Floor Statements

Mr. President, I wish to recognize and to extend my thanks and appreciation to Haroon Azam Khan.

For almost two decades, I have been truly fortunate to have had Haroon on my side.

Haroon's personal story is uniquely American. While his parents Mohammad Azam and Anjum Khan immigrated to the United States in the 1960's, the first members of Haroon's family arrived in the United States in 1906 and settled in Willows, CA.

Haroon's interest in government started early, first as an intern in the district office of my friend and former colleague Congressman Bob Matsui and then as an intern in The White House.

After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Haroon joined my first Senate campaign and then worked with me as my finance and political director on each of my reelection efforts. He also worked with my colleagues Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Chris Dodd in the same capacity.

Eventually, after working in the private sector, I invited Haroon to work for me as deputy staff director of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

It has been a pleasure to watch Haroon grow both personally and professionally, and it is with sincere gratitude that I would like to thank Haroon for his years of dedicated friendship, counsel and support.

Mr. President, in 1986 the people of South Dakota elected me to serve them in the 100th Session of the Congress in the House of Representatives. In 1996 they gave me the honor and privilege of being their junior Senator.

When I ran for the House in 1986, I told the people of South Dakota that neither party has all the answers, and that both parties have good ideas, as well as men and women of good will. My job, as I understood it, would be to work in a bipartisan manner, listening to all parties and reaching a good fit--also known as a compromise. That is what I still believe.

However, in each year of my 28 years of service this has become more difficult to achieve. Each party, rather than working cooperatively for the American people, is more and more focused on winning the next election. Today, days after the 2014 election, you can walk into the call center for either party and find Members dialing for dollars for 2016. Tonight there will be fundraisers across DC where Members will discuss policy not with their constituents but with organizations that contribute to their campaigns. We have lost our way.

My thoughts are not original. My colleague and dear friend from South Dakota, Senator Tom Daschle, in his farewell called for finding common ground that ``will not be found on the

far right or on the far left. That is not where most Americans live. We will only find it in the firm middle ground based on common sense and shared values.''

Ohio's Senator Voinovich in his 2010 farewell speech said that his greatest frustration was the difficulty in finding common ground on significant issues, saying that ``it doesn't happen enough.''

In fact, the need for bipartisanship and the lack of it in the Senate is a hallmark of Senate farewell speeches. Rather than expounding on this topic, I would like to share the instances where I have experienced it.

I found it working with my colleague Senator John Thune, as we put aside our political differences and worked as our constituents expected two Norwegians to work. We worked side by side as we pushed for farm bills, highway funding, emergency relief from droughts and from floods. We successfully fought the proposed BRAC closing of Ellsworth Air Force Base. However, honoring our Norweigian heritage, we never hugged.

I found it on the banking committee, working closely with Ranking Member Crapo. Together, we reached middle ground on reforms in which both parties gave up significant priorities, compromising, finding the middle ground to pass bills out of committee.

My best and most enduring memory of this magnificent body occurred during my 9-month absence following my AVM, a long and humbling journey. During this journey my committee assignments were respected and my friend from Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed graciously accepted extra responsibilities until my return. Senator Harry Reid told me that during my long absence my colleagues on the other side of the aisle never once tried to take advantage of my absence. More importantly, in so many ways the kind words and prayers from you and your spouses, on both sides of the aisle, supported both Barbara and me and gave us strength during my long and continuing recovery.

I was grateful and humbled by your support on September 9, 2007, the day I returned to the Senate when almost every chair in this Chamber was filled. Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, I thank you for your welcome back to the Senate family.

In the years ahead, I will miss this family--not the bickering that I mentioned earlier, but the blessings that you have all been to Barbara and me.

I would also like to thank another family that has been critical to my work for South Dakota--a family that goes by the name ``Team Johnson.'' This team is composed of highly talented and caring individuals. They have worked tirelessly in the halls of Congress, in South Dakota, and on campaigns to make our State and our country a better place to live.

I wish I could thank each one of you for your service. Please know how much I appreciated the long hours and late nights that you put in. In the years ahead I hope we will continue to celebrate the friendships we have forged.

To my friend and chief of staff for 30 years, Drey Samuelson, thank you for joining my fledgling, uphill race for Congress in 1986 and for staying with me until we close the Senate office in a few days. Few Members of Congress have been as fortunate as I have been to have the loyalty, friendship, and thoughtful guidance that you have given me.

My legislative directors have all been remarkable, but time limits me to noting the services of two individuals who have served the longest. Dwight Fettig started with us in the House as a young man fresh from his internship with Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. Dwight rose through the ranks to legislative director and then became my first director on the banking committee. Todd Stubbendieck is my current LD, and his legislative guidance for over 10 years has guided the staff in moving critical legislation through the Senate. Todd and Dwight have worked on legislation for projects that now deliver water to hundreds of thousands of people across South Dakota, country of origin labeling bills, farm bills, national historic sites for Lewis and Clark and the Minute Man Missile, numerous projects for Ellsworth Air Force Base and the South Dakota National Guard with efficiency and collegiality. To Todd and Dwight, thank you for your outstanding legislative teams.

Our No. 1 researcher, humorist, historian, and go-to person, Luci Weigel, has been with us since we opened the first offices. Thank you, Luci.

To my South Dakota State director, Sharon Boysen, thank you for leading the three State offices, for ensuring that we were responsive to South Dakotans, and for coordinating with the DC office.

Sharon Stroschein, who directed the Aberdeen office, and Darrell Shoemaker, who managed the Raid City office, have been outstanding leaders for 28 years. You and all the State staff have been great advocates for South Dakota. You made sure that I always knew what was on the minds of South Dakotans, that I visited crisis situations, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, promising businesses, schools, and much more. Thank you.

Linda Robison, thank you for your dedication, willingness to go the extra mile, and your outreach to and service for our State's veterans for 28 years.

The Senate office only needed one office manager for the last 18 years. Nancy Swenson is the most efficient, precise, and insightful person I know. The University of South Dakota will be forever grateful when they receive the archives Nancy assembled. Thank you.

To the Senate standing committees on banking and MILCON, you have served our Nation well, and I know you will continue to do so in the future. Thank you for your leadership on important issues.

I am looking forward to the years ahead and the time we will share.

To my wife Barbara and our three children--Brooks, Brendan, and Kelsey--thank you for your unwavering support, for putting up with late-night dinners, for accepting that my work demanded that I be away so many weekends, and for working side by side with me on challenging campaigns. Without your understanding, love, and support, I could not have done the work I love.

Finally, to the people of South Dakota, thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you in our State legislature, the House of Representatives, and the United States Senate. Thank you for working side by side with me to improve the lives of South Dakotans and our Nation.

Pilamayaye.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

(Applause, Senators rising.)

Mr. President, the Banking Committee has jurisdiction over economic, trade, banking, and financial sanctions. During the last year, I have worked with my colleagues in Congress to authorize the President to impose tough sanctions targeting President Putin and his cronies, and he has enlisted our allies in that effort. We all agree that if Putin continues to intimidate the people of Ukraine he must face intensifying economic and political isolation.

But unlike with the sanctions bill enacted earlier this year, the Foreign Relations Committee did not consult the Banking Committee on this bill prior to its markup. Even so, my staff has worked cooperatively with Foreign Relations staff in recent weeks to fix many of the most significant textual problems which would have made its implementation unworkable. Those negotiations have now progressed to a point where I have been satisfied with the changes included in the substitute amendment. While it is still not perfect and contains some provisions

which in my view are unnecessary, we have made substantial progress.

The President has worked to impose punishing sanctions on Russia, maximizing their effect on Russia while minimizing their effect on the U.S. and Western allies. I heard personally from Secretary Lew the administration's concern that the mandatory global energy sanctions in a prior version of this bill could have driven a wedge between the U.S. and our allies. They could have ensnared potentially hundreds of our allies' businesses--including firms whose governments in Europe and elsewhere may otherwise be working with us to isolate Russia. That problem has now been resolved, and the substitute now gives the President discretion to target firms involved in these activities should he so choose. I am confident he will now be able to implement these measures in a way which is sensitive to the concerns of our allies, and which can protect innocent U.S. investors in pension funds, mutual funds, and emerging market funds which hold stock in European, Asian or other firms subject to potential sanction under the bill.

Sanctions should offer the President flexibility to continue to work with allies to maximize pressure on Russia as its economy reels under the stress of sanctions, falling world oil prices, and a falling ruble. I support the aid to Ukraine authorized in this bill, and I support further sanctions on Russia that will not drive a wedge between the U.S. and our allies, that will protect innocent U.S. investors, and that can be implemented with minimal confusion or delay. I am glad we were able finally to reach agreement on the bill and appreciate the cooperation of my colleagues in this effort.

Mr. President, I ask consent to engage in a colloquy with Senator Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, regarding important aspects of S. 1353, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014.

Yesterday I held a hearing on the importance of improving information sharing between agencies on cyber security. As I said yesterday, law enforcement, the intelligence community, Treasury, and financial regulators each may have different missions, but in addressing cyber security concerns they all must be united in what some call a ``whole government'' approach. Cyber security is one of the most important issues facing the financial system and I hope next Congress can work together to pass a comprehensive cyber security bill. I thank my colleague, the Senator from West Virginia, for his work on this important matter and for strengthening the public-private collaboration on cyber security with this bill.

However, I would like to ensure that the language in this bill does not have

unintended consequences on the abilities of financial regulators to effectively oversee our financial system. As chairman of the Banking Committee, I am mindful of the importance of strong regulators examining and supervising our financial institutions. This is particularly important in the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency that was created in 2010 to police areas of the financial market that previously were not regulated at the federal level, as well as the prudential regulators. A provision in S. 1353 states that information shared with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (known as NIST), may not be used by a government agency to regulate the activity of any entity. However, other existing statutes and regulations provide government agencies with the authority to require entities they regulate to provide them with information.

Moreover, a regulatory agency may discover such information on its own, through the entity, or through other sources. For example, a bank regulatory agency may discover cyberthreat information during a routine examination of a bank and, might want to exercise its existing legal authority to require the bank to adjust its systems to protect against future cyberthreats. I seek clarification from the Senator from West Virginia with respect to the provision in the proposed legislation.

Can my colleague from West Virginia confirm that this provision is not intended to prohibit an agency from taking regulatory action, if the agency independently obtains such information pursuant to other statutory or regulatory authority, even if a regulated entity has shared this information with NIST?

I thank the Senator from West Virginia for his work on this important matter and for working with me to clarify the scope of this bill.

Senator Reed is correct, I thank him for working with me on this matter and for his continued advocacy on behalf of veterans.

Mr. President, I ask consent to engage in a colloquy with Senator Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, regarding important aspects of S. 2520, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014.

While I support the ultimate goal of this legislation, which seeks to increase government transparency, as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, I am also mindful of the need for government agencies to dutifully and carefully fulfill their oversight responsibilities of our Nation's financial institutions and the health and welfare of our financial systems at-large. Financial regulatory agencies are tasked with ensuring the safety and soundness of the financial system, compliance with Federal consumer financial law, and promoting fair, orderly, and efficient financial markets. A critical component of effective oversight is the ability of a financial regulator to have unfettered access to information from a regulated institution. A financial institution should not have to fear that its regulator will be unable to protect the institution's confidential information from disclosure. Since the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, Congress has recognized the importance of protecting this type of supervisory information as evidenced specifically in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552(b)(8), commonly referred to as Exemption 8, and more generally in other exemptions. It is my understanding that nothing in S. 2520 is intended to limit the scope of the protections under Exemption 8, or other exemptions relevant to financial regulators; nor is the bill intended to require release of confidential information about individuals or information that a financial institution may have, the release of which could compromise the stability of the financial institution or the financial system, or undermine the consumer protection work by the regulators. Given that the release of confidential or sensitive information relating to oversight of regulated entities could cause harm to such entities, individuals, or the financial system, a financial regulatory agency could reasonably foresee that disclosure of such information requested under FOIA may harm an interest protected by Exemption 8. This is precisely why Congress continues to provide these statutory exemptions.

I thank the Senator from Vermont for his work on this important matter and for working with me to clarify the scope of this bill. I hope the Senator from Vermont continues to work on these issues with the agencies to ensure that this new standard will not serve to undermine the broad protections currently afforded to confidential supervisory information and in turn undermine the cooperative relationship between regulators and their supervised institutions.

Madam President, I rise to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the nomination of Ms. Nani Coloretti to be Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The HUD Deputy Secretary is a critical component of the agency's management team, overseeing HUD's programs that provide affordable rental housing, community and economic development opportunities, and an opportunity for creditworthy families to achieve the dream of home ownership. I believe Ms. Coloretti has the skills and experience necessary to take on this role. The full Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee also approved Ms. Coloretti's nomination for the position on April 29, 2014, by voice vote.

Ms. Coloretti is currently the Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. During her tenure at Treasury, Ms. Coloretti helped create a new Treasury Operations Excellence Team, which has applied lean principles developed in the private sector to improve performance at Treasury. This work encompassed dozens of process improvement outcomes, saving the Department money and staff time while engendering a culture of continual improvement.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Ms. Coloretti held positions in the San Francisco mayor's office, including budget director; the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families; the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; and the private sector. She is also a recipient of the National Public Service Award, the Public Policy and International Affairs Achievement Award, and the Federal 100 Award.

In all, Ms. Coloretti would bring over 20 years of experience in budget and program analysis, as well as more than 15 years of management experience, to the position of Deputy Secretary of the Department of HUD.

At a time when millions of American families struggle to find affordable rental housing, the market continues to lock many creditworthy potential borrowers out of homeownership, and HUD's State and local partners work to provide greater opportunities with limited resources, it is critical that HUD and the programs it oversees are run efficiently and effectively. As HUD's Deputy Secretary, Ms. Coloretti would be a valuable addition to Secretary Castro's management team. I urge my fellow Senators to support her nomination.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, each November, we recognize National Native American Heritage Month to celebrate the heritage and culture of the great nations that originally inhabited this country. During this month, we should reflect on the numerous achievements made over the previous year. Each day, individuals and organizations across Indian Country continually tackle tough issues and strive to make significant impacts for their people and tribes. It is these efforts that show the strength and vitality of Indian Country.

This year, across the Nation, Native American movements have unified and rallied the Native voice on several important issues to Indian County. Thousands of individuals have come together on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to share their views on environmental protections, treaty rights and the use of a racial slur by a professional sports league. A grassroots movement in South Dakota also spurred voters living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to get out the vote and approve the change of their county name from Shannon County to Oglala Lakota County. These actions reflect a positive drive in the Native community; a drive that tribal, local, State and Federal Governments cannot simply ignore.

As sovereign nations, tribes have the ability to empower and govern their own people. Native American leaders in South Dakota and across the country have recognized that preserving their culture is vital to future growth and success. Native languages are being revitalized and tribal cultures are being infused into programs. With its treaty and trust responsibility, the Federal Government must support this continued progress. I have always fully believed that the best ideas come from tribal governments and leaders, and not from Washington, DC. We must continue to work together to understand and implement successful approaches.

South Dakota is home to nine treaty tribes, each with its own distinct culture and heritage. Throughout my years of service, I have had the opportunity to work closely with many leaders from each reservation. I would like to personally honor each of the South Dakota tribes: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe.

With the commencement of the National Native American Heritage Month, I encourage everyone to join in commemorating the unique culture of the indigenous peoples of the United States. Throughout the country, numerous tribes and organizations are coordinating educational events and celebrations. While the month of November is in tribute of traditions and accomplishments of tribal nations, it is important to contemplate the many more undertakings that must be addressed. We must all continue to work together to find positive solutions for Indian Country.

Mr. President, today, I join with my colleague, the junior Senator from South Dakota, in celebrating the birth of our home State, which entered the union 125 years ago on November 2. I'm a fourth generation South Dakotan, and my great- grandfather was a homesteader in what was then known as the Dakota Territory. As I have learned growing up in Canton and from the generations of my family that came before me, being a South Dakotan instills in oneself a unique kind of work ethic and a drive to do good unto others.

South Dakotans know how to deal with adversity and they know how to help each other when disaster strikes. Last year, a devastating blizzard hit much of western South Dakota, causing millions of dollars in damage and killing tens of thousands of head of livestock. Without blinking an eye, neighbors were out helping neighbors who lost power. They donated their time and money to help ranchers who lost their livelihoods. Recovery would not have been possible without the inherent attitude that South Dakotans have to help one another.

South Dakotans also have a lot to celebrate this year. The ag industry has driven our economy, creating jobs and spurring economic development in rural communities. Our State also boasts some of the Nation's most popular tourist destinations including the Badlands, the Black Hills National Forest, the world's only Corn Palace, and some of the best pheasant hunting in the country. Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills also symbolizes democracy and enables all Americans to remember and celebrate our history. The Crazy Horse monument, which is still a work in progress, honors the legendary Lakota warrior. South Dakota is also home to nine Native American tribes, each having its own distinct cultures and traditions.

There is an awful lot to be proud of in our State, from the attitude we have as individuals to what we have built during our 125 year history. Throughout this past year, South Dakotans have taken part in a number of activities to celebrate our State's history, heritage, and culture, and those celebrations will continue in the weeks ahead. I am honored to play just a small role in this celebration by joining with my colleague in offering this resolution, and I urge all of our colleagues to join us in celebrating the birth of our State.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize the coaches and players of the Canyon Lake All-Stars of Rapid City, SD. The Canyon Lake All-Stars represented the Midwest Region in this year's Little League World Series.

It was only the third time in the 75-year history of the Little League World Series that a team from South Dakota made it to the tournament. This year's team joins the 2008 Canyon Lake All-Stars and the 2011 Harney All-Stars in representing South Dakota as the Midwest Region champions and becomes the first South Dakota team to win a Little League World Series game.

I wish to congratulate and recognize the hard-work of the 2014 Canyon Lake All-Stars. They represented South Dakota well in the national spotlight. Players on the team are Jake Kostenbauer, Logan Miller, Bridger Nesbit, Daniel Vigoren, Colton Hartford, Cooper Voorhees, Adam Salter, True Synhorst, Mason Litz, Matthew Hegre, Blake Weaver, and Dylan Richey. The manager is Rich Hegre, and assistant coaches are Steve Richey and Scott Spencer. Their efforts produced lasting memories and the entire state of South Dakota is proud of their accomplishments.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize a South Dakota attorney who has distinguished herself on the local, State, and national level. Linda Lea Viken has been a successful practicing attorney in South Dakota since 1978. She was recently presented with the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association during the association's annual meeting.

Specializing in family law for over 35 years, Linda Lea is the first family law specialist to receive the honor. She is a past president of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is also a diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and is a certified family law trial attorney by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

She has served twice in the South Dakota State Legislature and is a steadfast advocate for women, especially in the area of domestic violence and working to establish and maintain rights for women who need legal protection and services. She has significantly increased the awareness and education of the general public and the media on legal issues affecting women. She has served on a number of boards and in advisory capacities for organizations assisting women, children and families, including the South Dakota Coalition for Children, South Dakota Voices for Children, South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women, AAUW, Zonta, the West River Mental Health Board, Black Hills Legal Services, and the Black Hills Regional Food Bank.

Ms. Viken is well known for her presentations, advocacy, insight, and work in developing laws, guidelines, and policies governing custody, child support, alimony, divorce, visitation, and protection.

I wish to recognize and congratulate Linda Lea Viken on her latest and well-deserved recognition as South Dakota Trial Lawyer of the Year.

Madam President, I thank the chairwoman for her strong leadership on the Appropriations Committee and her unfailing dedication to our Nation's vets. She is absolutely right in pointing out that passage of the fiscal year 2015 MILCON-VA bill is crucial to implementing the Sanders bill. The Sanders bill provides funding and expanded access for medical care for vets, but the MILCON- VA bill provides a far broader range of funding and oversight that covers every aspect of VA operations.

By a unanimous vote, we just confirmed Robert McDonald to be Secretary of the VA. He is assuming the leadership of an agency in crisis, and he will need every resource available to him if he is to succeed in turning the VA around.

The Senate has given him the job, and the Senate should now give him the resources to accomplish that job. This is no time to delay or shortchange VA funding.

For the sake of the Nation's vets, we must keep our focus on the full scope of VA operations, including but not limited to access to medical care. The disability claims backlog is a perfect example. In the past year, with the resources and oversight provided in the fiscal year 2014 MILCON-VA bill, VA has made great progress in reducing the backlog. The fiscal year 2015 bill provides additional resources for claims processing to sustain this momentum. The move to paperless claims was key to streamlining and expediting claims processing, and it was made possible by improvements to VA Information Technology systems-- improvements which were funded in the MILCON-VA bill.

IT is the backbone of virtually every program the VA administers. An antiquated and cumbersome electronic scheduling system was a key factor in the patient scheduling scandal. The VA

is in the midst of an entire overhaul of its electronic health record system to make it more accessible to patients and to exchange information with DOD. This effort is crucial to the VA's ability to deliver timely care and benefits to vets.

The MILCON-VA bill also provides the funding to implement a wide array of programs that are crucial to the health and well-being of vets. Many of these aren't the kinds of programs or initiatives that make splashy headlines, but they are essential in delivering timely care and benefits. For example, the fiscal year 2015 MILCON-VA bill contains $7.8 million for a centralized mail system at the VA. The VA estimates that once the centralized program is implemented, it will take as many as 10 to 15 days off the time it takes to process a disability claim. The bill also provides increased funding to expand the Access Received Closer to Home program for vets in rural areas. These are just a few of many examples I could cite.

The Sanders bill and the MILCON-VA bill are separate components of a single requirement and they should move forward at the same time. I hope we can pass these bipartisan bills before we adjourn for recess.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, today I wish to recognize and honor the public service of Mr. Dennis Jaeger as the deputy forest supervisor for the Black Hills National Forest. He has been asked to serve as the new forest supervisor with the Medicine Bow- Routt National Forest

and will shortly be assuming those duties. I want to recognize him for the exceptional service and leadership he has provided in working for the Black Hills of my Home State of South Dakota.

A graduate of St. Mary's High School, Bismarck, ND, Jaeger earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, in 1982. He served 7 years Active Duty in the U.S. Army and retired from the South Dakota Army National Guard in 2010 as a lieutenant colonel.

Jaeger started his Forest Service career as a civil engineer on the Rio Grande National Forest in Monte Vista, CO, followed by working as district engineer on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grasslands on the Douglas Ranger District in Wyoming. In 1996 he became the works program officer for the Angell Job Corps in Yachats, OR, and in 1998 was selected as the center director of the Boxelder Job Corps Center in Nemo, SD. In 2007 Mr. Jaeger assumed the duties as the deputy forest supervisor for the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota and Wyoming.

Jaeger is an avid skier, hiker, and enjoys mountain biking. He and his wife Carole have three wonderful children.

There have been a number of key accomplishments on the Black Hills National Forest that Jaeger has helped facilitate, including guiding the successful merger of the Tribal Youth Natural Resources Crew with the Boxelder Job Corps Center Crew to become the Youth Natural Resources, YNR, Crew. The YNR Crew is much better organized, provides unique work training and education, remains very diverse and productive, and improves the land. The YNR Crew received a Regional Forester's Honor Award in 2013. Dennis, as a key member of the Forest Leadership Team, helps guide one of the largest forest restoration programs in the United States. The Black Hills Forest received the Regional Forester's Honor Award for its timber program in 2013 and the Chief's Honor Award in 2013 for its Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project.

Dennis has served as the Agency Administrator on two very large and complex fires in 2012, White Draw and Myrtle. Dennis interacted professionally with several Federal, State, and county cooperators and the National Guard and private citizens under very difficult circumstances.

Dennis is known for his positive, ``can do'' attitude, his outstanding customer service, and his passion for the Forest Service mission and the well-being of employees and the public he serves. He is highly visible and respected by the Federal delegation, tribes, the National Forest Advisory Board, State officials and many stakeholders.

I am proud to recognize and honor Dennis' service to the U.S. Forest Service and am delighted to join with his family and friends in congratulating him on this promotion to forest supervisor.

I thank Senator Reed for his valuable contributions to the work of the Banking Committee. I also thank him for working with me on this matter and for his continued efforts to bolster our national security.

Yes. The Committee makes this point clear in the Committee Report for S. 2244, and I thank the Senator again for his work on this issue.

Mr. President, I rise today to support S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. Congress first enacted TRIA into law in 2002 after the commercial property sector saw major disruptions in the ability to obtain financing and terrorism risk insurance following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

TRIA stabilized the markets and provided a government backstop to these unique markets, allowing commercial property development and real estate lending to continue for everything from hotels, stadiums, malls, to tourist attractions across the country. Experts and stakeholders testified at several banking committee hearings that there remains a clear and longstanding need for the kind of government backstop TRIA provides.

We also learned the private insurance market for terrorism risk exists because of TRIA, not in spite of it.

The long-term 7-year extension this bipartisan bill provides will promote national security, economic growth, and market certainty. While many Members in this Chamber would be fine with extending TRIA in its current form, this tough compromise has two additional changes that will further protect taxpayers: gradually raising both the insurer copayment from 15 percent to 20 percent, and the mandatory recoupment threshold from $27.5 billion to $37.5 billion.

We were careful, however, in reaching this compromise not to raise the trigger, which would drive small insurers out of the market and reduce the availability and affordability of coverage for businesses nationwide. This bipartisan bill also does not pick what modes of terrorist attacks should get preferential treatment over other forms of attacks.

The entire Senate banking committee voted to report the bill to the floor by a unanimous and bipartisan 22-to-0 vote. Stakeholders across the board strongly support the Senate's bipartisan approach to extending TRIA,

including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and the Real Estate Roundtable, to name just a few.

Let me commend Senators Schumer, Crapo, Kirk, Reed, Heller, and others from both sides of the aisle for their leadership on this issue. I thank them as well as their staffs for working with Ranking Member Crapo and me and our staffs to craft this bipartisan compromise to extend TRIA for another 7 years. We would not be here today without all of their efforts.

TRIA must be renewed soon, given the program expires at the end of the year, and policyholders have increasingly reported challenges in renewing contracts for 2015. To that end, I urge my colleagues to support S. 2244.

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

Mr. President, I wish to speak about the situation in Cyprus. Forty years ago this week, military forces from Turkey invaded Cyprus, eventually taking control of 38 percent of the island. Cyprus has remained divided ever since. As we observe this solemn occasion, I call on all parties to find a peaceful negotiated settlement in Cyprus.

Cyprus is an important partner to the United States, and I appreciate the recent attention given to Cyprus reunification by the Obama administration. In May 2014, Vice President Biden visited the island and met with President Anastasiades and Dr. Eroglu. Vice President Biden personally conveyed our country's support for reunification of Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation. However, as Vice President Biden said, ``. . . ultimately, the solution cannot come from the outside. It cannot come from the United States or anywhere else; it has to come from the leaders of the two communities, and from the compelling voices of the civil society leaders . . .''

In February 2014, Cypriot leaders issued a joint statement, prompting the formal resumption of unification talks. I was encouraged by this step but have followed this issue long enough to know that negotiators face a difficult, though not insurmountable, task. I wish them well in their negotiations and hope we can soon see progress towards a peaceful reunification in Cyprus.