to take my word for it. Please, I would implore the Senator from New Jersey to look at the statistics--and these are the newest statistics the Department has put out. They are very clear that the crashes more than quadruple-- quadruple--during those daylight hours.

That is why the truckdrivers would prefer to be on the road at night when it is safer and to do their deliveries when their customers need the deliveries to be done--whether it is to that convenience store that needs gas before the rush hour starts or whether it is to a grocery store that needs to reload its shelves. That just makes sense.

The second change--and the only other change--that our amendment makes to the hours of service provisions has to do with the limitation on the use of the restart. Under the new regulations which were implemented last July about 1 year ago the Department limited the 34- hour restart to once a week. It is once every 168 hours.

How does that make sense? The Presiding Officer and I both come from States where there can be severe winter weather, and a truckdriver who is delivering in Wisconsin or Maine may run into a terrible storm.

Why shouldn't he or she be allowed to take a 34-hour period off while the storm is raging and then restart the clock on the number of hours that he or she can take?

By the way, the restart, under the current law, is voluntary, and we do not change the requirement--which is current law--that a truckdriver cannot drive more than 70 hours in 8 days. What we are saying, however, is we don't want that truckdriver to be out there in bad weather trying to push through and get home because he or she is running up against the clock and can't take a second 34-hour restart.

In fact, as the former administrator--who, by the way, has spent her professional life of 22 years in public safety--has written: We encourage drivers to get more rest, to not take the chance of driving through bad weather.

Now let me address the conflicting arguments I heard from the Senator from New Jersey on the issue of whether these regulations have been studied enough.

On the one hand, he says they have been studied to death and they are well based in scientific research. But the fact is that the current Administrator of FMCSA recently testified over on the House side and was specifically asked if the agency had evaluated the safety and congestion impacts of large trucks being forced by the new regulations to drive during the hours when crashes are most likely.

The Administrator confirmed: The field study did not address or talk about the impact of traffic on the road.

That is why it is critically important to study all aspects of the regulation. It appeared that FMCSA also failed to coordinate with its sister agency the Federal Highway Administration.

Just last month the Federal Highway Administration announced a grant program called the Off Hours Freight Delivery Program for cities that ``look at how truck deliveries made outside of peak and rush hours-- when there is less traffic on the highways--can save time and money for freight carriers, improve air quality and create more sustainable and livable cities.''

So clearly the agencies within the Department of Transportation are not communicating their policies with one another. We have one DOT agency trying to direct more trucks onto our Nation's highways during the daylight hours, and then we have a second agency that is pushing funding out to cities in order to keep those same large trucks from operating during daylight hours and to encourage them to operate during overnight hours.

Why we would want to prevent or discourage large trucks from being able to drive during overnight hours simply makes no sense.

On the other hand, my colleague from New Jersey says: Don't worry, we have kept in the study. We have kept the Collins study in the bill.

Well, if it has been studied so extensively, as he claims, then why is there a need for the study? You can't have it both ways. You can't say these regulations were thoroughly studied and supported by scientific evidence, but, gee, we need a study. I mean, which is it?

I think what the Administrator admitted in her testimony over on the House side is accurate, and that is the field study did not look at the overall impact of congestion on our roads, and that is a real flaw. That is why I worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come up with a study that will look at all of these factors, to make sure that we do not have what the Administrator herself has conceded are unintended consequences of these changes, and that is what we have now.

The fact is that these changes that were adopted by a vote of 21 to 9 by the

Appropriations Committee are common sense. They will lead to less fatigued drivers. They deserve more study and consideration, and--as the former Administrator of this agency has said--they will improve traffic safety.

I hope my colleagues will oppose the amendment that has been offered by the Senator from New Jersey. I will speak further, but I know there are others who want to debate this issue or who are waiting to speak.

I yield the floor.

I would be glad to engage in more debate later, but my colleague from Missouri has been waiting for a half hour to speak, and I think it would be courteous for him to be allowed to speak.

Madam President, I am told the Senator from Washington State has a very brief statement she would like to make. I ask unanimous consent that she be allowed up to 3 minutes to make her statement before I reclaim the floor.

Madam President, I am pleased to join with Chairman Murray as we hope to begin floor consideration of the bipartisan fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

As usual, it has been a great pleasure to work with Chairman Murray. She is extremely fair-minded and bipartisan in the approach she has taken to this bill. I also thank her staff for working closely with my staff as we sought to craft a bill that I believe deserves the support of all of our colleagues.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank Chairwoman Mikulski and Vice Chairman Shelby for their extraordinary leadership in advancing those three appropriations bills through what at times is turning out to be a daunting process. It is my hope and expectation that we can give Members of this body the opportunity to debate all three of these bills, to offer amendments, and ultimately to pass them, and that we have an open and transparent process.

I would encourage cooperation on both sides of the aisle. It is in the best interests of this country for us to do our work in the regular order, in the normal process, and to pass these bills, and then to hold conferences with the House to iron out any differences.

Last week the House did approve its own version of the THUD appropriations bill. This is an important step in the process which will eventually allow the two Chambers to meet in conference and produce a final bill to send to the President for his signature. I commend the leaders of the Appropriations Committee and also the floor leaders for making sure we have the time available to bring these bills to the floor.

There is no reason we cannot pass each one of the appropriations bills, have a conference with the House, and get them to the President before the start of the fiscal year so we can avoid gigantic omnibus bills that are a poor way to legislate or, even worse, continuing resolutions that lock into law increased costs and priorities that may no longer reflect today's needs.

The THUD bill before us today is essentially a jobs bill. It provides $54.4 billion in responsible investments in transportation and housing programs, and it includes input from Members on both sides of the aisle. Every Senator has unmet transportation and housing needs in his or her State, from crumbling roads and unsafe bridges to a growing population of vulnerable low-income families, seniors, and disabled individuals in need of housing assistance.

Chairman Murray and I worked very hard to accommodate the input from many Members. This bill we bring before you received overwhelming support in the full Appropriations Committee. In fact, as Chairman Murray mentioned, the vote was 29 to 1 to report this bill to the full Senate. It is essential to acknowledge that this year's THUD bill is directly affected by nearly a $3 billion reduction in Federal Housing Authority receipts for fiscal year 2015. As a result, we were faced with making very difficult decisions to ensure that the Federal investments in this bill were prioritized to meet the most critical needs.

One of the most pressing issues this bill addresses has not received a great deal of attention, so I want to spend a moment on it; that is, the safe transportation of crude oil and other hazardous materials by rail. I know the Presiding Officer is very familiar with this issue. I am pleased to say our transportation bill strengthens three components to help ensure the safe transportation of crude oil and other hazardous materials. It focuses on prevention, mitigation, and response. If you talk to any emergency responder, they will tell you those are the three critical components.

We do so without adopting the President's poorly conceived proposal, which would have created yet another level of bureaucracy in the Secretary's office. Instead, we chose what I believe to be a wiser course. We provided funding directly to the agencies to support additional rail inspectors, advance research efforts, and to establish cooperative training programs.

I know firsthand how horrific these disasters can be, because last year there was a terrible derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, 30 miles from the border of Maine, that cost 47 lives and essentially destroyed this picturesque village. I was very proud that 30 Maine firefighters responded to the call for help from their Canadian counterparts.

Senator Murray and I held an oversight hearing to look at rail safety, and the fire chief from Rangeley, ME, Tim Pellerin, testified before our committee at our oversight hearing. He provided gripping testimony about this extraordinarily dangerous experience, as well as thoughtful recommendations about what should be done. I want to tell the chief that we listened to him, and a lot of our recommendations in the bill--particularly with regard to training--reflect the advice he gave us as a first responder on that very dangerous scene.

Turning to another issue, this bill provides $550 million for the TIGER Program, an effective initiative that helps advance transportation infrastructure projects. We have seen firsthand how TIGER projects create good jobs and support economic growth in our home States.

Turning now to air travel, the aviation investments included in our bill will continue to modernize our Nation's air traffic system. These investments are creating safer skies and a more efficient air space to move the flying public.

In addition to transportation programs, our bill provides sufficient but not generous funding to keep pace with the rising cost of housing vulnerable families. More than 4 million families will continue to receive critical rental assistance for their housing. Without it, many of these families would otherwise become homeless.

Chairman Murray and I continue to share a strong commitment--indeed, a passion--to reducing homelessness in this country. For that reason we have included more than $2 billion for homeless assistance grants. Since 2010 we have reduced overall chronic homelessness by 16 percent and veterans homelessness by 24 percent.

These programs are working, and we have the data to prove it. That is why our bill builds on these successes and provides an additional 10,000 HUD-VASH vouchers to serve our Nation's veterans.

We have an obligation to our Nation's veterans. That has been very much on our minds recently, and we can point with pride to the reduction by 24 percent in homelessness among veterans, but we want to complete the job. We don't want any veteran to be homeless, and we are making progress through this well-conceived program.

While our bill helps families in need and our Nation's veterans, it also invests in our communities. Boosting local economies is critical to job creation and helping families obtain financial security. Our legislation supports these local development efforts by providing more than $3 billion for Community Development Block Grants.

I am sure the Presiding Officer has had the experience, as most Members have, of talking to State and local officials about the Community Development Block Grant Program. It is an extremely popular program with States and communities because it allows them to tailor the Federal funds to support locally driven economic and job-creation projects. It isn't Washington telling them how this money should be spent but, rather, providing the flexibility so that they can meet local economic development needs and help to create new jobs.

The bill before us does not solve all of the problems in either the Department of Transportation or in the Department of Housing and Urban Development; we don't have the money to do that.

Most notably, the administration's budget does not come up with a realistic way to address the urgent need to prevent the highway trust fund from becoming insolvent in August.

There should be no doubt in the mind of any Member of this body, if the administration and Congress do not take action before the August recess, State departments of transportation will not be reimbursed for work that has already been completed and new projects will likely grind to a halt and jobs, good construction jobs, will be lost.

The administration must present an achievable plan to avoid this disruption, these lost jobs, these stalled transportation projects, and Congress must work in good faith to secure passage.

Transportation is the lifeline of our economy, supporting millions of jobs and moving people and products. When coupled with the housing and economic development projects, the fiscal year 2015 transportation and housing appropriations bill will create jobs now when they are needed most and will establish the foundation for future growth.

Just as important to our economic future, however, is reining in excessive Federal spending and getting our national debt under control, which must be a priority governmentwide.

We have met the budget allocations that have been provided to us. In setting priorities for fiscal year 2015, I believe our T-HUD bill strikes the right balance between thoughtful investment and the necessary fiscal restraint.

I appreciate the opportunity to present this legislation to the Members of this Chamber. As we continue the debate on these bills, I urge my colleagues to consider how important it is that we complete our work on time, and I hope they will support the efforts of the Appropriations Committee.

I thank the Chair.

Mr. President, today Senator Murray and I are introducing legislation to enhance the safety practices and safety culture of short line railroads. The horrific derailment that occurred in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, last year, just 30 miles from the Maine border, brought to light the importance of ensuring the safe transportation of energy products. Specifically, our bill would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to a new Short Line Safety Institute for research, development, evaluation, and training efforts.

In the early morning hours of July 6, 2013, a freight train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil was sent hurtling toward the small, picturesque Canadian village of Lac-Megantic. The train derailed in the center of town, leveling several blocks, and killing 47 residents. Since the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Transportation have been working with American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association to develop new safety guidelines to prevent future disasters.

While this tragedy hit very close to home for us Mainers, there have been several other derailments of crude oil and other hazardous material recently across the country. Despite these incidents, the railroad industry maintains it has a strong safety record. According to the Association of American Railroads, 99.997 percent of rail hazmat shipments reached their destination without a release of product. This underscores the problem we face today we must ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to prevent another Lac-Megantic, while not overburdening an industry that has a proven track record of safety.

There are 550 short line railroad companies that operate over 50,000 miles of track, or nearly one third of the national railroad network. The tracks can be as short as 2 miles or up to more than 1,000 miles long. Generally, short line railroads must follow the same rules and regulations as the Nation's major railroads. But railroad safety is about more than just following the rules. Our bill would authorize the Short Line Safety Institute, under the Federal Railroad Administration's research and development programs, to provide a continuous and active focus on short line safety to assist individual short lines to improve their safety performance. It would allow for the hiring

of professional assessment staff who would work with individual short line managers and their employees to assess and improve safety practices. Safety training materials and techniques would be developed, and efforts would be made to further increase management and employee focus on creating a safety culture.

Short line railroads are mostly small businesses with far fewer employees than the Class I railroads. In addition, most of the employees have multiple responsibilities, stretching their time and resources thin. Furthermore, a large percentage of short line railroad resources go into track rehabilitation, which limits the resources available for other areas. This bill would allow short line railroad management to continually work with their employees using the most up to date methods to ensure safe operations. It would also improve awareness of industry best practices, both in general and with regard to specific commodities such as crude oil.

For those in rural America, short line railroads are a critical link to the national railroad network. Most are preserving light density lines that otherwise would have been abandoned, leaving thousands of small shippers in the lurch. They do their best to provide an essential service as safely as possible; however, with assistance, they believe they can do better, and establishing a Short Line Safety Institute is a cost effective way to do so. The concept merits our support, and I am pleased to introduce this legislation with Senator Murray to help make this concept a reality.

Mr. President, today Senator Murray and I are introducing legislation to enhance the safety practices and safety culture of short line railroads. The horrific derailment that occurred in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, last year, just 30 miles from the Maine border, brought to light the importance of ensuring the safe transportation of energy products. Specifically, our bill would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to a new Short Line Safety Institute for research, development, evaluation, and training efforts.

In the early morning hours of July 6, 2013, a freight train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil was sent hurtling toward the small, picturesque Canadian village of Lac-Megantic. The train derailed in the center of town, leveling several blocks, and killing 47 residents. Since the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Transportation have been working with American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association to develop new safety guidelines to prevent future disasters.

While this tragedy hit very close to home for us Mainers, there have been several other derailments of crude oil and other hazardous material recently across the country. Despite these incidents, the railroad industry maintains it has a strong safety record. According to the Association of American Railroads, 99.997 percent of rail hazmat shipments reached their destination without a release of product. This underscores the problem we face today we must ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to prevent another Lac-Megantic, while not overburdening an industry that has a proven track record of safety.

There are 550 short line railroad companies that operate over 50,000 miles of track, or nearly one third of the national railroad network. The tracks can be as short as 2 miles or up to more than 1,000 miles long. Generally, short line railroads must follow the same rules and regulations as the Nation's major railroads. But railroad safety is about more than just following the rules. Our bill would authorize the Short Line Safety Institute, under the Federal Railroad Administration's research and development programs, to provide a continuous and active focus on short line safety to assist individual short lines to improve their safety performance. It would allow for the hiring

of professional assessment staff who would work with individual short line managers and their employees to assess and improve safety practices. Safety training materials and techniques would be developed, and efforts would be made to further increase management and employee focus on creating a safety culture.

Short line railroads are mostly small businesses with far fewer employees than the Class I railroads. In addition, most of the employees have multiple responsibilities, stretching their time and resources thin. Furthermore, a large percentage of short line railroad resources go into track rehabilitation, which limits the resources available for other areas. This bill would allow short line railroad management to continually work with their employees using the most up to date methods to ensure safe operations. It would also improve awareness of industry best practices, both in general and with regard to specific commodities such as crude oil.

For those in rural America, short line railroads are a critical link to the national railroad network. Most are preserving light density lines that otherwise would have been abandoned, leaving thousands of small shippers in the lurch. They do their best to provide an essential service as safely as possible; however, with assistance, they believe they can do better, and establishing a Short Line Safety Institute is a cost effective way to do so. The concept merits our support, and I am pleased to introduce this legislation with Senator Murray to help make this concept a reality.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great American, President George Herbert Walker Bush, on the occasion of his 90th birthday. As I reflect upon his remarkable life, I am amazed that he has managed to pack so many accomplishments into just 90 short years. In fact, today President Bush will mark this milestone by doing what he has done on other birthdays so many times: He will jump out of an airplane--or as Barbara Bush once put it, he will jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

President Bush has spent every summer of his life--except during the war years--at the family home in Kennebunkport, ME. A few years ago his neighbors in Kennebunkport came together to acquire a Navy ship's anchor in his honor. It is a fitting tribute to President Bush, who so often describes Walker's Point in Maine as his anchor to the windward. It is fitting in another way. As a Navy aviator in World War II, as a Member of Congress, as U.N. Ambassador, as an envoy to China, as Director of the CIA, as Vice President, and as President, George Bush embodies the values that are the anchor of American society. Courage, duty, honor, and compassion define our Nation and his life.

I am sure it is a great joy for him to share this special day with his First Lady Barbara Bush, who also recently celebrated a birthday and who has done so much to promote family literacy in this country.

Last night our Senate colleagues unanimously passed a resolution that I submitted with dozens of our colleagues, including Maine Senator Angus King, the two Senators from Texas, and our two leaders, wishing both President and Mrs. Bush the happiest of birthdays and honoring them. The love within this extraordinary family anchors their commitment to one another, to their community, to their two home States, and to their Nation.

Another great President, Abraham Lincoln, spoke a great many eternal truths that still inspire us today. Nothing he said was ever truer than this:

It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life

in your years.

President George H.W. Bush has filled his years with a lifetime of service and contributions marked by integrity and humility. I wish him and his family many more years of celebration, and I thank him for his extraordinary service and dedication to the country he loves so much.

I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to recognize the impressive performance of students from Marshwood High School in South Berwick, ME, at the 27th annual ``We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution'' National Finals. These students, who are members of Marshwood's Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class, earned first place for the Northeast Region during this competition that tested their knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I am so proud of them as I know how

hard they worked to achieve this ranking.

Under the direction of their dedicated and talented teacher, Mr. Matt Sanzone, the class spent the school year studying the history and principles of American democracy in preparation for the competition. Each student developed a broad understanding of the Constitution. The class also divided into smaller units to analyze in depth specific constitutional concepts.

The Marshwood team met its first challenge in March when it won the State-level competition and earned the right to represent Maine in the National Finals. Through simulated Congressional hearings, they demonstrated their knowledge of the Constitution before a panel of Maine Supreme Judicial Court justices, constitutional scholars, lawyers, and public officials.

The team's keen interest in our democracy serves as an example to other students in Maine and around the country. I know that these students will use the lessons they have learned in the classroom and in competition to guide them throughout their lives, to inspire others, and to be grateful for the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Americans. I congratulate these talented students from Maine on their extraordinary achievement.

Mr. President, I am delighted to join my friend, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, Senator Nelson, in introducing legislation to help combat fraud in the Medicare Program. We are introducing the Stop Schemes and Crimes Against Medicare and Seniors Act, or the Stop SCAMS Act.

As Senator Nelson has described, at our hearings earlier this year we heard absolutely appalling testimony from a woman who had to endure painful, 7-hour-long series of infusions for a disease she did not have just because her doctor was bilking the Medicare Program.

Imagine a physician who would do that, who would subject a vulnerable patient to the anxiety of thinking she had a disease she did not have and then treat her for a disease she did not have just to collect Medicare dollars. It really was appalling.

For decades the Government Accountability Office--GAO--has identified Medicare as being at high risk for improper payments, abuse, and fraud. In the year 2012 Medicare reported that it had lost more than $44 billion in improper payments due to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement--and that estimate may well be too low. Think what we could do with $44 billion to improve the quality of health care and the coverage we are providing to our seniors or to reduce our unsustainable national debt. This is simply unacceptable.

The loss of these funds not only compromises the financial integrity and increases the costs of the Medicare Program, but it also undermines our ability to provide needed health care services to the more than 54 million older and disabled Americans who depend on this vital program.

Back in the late 1990s when I was chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, we held a series of hearings to examine fraud in

the Medicare Program. We identified the dangerous trend of an increasing number of completely bogus providers entering the system with the sole and explicit purpose of robbing it. One of our witnesses actually testified that he went into Medicare fraud because it was easier and safer than dealing in drugs; he could make a lot more money at far less risk of being caught.

Our hearings led to the adoption of some safeguards and better internal controls. But many years later what our continuing hearings have demonstrated is that unscrupulous individuals are always adopting and seeking out new ways to rip off the system. They seem to be always one step ahead of the authorities.

I do wish to emphasize an extremely important point; that is, the vast majority of medical professionals are caring, dedicated health care providers whose top priority is the welfare of their patients.

When we were investigating Medicare fraud in the late 1990s, what we found were a whole lot of individuals posing as health care providers who had no medical training whatsoever. I remember one memorable case where, had there been a site visit, it would have been discovered that this bogus provider had an office in the middle of the runway of the Miami airport. But, unfortunately, back then there were no site visits.

Health care providers--the true professionals--are the ones who are most appalled by the unscrupulous bandits who take advantage of weaknesses in the Medicare Program to bleed billions of dollars from the program.

As I indicated, we have made some progress over the years in the battle against Medicare fraud since I chaired those hearings. Unfortunately, however, there is no line item in the budget titled ``waste, fraud, and abuse'' that we can simply strike to eliminate this problem and solve it once and for all.

The task of ferreting out wasteful and fraudulent spending is made all the more difficult by the ingenuity of the scam artists, who continually adopt new methods of ripping off both the Medicare and the Medicaid Programs.

It is clear, as my distinguished chairman indicated, that we must do more than shift from a pay-and-chase strategy to combat Medicare fraud to one that prevents the harm from ever occurring in the first place. That is what the bipartisan bill we are introducing today would do.

Among other provisions, our legislation would require Medicare to verify health care provider ownership interests using other databases before new health care providers are allowed to enroll in the program. That is an upfront control that we can and should implement. Currently, Medicare relies on self-reported information. As a consequence, providers who previously had an ownership interest in an organization that defrauded Medicare can potentially get back into the program by simply using different names and failing to disclose their interest in the previous organization or practice.

Our legislation would also allow private insurers to share information about potentially fraudulent providers with Medicare and with each other to prevent further health care fraud.

It would also allow the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to make recommendations to us regarding fraud prevention, and our bill would require the Medicare Program to develop a strategy for more accurately and reliably estimating how many dollars are lost each year to fraud.

As the chairman indicated, our legislation is endorsed by a wide variety of organizations, including the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Humana, America's Health Insurance Plans, and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in cosponsoring this important bill--legislation that I believe really can make a difference. I hope this is a bill we can move quickly. It is a commonsense bill. It will save taxpayer and beneficiary dollars, and it will help to curb the excessive fraud, the unacceptable fraud that is depleting dollars from a program--the Medicare Program--that is already under financial strain.

So let's move this bill. Let's send it to the House and on to the President for his signature as soon as possible.

Mr. President, I again commend the Senator from Florida for his leadership. It has been a great pleasure to work with him on this important issue.

Mr. President, I am delighted to join my friend, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, Senator Nelson, in introducing legislation to help combat fraud in the Medicare Program. We are introducing the Stop Schemes and Crimes Against Medicare and Seniors Act, or the Stop SCAMS Act.

As Senator Nelson has described, at our hearings earlier this year we heard absolutely appalling testimony from a woman who had to endure painful, 7-hour-long series of infusions for a disease she did not have just because her doctor was bilking the Medicare Program.

Imagine a physician who would do that, who would subject a vulnerable patient to the anxiety of thinking she had a disease she did not have and then treat her for a disease she did not have just to collect Medicare dollars. It really was appalling.

For decades the Government Accountability Office--GAO--has identified Medicare as being at high risk for improper payments, abuse, and fraud. In the year 2012 Medicare reported that it had lost more than $44 billion in improper payments due to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement--and that estimate may well be too low. Think what we could do with $44 billion to improve the quality of health care and the coverage we are providing to our seniors or to reduce our unsustainable national debt. This is simply unacceptable.

The loss of these funds not only compromises the financial integrity and increases the costs of the Medicare Program, but it also undermines our ability to provide needed health care services to the more than 54 million older and disabled Americans who depend on this vital program.

Back in the late 1990s when I was chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, we held a series of hearings to examine fraud in

the Medicare Program. We identified the dangerous trend of an increasing number of completely bogus providers entering the system with the sole and explicit purpose of robbing it. One of our witnesses actually testified that he went into Medicare fraud because it was easier and safer than dealing in drugs; he could make a lot more money at far less risk of being caught.

Our hearings led to the adoption of some safeguards and better internal controls. But many years later what our continuing hearings have demonstrated is that unscrupulous individuals are always adopting and seeking out new ways to rip off the system. They seem to be always one step ahead of the authorities.

I do wish to emphasize an extremely important point; that is, the vast majority of medical professionals are caring, dedicated health care providers whose top priority is the welfare of their patients.

When we were investigating Medicare fraud in the late 1990s, what we found were a whole lot of individuals posing as health care providers who had no medical training whatsoever. I remember one memorable case where, had there been a site visit, it would have been discovered that this bogus provider had an office in the middle of the runway of the Miami airport. But, unfortunately, back then there were no site visits.

Health care providers--the true professionals--are the ones who are most appalled by the unscrupulous bandits who take advantage of weaknesses in the Medicare Program to bleed billions of dollars from the program.

As I indicated, we have made some progress over the years in the battle against Medicare fraud since I chaired those hearings. Unfortunately, however, there is no line item in the budget titled ``waste, fraud, and abuse'' that we can simply strike to eliminate this problem and solve it once and for all.

The task of ferreting out wasteful and fraudulent spending is made all the more difficult by the ingenuity of the scam artists, who continually adopt new methods of ripping off both the Medicare and the Medicaid Programs.

It is clear, as my distinguished chairman indicated, that we must do more than shift from a pay-and-chase strategy to combat Medicare fraud to one that prevents the harm from ever occurring in the first place. That is what the bipartisan bill we are introducing today would do.

Among other provisions, our legislation would require Medicare to verify health care provider ownership interests using other databases before new health care providers are allowed to enroll in the program. That is an upfront control that we can and should implement. Currently, Medicare relies on self-reported information. As a consequence, providers who previously had an ownership interest in an organization that defrauded Medicare can potentially get back into the program by simply using different names and failing to disclose their interest in the previous organization or practice.

Our legislation would also allow private insurers to share information about potentially fraudulent providers with Medicare and with each other to prevent further health care fraud.

It would also allow the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to make recommendations to us regarding fraud prevention, and our bill would require the Medicare Program to develop a strategy for more accurately and reliably estimating how many dollars are lost each year to fraud.

As the chairman indicated, our legislation is endorsed by a wide variety of organizations, including the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Humana, America's Health Insurance Plans, and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in cosponsoring this important bill--legislation that I believe really can make a difference. I hope this is a bill we can move quickly. It is a commonsense bill. It will save taxpayer and beneficiary dollars, and it will help to curb the excessive fraud, the unacceptable fraud that is depleting dollars from a program--the Medicare Program--that is already under financial strain.

So let's move this bill. Let's send it to the House and on to the President for his signature as soon as possible.

Mr. President, I again commend the Senator from Florida for his leadership. It has been a great pleasure to work with him on this important issue.

Mr. President, I rise in support of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, S. 2262. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this legislation, which would build on previous energy efficiency legislation and proposes cost-effective mechanisms to support the adoption of off-the-shelf efficiency technologies for buildings, manufacturers, and the Federal Government.

As honorary vice-chair of the Alliance to Save Energy, I have been a long-time proponent of efforts to improve energy efficiency. Encouraging the adoption of energy efficiency measures is one of the easiest yet most effective mechanisms for reducing energy consumption, lessening pollution, and ultimately saving families, businesses, and the Federal Government money.

Legislation to improve the Nation's energy policy is long overdue. I would like to congratulate the bill sponsors, Senators Shaheen and Portman, for crafting this bipartisan, commonsense bill and for their tireless efforts in working with the leadership of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to bring this bill to the Senate floor once again. This has not been an easy feat. After an earlier version of the bill was left unfinished last year, the bill sponsors did not give up and have continued to work diligently to build additional support by incorporating several previously filed amendments. While I share the general frustration expressed by some that Congress should be considering a more comprehensive energy policy, we must not use this as a reason to impede passage of this energy efficiency bill.

The provisions in S. 2262 will kick-start the use of energy efficiency technologies that are commercially available now and can be deployed by residential, commercial, and industrial energy users. The bill will also improve the energy efficiency of the Federal Government, which is the largest energy consumer in the country. Given today's challenging fiscal environment, it is notable that all authorizations included in S. 2262 are fully offset.

I am pleased to have co-authored two provisions that are incorporated into the base bill. First, I joined my colleague, the Senator from Colorado, Mr. Udall, in authoring a provision that would provide a streamlined, coordinating structure for schools to help them better navigate existing Federal energy efficiency programs and financing options. This would be particularly helpful for rural schools in States such as Maine and would help these institutions save money in the face of rising energy costs. Decisions about how best to meet the energy needs of their schools, however, would still appropriately be made by the States, school boards, and local officials.

The second provision that I am pleased to have authored with my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse, would authorize a pay- for-success pilot program allowing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, to enter into agreements with private investors for energy and water efficiency improvements to project-based rental assistance and housing for the elderly and disabled. This budget- neutral approach would leverage private investment to finance energy efficiency retrofits for certain HUD-assisted properties and help cut utility costs for the Federal Government.

I would have liked an open amendment process. One amendment I am pleased to have worked on with my colleagues from Delaware, Senator Coons, and Rhode Island, Senator Reed, would reauthorize and extend the core Weatherization Assistance Program and State Energy Program activities at the Department of Energy through 2018, develop a competitive grant program for non-profits to carry out weatherization projects, and require minimum professional standards for weatherization contractors and workers. I am a long-time supporter of weatherization, which plays an important role in permanently reducing home energy costs for low-income families and seniors in all States, lessening our dependence on foreign oil, and training a skilled workforce. Weatherizing homes and reducing energy costs are particularly important for a State like Maine, which has the oldest housing stock in the Nation and a high dependence on home heating oil. Our amendment, had we been allowed to offer it, would have further increased the energy savings from this bill.

Nevertheless, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has released new analysis demonstrating that S. 2262 would save consumers and businesses and the government with a cumulative net savings of nearly $100 billion by 2030, support thousands of new jobs by cutting government and industrial energy waste and assisting homeowners in financing energy efficiency improvements, and reduce emissions significantly.

S. 2262 has the support of a broad coalition of stakeholders, including energy efficiency, business, and environmental organizations, small and large businesses, utilities, and public interest groups. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of S. 2262 and urge its swift passage.

I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.