[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7072-S7076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. Levin):
S. 1285. A bill to designate the Federal building located at 333 Mt.
Elliott Street in Detroit, Michigan, as the ``Rosa Parks Federal
Building''; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation
that will designate the Federal building located at 333 Mt. Elliott
Street in Detroit, MI, as the ``Rosa Parks Federal Building.'' I want
to thank Senator Levin for joining me on this bill.
On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks left work in her hometown of
Montgomery, AL and boarded a bus headed for home. When the bus became
crowded, she was ordered by the bus driver to give up her seat to a
white male passenger. She refused. Mrs. Parks was arrested, and 4 days
later the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. The Boycott lasted for over a
year until the Montgomery buses were officially desegregated in
December of 1956.
Rosa Parks is simply one courageous woman who did what she believed
was fair and right. She is a testament to the power of one individual
willing to fight for her beliefs. Her actions set the Civil Rights
Movement in motion and set a precedent for protest without violence. I
would like to thank Rosa Parks for her contribution to freedom and
justice for all men and women in this country. Her actions changed the
course of history.
Rosa Parks moved to Detroit in 1957. In 1977, she and Elaine Easton
Steel founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development
in Detroit to offer guidance to young African Americans. She still
calls Detroit home and has lived there for nearly 50 years. Nicknamed
the ``Mother of Civil Rights,'' Parks was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1996--the highest civilian award this Nation can
bestow. Naming the building that currently houses the Federal Homeland
Security office in Detroit is but one more way for our Nation to
recognize and thank Mrs. Parks for her contribution to our country. It
is an honor she richly deserves, and one I urge my colleagues to
support.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 1285
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The Federal building located at 333 Mt. Elliott Street in
Detroit, Michigan, shall be known and designated as the
``Rosa Parks Federal Building''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to
the ``Rosa Parks Federal Building''.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am proud to join with Senator Stabenow in
introducing legislation to name the Federal building located at 333 Mt.
Elliott Street in Detroit, MI, in honor of Mrs. Rosa Parks, ``mother of
the civil rights movement.'' I also want to commend Representative
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick for her leadership in sponsoring this
initiative last week in the House
Rosa Parks is an American heroine. When this gentle warrior decided
that she would no longer tolerate the humiliation and demoralization of
racial segregation on a bus in Montgomery, AL, her act of defiance
launched the modern civil rights movement in America. By refusing to
move to the back of that bus, she inspired a yearlong, citywide bus
boycott by African Americans in Montgomery that led to a Supreme Court
decision outlawing segregation on buses and introduced a young local
leader named Martin Luther King to the Nation. It was a turning point
in American history that challenged the conscience of the country and
the world.
Rosa Parks' stand that day was not an isolated incident but part of a
lifetime struggle for equality and justice. Twelve years earlier, for
instance, she had been arrested for violating another segregation law,
which required African Americans to pay their fares at the front of the
bus and then re-board from the rear. In the years that followed her
solitary protest, she was a prominent figure in the civil rights
movement. In 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute
for Self-Development, which continues to offer young people hands-on
opportunities to learn about civil rights in America.
Although Rosa Parks will be forever associated with one day in
Montgomery, AL, she lived most of her life in my home State of
Michigan. She came to Detroit under sad circumstances--harassment and
threats on her life--but she built a new life there. We in Michigan are
proud to call her one of our own, and we want to recognize her enormous
contributions by renaming this federal building in her honor.
Appropriately, the building is a historic one, built in 1855 and used
as a hospital during the Civil War. This legislation will ensure that
the proud legacy of Rosa Parks is properly recognized in Michigan, and
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
______
By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. Corzine):
S. 1286. A bill to require States to report data on medicaid
beneficiaries who are employed; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's an honor to join Senator Corzine and
Congressman Weiner to introduce the Health Care Accountability Act.
Americans believe that a fair day's work should bring a fair day's
pay. That's the American dream. But that's not the case at Wal-Mart.
Somehow, the biggest company in the world can't manage to pay its
workers a living wage. Thousands of workers in Wal-Mart can't afford
health insurance and have to rely on Medicaid to cover their families'
health needs.
We are here today to say there is no place for that kind of corporate
citizenship in America. It is time for Wal-Mart, the Nation's largest
employer, to act responsibly. The company prides itself on selling
products at rock-bottom prices. Last year, it raked in $10 billion in
profits, up 13 percent from 2003. It is no mystery why Wal-Mart does so
well--it buys its goods overseas and pays its 1.6 million employees
next to nothing to sell them. Yet Wal-Mart just keeps getting bigger as
its wages fall farther and farther behind.
We see the same effect throughout the economy. Companies are making
huge profits on the backs of their employees. Since the end of the
recession, profits are up more than 70 percent nationally, yet wages
are stagnant. More and more of what the economy produces is going to
business profits, and less to workers, than at any time since such
records began in 1929. There is plenty for the Executive Suite, but it
is time for a fair share for employees' pay and benefits, too.
[[Page S7073]]
We all end up footing the bill when employers refuse to pay a living
wage. Many companies are making record-breaking profits, yet they shift
millions of dollars in health costs to the public. In 15 States where
data are available, Wal-Mart employees are receiving almost $200
million in Federal and State health benefits. Massachusetts spent
almost $3 million last year to provide health Care to 3,000 Wal-Mart
workers and their families.
The bill we announce today begins to hold these companies
accountable. All it asks is that States disclose the number of
employees in large companies who receive State medical assistance, and
the cost to the States for providing that care.
Massachusetts was the first State to mandate such a study. The first
report, released in February, found that the State was paying $53
million for health care for, employees at some of the largest, most
profitable firms--including Dunkin Donuts, Stop & Shop, and Wal-Mart.
Medicaid and CHIP provide a critical safety net for low-income women
and children, the disabled, and the elderly. They should not also have
to underwrite the profits for large companies like Wal-Mart.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 1286
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health Care Accountability
Act''.
SEC. 2. STATE REQUIREMENT TO REPORT DATA ON MEDICAID
BENEFICIARIES WHO ARE EMPLOYED.
(a) Reporting Requirement.--Section 1902(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)) is amended in the first
sentence--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (66);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (67) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (67) the following new
paragraph:
``(68) provide for the annual reporting by the State, using
data only from applications by individuals for medical
assistance under the State plan, on each employer in the
State with 50 or more employees who received medical
assistance under this title at any time during the previous
year, such reporting to include with respect to the employer
(A) the name and address of the employer, (B) the number of
employees who receive such medical assistance during the
previous year, which may include a separate listing of the
numbers of part-time and full-time employees if such data is
available, (C) the number of individuals who receive such
medical assistance during the previous year who are spouses
or dependents of such employees, (D) the cost to the State of
providing such medical assistance during the previous year to
such employees, spouses, and dependents, and (E) the ratio of
employees who receive such medical assistance during the
previous year to the total employees in the State during that
previous year.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to 2006 and each subsequent year.
(c) Initial Report.--Not later than July 1, 2006, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for an
initial mid-year report by each State with a State plan
approved under title XI or XIX of the Social Security Act of
the information described in section 1902(a)(68) of such Act,
as added by subsection (a).
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as superseding requirements for the protection of
patient privacy provided for under section 264(c) of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 note), under part C of title XI of the
Social Security Act, or under any other provision of Federal
law.
______
By Mr. COLEMAN (for himself and Ms. Landrieu):
S. 1287. A bill to amend the definition of independent student for
purposes of the need analysis in the Higher Education Act of 1965 to
include older adopted students; to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, as United States Senators, we are well
aware of the difficulty in making tough decisions. But, a tough
decision for a thirteen-year-old foster care child shouldn't be
choosing between being adopted and having a permanent loving, stable,
and secure family, or attending college for a promising future. Today,
I am proud to be joined by my friend, Senator Mary Landrieu from
Louisiana in introducing the Fostering Adoption To Further Student
Achievement Act because we believe all youth deserve both a loving
family and a future of hope.
Our legislation promotes older adoptions of foster care youth by not
later penalizing the adopting family when their student applies for
student Federal financial aid.
We've heard from former foster teens across our Nation who have
stated that they were better off ``aging'' out of the foster care
system than being adopted by a family because of a fear of losing
student Federal financial aid because as a foster student they don't
have to report any parental income on their student financial aid
application.
Our legislation provides a solution by amending the definition of
``independent student'' to include foster care youth who were adopted
after the age of thirteen in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Thus,
the family and student would not be penalized on their Federal
financial aid as their classification would be determined by only the
student's ability to pay. Most prospective adopting parents would not
have financially planned for an older teen becoming part of their
family. Our legislation offers an incentive to promote older adoptions
rather than having the teen stay in foster families until they ``age
out.''
The numbers are startling and its time we act. Currently, 20,000
youth ``age'' out of the foster care system each year with 30 percent
of these youth incarcerated within 12 months of doing so. There are
523,000 children in foster care with nearly half the kids over the age
of 10. Children in foster care are twice as likely as the rest of the
population to drop out before finishing high school. Several foster
care alumni studies indicate that within three years after leaving
foster care: only 54 percent had earned their high school diploma, only
14 percent had graduated from a four-year college, and 25 to 44 percent
had experienced homelessness.
Statistics show youth that are adopted out of the foster care system
attend college, have stable lives, have a permanent family, and have a
future of hope. One to two years of community college coursework
significantly increases the likelihood of economic self-sufficiency. A
college degree is the single greatest factor in determining access to
better job opportunities and higher earnings.
The Fostering Adoption To Further Student Achievement Act ensures
that children don't have to make a tough decision between choosing to
have a family or an education.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 1287
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fostering Adoption to
Further Student Achievement Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO INDEPENDENT STUDENT.
Section 480(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1087vv(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) was adopted from the foster care system when the
individual was 13 years of age or older.''.
______
By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Akaka):
S. 1288. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into cooperative agreements to protect natural resources of units of
the National Park System through collaborative efforts on land inside
and outside of units of the National Park System; to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to authorize
the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements to
protect National Parks through collaborative efforts on lands inside
and outside of National Park System units.
This legislation is based on very successful watershed protection
legislation enacted for the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
management, now
[[Page S7074]]
commonly referred to as the Wyden amendment. The Wyden amendment, first
enacted in 1998 for fiscal year 1999, has resulted in countless Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management cooperative agreements with
neighboring State and local land owners to accomplish high priority
restoration, protection and enhancement work on public and private
lands. It has not required additional funding, but has allowed the
agencies to leverage their scarce restoration dollars thereby allowing
the federal dollars stretch farther.
The legislation I introduce today will allow the Park Service to use
a similar authority to attack natural threats to National Parks, such
as invasive weeds, before they cross onto Parks' land. The National
Park Service tells me that if they have to wait until the weeds hit the
Parks before treating them the costs for treatment rise exponentially
and the probability of beating the weeds back drop exponentially.
I ask unanimous consent that examples of projects the National Park
Service would with this authority, as well as the groups with which
they would partner be printed in the Record. I am please that Senator
Akaka is joining me as an original co-sponsor of this legislation and I
hope my other colleagues will join me as co-sponsors of this
legislation and in ensuring its swift passage.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Potential Cooperative Projects Adjacent To or Nearby NPS Lands:
State: Alabama
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Russell Cave National Monument. Partner: Alabama
Department of Game and Fish Projects/Pest: Autumn olive.
State: Alaska
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Denali National Park and Preserve. Partner:
Private landowner and Alaska Department of Transportation.
Projects/Pest: Remove multiple species from an isolated
location in Kantishna White sweet clover along the Park's
Highway.
Park Unit: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
Partner: Alaska Department of Transportation, Bureau of Land
Management. Projects/Pest: Multiple species moving up the
Dalton Highway towards the park.
Park Unit: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Partner:
Town of Gustavus. Projects/Pest: Remove multiple species from
isolated locations.
Park Unit: Kenai Fjords National Park. Partner: U.S. Forest
Service. Projects/Pest: Yellow sweetclover on Exit Glacier
Road.
Park Unit: Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park. Partner:
Town of Skagway. Projects/Pest: White sweetclover, Butter-
and-eggs.
Park Unit: Sitka National Historical Park. Partner: City of
Sitka. Projects/Pest: Japanese knotweed.
Park Unit: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Partner: Town of McCarthy and Alaska Department of
Transportation, Bureau of Land Management. Projects/Pest:
Remove multiple species from isolated locations and White
sweetclover on area roadways.
State: Arizona
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Partner:
Navajo Indian Reservation. Project/Pest: Tamarisk and Russian
olive.
Park Unit: Grand Canyon National Park. Partner: Hualapai
Indian Reservation. Project/Pest: Remove Tamarisk from shared
drainages.
Park Unit: Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.
Partner: Navajo Indian Reservation. Project/Pest: Pueblo
Colorado Wash tamarisk and Russian olive.
State: California
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Death Valley National Park. Partners: Private
lands (Shoshone, CA), Bureau of Land Management, State Fish
and Game. Projects/Pest: Amargosa River tamarisk control
Saline Valley tamarisk.
Park Unit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Partners:
Private land. Projects/Pest: Remove Pampas grass serving as a
seed source re-infesting NPS lands.
Park Unit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Partner:
State and Private lands. Projects/Pest: Jubata grass.
Park Unit: Mojave National Preserve. Partners: Private and
State land. Project/Pest: Tamarisk near I1-15 corridor,
scattered in-holdings and mine sites.
Aquatic Resources
Park Unit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Partners:
Private and Public lands. Projects/Pest: Work with City/
College and others to facilitate movement of listed
butterfly between two separated NPS parcels.
Park Unit: Point Reyes National Seashore. Partners: Private
lands. Project/Pest: Restore eroded stream channels
benefiting the salmonid fishery in the park.
Park Unit: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Partners: Private lands, City and County government, NGO's.
Project/Pest: Numerous projects to stabilize, mitigate or
restore land disturbances affecting runoff and erosion
processes.
Geologic Resources
Park Unit: Redwood National Park. Partners: Private lands.
Project/Pest: Work collaboratively to implement erosion
control measures from roads associated with timber harvest.
State: Colorado
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Dinosaur National Monument. Partner: Utah State
land. Project/Pest: Jones Hole Creek, spotted knapweed and
tamarisk.
Park Unit: Mesa Verde National Park. Partner: Ute Mountain
Indian Reservation. Project/Pest: Mancos River tamarisk.
State: District of Columbia
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: National Capitol Area East. Partners: Private
landowners. Project/Pest: Asian Spiderwort (Murdannia
keisak).
State: Georgia
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military
Park. Partners: Lookout Land Trust and Private business.
Project/pest: Kudzu.
State: Hawaii
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Haleakala National Park. Partners: State,
Private landowners, Private industry, NGO's, General public.
Project/Pest: Miconia Fountain Grass, Bocconia, Pampas Grass.
Park Unit: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Partners: State,
Private landowners, NGO's, Private industry. Project/Pest:
Miconia Fountain Grass, Bocconia, Pampas Grass.
Park Unit: Kaluapapa National Historical Park. Partners:
State, Private landowners, NGO's, Private industry. Project/
Pest: Miconia Fountain Grass, Bocconia, Pampas Grass.
State: Idaho
Geologic Resources
Park Unit: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.
Partners: Private lands. Project/Pest: Prevent irrigation
canal seepage causing slumpage/wasting of fossil resources
and impacts to Snake River.
State: Kentucky
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Mammoth Cave National Park. Partners: Private
landowner and State University. Project/Pest: Garlic mustard.
State: Maryland
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Antietam National Battlefield. Partners: State
and County Department of Transportation. Project/Pest: Tree
of Heaven.
Park Unit: Assateague Island National Seashore. Partners:
State agency. Projects/Pest: Eragrostis curvula (weeping
lovegrass) coming into park from state lands.
Park Unit: Catoctin Mountain Park. Partners: State roads,
Railroad right-of-way. Project/Pest: Mile-a-minute.
State: Massachusetts
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Minute Man National Historical Park. Partners:
Local municipalities. Projects/Pest: Variety of exotic plants
along boundaries of park.
Wetlands
Park Unit: Cape Cod National Seashore. Partners: Town of
Wellfleet, MA. Projects/Pest: CACO has three large wetlands
that are impaired due to salt marsh diking that has
restricted tidal flow to the systems, some impacted for more
than 100 years. Having the ability to access and utilize
funds to alter and improve the water control structures
ultimately is all that is needed to restore thousands of
acres of wetlands within the park boundary.
State: Missouri
Geologic Resources
Park Unit: Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Partners:
Private lands, Federal agencies. Project/Pest: Develop
understanding of and extent of karst environment in and
around the park.
State: Montana
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Glacier National Park. Partners: Blackfeet
tribe. Project/Pest: Numerous exotic plant species.
Native Species
Park Unit: Glacier National Park. Partners: Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks, U.S. Forest Service, BNSF Railroad and
others. Project/Pest: Fencing along boundaries, white and
limber pine restoration and wetland surveys.
State: Nevada
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Great Basin National Park. Partners: Private,
State and U.S. Forest Service. Project/Pest: Scattered
spotted knapweed and thistle in shared drainages with the
park.
Park Unit: Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Partners:
County, State, Private, Bureau of Land Management. Project/
Pest: Virgin River, Las Vegas Wash, Muddy River,
[[Page S7075]]
tall whitetop, Russian knapweed, camelthom and tamarisk.
State: New Jersey
Aquatic Resources
Park Unit: Morristown National Historical Park. Partners:
Private landowners. Project/Pest: Develop and implement in
concert with private landowners best management practices to
reduce pesticide and storm water runoff into Primrose Creek
which contains a genetically pure stock of native brook
trout.
State: New Mexico
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Pecos National Historical Park. Partner: Private
landowners, U.S. Forest Service, and State agencies.
Projects/Pest: tamarisk.
State: New York
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Partners: State agencies, Local municipalities, watershed
associations. Projects/Pest: Variety of exotic plants along
park boundaries.
Park Unit: Gateway National Recreation Area Partners: State
agency. Projects/Pest: Oriental bittersweet invading from
park into state lands.
State: North Carolina
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Blue Ridge Parkway. Partner: The Nature
Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service. Projets/Pest: Oriental
Bittersweet.
Park Unit: Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.
Partner: Adjacent Homeowner Association. Projets/Pest:
English Ivy.
Park Unit: Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.
Partner: Guilford County Parks and Recreation. Projets/Pest:
Wild yam and Privet.
State: Oklahlma
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Washita Battlefield National Historic Site.
Partner: Private landowners, U.S. Forest Service. Projets/
Pest: Scotch thistle.
State: Oregon
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Partner:
Private Landowners, County Weed Districts and Watershed
Counils. Proje1s/Pest: Medusa head, Tarweed, Russian Knapweed
Yellow Start thistle, Whitetop and other weeds.
Park Unit: Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
(formerly Fort Clatsop National Memorial). Partner: Private
Timber lands, Private Agriculture lands and Oregon State
Parks. Projedts/Pest: Scotch Broom, Reed Canary Grass,
English Holly, and other invaste plants.
State: Pennsylvania
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.
Partners: Local municipalities, Private landowners. Projects/
Pest: Mainly Japanese knotweed along Delaware River and
tributaries.
Aquatic Resources
Park Unit: Valley Forge National Historical Park. Partners:
Private landowners, County/State governments, non-profit
groups. Project/Pest: Implement Valley Creek Restoration Plan
and EA which identifies management strategies and restoration
opportunities within the watershed and outside the park
including the retrofitting of 24 detention basins, creation
of 30 ground water infiltration sites, re-vegetation of miles
of eroding stream banks, and planting of riparian buffers
throughout the watershed.
State: Tennessee
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Big South Fork National River and Recreation
Area. Partners: Tennessee Division of Forestry and Tennessee
State Parks. Project/Pest: Multi-flora rose and Privet.
Park Unit: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Partners: City of Middlesboro. Project/Pest: Privet.
Park Unit: Obed Wild and Scenic River. Partners: Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency. Project/Pest: Multi-flora rose and
Privet.
State: Texas
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Big Bend National Park. Partners: State and
Local government, Private landowners and Country of Mexico.
Project/Pest: Tamarisk along Rio Grande River Drainage.
State: Utah
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Arches National Park. Partners: State and Bureau
of Land Management. Project/Pest: Courthouse Wash and Salt
Creek tamarisk.
Park Unit: Canyonlands National Park. Partners: Private and
The Nature Conservancy. Project/Pest: Dugout Ranch area,
tamarisk and knapweed.
Park Unit: Capitol Reef National Park. Partners: Private
and U.S. Forest Service. Projects/Pest: Sulphur Creek and
Upper Fremont River, tamarisk.
Park Unit: Zion National Park. Partners: Private and State
lands. Projects/Pest: Upper and Lower Virgin River, tamarisk.
State: Virginia
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Colonial National Historical Park. Partners: NGO
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation). Projects/Pest: kudzu,
English ivy, and tree of heaven straddling common boundary.
Park Unit: Shenandoah National Park. Partners: Private
lands (east boundary and west boundary). Projects/Pest: Kudzu
straddling east boundary; bamboo straddling west boundary.
Park Unit: Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
Partners: County and private lands. Project/Pest: Lesser
Celandine.
State: Washington
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve.
Partner: Washington State Parks, The Nature Conservancy of
Washington, Island County, Ebey's Landing Trust Board,
Washington State Department of Transportation. Projects/Pest:
Poison Hemlock.
Park Unit: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.
Partner: U.S. Forest Service, State, Tribal, and Private
lands. Projects/Pest: Eurasian watermilfoil.
Park Unit: Olympic National Park. Partner: U.S. Forest
Service, State, Tribal, and Private (including timber
company) lands. Projects/Pest: Several species of knotweed
Aquatic Resources
Park Unit: Olympic National Park. Partners: Private lands,
State lands and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands.
Project/Pest: Cooperatively characterize aquifer parameters
such as storage and transmission coefficients, monitor ground
water levels, spring flow river flow install new monitoring
wells to determine response of aquifer to water withdrawals.
State: West Virginia
Exotic Plants
Park Unit: Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Partners:
Non-NPS owners of trail lands. Projects/Pest: Variety of
exotic plants coming into easements along the trail--major
problem throughout the length of this linear park.
State: Wyoming
Aquatic Resources
Park Unit: Yellowstone National Park. Partners: State of
Montana. Project/Pest: Initiate groundwater studies in the
Yellowstone Groundwater Area north of the park.
______
By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs.
Murray, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, and Mr. Sarbanes):
S. 1289. A bill to provide for research and education with respect to
uterine fibroids, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Uterine Fibroid
Research and Education Act of 2005. This bill would increase funding
for research on uterine fibroids as well as create an education
awareness campaign to make sure women and their doctors have the facts
they need about this painful, chronic condition. I want to thank
Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones for introducing this legislation
in the House of Representatives and Senators Clinton, Kennedy, Murray,
Cantwell, Boxer, and Sarbanes for joining me as original cosponsors.
Uterine fibroids are a major health issue for American women. It is
estimated that three in every four women have uterine fibroids.
Although many women with fibroids have few or no symptoms, it is
projected that one in every four women seeks medical care for the heavy
bleeding, pain, infertility, or miscarriage that uterine fibroids
cause.
Despite their prevalence, little is known about uterine fibroids, and
few good treatment options are available to women who suffer from them.
In fact, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at the
Department of Health and Human Services found ``a remarkable lack of
high quality evidence supporting the effectiveness of most
interventions for symptomatic fibroids. More than 200,000 women undergo
a hysterectomy each year to treat their uterine fibroids. Women deserve
better. That's why I am introducing the Uterine Fibroid Research and
Education Act--to find new and better ways to treat or even cure
uterine fibroids.
This bill does three things. First, it expands research at the
National Institutes of Health, NIH, by doubling funding for uterine
fibroids from $15 million to $30 million. This funding will provide the
investment needed to jumpstart basic research, and lay the groundwork
to find a cure. This additional funding will help researchers find out
why so many women get uterine fibroids, why African American women are
disproportionately affected, what steps women can take to prevent
uterine fibroids, and what the best ways to treat them are.
Second, this legislation coordinates research on uterine fibroids
through
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the Office of Research on Women's Health, ORWH. More than a decade ago,
I fought to create this Office at NIH to give women a seat at the table
when decisions were made about funding priorities. This bill directs
this Office to lead the Federal Government's research effort on uterine
fibroids. A coordinated research effort is needed to make the best use
of limited resources and to give women a one-stop shop to find out what
the federal government is doing to combat uterine fibroids.
Finally, this bill creates education campaigns for patients and
health care providers. A recent survey conducted by the Society for
Women's Health Research, cited as many as one-third of women who have
hysterectomies do so without discussing potential alternatives with
their doctors. This bill will make sure women can count on their
doctors for information about the best possible treatment for uterine
fibroids. It will also give women the facts they need to make good
health care decisions and take control of their health.
Since my first days in Congress, I have been fighting to make sure
women don't get left out or left behind when it comes to their health.
From women's inclusion in clinical trials to quality standards for
mammograms, I have led the way to make sure women's health needs are
treated fairly and taken seriously. This legislation builds on these
past successes to address this silent epidemic among American women.
The Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act is supported by the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for
Women's Health Research, and the Black Women's Health Imparitive. I
look forward to working with these advocates and my colleagues to get
this bill signed into law.
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