[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 76 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5876-S5879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. SUNUNU (for himself, Mr. Santorum, and Mr. Carper):
  S. 3508. A bill to authorize the Moving to Work Charter program to 
enable public housing agencies to improve the effectiveness of Federal 
housing assistance, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Moving to 
Work Charter Program Act--legislation that would expand the successful 
Moving to Work demonstration project. Unfortunately, today's housing 
programs do not always meet the needs of local communities, and public 
housing agencies are subjected to one-size-fits-all regulations. 
National rent policies often times do not satisfy distinct 
characteristics of individual housing markets. Therefore, my 
legislation will increase flexibility for PHAs to address their local 
housing needs.
  Congress authorized the Moving to Work demonstration program in 1996, 
and the program has received temporary extensions since then. While the 
demonstration was originally intended to only be authorized for 3 
years--its success has led to continued support from Congress. Moving 
to Work, or MTW, has been successful due its innovative and locally-
designed approach to housing. Under the program, agencies are given 
appropriate flexibility to design programs that not only provide 
affordable housing, but aid residents in becoming self-sufficient. When 
MTW

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was established there were three main goals--achieving greater cost-
effectiveness, giving housing residents tools to become self-
sufficient, and increasing housing choices for low-income families. 
When one looks at the accomplishments of the agencies that have 
participated in the program, it is clear that MTW was instrumental in 
their success in meeting these goals. For this reason, I am eager to 
apply MTW's proven model to worthy agencies across the country.
  My legislation would establish a permanent Moving to Work Charter 
Program that would include up to 250 PHAs. Participating agencies would 
possess the same flexibility to design and implement innovative 
approaches as current MTW participants. While PHAs would have broader 
discretion, they would still be required to assist substantially the 
same number of low-income families they currently serve. The local 
flexibility and independence permitted under MTW will allow agencies to 
be more responsive to their local conditions, demands, and priorities. 
Every community has its unique housing needs that are not always best 
addressed by current HUD regulations.
  When looking at current national rent policies, it is evident we have 
a system in place that encourages dependency, by creating disincentives 
for individuals to work. Under current law, when an individual's income 
increases, their rent automatically increases. In essence we are 
punishing residents for earning more money--money that allows them to 
live more responsibly and independently. MTW gives agencies the ability 
to establish rent policies that will encourage residents to increase 
their income, because they can keep more of their income. In my own 
state of New Hampshire, the Keene Housing Authority has created a step 
rent program where tenant contributions to rent are increased on a 
yearly basis. While their income may increase, their rent will not. 
This creates an environment where residents are encouraged to work. 
Increases in tenant rent contributions are phased in each year, 
providing more certainty for tenants. At the same time, they are 
preparing residents for entry into the housing market by giving them 
job training support, tools for financial planning, and homeownership 
opportunities. This program has resulted in real income growth for 
residents, without a significant increase to their rents.
  The results speak for themselves. At the Keene Housing Authority 46 
percent of families were working full time when their MTW program 
started. Today, 65 percent are working full time. They have also issued 
more section 8 subsidies than before and have assisted more families in 
need. MTW has allowed Keene Housing Authority to meet the immediate 
housing needs of their tenants, while also helping their tenants become 
more independent.
  The MTW program also gives PHAs the ability to merge their funding 
streams--which is ideal for modernizing or redeveloping their housing 
stock. PHAs can combine these funds so long as they maintain assistance 
to the same number of families, and use their funds to continue their 
efforts to provide affordable housing. Through merging funding streams, 
Philadelphia has been able to better leverage their federal dollars, 
and in turn construct hundreds of additional units.
  Through community partnerships and innovative thinking at the local 
level, the Philadelphia PHA has been able to reach more low-income 
residents, while at the same time reinvigorating community development 
initiatives. Every community has distinctive housing needs--no one 
knows those local needs better than the housing agencies that are 
working every day to provide affordable housing options for community 
members. MTW allows its participants to maximize efficiency and direct 
resources where they feel they are most needed to address specific 
local needs. I specifically want to thank Senator Santorum for working 
with me on this legislation. Obviously, he has seen first hand the 
success of MTW in this State of Pennsylvania, and I appreciate his 
input on this bill.
  Additionally, I would like to thank Senator Carper for his support of 
this legislation. He has also witnessed the benefits of the MTW program 
in the State of Delaware. The Delaware State Housing Authority's MTW 
program has been tremendously successful in providing families with the 
tools to become more independent while still providing affordable 
housing. I look forward to working with both Senator Santorum and 
Carper in moving this legislation forward.
  By bringing more PHAs into MTW under my bill, more agencies will 
benefit from streamlined annual reporting and administrative 
procedures. By doing so, PHAs can focus more of their attention on 
meeting the housing needs of those they serve. Redundant and burdensome 
reporting requirements are time-consuming and unnecessary and take the 
attention away from residents. Under this legislation, PHAs will be 
able to work with HUD to develop more appropriate reporting 
requirements that compliment their housing services. For example, PHAs 
will have the ability to merge their waiting lists, modify inspection 
standards, and modify lease requirements. Small PHAs and large PHAs are 
vastly different--HUD should be able to work in collaboration with 
individual PHAs to determine which requirements pertain to certain 
agencies. Streamlined reporting will enable PHAs to establish local 
benchmarks and more purposefully evaluate their programs' effectiveness 
in providing affordable housing.
  My legislation has the support of the local agencies across my State, 
as well as the endorsement of the Public Housing Authorities Directors 
Association, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, and the 
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. I remain 
committed to working with the PHAs throughout the legislative process 
to achieve greater flexibility, while ensuring that individuals and 
families have continued access to affordable housing.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. Allen):
  S. 3510. A bill to amend the National Science Foundation 
Authorization Act of 2002 to authorize grants for Partnerships for 
Access to Laboratory Science (PALS); to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from 
Virginia, Senator Allen, to introduce a bill designed to improve the 
science learning experience for students in low-income and rural 
schools across the country. Investing in education is about investing 
in our future. Today's young people will be facing a new world when 
they enter the workforce--a world that is globally integrated and where 
technology has transformed the boundaries of human capital. Our tax 
forms, blueprints, and x-rays can all be analyzed halfway around the 
world. The greatest asset we have in this country is our collective 
intellect, and the Nation's competitive future will depend on us 
nurturing the intellect of the next generation of Americans.
  In order to be competitive in the coming decades, we need to ensure 
that we have given our students the tools to be successful in science, 
engineering, mathematics, and technology. The Protecting America's 
Competitive Edge, PACE, Acts, which I am proud to be a cosponsor of, 
helps provide the tools at all levels of our educational system, from 
kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. Unfortunately, I am 
concerned that we may not be paying enough attention to those students 
that are already in the greatest danger of not reaping the full 
benefits of America's innovative future, such as minorities, women, and 
students in low-income or rural schools.
  For example, according to the National Science Foundation, only 7 
percent of our scientists and engineers are Hispanic, African American, 
or Native American, despite the fact that they make up 24 percent of 
the total population. A minority scientist is also far less likely to 
achieve a post-graduate degree. By 2020, one-quarter of the Nation's 
schoolchildren will be Hispanic, and another 14 percent will be African 
American. That's 40 percent of our precious human capital, and we can 
not neglect that tremendous resource when we talk about improving our 
competitiveness for the future. No business could afford to leave 40% 
of its capital sitting idle, and neither can the United States.
  That is why I introduced an amendment during the committee markup of 
the PACE-Energy bill, joined by Senator Allen, which will create a 
series

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of outreach programs designed to get more minority elementary and 
secondary students excited about science, to make them want to enter 
these fields that will be such a crucial part of our economic future. A 
program like this called Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology 
Week, HESTEC, has been operating very successful for the past few years 
as the University of Texas--Pan American, and I hope to see that 
success replicated throughout the Nation.
  But these types of programs are only one part of getting students 
hooked on science. We can spend all the time in the world telling 
students how exciting it is to be a scientist, but unless we actually 
let them experience that excitement--unless we let them discover the 
joy of scientific discovery first-hand--we will still lose them. And 
that is the job of the science laboratory class. A well-designed, well-
equipped, well-staffed high school laboratory can be an incredibly 
invigorating and illuminating experience for a student. It can teach 
them far more about scientific principles than they can learn from a 
book or in a lecture, and more importantly, it teaches them the thrill 
of actually being a scientist. That, more than anything else, can mean 
the difference between a student who goes on to become a chemist, an 
engineer, or a medical researcher, and one who loses interest in 
science forever.
  Unfortunately, a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, 
called ``America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science,'' 
made some findings that are extremely troubling for those of us who 
want to provide all of our students an equal opportunity to succeed in 
science and technology. It found that schools that have high 
percentages of minorities and low-income students are ``less likely to 
have adequate laboratory facilities'' and ``often have lower budgets 
for laboratory equipment and supplies'' than other schools. The study 
also found that students in those schools ``spend less time in 
laboratory instruction than students in other schools.'' Rural schools 
had some of the same problems.
  We cannot expect our country to be adequately prepared for the future 
unless all of our students are adequately prepared for the future. And 
unless we do something to improve the laboratory experience for our 
low-income, minority, and rural students, we simply won't be prepared. 
That is why I am proud to introduce the partnerships for access to 
laboratory science bill, originally championed by Congressman Hinojosa, 
which would authorize partnerships between high-need or rural school 
districts, higher education institutions, and the private sector, with 
the goal of revitalizing the high school science labs in those schools. 
The bill authorizes $50 million in matching grants to help fund 
comprehensive science instruction improvement plans, with the grant 
money able to be used for such things as purchasing scientific 
equipment, renovating laboratory space, designing new experiments or 
methods of integrating the laboratory with traditional lectures, and 
providing professional development for high school science lab 
teachers. This last one is particularly important because one of the 
key conclusions from the National Academy report is that ``improving 
high school science teachers' capacity to lead laboratory experiences 
effectively is critical to advancing the educational goals of these 
experiences.''
  We need to do a lot to ensure that our Nation stays competitive 
throughout the 21st century, and this bill is only one small step. But 
it is a sorely needed step, particularly for those students who need 
our help the most. I invite my colleagues to join us in support of this 
bill, and I look forward to working to enact this important piece of 
legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Jeffords):
  S. 3515. A bill to amend title II, United States Code, to ensure that 
liable entities meet environmental cleanup obligations, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, the Wall Street Journal recently 
reported on a growing phenomenon across the West--towns and cities are 
struggling to ensure cleanup from decades of environmental 
contamination on properties formally owned by Asarco, LLC.
  For over a century, Asarco mined, smelted, and refined metals at 
sites across the country, leaving behind a legacy of lead, arsenic, and 
cadmium contamination in more than 90 sites in 22 Western States. But 
when Asarco filed for bankruptcy in August 2005 suddenly it became 
unclear if these contaminated sites would ever get cleaned up. Asarco's 
outrageous legacy of environmental pollution stretches from Helena, MT, 
to El Paso, TX, and is estimated to total $1 billion nationwide. That 
is money that taxpayers, not the polluting company, may now have to 
pay.
  In my State, Asarco operated a 14-acre site in Everett from the 1800s 
until 1912, and two sites in Ruston, a 67-acre property and the larger 
97-acre Superfund site on Commencement Bay. When Asarco declared 
bankruptcy last August, the citizens of Washington State were left with 
a $100 million Superfund mess. In Tacoma and Ruston, Asarco contractors 
abandoned cleanup projects midway through, leaving piles of 
contaminated soil sitting in resident's backyards. Although cleanup 
resumed thanks to emergency removal funds from the Environmental 
Protection Agency, these funds only go so far and eventually taxpayers 
may have to bear the brunt of the costs.
  I wish I could say that Asarco is just an exceptionally bad actor, 
but there is evidence that the company's irresponsible practices are 
more common than we knew.
  That is why in October 2002, I asked the Government Accountability 
Office to examine how corporate polluters might be avoiding their 
responsibility under existing environmental law. I was pleased to be 
joined in requesting this study by then Environment and Public Works 
Chairman Jeffords, Judiciary Chairman Leahy, and Superfund and Waste 
Management Subcommittee Chairwoman Boxer. The report found that the 
Environmental Protection Agency has faced significant challenges in 
holding polluting corporations responsible for their environmental 
cleanup obligations, partly due to bankruptcy laws that allow companies 
to avoid future cleanup costs on sites that were damaged in the past.
  In many ways this report confirms what I feared back in 2002, and 
what became starkly evident last August, that corporate polluters are 
using bankruptcy and other regulatory loopholes to get out of their 
environmental cleanup obligations. The report has a whole section on 
how ``businesses can organize and restructure themselves in ways that 
allow them to limit their expenditures for environmental cleanups.'' 
Whether it is using the shield of bankruptcy to evade their 
obligations, or engaging in corporate shell games with foreign 
subsidiaries, the ``polluter pays'' principle should hold firm.
  To quote again from the report, ``As a result of EPA's inaction, the 
federal treasury continues to be exposed to potentially enormous 
cleanup costs associated with businesses not currently required to 
provide financial assurances.''
  Fortunately, the GAO provided not only a thorough analysis of the 
problem but also a set of detailed recommendations on how to tackle 
these abuses. Based on their recommendations, I authored the Cleanup 
Assurance and Polluter Accountability Act of 2006, which I am 
introducing today along with Senator Jeffords, the ranking member of 
the Environment and Public Works Committee and Senator Boxer, the 
ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on 
Superfund and Waste Management.
  My bill: Enables the bankruptcy court to examine 10 years of past
transactions--instead of 2 years--between a parent company and its 
subsidiary for evidence that companies transferred assets to avoid 
environmental cleanup responsibilities; requires the National 
Bankruptcy Review Commission to evaluate conflicting goals between the 
bankruptcy code and environmental laws and to provide recommendations 
for action to Congress; reasserts and expands upon the 1980 requirement 
that the Environmental Protection Agency develop financial assurance 
regulations and ensure that businesses maintain appropriate financial 
assurances, providing evidence that they're able to pay for cleaning up 
of environmental damage

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should it occur; and requires companies subject to financial assurance 
requirements to report declarations of bankruptcy directly to the EPA 
with an estimation of environmental damage and an explanation of 
current and former owners or partners of the facility.
  These measures will go a long way toward closing these costly 
loopholes in our bankruptcy code and protecting tax payers from unjust 
corporate maneuvering to evade cleanup responsibility at polluted 
sites.
  Communities across the country continue to bear the burden of 
Asarco's irresponsible behavior. The GAO report confirms that this 
abuse is not specific to Asarco but is increasingly widespread. It will 
take many more years to clean up the mess that a few bad actors have 
left behind. We can't afford to stand by and allow another Asarco to 
happen. We must not ask the taxpayers to continue footing the bill for 
others' reckless actions. I look forward to working with my 
congressional colleagues to enact these protections into law.

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