[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5088-S5112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. DODD:
S. 1204. A bill to enhance Federal efforts focused on public
awareness and education about the risks and dangers associated with
Shaken Baby Syndrome; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Shaken Baby
Syndrome Prevention Act of 2007, important legislation that promotes
awareness and prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome, a devastating form of
child abuse that results in the severe injury, disability or death of
hundreds of children each year.
Child abuse and neglect is a well-documented tragedy for some of our
youngest and most vulnerable citizens. According to the National Child
Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) almost 900,000 children were
victims of abuse and neglect in 2005. More than four children die every
single day as a result of abusive maltreatment in this country. Babies
are particularly vulnerable; in 2005, children aged 12 months or
younger accounted for nearly 42 percent of all child abuse and neglect
fatalities and children under age 3 accounted for almost 77 percent.
Yet even these disturbing statistics may not paint an accurate picture;
most experts agree that child abuse is widely under-reported.
Abusive head trauma, including Shaken Baby Syndrome, is the leading
cause of death of physically abused children, in particular for infants
younger than one. When a frustrated caregiver loses control and
violently shakes a baby or impacts the baby's head, the trauma can kill
the child or cause severe injuries, including loss of vision, loss of
hearing, brain damage, paralysis, and/or seizures, resulting in
lifelong disabilities and creating profound grief for many families.
Far too many children have experienced the horrible devastation of
Shaken Baby Syndrome. A 2003 report in the Journal of the American
Medical Association estimates that as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome,
an average of 300 U.S. children will die each year, and 600 to 1,200
more will be injured, of whom two-thirds will be infants younger than
one. Medical professionals believe that thousands of Shaken Baby
Syndrome cases are misdiagnosed or undetected, as many children do not
immediately exhibit obvious symptoms after the abuse.
Prevention programs can significantly reduce the number of cases of
Shaken Baby Syndrome. For example, the Upstate New York SBS Prevention
Project at Children's Hospital of Buffalo has used a simple video to
educate new parents before they leave the hospital, reducing the number
of shaken baby incidents in the area by nearly 50 percent.
In Connecticut, a multifaceted prevention approach involving
hospitals, schools, childcare providers, and community-based
organizations in awareness and training activities, including home
visits and targeted outreach, has raised awareness and encouraged
prevention across the state. Hospitals in many States educate new
parents about the dangers of shaking a baby, yet it is estimated that
less than 60 percent of parents of newborns receive information about
the dangers of shaking a baby. Without more outreach, education and
training, the risk of Shaken Baby Syndrome will persist.
With the introduction of the Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Act of
2007, I hope to reduce the number of children injured or killed by
abusive head trauma, and ultimately to eliminate Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Our initiative provides for the creation of a public health campaign,
including development of a National Action Plan to identify effective,
evidence-based strategies for prevention and awareness of SBS, and
establishment of a cross-disciplinary advisory council to help
coordinate national efforts.
The campaign will educate the general public, parents, child care
providers, health care professionals and others about the dangers of
shaking, as well as healthy preventative approaches for frustrated
parents and caregivers coping with a crying or fussy infant. The
legislation ensures support for families who have been affected by SBS,
and for families and caregivers struggling with infant crying, through
a 24-hour hotline and an informational website. All of these activities
are to be implemented through the coordination of existing programs
and/or the establishment of new efforts, to bring together the best in
current prevention, awareness and education practices to be expanded
into areas in need.
Awareness is absolutely critical to prevention. Families,
professionals and caregivers responsible for infants and young children
and must learn about the dangers of violent shaking and abusive impacts
to the head.
On behalf of the victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome, including Cynthia
from New York, Hannah from California, Sarah from New York, Kierra from
Nevada, Miranda from Pennsylvania, Taylor from Illinois, Cassandra from
Arizona, Gabriela from Florida, Amber from New York, Bennett from
Missouri, Jamison from Florida, Maggie from Texas, Dalton from Indiana,
Stephen from Texas, Kaden from Washington, Joseph from Texas, Dawson
from Pennsylvania, Macie from Minnesota, Jake from Maine, Benjamin from
Michigan, Chloe from New Mexico, Madison of Oklahoma, Peanut from
Texas, Nykkole from Minnesota, Gianna from Rhode Island, Brynn from
Washington, Rachael from Texas, Jack from Maryland, Ryan from Virginia,
David from California, Reagan from Virginia, Skipper from New York, and
many other innocent lives lost or damaged, I look forward to working
with my colleagues to see that this legislation becomes law so that we
can expand efforts to eradicate Shaken Baby Syndrome.
I ask unanimous consent that a list of groups supporting this
resolution be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
Groups Supporting the Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Act of 2007
American Association of Neurological Surgeons; American
Professional Society on the Abuse of Children; American
Psychological Association; The Arc of the United States;
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs;
Association of University Centers on Disabilities; Brain
Injury Association of America; Center for Child Protection
and Family Support; Child Welfare League of America;
Children's Defense Fund; Children's Healthcare is a Legal
Duty; Congress of Neurological Surgeons; The Connecticut
Children's Trust Fund; Council for Exceptional Children;
Cynthia Gibbs Foundation; Division for Early Childhood of the
Council for Exceptional Children; Easter Seals; Epilepsy
Foundation; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; and The G.E.M. Child
Protection Foundation.
Hannah Rose Foundation; IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators
Association; Kierra Harrison Foundation; Lifetime Family
Resource Center, Inc.; Massachusetts Citizens for Children;
The Multidisciplinary Pediatric Education and Evaluation
Consortium; National Association of Child Care Resource &
Referral Agencies; National Association of Children's
Hospitals; National Association of State Head Injury
Administrators; National Center for Learning Disabilities;
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome; National Child Abuse
Coalition; National Family Partnership; National Respite
Coalition; National Shaken Baby Coalition; National Shaken
Baby Syndrome Nursing Network; Parents Anonymous;
Pennsylvania Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention and Awareness
Program; Prevent Child Abuse America; Shaken Baby
Association; Shaken Baby Prevention, Inc.; Shaking Kills:
Instead Parents Please Educate and Remember Initiative
(SKIPPER); United Cerebral Palsy; and Upstate New York Shaken
Baby Syndrome Prevention and Awareness Program.
[[Page S5089]]
______
By Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mr. Harkin):
S. 1205. A bill to require a pilot program on assisting veterans'
service organizations and other veterans' groups in developing and
promoting peer support programs that facilitate community reintegration
of veterans returning from active duty, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Heroes
Helping Heroes Demonstration Program of 2007, along with my
distinguished colleague from Iowa, Senator Harkin. I ask unanimous
consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.
Our intention is to expand the use of peer-support approaches to
assist the reintegration of America's veterans as they return from
active duty to their homes and communities. We hope that this
legislation will demonstrate the effectiveness of peer-support
approaches and ease the burden of the social, economic, medical and
psychological struggles our veterans face.
Deployed soldiers face extreme stress and at times devastating
injuries. Left untreated, this stress can have devastating impact on
soldiers and their families. Army researchers have found that alcohol
misuse went from 13 percent among soldiers to 21 percent one year after
returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It also has been found that
soldiers with anger and aggression issues increase from 11 percent to
22 percent after deployment. Furthermore, the best studies to date have
shown that up to one-third of our current war veterans are coping with
a serious mental health problem, most notably Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD).
In addition to these personal struggles, returning soldiers also face
serious social and economic challenges. Data from the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics indicates that unemployment among soldiers returning
to civilian life is 15 percent--three times the national average. Those
soldiers planning to divorce their spouse rose from nine percent to 15
percent after time spent in the combat zone. Unfortunately, as more
troops are deployed, deployments are extended and breaks between
deployments become shorter these problems will only become more
prevalent.
At present, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans
Affairs are struggling to meet the needs of returning veterans.
Situations like those recently uncovered at Walter Reed Hospital
demonstrate a health care system stretched to its limits. Furthermore,
it would require significant additional resources to build up
traditional service organizations and approaches to be sufficient to
deal with these serious problems.
I have risen on this floor many times to speak about the need to
adequately address the mental health and physical health needs of our
citizens. However, there has never been a case when the responsibility
and duty of this body and our country has been clearer than the duty to
aid our veterans who have sacrificed their bodies, minds and lives for
this country.
Fortunately, ``peer-support'' approaches offer a low cost and
effective adjunct to traditional services by allowing the heroes of our
country to help each other. Veteran peer-support offers two things that
no kind of professionalized service can ever hope to: the support of
someone who has had the same kinds of experiences and truly understands
what the veteran is going through; and the potential of a large pool of
experienced volunteers who can assist and support returning veterans at
very little cost.
The effectiveness of these approaches has been documented in a
variety of domains. Specifically, for mental health disorders like PTSD
and depression, peer-support programs have shown that participation
yields improvement in psychiatric symptoms and decreased
hospitalizations, the development of larger social support networks,
enhanced self-esteem and social functioning, as well as lower services
costs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration
(SAMHSA), and even the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental
Health, have recognized peer-support approaches as an emerging best
practice that is helping people recover from traumatic events.
Although the peer-support approach is promising, the need for this
type of assistance is growing and far exceeds the services that are
available. A report from the National Symposium for the Needs of Young
Veterans hosted by AMVETS recognized this need in Voices for Action: A
Focus on the Changing Needs of America's Veterans.
The legislation that I am introducing today requires the Veterans
Administration to create a pilot project. This project would
demonstrate and assess the feasibility of funding community based
veterans' organizations and groups to create and expand peer-support
programs for veterans. It also authorizes $13.5 million over three
years for this program. These funds will be used to support the
development or expansion of peer-support programs in up to 20 non-
profit organizations that support the reintegration of veterans on a
local and national level.
The use of peer-support approaches is supported by veterans,
veterans' organizations and mental health professionals. I ask for
unanimous consent to include in the record the following letters from
the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Disabled American
Veterans, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Vets4Vets and
the American Psychological Association.
I am pleased that Senator Harkin has joined me in this effort. Our
legislation is an important step to expand and improve the support
available to our veterans and their transition back to community life.
We hope that this bill will continue to focus attention on the needs of
our veterans who have given so much to their country.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1205
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM ON ASSISTING VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS
IN FACILITATING COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION OF
VETERANS.
(a) Program Required.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
carry out a pilot program to demonstrate and assess the
feasibility and advisability of delivering community
reintegration support and services to veterans by assisting
veterans organizations in developing and promoting peer
support programs for veterans.
(2) Designation.--The pilot program required by paragraph
(1) shall be known as the ``Heroes Helping Heroes Program''.
(b) Duration of Program.--The pilot program shall be
carried out during the three-year period beginning on October
1, 2007.
(c) Selection of Pilot Program Participants.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall select not more than
20 eligible entities to participate in the pilot program.
(2) Application.--Each eligible entity seeking to
participate in the pilot program shall submit an application
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and
accompanied by such information as the Secretary shall
require.
(3) Selection.--The Secretary shall select participants in
the pilot program from among the applicants under paragraph
(1) that the Secretary determines--
(A)(i) have existing peer support programs that can be
expanded or enhanced, and resources, for the delivery of
community reintegration support and services to veterans
(including mentoring programs, self-help groups, and Internet
and other electronic-based peer support resources) that are
suitable for the pilot program; or
(ii) have the capacity, including the skill and resources
necessary, to develop and maintain new peer support programs
for the delivery of community reintegration support and
services (including mentoring programs, self-help groups, and
Internet and other electronic-based peer support resources)
that are suitable for the pilot program; and
(B) have a plan to continue such peer support programs
after the pilot program ends.
(d) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to pilot
program participants to develop and promote peer support
programs that deliver community reintegration support and
services for veterans.
(2) Amount.--The Secretary shall ensure that the average
amount of the grant awarded under paragraph (1) to a pilot
program participant is not more than $300,000 and not less
than $100,000 per fiscal year.
(3) Matching funds.--A recipient of a grant under paragraph
(1) shall contribute towards the development and promotion of
peer support programs that deliver community reintegration
support and services to veterans an amount equal to not less
than ten percent of the grant awarded to such recipient.
(4) Duration.--The duration of any grant awarded under
paragraph (1) may not exceed three years.
[[Page S5090]]
(e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to a pilot program
participant pursuant to subsection (d) shall be used by the
pilot program participant for costs and expenses connected
with the development and promotion of peer support programs
that deliver community reintegration support and services to
veterans, including costs and expenses of the following:
(1) Program staff or a coordinator of volunteers, but not
more than 50 percent of such grant award may be used for such
purpose in any fiscal year of such pilot program.
(2) Consultation services, but not more than 20 percent of
such grant award may be used for such purpose in any fiscal
year of such pilot program.
(3) Program operations, including costs and expenses
relating to the following:
(A) Advertising and recruiting.
(B) Printing.
(C) Training of volunteers, veterans, and staff.
(D) Incentives, such as food and awards.
(E) Overhead expenses, but not more than ten percent of
such grant award may be used for such purposes.
(f) Technical Assistance.--In addition to the award of
grants under subsection (d), the Secretary shall provide
technical assistance to pilot program participants to assist
them in developing and promoting peer support programs that
deliver community reintegration support and services to
veterans.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a veterans service organization;
(B) a not-for-profit organization--
(i) the primary mission of which is to assist veterans;
(ii) that has been in continuous operation for at least 12
months; and
(iii) is not a veterans service organization; or
(C) a partnership between an organization described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) and an organization that is not
described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(2) Pilot program participant.--The term ``pilot program
participant'' means an eligible entity that is selected by
the Secretary, in accordance with subsection (c), to
participate in the pilot program under this section.
(3) Veterans service organization.--The term ``veterans
service organization'' means any organization recognized by
the Secretary for the representation of veterans under
section 5902 of title 38, United States Code.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Department of Veterans Affairs to
carry out this section, $4,500,000 for each of fiscal years
2008, 2009, and 2010.
____
Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America,
April 10, 2007.
Hon. Gordon Smith,
404 Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Gordon Smith: Only a veteran can truly
understand the story of another veteran. When a servicemember
returns home from a combat zone they are subjected to a
myriad of transitional issues; finding a new job,
reconnecting with family, and mostly important, learning
about the person they have become. We must find creative ways
to reach out and connect these returning heroes with people
who understand their story.
The Heroes Helping Heroes Program is a Demonstration
Project which seeks to aid existing veterans' service
organizations and other non-profit organizations that
currently work with veterans in the development and promotion
of peer support programs across America. Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America (IAVA) strongly endorses the Heroes
Helping Heroes Program as a creative attempt to connect
returning veterans with other veterans.
This program will bolster existing local veterans support
organizations by offering grants, allowing them to expand
services at the fraction of the cost of starting new
programs. Heroes Helping Heroes will help fulfill the
government's duty to assist our service men and women who
fulfilled their solemn duty to serve.
Sincerely,
Paul Rieckhoff,
Executive Director.
____
Vets4Vets,
Tucson, AZ, April 4, 2007.
To whom it may concern: Vets4Vets is proud to endorse
Senator Gordon Smith's bill setting up a pilot program to
encourage peer support programs for Iraq-era veterans.
Vets4Vets is a non-partisan peer support program, staffed
almost exclusively by Iraq-era veterans and dedicated to
helping Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans feel good about
themselves and heal from any negative aspects of service and
war. In our weekend workshops, one-on-ones, and local groups,
Vets4Vets allows veterans to take equal and uninterrupted
turns sharing their experiences and expressing their feelings
in a truly confidential setting. To further promote healing
Vets4Vets encourages service men and women to take part in
positive community action of their choosing that empowers
them to reach out to other veterans.
Over 200 Iraq-era veterans have taken part in one or more
of our nine weekend workshops in the last year in various
parts of the country. Almost all of them have been combat
veterans. Many of them are now actively reaching out to their
peers to set up local peer support groups. There are already
groups meeting in a half dozen or so cities around the
country.
As would be expected from the existing body of research on
peer support programs, these veterans universally enjoyed the
program and report significant improvement in their lives.
We urge Members of Congress to support this bill and the
peer support programs for Iraq-era veterans which it will
encourage.
Sincerely,
Abel Moreno,
Former Sergeant 82nd Airborne with tours in Iraq and
Afghanistan; Vets4Vets Media and Local Outreach Coordinator.
Jason Ridolfi,
Former Sergeant, USMCR with two tours in Iraq; Vets4Vets
Internet Outreach Coordinator.
____
National Coalition
for Homeless Veterans,
Washington, DC, April 11, 2007.
Hon. Gordon Smith,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Smith: The National Coalition for Homeless
Veterans (NCHV) writes to express our support for your bill,
which would establish a demonstration project entitled
``Heroes Helping Heroes Program.'' The project would provide
expanded peer support services for veterans through veteran
service organizations and other non-profit community-based
organizations that serve veterans.
Established in 1990, NCHV is a nonprofit organization with
the mission of ending homelessness among veterans by shaping
public policy, promoting collaboration, and building the
capacity of service providers. NCHV's membership of over 250
community based organizations (CBOs) in 48 states and the
District of Columbia provides housing and supportive services
to homeless veterans and their families.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reports an
estimated 400,000 veterans experience homelessness at some
time during a year, and 200,000 are homeless on any given
night. With the VA reaching only 25 percent of the homeless
veteran population and CBOs 30 percent of those in need, a
substantial number of homeless veterans undoubtedly do not
receive much needed services. Moreover, because some areas of
our country have no community based organizations or VA
facilities nearby, other programs that serve veterans are
needed.
Findings from a survey conducted by NCHV in November 2005
suggest the homeless veteran population in America may be
experiencing significant changes. In addition to those who
are aging and need permanent supportive housing, the
percentage of women veterans seeking services is growing.
Moreover, combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror are
returning home and suffering from war related conditions that
may put them at risk for homelessness. These men and women
are beginning to trickle into the Nation's community-based
homeless veteran service provider organizations and need a
variety of services--from mental health programs and peer
support to housing, employment training and job placement
assistance. The Heroes Helping Heroes program will serve as a
starting point to help these returning heroes address their
many needs.
NCHV supports your efforts and leadership on behalf of our
nation's veterans. Thank you for providing an opportunity to
help them successfully reintegrate back into civilian life.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Beversdorf,
President and CEO.
____
Disabled American Veterans,
March 28, 2007.
Hon. Gordon Smith,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Smith: On behalf of the Disabled American
Veterans (DAV), I am writing with regards to the legislation
that would create the ``Heroes Helping Heroes Program.''
As you know, active duty service members sometimes have
difficulty making the transition back to civilian life. This
is particularly true for our injured service members and
service members who served in combat. For some severely-
disabled veterans of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom,
the success of becoming a productive member of society will
be measured by their ability to live independently and
achieve the highest quality of life possible.
Your legislation seeks to help veterans reintegrate into
their communities by authorizing the Department of Veterans
Affairs to create a pilot program to assist in the
development and capitalization of peer support programs.
While DAV does not have a resolution from our membership to
actively support this legislation, its purpose appears
beneficial and we would not be opposed to the favorable
consideration of this bill.
[[Page S5091]]
The DAV sincerely appreciates your efforts and commitment
to improve the lives of our nation's sick and disabled
veterans, their dependents and survivors.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Violante,
National Legislative Director.
____
American Psychological Association,
April 4, 2007.
Hon. Gordon Smith,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Tom Harkin,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Smith and Harkin: On behalf of the American
Psychological Association (APA) and our 148,000 members and
affiliates; I am writing to thank you for your leadership in
legislative efforts to promote the reintegration of America's
veterans as they return from active duty to their homes and
communities.
Deployed soldiers face unique risks and experience stress
and at-times devastating injuries. Left untreated, the
attendant mental health problems can severely restrict
veterans' lives and their ability to reconnect to family,
work, and social relationships. In their most tragic forms,
such problems can also lead to marital dissolution, the abuse
of alcohol and other drugs, and suicide. At present, the
Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) are striving to meet the mental health
treatment. needs of returning veterans. It is imperative that
we redouble our efforts to aid our veterans who served in
Iraq and Afghanistan and are suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder and other mental health problems.
Your proposed bill, which would establish a demonstration
project entitled ``the Heroes Helping Heroes Program,'' would
provide expanded peer support services for veterans through
veterans service organizations and other non-profit
community-based organizations that serve veterans. Through
peer support programs, veterans help one another to cope with
the trauma of combat experience, the mental anguish that
comes from debilitating physical injury, and the difficulties
of readjusting to a civilian mindset and the rhythms of daily
life. Such programs are highly effective in providing needed
support to veterans, as we know from the veterans
readjustment counseling centers currently run by the VA.
In closing, I thank you once again for your efforts and
leadership on behalf of our nation's veterans.
Sincerely,
Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D.,
Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with the
distinguished Senator from Oregon, Senator Smith, to introduce the
Heroes Helping Heroes Act, to expand the availability of peer support
programs for veterans.
As our military personnel return from combat, they face daunting
challenges in transitioning back to civilian life. They have to deal
with family issues arising from their long absence from home. They have
to find new employment. They also have to cope with separation from
their close friends. After spending many months if not years with the
men and women in their unit--sharing intense wartime experiences and
looking out for each other--they may not find that same close support
when they return.
In addition, many members of our Armed Forces have endured tremendous
stress during combat, which can trigger severe mental health issues
after they have returned home. Research shows that one in three
veterans of the war in Iraq, and one in nine veterans of the war in
Afghanistan, are coping with a serious mental health problem, including
depression, substance abuse, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). Untreated and under-treated stress exposure for soldiers
results in a higher incidence of suicide, higher divorce rates, and
higher rates of drug or alcohol abuse. Additionally, there have been
almost 25,000 non-fatal American casualties. Such injuries often have
serious impacts on the ability of transitioning veterans to reintegrate
into their home and community life.
Currently, VA facilities are overwhelmed by the sheer number of
veterans who need assistance. The Government Accountability Office
(GAO) reported that many VA medical facilities are unprepared to care
for the mental health needs of the number of veterans who will need
services. Peer support approaches offer a low-cost and effective
supplement to traditional services by allowing veterans to help each
other. In peer support programs, transitioning veterans can talk to
someone who had similar experiences and understands what they are going
through. Veteran peer counselors who are trained to provide support and
refer for services when necessary can provide outreach to other
veterans and assist in a smooth transition back to civilian life.
The Heroes Helping Heroes program will allow veterans' service
organizations to develop or expand peer support programs. Veterans'
service organizations and other non-profits that serve veterans are
well-equipped to provide such peer support programs. Given that the VA
is stretched to capacity, these organizations are able to run such
programs in addition to mental health services provided by professional
counselors.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMSHA)
and the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health have
recognized peer support approaches as an emerging best practice in
helping people to recover from traumatic events. Research has found
that peer support programs are effective in alleviating PTSD symptoms
and depression, reducing the likelihood of hospitalization, and
increasing social support.
When members of our Armed Forces come home from war, this does not
necessarily mean that the war is over for them. Many continue to carry
physical and psychological wounds and scars. We have a profound moral
contract to care for those who have fought for our country and
sacrificed so much. One additional way to make good on that contract in
a cost-effective way is to expand the availability peer support
programs nationwide. To that end, I urge my colleagues to join with
Senator Smith and me in sponsoring the Heroes Helping Heroes Act.
______
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, and Ms. Landrieu):
S. 1206. A bill to amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 to clarify the age discrimination rules applicable to the pension
plan maintained by the Young Woman's Christian Association Retirement
Fund; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will
clarify the legal status of the Young Women's Christian Association's
Retirement Fund.
The YWCA Retirement Fund is one of the oldest pension plans serving
the retirement needs of women. This bill will help protect the
retirement security of thousands of YWCA employees nationwide who serve
well over a million users.
Whether it is providing day care for working mothers, keeping a
battered women's shelter open, or meeting the other pressing needs of
women in our communities, the YWCA has a long tradition of service.
Those who work at our local YWCAs deserve to know that their retirement
plan is secure.
Today, the YWCA Retirement Fund is a unique pension program. First,
approximately 90 percent of its participants are women. Second, it is a
multiple employer pension plan--one that relies on 300 local YWCAs to
make funding contributions. And lastly, since it was established in
1924, the pension plan's structure has remained generally unchanged--it
is partially a defined benefit plan, and partially a defined
contribution plan.
Recently, some employers have transformed their traditional defined
benefit pension plans into various types of ``hybrid'' plans, and in
the process, some have reduced the rate at which benefits accrue for
their older workers. Older workers have successfully challenged some of
these arrangements as age discriminatory. During its more than 80-year
history, the YWCA Retirement Fund has never treated any worker
differently based on age or longevity of employment. Most of the
controversy surrounding these plans focuses on how employers treat
certain participants when they convert their pre-existing pension
plans. But the YWCA pension program never converted--its basic
structure has remained the same since it was established in 1924.
The success of some of these lawsuits has raised questions about
whether the YWCA pension plan could be found to be age discriminatory
merely on the basis of its design. This threat is particularly acute
given the fact that the YWCA Retirement Fund is a multiple employer
pension plan--a plan that relies on contributions from each local
[[Page S5092]]
YWCA. This enormous potential liability would be shared jointly by all
local YWCAs. Under current law, even the mere threat of a lawsuit could
cause local YWCAs to end their participation in this plan.
This legislation merely delineates many of the unique characteristics
of the YWCA pension plan and clarifies what age discrimination standard
applies to the plan with respect to any future legal claim. This bill
protects participants from being treated differently on the basis of
age, while eliminating the potential crippling legal threat that
currently exists.
Legislation was enacted in 2004--Public Law 108-476--to clarify the
legal status of the YMCA pension plan, a plan that is similar to the
YWCA plan. Congress was right to protect the YMCA pension plan then and
now it is time to protect the pension plan serving our YWCAs.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1206
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 ``Young Women's Christian
Association Pension Clarification Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan is
a multiple employer plan (subject to the requirements of
section 210 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974) which is maintained by a corporation created by State
law prior to the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 and the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967 and whose primary purpose is the maintenance of
retirement programs.
(2) No applicable plan amendment, as defined in clause (v)
of section 204(b)(5)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5)(B)(v)) (added by
section 701(a) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public
Law 109-280; 120 Stat. 982)) and clause (v) of section
4(i)(10)(B) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(10)(B)(v)) (added by section 701(c) of
the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-280; 120
Stat. 986)), or any applicable plan amendment causing a
participant's accrued benefit to be less than the amount
described in clause (iii) of such section 204(b)(5)(B) or
clause (iii) of such section 4(i)(10)(B), has ever been made
to the Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan.
(3) Under the terms of the Young Women's Christian
Association Pension Plan, as in effect as of June 29, 2005,
all pension benefits of all participants under the plan are
immediately nonforfeitable.
(4) As of April 25, 2007, the Young Women's Christian
Association Pension Plan provides--
(A) for periods including June 29, 2005, and ending on or
before December 31, 2007, a credit to the account of each
participant equal to 40 percent of the pay credit provided to
such participant and interest credits determined for each
plan year at the average of the annual rates of interest on
10-year Treasury securities during a designated period in the
preceding plan year, and
(B) for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2008,
interest credits which satisfy the requirements of section
204(b)(5)(B)(i) of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5)(B)(i)) (added by section
701(a) of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
280; 120 Stat. 981)) and section 4(i)(10)(B))(i) of the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.
623(i)(10)(B)(i)) (added by section 701(c) of the Pension
Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-280; 120 Stat. 989)).
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to clarify the age
discrimination rules under section 204(b)(1)(H) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and section
4(i)(1) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,
as they relate to periods prior to June 29, 2005, during
which violations of such rules are alleged to have occurred
in civil actions commenced on or after April 25, 2007.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF AGE DISCRIMINATION RULES.
(a) In General.--In the case of any civil action which--
(1) is commenced on or after April 25, 2007, and
(2) alleges a violation of section 204(b)(1)(H) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1054(b)(1)(H)) or section 4(i)(1) of the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623(i)(1)) occurring
before June 29, 2005, with respect to any benefit provided
under the Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan,
such sections 204(b)(1)(H) and 4(i)(1) shall be applied as if
paragraph (5) of section 204(b) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (as added by section 701(a)(1) of
the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(5); 120
Stat. 981) and paragraph (10) of section 4(i) of the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.
623(i)(10); 120 Stat. 998) applied to any period in which
such alleged violation occurred.
(b) Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan.--For
purposes of this Act, the term ``Young Women's Christian
Association Pension Plan'' means the defined benefit plan (as
defined in section 3(35) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974) established on January 1, 1926, and
maintained by the Young Women's Christian Association
Retirement Fund, a corporation created by an Act of the State
of New York which became law on April 12, 1924.
______
By Ms. LANDRIEU:
S. 1207. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
increase and extend the energy efficient commercial buildings
deduction; to the Committee on Finance.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation
entitled Giving Reductions to Energy Efficient New Buildings, the GREEN
Buildings Act. This bill will extend the energy efficient building tax
deduction from December 31, 2008 until December 31, 2013. This bill
will also increase the tax deduction from $1.80 to $2.25 per square
foot.
Our Nation is diligently searching to find the long-term solutions to
global warming and, how to reduce our carbon foot print. As Congress
continues to search for these solutions, we must continue to provide
incentives to those who have the knowledge and resources to make an
impact now. Congress understands the impact `green buildings' have on
reducing our Nation's energy consumption and carbon emissions. That is
why in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 we created a tax deduction for
energy efficient buildings. Unfortunately, that deduction will expire
on December 31, 2008. Congress must not allow this deduction to expire.
Building energy efficient buildings is one of the key things being done
right now to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as reduce our
Nation's energy consumption.
Commercial buildings are a substantial part of our Nation's energy
consumption and can be a key to reducing demand for electricity. These
buildings are responsible for 40 percent of total U.S. energy
consumption, they use 70 percent of the nation's electricity and they
are accountable for 40 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
They are a major piece to enabling our Nation's energy independence and
to solving the global warming puzzle and Congress must not overlook
them or leave them out.
The average life-span of a commercial building is 75 years. We must
use our resources, to build energy-efficient buildings today and make
these buildings truly ready for the future. One way to do so is to
provide incentives to those who are willing to step up to the plate and
accept the challenge.
Another benefit from building energy efficient or green buildings is
that they also improve our health. Americans spend about 90 percent of
their time indoors. The concentration of indoor pollutants is sometimes
10 to 100 times more than outdoor pollutants increasing the frequency
of illnesses and ailments.
Researchers have proven that employees who are exposed to more
sunlight are more productive workers. They have proven that by changing
the carpets on the floor and paint on the walls workers have less
respiratory ailments. These are simple things that can be done to
increase employees' health and their productivity and our nation's
overall success.
Our Nation is doing a good job of researching and developing new
technologies to reduce our dependence on foreign energy and to combat
global warming, and Congress has helped move these technologies along
by providing incentives in the way of tax deductions. Unfortunately,
many of these incentives have an expiration date that expires too soon
to provide the help it is intended to provide. Congress needs to keep
these incentives intact and provide stability so companies and
investors can be assured of their investment. In turn, maintaining
these incentives will advance our Nation's energy independence and
reduce our carbon dioxide emissions--two very important goals. I urge
my fellow Senators to support this sensible and much needed tax
incentive. We don't have another 75 years to wait.
[[Page S5093]]
______
By Mr. DORGAN:
S. 1208. A bill to provide additional security and privacy protection
for social security account numbers; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a piece of
legislation called the ``Social Security Account Number Protection
Act'' that would restrict the ability of companies to sell or purchase
Social Security numbers.
Let me describe why this legislation is so necessary.
On February 15, 2005, Georgia-based data warehouser ChoicePoint
disclosed that it had compromised the private customer data of 145,000
individuals. Criminals posing as legitimate small business people had
purchased files on about 145,000 people, some of whom were later
defrauded.
One of the critical pieces of information that ChoicePoint sold to
these criminals was Social Security numbers. That's Social Security
numbers of 145,000 people in all 50 states.
Here is a statistic that I found incredible: Choice Point has 17,000
business ``customers'' for such information. Can you imagine your
Social Security number potentially being sold to 117,000 businesses?
And that's just one of the companies that was selling databases that
included Social Security numbers at the time.
I bet that most Americans were surprised to find out that it was
perfectly legal for companies to sell their Social Security numbers to
tens of thousands of other companies. If you took a national survey and
asked Americans this question: ``Do you think that private companies
should have the ability to purchase and sell your Social Security
number?'' I assure you that the answer would overwhelmingly be ``no.''
In the 109th Congress, when the Senate Commerce Committee marked up
S. 1408, the ID Theft Protection Act, I offered an amendment that very
simply said that it should be illegal to sell or purchase Social
Security numbers.
This as a commonsense amendment, and it passed unanimously. The ID
Theft Protection Act was reported by the Commerce Committee in December
2005, but the bill did not make it to the Senate floor.
But the problem of ID theft has not gone away. In its most recent
survey, the Better Business Bureau estimated that approximately 8.9
million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2006. The total
U.S. annual identity fraud cost is an estimated $52.6 billion per year.
We will shortly be marking up another ID theft bill in the 110th
Congress, through the Commerce Committee. The bill the Commerce
Committee is considering now does not have provisions restricting the
sale or purchase of Social Security numbers, and I intend to offset an
amendment to fix that, with the language that I am introducing as
standalone legislation today.
I should note that the FTC issued a report on ID theft just this
month, which emphasized the importance of protecting Social Security
numbers.
The FTC report said the following about Social Security numbers:
``Consumer information is the currency of identity theft, and perhaps
the most valuable piece of information for the thief is the SSN. The
SSN and a name can be used in many cases to open an account and obtain
credit or other benefits in the victim's name.''
In fact elsewhere in the report, the FTC underscored that Social
Security numbers are ``the most valuable commodity for an identity
thief.''
One of the FTC's top recommendations was that federal agencies should
reduce the unnecessary use of Social Security numbers.
And it's clear that the FTC heard from many Americans who were
unhappy with the widespread overuse of Social Security numbers. Indeed,
the FTC report notes that one of the main concerns that Americans have
in protecting their identity is ``the overuse of Social Security
numbers as identifiers.''
It stands to reason that the more that Social Security numbers are
sold from one business to another for marketing and other commercial
purposes, the greater the chance that the numbers will be lost,
misplaced, stolen, leaked, or otherwise fall into the wrong hands.
Now, I'll be the first to recognize that there are some instances
where the use of Social security numbers is appropriate. So my
amendment has a number of reasonable exceptions to the prohibition on
the sale of Social Security numbers, for purposes such as national
security, public health, law enforcement, administration of federal or
state tax laws, credit reporting agencies, prevention and investigation
of ID theft, and tracking of missing and abducted children.
What's more, my bill allows an ``opt-in'' clause. That is, it allows
individuals, if they so choose, to agree in writing to have their
Social Security number sold or purchased by others--provided the
individual provides his affirmative consent, and the individual is not
obligated to provide the Social Security number as a condition for
conducting a transaction.
I think these are reasonable exemptions.
I should add that in the 109th Congress, Senators Specter and Leahy
also introduced S. 1332, a bill that similarly restricts the sale of
Social Security numbers.
So this is a bipartisan concept, and I hope that my legislation will
have bipartisan support when it reaches the floor of the U.S. Senate.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1208
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 ``Social Security Account
Number Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER PROTECTION.
(a) Prohibition of Unnecessary Solicitation of Social
Security Numbers.--
(1) In general.--Unless there is a specific use of a social
security account number for which no other identifier
reasonably can be used, a covered entity may not solicit a
social security account number from an individual except for
the following purposes:
(A) For use in an identification, verification, accuracy,
or identity proofing process.
(B) For any purpose permitted under the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) or the Gramm-Leach-
Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6802(e)).
(C) To comply with the requirement of Federal, State, or
local law.
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the
solicitation of a social security account number--
(A) for the purpose of obtaining a consumer report for any
purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.),
(B) by a consumer reporting agency for the purpose of
authenticating or obtaining appropriate proof of a consumer's
identity, as required under that Act;
(C) for any purpose permitted under section 502(e) of the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6802(e)); or
(D) to the extent necessary for verifying the accuracy of
information submitted by an individual to a covered entity,
its agents, contractors, or employees or for the purpose of
authenticating or obtaining appropriate proof of an
individual's identity;
(E) to identity or locate missing or abducted children,
witnesses, criminals, fugitives, parties to lawsuits, parents
delinquent in child support payments, organ and bone marrow
donors, pension fund beneficiaries, and missing heirs;
(F) to the extent necessary to prevent, detect, or
investigate fraud, unauthorized transactions, or other
financial liability or to facilitate the enforcement of an
obligation of, or collection of a debt from, a consumer,
provided that the person selling, providing, displaying, or
obtaining the social security account number does not do so
for marketing purposes.
(b) Prohibition of the Display of Social Security Numbers
on Employee Identification Cards, Etc.--
(1) In general.--A covered entity may not display an
individual's security account number (or any derivative of
such number) on any card or tag that is commonly provided to
employees (or to their family members), faculty, staff, or
students for purposes of identification.
(2) Driver's licenses.--A State may not display the social
security account number of an individual on driver's licenses
issued by that State.
(c) Prohibition of Prisoner Access to Social Security
Numbers.--
(1) In general.--Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(x) No executive, legislative, or judicial agency or
instrumentality of the Federal Government or of a State or
political subdivision thereof (or person acting as an agent
of such an agency or instrumentality) may employ, or enter
into a contract for the use or employment of, prisoners in
any capacity that would allow such prisoners access to the
social security account numbers of other individuals. For
purposes of this clause, the term `prisoner' means an
individual who is confined in a jail, prison, or other penal
institution or correctional facility, serving
[[Page S5094]]
community service as a term of probation or parole, or
serving a sentence through a work-furlough program.''.
(2) Treatment of current arrangements.--In the case of--
(A) prisoners employed as described in clause (x) of
section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
405(c)(2)(C)), as added by paragraph (1), on the date of
enactment of this Act: and
(B) contracts described in such clause in effect on such
date,
the amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Prohibition of Sale and Display of Social Security
Numbers to the General Public.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), it
shall be unlawful for any person--
(A) to sell, purchase, or provide a social security account
number, to the general public or display to the general
public social security account numbers; or
(B) to obtain or use any individual's social security
account number for the purpose of locating or identifying
such individual with the intent to physically injure or harm
such individual or using the identity of such individual for
any illegal purpose.
(2) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), and subject
to paragraph (3), a social security account number may be
sold, provided, displayed, or obtained by any person--
(A) to the extent necessary for law enforcement or national
security purposes;
(B) to the extent necessary for public health purposes;
(C) to the extent necessary in emergency situations to
protect the health or safety of 1 or more individuals;
(D) to the extent that the sale or display is required,
authorized, or permitted under any law of the United States
or of any State (or political subdivision thereof);
(E) for any purposes allowed under the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) or the Gramm-Leach-
Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6802(e));
(F) to the extent necessary for verifying the accuracy of
information submitted by an individual to a covered entity,
its agents, contractors, or employees or for the purpose of
authenticating or obtaining appropriate proof of the
individual's identity;
(G) to the extent necessary to identify or locate missing
or abducted children, witnesses to an ongoing or potential
civil or criminal lawsuit, criminals, criminal suspects,
parties to lawsuits, parents delinquent in child support
payments, organ and bone marrow donors, pension fund
beneficiaries, missing heirs, and for similar legal, medical,
or family related purposes, if the person selling, providing,
displaying, or obtaining the social security account number
does not do so for marketing purposes;
(H) to the extent necessary to prevent, detect, or
investigate fraud, unauthorized transactions, or other
financial liability or to facilitate the enforcement of an
obligation of, or collection of a debt from, a consumer, if
the person selling, providing, displaying, or obtaining the
social security account number does not do so for marketing
purposes;
(I) to the extent the transmission of the number is
incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, lease,
franchising, or merger of all, or a portion of, a business;
or
(J) to the extent necessary for research (other than market
research) conducted by an agency or instrumentality of the
United States or of a State or political subdivision thereof
(or an agent of such an agency or instrumentality) for the
purpose of advancing the public good, on the condition that
the researcher provides adequate assurances that--
(i) the social security account numbers will not be used to
harass, target, or publicly reveal information concerning any
identifiable individuals;
(ii) information about identifiable individuals obtained
from the research will not be used to make decisions that
directly affect the rights, benefits, or privileges of
specific individuals; and
(iii) the researcher has in place appropriate safeguards to
protect the privacy and confidentiality of any information
about identifiable individuals, including procedures to
ensure that the social security account numbers will be
encrypted or otherwise appropriately secured from
unauthorized disclosure; or
(K) to the extent that the transmission of the social
security account number is incidental to the sale or
provision of a document lawfully obtained from--
(i) the Federal Government or a State or local government,
that the document has been made available to the general
public; or
(ii) the document has been made available to the general
public via widely distributed media.
(2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1)(K) does not apply to
information obtained from publicly available sources or from
Federal, State, or local government records if that
information is combined with information obtained from non-
public sources.
(3) Consensual sale.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a
social security account number assigned to an individual may
be sold, provided, or displayed to the general public by any
person to the extent consistent with such individual's
voluntary and affirmative written consent to the sale,
provision, or display of the social security account number
only if--
(A) the terms of the consent and the right to refuse
consent are presented to the individual in a clear,
conspicuous, and understandable manner;
(B) the individual is placed under no obligation to provide
consent to any such sale or display; and
(C) the terms of the consent authorize the individual to
limit the sale, provision, or display to purposes directly
associated with the transaction with respect to which the
consent is sought.
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Enforcement by Commission.--Except as provided in
subsection (c), this Act shall be enforced by the Commission.
(b) Violation is Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--The
violation of any provision of this Act shall be treated as an
unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under a rule
issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
(c) Enforcement by Certain Other Agencies.--Compliance with
this Act shall be enforced exclusively under--
(1) section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1818), in the case of--
(A) national banks, and Federal branches and Federal
agencies of foreign banks by the Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency;
(B) member banks of the Federal Reserve System (other than
national banks), branches and agencies of foreign banks
(other than Federal branches, Federal agencies, and insured
State branches of foreign banks), commercial lending
companies owned or controlled by foreign banks, organizations
operating under section 25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve Act
(12 U.S.C. 601 and 611) by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System;
(C) banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (other than members of the Federal Reserve
System), insured State branches of foreign banks by the Board
of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
and
(D) savings associations the deposits of which are insured
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by the Director
of the Office of Thrift Supervision;
(2) the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.)
by the Board of the National Credit Union Administration
Board with respect to any Federal credit union;
(3) the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a
et seq.) by the Securities and Exchange Commission with
respect to--
(A) a broker or dealer subject to that Act;
(B) an investment company subject to the Investment Company
Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.); and
(C) an investment advisor subject to the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.); and
(4) State insurance law, in the case of any person engaged
in providing insurance, by the applicable State insurance
authority of the State in which the person is domiciled.
(d) Exercise of Certain Powers.--For the purpose of the
exercise by any agency referred to in subsection (c) of its
powers under any Act referred to in that subsection, a
violation of this Act is deemed to be a violation of a
requirement imposed under that Act. In addition to its powers
under any provision of law specifically referred to in
subsection (c), each of the agencies referred to in that
subsection may exercise, for the purpose of 2enforcing
compliance with any requirement imposed under this Act, any
other authority conferred on it by law.
(e) Other Authority Not Affected.--Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to limit or affect in any way the
Commission's authority to bring enforcement actions or take
any other measure under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 41 et seq.) or any other provision of law.
(f) Compliance With Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.--
(1) Notice.--Any covered entity that is subject to the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et. seq.), and gives
notice in compliance with the notification requirements
established for such covered entities under title V of that
Act is deemed to be in compliance with section 3 of this Act.
(2) Safeguards.--Any covered entity that is subject to the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et. seq.), and
fulfills the information protection requirements established
for such entities under title V of the Act and under section
607(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681e(a))
to protect sensitive personal information shall be deemed to
be in compliance with section 2 of this Act.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in section 3(c), a
State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf
of its residents in an appropriate state or district court of
the United States to enforce the provisions of this Act, to
obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf
of such residents, or to obtain such further and other relief
as the court may deem appropriate, whenever the attorney
general of the State has reason to believe that the interests
of the residents of the State have been or are being
threatened or adversely affected by a covered entity that
violates this Act or a regulation under this Act.
(b) Notice.--The State shall serve written notice to the
Commission (or other appropriate Federal regulator under
section 3) of any civil action under subsection (a) at least
[[Page S5095]]
60 days prior to initiating such civil action. The notice
shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate
such civil action, except that if it is not feasible for the
State to provide such prior notice, the State shall provide
such notice immediately upon instituting such civil action.
(c) Authority To Intervene.--Upon receiving the notice
required by subsection (b), the Commission (or other
appropriate Federal regulator under section 8) may intervene
in such civil action and upon intervening--
(1) be heard on all matters arising in such civil action;
and
(2) file petitions for appeal of a decision in such civil
action.
(d) Construction.--For purposes of bringing any civil
action under subsection (a), nothing in this section shall
prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the
powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such
State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or
affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the
production of documentary and other evidence.
(e) Venue; Service of Process.--In a civil action brought
under subsection (a)--
(1) the venue shall be a judicial district in which--
(A) the covered entity operates; or
(B) the covered entity was authorized to do business;
(2) process may be served without regard to the territorial
limits of the district or of the State in which the civil
action is instituted; and
(3) a person who participated with a covered entity in an
alleged violation that is being litigated in the civil action
may be joined in the civil action without regard to the
residence of the person.
(f) Limitation on State Action While Federal Action Is
Pending.--If the Commission (or other appropriate Federal
agency under section 3) has instituted a civil action or an
administrative action for violation of this Act, no State
attorney general, or official or agency of a State, may bring
an action under this subsection during the pendency of that
action against any defendant named in the complaint of the
Commission or the other agency for any violation of this Act
alleged in the complaint.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Social security account number.--The term ``social
security account number'' means a social security account
number that contains more than 5 digits of the full 9-digit
number assigned by the Social Security Administration but
does not include social security account numbers to the
extent that they are included in a publicly available
information source, such as news reports, books, periodicals,
or directories or Federal, State, or local government
records.
______
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer):
S. 1209. A bill to provide for the continued administration of Santa
Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, in accordance with the laws
(including regulations) and policies of the National Park Service, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague
Senator Boxer in introducing the Channel Islands National Park
Management Act of 2007.
This legislation seeks to clarify the future use and management of
the park, and specifically protects Santa Rosa Island for the use of
the public.
The taxpayers paid approximately $30 million to acquire Santa Rosa
Island in 1986 to restore its native ecology and provide public access.
Unfortunately, late last year during conference negotiations a
provision was slipped into the fiscal year 2007 Defense Authorization
bill seeking to overturn a court-approved settlement agreement which
requires the phasing out of private hunting on Santa Rosa Island.
Under a binding court settlement in the late 1990s, non-native deer
and elk must be removed from Santa Rosa Island over a phased, 4-year
period beginning in 2008.
Today, from mid-August through mid-November, a large portion of the
island is closed to the public so that the island's prior owners can
run a trophy hunting operation targeting the deer and elk on the
island.
Under the settlement, this hunting operation was to end in 2011
allowing the island to be completely open to the public year round.
Now, under last year's provision, the prior owners will seek to
continue charging $16,000 or more for their privately operated hunting
trips.
Even though the Government purchased the island from them for $30
million in taxpayer money, the prior owners would seek to keep
essentially everything they had before--and that's simply not in the
public interest.
Some may be interested in learning a little history and background on
this gem of an island: Santa Rosa Island is approximately 53,000 acres
and lies about 50 miles west of Ventura Harbor. It is the second
largest of the five islands making up the Channel Islands National
Park. It is extremely rugged and pristine, with terrain ranging from
grassy hills to steep, wind-carved canyons to white sandy beaches.
Craggy, steep cliffs overlook rocky tide pools along its coast.
Wildflowers cover many parts of the island during the spring and
summer. It is ecologically sensitive and includes several endemic
plants and species. For example, it is the only place in the world to
see the island fox and spotted skunk in their natural habitat. A
variety of shore birds--like the snowy plover--and sea mammals--such as
seals and sea lions--breed on its beaches. It is seen by many
scientists as one of the nation's most unique places. In addition to
being the home of rare flora and fauna, it is an archaeological and
paleontological treasure, with some sites dating back 11,000 years or
to the Pleistocene-era. In fact, in 1994, the world's most complete
skeleton of a pygmy mammoth was excavated on the island. It offers
incredible recreational opportunities for the public, including hiking,
camping, kayaking, fishing, sea sports, and wildlife watching.
The limitation of public access to the island to accommodate
privately run hunting trips would be a tragedy. This is the public's
land. It's a national park, and the public should be able to visit it
and enjoy its breath-taking beauty and remoteness.
I also want to address one issue the provision in last year's Defense
Authorization bill purportedly seeks to address: enhancing hunting
opportunities for disabled veterans.
While no one opposes providing hunting opportunities for our
veterans, it is clear that it is neither a practical nor viable option
to use Santa Rosa Island as a hunting reserve for injured and disabled
veterans.
This view is now supported by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, PVA,
an organization which previously expressed support for the provision
overturning the settlement.
Notably, in July 2006, the PVA reached the conclusion following an
investigative visit to Santa Rosa that the ``numerous obstacles
inherent to the island, including ingress and egress, logistics,
personal safety and cost, far outweigh the possible, limited benefit it
could provide.''
Furthermore, it should be pointed out that in California today, there
are already 9 military installations that permit hunting--five that can
accommodate disabled servicemembers.
Two of these military installations, Camp Pendleton and Vandenberg
Air Force Base, are relatively close to the Channel Islands National
Park, and allow disabled veterans to hunt a variety of animals,
including deer, waterfowl, quail, feral pigs, small game, and coyote.
Altogether there are over 100 U.S. military installations where
hunting is permitted, over 70 of which are currently accessible to
disabled servicemembers and veterans.
Naturally, the Park Service is firmly opposed to the provision
seeking to overturn the settlement. But it is also important to note
that neither the Department of Defense nor the Veterans Administration
asked for the language.
Consequently, I strongly believe that the Park Service should
continue managing this National Park for the benefit of the general
public. To allow any less would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and
wrongly limit the public's access to this national treasure.
I strongly believe that we must do everything to protect the island
for the public and oppose any measures that could continue to restrict
access to the island.
This legislation we are introducing today would safeguard the island
in just this manner. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation
and I ask unanimous consent that the text of this proposed legislation
be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1209
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page S5096]]
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Channel Islands National
Park Management Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Channel Islands National Monument was designated in
1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under the authority
of the Act of June 8, 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431 note);
(2) the Monument was expanded to include additional islands
and redesignated as Channel Islands National Park in 1980 to
protect the nationally significant natural, scenic, wildlife,
marine, ecological, archaeological, cultural, and scientific
values of the Channel Islands in California;
(3) Santa Rosa Island was acquired by the United States in
1986 for approximately $29,500,000 for the purpose of
restoring the native ecology of the Island and making the
Island available to the public for recreational uses;
(4) Santa Rosa Island contains numerous prehistoric and
historic artifacts and provides important habitat for several
threatened and endangered species;
(5) under a court-approved settlement, the nonnative elk
and deer populations are scheduled to be removed from the
Park by 2011 and the Island is to be restored to management
consistent with other National Parks; and
(6) there have been recent proposals to remove Santa Rosa
Island from the administration of the National Park Service
or to direct the management of the Island in a manner
inconsistent with existing legal requirements and the sound
management of Park resources.
SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND, CHANNEL ISLANDS
NATIONAL PARK.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Secretary of the Interior shall manage Santa Rosa
Island, Channel Islands National Park (referred to in this
section as the ``Park'')--
(1) in accordance with--
(A) the National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et
seq.);
(B) title II of Public Law 96-199 (16 U.S.C. 410ff et
seq.); and
(C) any other laws generally applicable to units of the
National Park System; and
(2) in a manner that ensures that--
(A) the natural, scenic and cultural resources of Santa
Rosa Island are protected, restored, and interpreted for the
public; and
(B) visitors to the Park are provided with a safe and
enjoyable Park experience.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1077(c) of Public Law
109-364 (120 Stat. 2406) is repealed.
______
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Kohl, Mr.
Feingold, and Mr. Durbin):
S. 1210. A bill to extend the grant program for drug-endangered
children; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing with Senator
Grassley, as well as Senators Kohl, Feingold and Durbin as original co-
sponsors, the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007. This bill would
take an important grant program for drug-endangered children that
Congress authorized in the USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Act, and extend
it for two additional years.
In particular, the USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Act authorized $20
million in Federal grants for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to States to
assist in the treatment of children who have been endangered by living
at a home where methamphetamine has been manufactured or distributed.
But unless we pass new legislation, that authorization will not
continue beyond the current fiscal year.
A companion bill was introduced earlier this year by California
Congressman Dennis A. Cordoza, with bipartisan support in the House.
The White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, or ONDCP,
has documented that innocent children are sometimes found in homes and
other environments, hotels, automobiles, apartments, etc., where
methamphetamine and other illegal substances are produced.
According to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) National
Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System, there were 1,660 children
affected by or injured or killed at methamphetamine labs during 2005.
These children who live at or visit drug-production sites or are
present during drug production face a variety of health and safety
risks, including: inhalation, absorption, or ingestion of toxic
chemicals, drugs, or contaminated foods that may result in nausea,
chest pain, eye and tissue irritation, chemical burns, and death; fires
and explosions; abuse and neglect, and hazardous lifestyles, presence
of booby traps, firearms, code violations, and poor ventilation.
Where children are involved, drug lab seizures must go beyond the
normal response from law enforcement, fire and HAZMAT organizations.
Additional agencies and officials often must be called in to assist,
including emergency medical personnel, social services, and physicians.
Recognizing this need, the ONDCP several years ago announced a
national Drug Endangered Children (DEC) initiative to assist with
coordination between existing State programs and create a standardized
training program to extend DEC to states where such a program does not
yet exist.
As a result of this initiative, several states developed DEC
programs, to coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, medical
services, and child welfare workers, to ensure that children found in
these environments receive appropriate attention and care.
These DEC programs began to develop interagency protocols to support
drug-endangered children, addressing issues such as: staff training,
including safety and cross training; roles and responsibilities of
agencies involved; appropriate reporting, cross-reporting, and
information sharing; safety procedures for children, families, and
responding personnel; interviewing procedures; evidence collection and
preservation procedures, and medical care procedures.
Protocols were designed to identify and provide guidance on the
variety of issues that responding agencies needed to address in these
situations, such as taking children into protective custody and
arranging for child protective services, immediately testing the
children for methamphetamine exposure, conducting medical and mental
health assessments, and ensuring short- and long-term care.
Unfortunately, the ONDCP's initiative, which had been funded in part
through a DOJ award of $2.124 million under the Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) Methamphetamine Initiative of 2003, was not
continued thereafter.
The USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Act that we passed in 2005,
establishing a specific grant program for this purpose, recognized the
need to continue this initiative. Unfortunately, this grant program
that we authorized was never funded. In fiscal year 2006, the program
that we authorized was appropriated no funds at all.
In fiscal year 2007, the House of Representatives voted to include $5
million for this important program as part of its CJS Appropriations
bill. But unfortunately, the 109th Congress adjourned without passing
most of its FY2007 appropriations bills, and the Continuing Resolution
we passed to keep the government running did not fund this provision
either.
So the bill that I introduce today would give the Congress another
chance to revive this important initiative. And it can't come too soon
for places like Merced, California, where three-quarters of all foster
care cases are reported to be methamphetamine-related.
I urge my colleagues to adopt this legislation and ask unanimous
consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1210
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 ``Drug Endangered Children Act
of 2007''.
SEC. 2. DRUG-ENDANGERED CHILDREN GRANT PROGRAM EXTENDED.
Section 755(c) of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 3797cc-2(c)) is
amended by striking ``fiscal years 2006 and 2007'' and
inserting ``fiscal years 2008 and 2009''.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague today,
Senator Feinstein, in introducing the Drug Endangered Children Act
(DEC) of 2007. As U.S. Senators representing States that have been
among the hardest hit by the scourge of meth, we have witnessed first
hand how this horrible drug has devastated individual lives and
families. We have seen the havoc wreaked on the environment as well as
the child welfare system and we have listened to the horror stories of
those caught in the grips of addiction.
Last year we worked together in a bi-partisan effort to pass the
Combat
[[Page S5097]]
Meth Act, which was eventually included in the USA PATRIOT Act
Reauthorization. The result has been a dramatic decrease in the number
of clandestine meth lab seizures. While this is certainly welcome news,
particularly for our first responders and local law enforcement
community, last year there were over 6,400 clandestine meth lab
incidents throughout the country. In my home State, we saw a 73 percent
decrease in the number of meth lab incidents compared to the previous
year yet there were still over 300 incidents last year alone. Clearly,
the Combat Meth Act has made progress against locally produced meth,
but further action is needed to fully combat this epidemic.
In spite of our success and ongoing efforts to reduce the dangers
from ``mom and pop'' meth labs, new and more disturbing instances of
meth production, trafficking, and abuse are becoming more prevalent
throughout the country. In the State of Missouri, police recently made
seven meth-related arrests in just as many hours in the tiny, quiet
town of Ozark. The house where these arrests were made belonged to a
45-year-old grandmother, who was baby sitting her infant grandson while
his mother was away at school. Upon her arrest she admitted to using
meth, but denied she was a dealer. However, while police searched the
house, six more individuals were picked up on meth-related charges.
When it was all said and done, three children under the age of 3
watched as the police arrested their parent or grandparent for selling
or possessing this dangerous drug.
Sadly, this was not an unusual incident. Since 2002, more than 12,000
children throughout the country have been affected, injured, or killed
at meth lab sites and thousands more have been sent to foster homes or
were victims of meth-related abuse in the home. In Iowa, the Department
of Health reports that over 1,000 children over the past 4 years were
classified as victims of abuse, and that nearly half of child abuse
cases have been meth-related.
Due to the shocking number of children that were being victimized by
meth in one form or another, I joined my colleagues in supporting the
``Drug Endangered Children Act of 2005.'' This bill which passed into
law as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization, established a
national grant program to support state Drug Endangered Children
programs and to assist local law enforcement, medical services, and
child welfare workers to ensure that victimized children would receive
proper attention and treatment after living in these terrible
environments. I'm pleased to report that since we implemented this
grant program, a large number of communities throughout the nation have
formed multi-disciplinary alliances for the benefit of drug-exposed
children. There are 16 communities throughout Iowa that have taken
advantage of these grants and more are in the process of planning and
setting up programs.
The Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007 would re-authorize this
important grant program for an additional 2 years and assist States in
coordinating law enforcement, medical services, and child welfare
efforts, to ensure that children found in such environments receive
appropriate attention and care. I am pleased to join with my colleague
again as we work together to renew this wonderful and worthwhile
program. I ask that my colleagues join us in support of this important
legislation and pass the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007.
______
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Grassley):
S. 1211. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide
enhanced penalties for marketing controlled substances to minors; to
the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I join with Senator Grassley in
introducing the Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2007. This bill
would increase the criminal penalties that apply when criminals market
their illegal drugs to our children, using appalling techniques like
the recently reported sales on our streets of candy-flavored
methamphetamine.
In particular, the bill would: double the maximum penalties
applicable to drug crimes if a criminal defendant manufactures, offers,
distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a controlled
substance that is flavored, colored, packaged or otherwise altered in a
way that is designed to make it more appealing to a person under the
age of 21; if the violation is a repeat offense, the maximum sentence
would be tripled; and a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least a
year would apply in every case involving illegal drugs that targets its
marketing at minors.
The growing problem of marketing illegal drugs to minors was
highlighted in a recent USA Today article, entitled ``Flavored Meth Use
on the Rise,'' which stated, ``Reports of candy-flavored
methamphetamine are emerging around the nation, stirring concern among
police and abuse prevention experts that drug dealers are marketing the
drug to younger people.''
Normally, methamphetamine--a highly addictive stimulant--is a
brownish, bitter-tasting crystalline powder. But drug dealers,
recognizing that this may not be appealing to children or teenagers,
have reacted by reaching a new low: they are using candy and soda
flavors to market their meth.
Soda flavors. Strawberry methamphetamine that they market as
``Strawberry Quick.'' Reddish methamphetamine marketed as an energy
drink like ``Red Bull.'' Even ``chocolate quick.''
Scott Burns, Deputy Drug Czar at the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy, warns that this development may negatively affect
the gains we have recently made in getting the word out to our young
people about how horrible this drug is.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number
of people 12 and older who used methamphetamine for the first time in
the previous year decreased from 318,000 people in 2004 to 192,000
people in 2005. That's the good news.
But Deputy Drug Czar Burns warns that with drug dealers having a
tougher time selling their product, especially to young people, ``they
have to come up with some sort of gimmick.'' And that gimmick, he
warns, is the use of flavored methamphetamine.
In my own State of California, San Francisco police since late
January have arrested teens with quantities of meth designed to taste
like chocolate. The Haight-Asbury clinic also confirms chocolate-
flavored methamphetamine being used on the streets.
Dr. Alex Stalcup, a nationally renowned drug counselor, reports
seeing teenage patients at the New Leaf Treatment Center suffering the
ill effects of flavored methamphetamine since the first of this year.
One of Dr. Stalcup's patients was unaware that the substance was meth
at all, and said he was told that it was a solidified form of the
energy drink Red Bull. Dr. Stalcup warns that this new form of the drug
also may be more likely to lead to an overdose, by users who may not be
aware of, or who may underestimate, a candy-flavored drug's impact.
Perhaps the first report of this problem emerged in late January,
when a Carson City, Nevada police informant purchased 2 grams of a
strawberry-flavored methamphetamine from an alleged member of the Lima
Street gang. Officers later served a search warrant on his home and
found more. Police bulletins warned this ``new type of meth will be
more attractive to a younger crowd and may surface in schools.''
Additional reports also came in. On February 13, a police officer in
Greene County, MO, seized a bag of ``strawberry meth'' from a female
passenger in a car stopped in a rural area of Greene County, MO. And in
Idaho, the Administrator of the Governor's Office of Drug Control
Policy warned of how drug dealers were producing ``strawberry quick''
and ``chocolate quick'' forms of meth, to attract young buyers and
spawn a new generation of drug buyers.
The Idaho Press-Tribune even reported that at Valentine's Day, drug
dealers compressed the flavored form of the drug into heart-shapes,
colored it bright pink, and wrapped it in shiny paper.
Based on intelligence gathered by Drug Enforcement Administration
agents from informants, users, police and drug counselors, flavored
crystals are now available in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho,
Texas, New Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota.
[[Page S5098]]
The bill I offer today would address this problem, by enacting
penalties to discourage colored and flavored drugs and the marketing of
drugs to minors.
Under current law, there is already an enhanced penalty if someone
distributes illegal drugs to a minor. The maximum sentence is doubled,
and tripled for a repeat offense, and there is a minimum of at least a
year in prison. But the enhancement applies only if there is an actual
distribution to a minor. Even possession with intent to distribute
doesn't qualify. And current law doesn't address flavored drugs or
marketing illegal drugs in ways appealing to kids.
The bill I introduce would fix that. If someone manufactures,
creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute an illegal
drug that is flavored, colored, packaged or altered in a way designed
to make it more appealing to someone under age 21, they would face this
same enhanced penalty.
This bill will send a strong and clear message to the drug dealers--
if you flavor up your drugs or alter them in a way that makes it more
appealing to our children, there will be a very heavy price to pay.
Flavored meth is designed to get people to try it a few times. It's
all about hooking young people. And that is truly tragic. Listen to
what one former addict wrote after hearing about this new development:
They do need to worry about our children because I happen
to know quite a few 10 and 12 year olds on up that are
already using it and selling it out there. So whoever thinks
it's not a threat to our children--WRONG WRONG WRONG! It's
more and more dangerous out there when people cannot handle
it and they develop a chemical imbalance and lose their mind
to where they don't even know who they are anymore. I happen
to know a very, very young pretty girl I've met, and she will
never come back to who she was. She's gone. She is crazy and
is gonna end up hurt then dead one of these days. I pray for
this girl all the time . . .
Estimates now place the number of habitual meth users worldwide at 26
million worldwide--more than the combined total for heroin and cocaine.
It is extraordinarily addictive. We must act to preserve the gains we
have made, and keep kids from getting cruelly tricked into an addiction
they may never break.
These new penalties will make dealers think twice before flavoring up
their drugs, and punish them appropriately if they don't. I urge my
colleagues to support this legislation and ask unanimous consent that
the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1211
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 ``Saving Kids from Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS FOR MARKETING CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES TO MINORS.
Section 418 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.
859) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by adding at the end the
following: ``; marketing to minors'';
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting after ``twenty-one
years of age'' the following: ``, or who manufactures,
creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute
a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged,
or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make that
controlled substance more appealing to a person under twenty-
one years of age, or who attempts or conspires to do so,'';
and
(3) in subsection (b), by inserting after ``twenty-one
years of age'' the following: ``, or who manufactures,
creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute
a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged,
or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make that
controlled substance more appealing to a person under twenty-
one years of age, or who attempts or conspires to do so,''.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague today,
Senator Feinstein, in introducing the Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs
Act of 2007. I believe we have a moral obligation in this country to
ensure our young people have every opportunity to grow up without being
accosted by drug pushers at every turn, whether on TV, in the movies,
or on the way to school.
This important legislation comes in response to the recent warnings
issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of
National Drug Control Policy of candy-flavored meth and other illegal
drugs being colored, packaged, and flavored in ways that appear to be
designed to attract use by children and minors. As co-chairman of the
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, I can tell you that
the most at-risk population for drug abuse is our young people.
Research has shown time and again that if you can keep a child drug-
free until they turn 20, chances are very slim that they will ever try
or become addicted. Unfortunately, unscrupulous drug dealers are all
too aware of statistics like these and have developed new techniques
and marketing gimmicks to lure in younger users. As a parent and now
grandparent, this is extremely worrisome.
Last year, we worked to pass the Combat Meth Act into law. Since that
time, the number of clandestine meth lab seizures have dropped
dramatically across the country. By placing the essential ingredient
pseudoephedrine behind the counter, we have lifted a heavy burden from
the shoulders of our local law enforcement and made our communities a
safer place to live and raise a family. In my home State of Iowa alone,
the number of seizures fell a remarkable 73 percent since the sale of
pseudoephearine was restricted. But as anyone can tell you, we have a
long way to go.
Despite our best efforts and recent success, meth continues to wreak
havoc on families and communities across the country. While local ``mom
and pop'' meth labs are being dismantled everywhere, drug dealers
continue to look for new ways to market their poison. This legislation
is intended to protect our young people by expanding existing penalties
for those marketing their poison to kids.
Currently Federal law enhances Federal penalties for selling drugs to
anyone under the age of 21. When a violation occurs, the Federal
penalties are doubled--tripled for a repeat offense--and a mandatory
minimum of at least 1 year also applies. However, only the dealer who
directly sells drugs to someone under 21 is subject to a double
sentence.
The Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act would expand the
circumstances under which these enhanced penalties apply. Under our
bill, the enhanced penalties that already exist would also apply to
anyone who ``manufactures, creates, distributes, or possesses with
intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored,
packaged or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make it more
appealing to a person under 21 years of age, or who attempts or
conspires to do so.''
The fight against meth and other dangerous drugs is and will continue
to be an ongoing struggle. We must adapt and change our tactics just as
the dealers, distributors, and pushers have changed theirs. We must do
all we can to protect the most vulnerable among us and send a clear
message to those wishing to prey on our youth.
I ask that my colleagues join us in support of this important
legislation and pass the Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007.
______
By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Inouye, Ms.
Cantwell, and Mrs. Murray):
S. 1212. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
permit direct payment under the Medicare program for clinical social
worker services provided to residents of skilled nursing facilities; to
the Committee on Finance.
Ms. MIKULSI. Mr. President, acknowledging the social workers'
presence on Capitol Hill this week for their Annual Leadership Meeting
Lobby Day, I rise today to introduce the ``Clinical Social Work
Medicare Equity Act of 2007.'' I am proud to sponsor this legislation
that will ensure clinical social workers receive Medicare
reimbursements for the mental health services they provide in skilled
nursing facilities. Under the current system, social workers are not
paid for the services they provide. Psychologists and psychiatrists,
who provide similar counseling, are able to separately bill Medicare
for their services.
Since my first days in Congress, I have been fighting to protect and
strengthen the safety of our Nation's seniors. Making sure that seniors
have access to quality, affordable mental
[[Page S5099]]
health care is an important part of this fight. I know that millions of
seniors do not have access to, or are not receiving, the mental health
services they urgently need. Nearly 6 million seniors are affected by
depression, but only one-tenth ever receive treatment. According to the
American Psychiatric Association, up to 25 percent of the elderly
population in the United States suffers from significant symptoms of
mental illness and among nursing home residents the prevalence is as
high as 80 percent. These mental disorders, which include severe
depression and debilitating anxiety, interfere with the person's
ability to carry out activities of daily living and adversely affect
their quality of life. Furthermore, older people have a 20 percent
suicide rate, the highest of any age group. Every year nearly 6,000
older Americans kill themselves. This is unacceptable and must be
addressed.
As a former social worker, I understand the role social workers play
in the overall care of patients and seniors. This bill protects
patients across the country and ensures that seniors living in
underserved urban and rural areas, where clinical social workers are
often the only available option for mental health care, continue to
receive the treatment they need. Clinical social workers, much like
psychologists and psychiatrists, treat and diagnose mental illnesses.
In fact, clinical social workers are the primary mental health
providers for nursing home residents and seniors residing in rural
environments. Unlike other mental health providers, clinical social
workers cannot bill Medicare directly for the important services they
provide to their patients. Protecting seniors' access to clinical
social workers ensures that our most vulnerable citizens get the
quality, affordable mental health care they need. This bill will
correct this inequity and make sure clinical social workers get the
payments and respect they deserve.
Before the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, clinical social workers
billed Medicare Part B directly for mental health services they
provided in nursing facilities for each patient they served. Under the
Prospective Payment System, services provided by clinical social
workers are lumped, or ``bundled,'' along with the services of other
health care providers for the purposes of billing and payments.
Psychologists and psychiatrists, who provide similar counseling, were
exempted from this system and continue to bill Medicare directly. This
bill would exempt clinical social workers, like their mental health
colleagues, from the Prospective Payment System, and would make sure
that clinical social workers are paid for the services they provide to
patients in skilled nursing facilities. The Medicare, Medicaid, and
SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act addressed some of these
concerns, but this legislation would remove the final barrier to
ensuring that clinical social workers are treated fairly and equitably
for the care they provide.
This bill is about more than paperwork and payment procedures. This
bill is about equal access to Medicare payments for the equal and
important work done by clinical social workers. It is about making sure
our Nation's most vulnerable citizens have access to quality,
affordable mental health care. The overarching goal we should be
striving to achieve for our seniors is an overall improved quality of
life. Without clinical social workers, many nursing home residents may
never get the counseling they need when faced with a life threatening
illness or the loss of a loved one. I think we can do better by our
Nation's seniors, and I'm fighting to make sure we do.
The Clinical Social Work Medicare Equity Act of 2007 is strongly
supported by the National Association of Social Workers. I also want to
thank Senators Stabenow and Inouye for their co-sponsorship of this
bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this
important legislation.
I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
National Association
of Social Workers,
Washington, DC, April 25, 2007.
Senator Barbara Mikulski,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Mikulski: I am writing on behalf of the
National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the largest
professional social work organization in the world with
150,000 members nationwide. NASW promotes, develops, and
protects the effective practice of social work services. NASW
strongly supports the Clinical Social Work Medicare Equity
Act of 2007, which will improve mental health care to nursing
home residents and end the unfair treatment of clinical
social workers under the Medicare Prospective Payment System
(PPS) for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs).
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 authorized the creation of
the PPS, under which the cost of a variety of routine
services provided to SNF patients is bundled into a single
amount. Prior to adoption of the PPS, a separate Medicare
claim was filed by providers for individual services rendered
to a patient. However, Congress recognized that some
services, such as mental health and anesthesia, are provided
on an individual as-needed basis rather than as part of the
bundle of services. Thus, the following types of providers
were excluded from the PPS: physicians, clinical
psychologists, certified nurse-midwives, and certified
registered nurse anesthetists. Unfortunately, due to an
oversight during the drafting process, clinical social
workers were not listed among the PPS excluded providers.
In 1996, the DHHS Inspector General issued a report
entitled ``Mental Health Services in Nursing Facilities,''
which described the types of mental health services provided
in nursing facilities and identified their potential
vulnerabilities. One critical finding of the report was that
70 percent of respondents stated that permitting clinical
social workers and clinical psychologists to bill Medicare
independently had a beneficial effect on the provision of
mental health services in SNFs. Your legislation will improve
care for SNF residents by restoring Medicare payments for
specialized clinical social work services rendered to SNF
patients.
Your tireless efforts on behalf of consumers of mental
health services and professional social workers nationwide
are greatly appreciated by our members. We thank you for your
strong interest in and commitment to these important issues
as demonstrated by your sponsorship of the Clinical Socia1
Work Medicare Equity Act. NASW looks forward to working with
you on this and future issues of mutual concern.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth J. Clark,
Executive Director.
______
By Mr. KERRY (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
S. 1214. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify
the partial exclusion for gain from certain small business stocks; to
the Committee on Finance.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this week we are celebrating National Small
Business Week to recognize the contributions made by small businesses,
which are the engine of our economic growth. During 2005, more than 25
billion small businesses in the United States contributed $918 billion
to the economy.
Many of our most successful corporations started as small businesses,
including AOL, Apple Computer, Compac Computer, Datastream, Evergreen
Solar, Intel Corporations, and Sun Microsystems. As you can see from
this partial list, many of these companies played an integral role in
making the Internet a reality.
Today, Senator Snowe and I are introducing the Invest in Small
Business Act of 2007, to encourage private investment in small
businesses by making changes to the existing partial exclusion for gain
from certain small business stock.
We are at an integral juncture in developing technology to address
global climate change. I believe that small business will repeat the
role it played at the vanguard of the computer revolution by leading
the Nation in developing the technologies to substantially reduce
carbon emissions. Small businesses already are at the forefront of
these industries, and we need to do everything we can to encourage
investment in small businesses.
Back in 1993, I worked with Senator Bumpers to provide a partial
exclusion for gain from the sale of small business stock. This
provision would provide a 50 percent exclusion for gain for individuals
from the sale of certain small business stock that is held for five
years. Since the enactment of this provision, the capital gains rate
has been lowered twice without any changes to the exclusion. Due to the
lower capital rates, this provision no longer provides a strong
incentive for investment in small businesses.
The Invest in Small Business Act makes several changes to the
existing provision. This legislation increases the exclusion amount
from 50 percent
[[Page S5100]]
to 75 percent and decreases the holding period from five years to four
years. This bill would allow corporations to benefit from the provision
as long as they own less than 25 percent of the small business
corporation stock.
Currently, the exclusion is treated as a preference item for
calculating the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The Invest in Small
Business Act of 2007 would repeal the exclusion as an AMT preference
item. Under current law, the nonexcluded amount of gain is taxed at 28
percent. This legislation would tax the nonexcluded portion at the
lower capital gains rate of 15 or 5 percent.
The Invest in Small Business Act of 2007 will provide an effective
tax rate of 3.75 percent for the gain from the sale of certain small
businesses. This lower capital gains rate will encourage investment in
small businesses. In addition, the changes made by the Invest in Small
Business Act of 2007 will make more taxpayers eligible for this
provision.
As we celebrate the success of entrepreneurs this week, it is an
appropriate time to encourage new investment. The Invest in Small
Business Act of 2007 strengthens an existing tax incentive to provide
an appropriate incentive to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and a summary of
the bill be printed in the Record
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1214
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 ``Invest in Small Business Act
of 2007''.
SEC. 2. INCREASED EXCLUSION AND OTHER MODIFICATIONS
APPLICABLE TO QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS STOCK.
(a) Increased Exclusion.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 1202(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating partial exclusion for
gain from certain small business stock) is amended to read as
follows:
``(1) In general.--Gross income shall not include 75
percent of any gain from the sale or exchange of qualified
small business stock held for more than 4 years.''.
(2) Empowerment zone businesses.--Subparagraph (A) of
section 1202(a)(2) of such Code is amended--
(A) by striking ``60 percent'' and inserting ``100
percent'', and
(B) by striking ``50 percent'' and inserting ``75
percent''.
(3) Rule relating to stock held among members of controlled
group.--Subsection (c) of section 1202 of such Code is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Stock held among members of 25-percent controlled
group not eligible.--
``(A) In general.--Stock of a member of a 25-percent
controlled group shall not be treated as qualified small
business stock while held by another member of such group.
``(B) 25-percent controlled group.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term `25-percent controlled group'
means any controlled group of corporations as defined in
section 1563(a)(1), except that--
``(i) `more than 25 percent' shall be substituted for `at
least 80 percent' each place it appears in section
1563(a)(1), and
``(ii) section 1563(a)(4) shall not apply.''.
(4) Conforming amendments.--Subsections (b)(2), (g)(2)(A),
and (j)(1)(A) of section 1202 of such Code are each amended
by striking ``5 years'' and inserting ``4 years''.
(b) Repeal of Minimum Tax Preference.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 57 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items of tax
preference) is amended by striking paragraph (7).
(2) Technical amendment.--Subclause (II) of section
53(d)(1)(B)(ii) of such Code is amended by striking ``, (5),
and (7)'' and inserting ``and (5)''.
(c) Repeal of 28 Percent Capital Gains Rate on Qualified
Small Business Stock.--
(1) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section 1(h)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
``(A) collectibles gain, over''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended by striking
paragraph (7).
(B)(i) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended by
redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), and (13)
as paragraphs (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (12),
respectively.
(ii) Sections 163(d)(4)(B), 854(b)(5), 857(c)(2)(D) of such
Code are each amended by striking ``section 1(h)(11)(B)'' and
inserting ``section 1(h)(10)(B)''.
(iii) The following sections of such Code are each amended
by striking ``section 1(h)(11)'' and inserting ``section
1(h)(10)'':
(I) Section 301(f)(4).
(II) Section 306(a)(1)(D).
(III) Section 584(c).
(IV) Section702(a)(5).
(V) Section 854(a).
(VI) Section 854(b)(2).
(iv) The heading of section 857(c)(2) is amended by
striking ``1(h)(11)'' and inserting ``1(h)(10)''.
(d) Increase Aggregate Asset Limitation for Qualified Small
Businesses.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 1202(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified small
business) is amended by striking ``$50,000,000'' each place
it appears and inserting ``$100,000,000''.
(2) Inflation adjustment.--Section 1202(d) of such Code is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Inflation adjustment.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of any taxable year
beginning in a calendar year after 2007, each of the
$100,000,000 dollar amounts in paragraph (1) shall be
increased by an amount equal to--
``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under
section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable
year begins, determined by substituting `calendar year 2006'
for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.
``(B) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under
subparagraph (A) is not a multiple of $1,000, such amount
shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $100.''.
(e) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section apply
to stock issued after December 31, 2007.
(2) Special rule for stock issued before december 31,
2007.--The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c)
shall apply to sales or exchanges--
(A) made after December 31, 2007,
(B) of stock issued before such date,
(C) by a taxpayer other than a corporation.
____
Summary of the Invest in Small Business Act of 2007
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 included a
provision to encourage investment in small businesses. This
provision created section 1202 of the tax code which provides
a 50 percent exclusion for the gain from the sale of certain
small business stock held for more than five years. The
amount of gain eligible for the exclusion is limited to the
greater of 10 times the taxpayer's basis in the stock, or $10
million gain from stock in that small business corporation.
This provision is limited to individual investments and not
the investments of a corporation. At the date of the issuance
of the stock, the gross assets of the corporation cannot
exceed $50 million. At least 80 percent of the assets of the
corporation are used for the active conduct of business. For
purposes of calculating the alternative minimum tax (AMT),
seven percent of the excluded amount is added back into the
AMT calculation. The nonexcluded portion of section 1202 gain
is taxed at the lesser of ordinary income rates or 28
percent, instead of the lower capital gains rates for
individuals. Since the enactment of this provision, the
capital gains rate has been lowered twice. No corresponding
changes were made to section 1202.
The Invest in Small Business Act of 2007 makes the
following changes to section 1202 to encourage more
investment in small businesses.
Increases the exclusion from 50 percent to 75 percent.
Decreases the holding period from five to four years.
Repeals the capital gains exclusions as an AMT preference.
Taxes the nonexcluded portion of section 1202 gains at the
regular capital gains rate, which is currently 15 percent or
5 percent for individual taxpayers.
Allows corporations the benefits of section 1202, but to be
eligible, a corporation cannot hold more than 25 percent of
the stock of a qualified small business.
Provides a 100 percent exclusion for gain from the sale of
small business stock of corporations located in an
empowerment zone.
Increases the asset limitation from $50 million to $100
million.
Below are calculations based on $100 of gain calculated
under current law and under the Invest in Small Business Act
of 2007. Under the present law, calculations for the
remaining $50 would be taxed at 28 percent and result in a
tax of $14 for a regular taxpayer and $14.98 of tax for an
AMT taxpayer. (This calculation is based on a taxpayer paying
the 28 percent AMT rate.)
Present Law
Regular Tax Calculation:
Gain...............................................................$100
Exclusion...........................................................-50
Regular Tax Rate.................................................. 0.28
__________
Total Regular Tax.................................................$14
AMT Tax Calculation
Excluded amount.....................................................$50
AMT preference rate................................................ .07
AMT preference......................................................3.5
AMT taxable income.................................................53.5
(regular income plus preference)....................................
AMT rate.......................................................... 0.28
__________
Total AMT......................................................$14.98
Invest in Small Business Act of 2007
There is only one calculation under this legislation for
individual taxpayers because section 1202 gain is no longer a
preference item under the AMT. The total amount of tax on
$100 of gain is $3.75 and this represents an effective tax
rate of 3.75 percent. Under the changes made by the Invest in
Small Business Act of 2007, the tax on capital gains
[[Page S5101]]
of the sale of qualified small business stock is 3.75
percent, instead of 14 percent for individual taxpayers.
Corporate taxpayers would have an effective tax rate of 8.75
percent instead of 35 percent.
Tax Calculation Individual Taxpayer:
Gain...............................................................$100
Excluded Amount.....................................................-75
Capital Gains Tax Rate............................................ 0.15
__________
Total Tax.......................................................$3.75
Tax Calculation Corporate Taxpayer:
Gain...............................................................$100
Excluded Amount.....................................................-75
Capital Gains Tax Rate............................................ 0.35
__________
Total Tax.......................................................$8.75
______
By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. Bingaman):
S. 1216. A bill to allow certain nationals of Mexico entering the
State of New Mexico on a temporary basis to travel up to 100 miles from
the international border between the State of New Mexico and Mexico,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Bingaman to
introduce a bill of importance to the economic development of our
Southwest border States, the Laser Visa Extension Act of 2007.
The United States and Mexico have had special travel rules for
Mexican nationals who visit our country for short periods of time since
1953. These visitors can come into our country with a document known as
a ``laser visa'' or ``border crossing card'', which is an alternative
to a passport and must be obtained from the U.S. government. In the
1990s, the rule was that anyone who held such a document could travel
up to 25 miles from the Mexico/U.S. border.
In 1999, Arizona and the Border Trade Alliance mounted a successful
campaign to extend the mileage limit in Arizona to 75 miles because
there is no large town within 25 miles of the Arizona/Mexico border, so
Arizona wasn't getting the economic benefits of these travelers.
Similarly, there is no large town within 25 miles of the New Mexico/
Mexico border, so my constituents do not get the economic benefits of
laser visa travelers. This disparity needs to be corrected. Moreover,
all four Southwest border States should see the same benefits of laser
visa travelers.
Therefore, the bill I am introducing today extends the distance laser
visa holders can travel into the United States to 100 miles, regardless
of which State they are in. Such an extension will allow more towns in
all four of our Southwest border States to reap the economic benefits
of short-term visitors to our country who hold a travel document issued
by our Federal Government.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1216
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 ``Laser Visa Extension Act of
2007''.
SEC. 2. TRAVEL PRIVILEGES FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY VISITORS FROM
MEXICO.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall permit a national of
Mexico to travel up to 100 miles from the international
border between Mexico and the State of New Mexico if such
national--
(1) possesses a valid machine-readable biometric border
crossing identification card issued by a consular officer of
the Department of State;
(2) enters the State of New Mexico through a port of entry
where such card is processed using a machine reader;
(3) has successfully completed any background check
required by the Secretary for such travel; and
(4) is admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant
under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)).
(b) Exception.--On a case-by-case basis, the Secretary of
Homeland Security may limit the travel of a national of
Mexico who meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) through
(4) of subsection (a) to a distance of less than 100 miles
from the international border between Mexico and the State of
New Mexico if the Secretary determines that the national was
previously admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant
and violated the terms and conditions of the national's
nonimmigrant status.
______
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Akaka,
Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Lieberman):
S. 1219. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
taxpayer protection and assistance, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Finance.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Taxpayer
Protection and Assistance Act of 2007'' with Senators Smith, Akaka,
Durbin, Kerry, and Lieberman. My colleagues may recall that similar
legislation, S. 832, was introduced last Congress and ultimately
reported out of the Finance Committee last year but unfortunately it
never made it to the floor of the Senate. This Congress, the House has
already passed taxpayer rights legislation which makes me optimistic
that many of these long overdue reforms may finally become law.
This Act is a combination of a variety of well-vetted provisions that
will ensure that our Nation's taxpayers are better able to prepare and
file their tax returns each year in a fashion that is fair, reasonable
and affordable. As long as we continue to require taxpayers to
determine their own tax liability, Congress has a responsibility to
ensure that we do not leave taxpayers vulnerable to abuses from those
masquerading as tax professionals. The current environment is bad for
everyone including the majority of tax return preparers who provide
professional and much needed services to taxpayers in their
communities. I encourage all of my colleagues to work with us to pass
this legislation before the next filing season begins.
The first section of the Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act would
create a $10 million matching grant program for lower income tax
preparation clinics much like the program we currently have in place
for tax controversies. I have seen first hand the impact free tax
preparation clinics can have on taxpayers and their communities, as we
are fortunate to have one of the best State-wide programs in the Nation
in New Mexico. Tax Help New Mexico, which has been in operation for
many years, helped over 20,000 New Mexicans prepare and file their
returns last year, resulting in over $20 million in refunds--all
without refund anticipation loans. This program has turned into one of
the best delivery mechanisms for public assistance I have seen in the
State and has been fortunate enough to receive additional funding from
the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the McCune Foundation. In order to
continue to grow, though, we need to do our part in Congress and give
them matching funding so they can continue their outreach into new
communities in need of assistance.
The second set of provisions contained in this legislation would
ensure that when taxpayers hire someone to help them with their tax
returns they can be sure that the person is competent and professional.
The first part of the bill makes sure that an enrolled agent, a tax
professional licensed to practice before the IRS, shall have the
exclusive right to describe him or herself as an ``enrolled agent,''
``EA,'' or ``E.A.'' In New Mexico, enrolled agents play an important
role in helping taxpayers with problems with the IRS and with preparing
their returns. Enrolled agents have earned the right to use their
credentials. Furthermore, we should protect the credentials of those
who have taken the rigorous exams and have experience in tax
preparation rather than allow others to confuse the public into
thinking they too have the same credentials.
The next part of the bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
determine what standards need to be met in order for a person to
prepare tax returns commercially. Like all other tax professionals,
this will require people who make a living preparing tax returns to
pass a minimum competency exam and take brush up courses each year to
keep up to date with changes in tax law. The majority of tax return
preparers already meet these standards, including many who have
received credentials from the State or from a nationally recognized
association of accountants or tax return preparers. We provide specific
authority to the Secretary to determine whether people who have already
taken a written proficiency exam as part of some other tax return
credentialing will need to take the new exam. The Secretary will be
[[Page S5102]]
able to exercise these authorizations only after thorough review of the
specific examination and only for those examinations subsequently
determined to be comparable. In that light, we urge the Secretary to
exercise his authority in this area in a manner consistent with the
goal of protecting taxpayers through ensuring the competency of
enrolled preparers. The Treasury Department will also be required to
operate a public awareness campaign so that taxpayers will know that
they need to check to be sure that someone preparing their tax returns
for a fee is qualified.
The fourth set of provisions would directly address the problems with
refund anticipation loans (RALs)--a problem throughout the country, but
one that is particularly troublesome in New Mexico. First, this bill
requires refund loan facilitators to register with the Treasury
Department. Refund loan facilitators are those people who solicit,
process, or otherwise facilitate the making of a refund anticipation
loan in relation to a tax return being electronically filed. The
legislation also requires these refund loan facilitators to properly
disclose to taxpayers that they do not have to get a RAL in order to
file their return electronically, as well as clearly disclose what all
the costs involved with the loan. Finally, the refund loan facilitators
must disclose to taxpayers when the loans would allow their refunds to
be offset by the amount of the loan. Much like the public awareness
campaign for advertising the credentials required for preparing Federal
tax returns, the Act requires the Treasury Department to operate a
program to educate the public on the real costs of RALs as compared to
other forms of credit. This program will be funded, at least in part,
by amounts collected from penalties imposed on refund loan facilitators
who have broken the law.
The next section of the bill is an issue that my colleague from
Hawaii, Senator Akaka, has been actively working on for the last
several years. This provision would authorize the Treasury Department
to award grants to financial institutions or charitable groups that
help low income taxpayers set up accounts at a bank or credit union.
Because many taxpayers do not have checking or savings accounts, their
refunds from IRS cannot be electronically wired to them. The
alternative is to have the check mailed to the taxpayer or to have the
refund immediately loaned to the taxpayer in the form of a RAL. Of
course, getting people to set up a checking or savings account for
purposes of receiving their tax refund will also have the benefits of
getting many of these people to start saving for the first time.
Finally, we have added two new provisions to clarify existing law.
The first clarifies that the National Taxpayer Advocate has the
authority to issue taxpayer assistance orders in cases involving
closing agreements and compromises. The other clarifies that the
Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to take into account a
taxpayers specific facts and circumstances when evaluating an offer in
compromise. Both of these provisions are the result of bipartisan
negotiations and are an improvement to our tax system.
I hope my colleagues will join with me and the cosponsors of this
bill to pass this important legislation. Our voluntary tax system is
dependent on taxpayers being able to receive the best advice and
assistance possible. We have a responsibility to our Nation's taxpayers
to make sure that they do receive such advice and assistance. This bill
goes a long way toward that goal.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1219
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Taxpayer
Protection and Assistance Act of 2007''.
(b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a
section or other provision, the reference shall be considered
to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
SEC. 2. LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.
(a) Grants for Return Preparation Clinics.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 77 (relating to miscellaneous
provisions) is amended by inserting after section 7526 the
following new section:
``SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION CLINICS FOR LOW-INCOME
TAXPAYERS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may, subject to the
availability of appropriated funds, make grants to provide
matching funds for the development, expansion, or
continuation of qualified return preparation clinics.
``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) Qualified return preparation clinic.--
``(A) In general.--The term `qualified return preparation
clinic' means a clinic which--
``(i) does not charge more than a nominal fee for its
services (except for reimbursement of actual costs incurred),
and
``(ii) operates programs which assist low-income taxpayers,
including individuals for whom English is a second language,
in preparing and filing their Federal income tax returns,
including schedules reporting sole proprietorship or farm
income.
``(B) Assistance to low-income taxpayers.--A clinic is
treated as assisting low-income taxpayers under subparagraph
(A)(ii) if at least 90 percent of the taxpayers assisted by
the clinic have incomes which do not exceed 250 percent of
the poverty level, as determined in accordance with criteria
established by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget.
``(2) Clinic.--The term `clinic' includes--
``(A) a clinical program at an eligible educational
institution (as defined in section 529(e)(5)) which satisfies
the requirements of paragraph (1) through student assistance
of taxpayers in return preparation and filing, and
``(B) an organization described in section 501(c) and
exempt from tax under section 501(a) which satisfies the
requirements of paragraph (1).
``(c) Special Rules and Limitations.--
``(1) Aggregate limitation.--Unless otherwise provided by
specific appropriation, the Secretary shall not allocate more
than $10,000,000 per year (exclusive of costs of
administering the program) to grants under this section.
``(2) Other applicable rules.--Rules similar to the rules
under paragraphs (2) through (7) of section 7526(c) shall
apply with respect to the awarding of grants to qualified
return preparation clinics.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
77 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
7526 the following new item:
``Sec. 7526A. Return preparation clinics for low-income taxpayers.''.
(b) Grants for Taxpayer Representation and Assistance
Clinics.--
(1) Increase in authorized grants.--Section 7526(c)(1)
(relating to aggregate limitation) is amended by striking
``$6,000,000'' and inserting ``$10,000,000''.
(2) Use of grants for overhead expenses prohibited.--
(A) In general.--Section 7526(c) (relating to special rules
and limitations) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(6) Use of grants for overhead expenses prohibited.--No
grant made under this section may be used for the overhead
expenses of any clinic or of any institution sponsoring such
clinic.''.
(B) Conforming amendments.--Section 7526(c)(5) is amended--
(i) by inserting ``qualified'' before ``low-income'', and
(ii) by striking the last sentence.
(3) Promotion of clinics.--Section 7526(c), as amended by
paragraph (2), is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(7) Promotion of clinics.--The Secretary is authorized to
promote the benefits of and encourage the use of low-income
taxpayer clinics through the use of mass communications,
referrals, and other means.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to grants made after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ENROLLED AGENT CREDENTIALS.
Section 330 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections
(c) and (d), respectively, and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection:
``(b) Any enrolled agents properly licensed to practice as
required under rules promulgated under subsection (a) shall
be allowed to use the credentials or designation as `enrolled
agent', `EA', or `E.A.'.''.
SEC. 4. REGULATION OF FEDERAL TAX RETURN PREPARERS.
(a) Authorization.--Section 330(a)(1) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by inserting ``(including compensated
preparers of Federal tax returns, documents, and other
submissions)'' after ``representatives''.
(b) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury
shall prescribe regulations under section 330 of title 31,
United States Code--
[[Page S5103]]
(A) to regulate those compensated preparers not otherwise
regulated under regulations promulgated under such section on
the date of the enactment of this Act, and
(B) to carry out the provisions of, and amendments made by,
this section.
(2) Examination.--
(A) In general.--In promulgating the regulations under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall develop (or approve) and
administer an eligibility examination designed to test--
(i) the technical knowledge and competency of each preparer
described in paragraph (1)(A)--
(I) to prepare Federal tax returns, including individual
and business income tax returns, and
(II) to properly claim the earned income tax credit under
section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect
to such individual returns, and
(ii) the knowledge of each such preparer regarding such
ethical standards for the preparation of such returns as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(B) State licensing or registration programs.--The
Secretary is authorized to accept an individual as meeting
the eligibility examination requirement of this section if,
in lieu of the eligibility examination under this section,
the individual passed--
(i) a State licensing or State registration program
eligibility examination that is comparable to the eligibility
examination established by the Secretary, or
(ii) an eligibility examination administered by an existing
organization for tax return preparers that is comparable to
the eligibility examination established by the Secretary if
such test was administered prior to the issuance of the
regulations under this section.
(3) Continuing eligibility.--
(A) In general.--The regulations under paragraph (1) shall
require a renewal of eligibility every 3 years and shall set
forth the manner in which a preparer described in paragraph
(1)(A) must renew such eligibility.
(B) Continuing education requirements.--As part of the
renewal of eligibility, such regulations shall require that
each such preparer show evidence of completion of such
continuing education requirements as specified by the
Secretary.
(C) Nonmonetary sanctions.--The regulations under paragraph
(1) shall provide for the suspension or termination of such
eligibility in the event of any failure to comply with the
requirements for such eligibility.
(4) Penalty for unauthorized preparation of returns, etc.--
In promulgating the regulations under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall impose a penalty of $1,000 for each Federal
tax return, document, or other submission prepared by a
preparer described in paragraph (1)(A) who is not in
compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) or
who is suspended or disbarred from practice before the
Department of the Treasury under such regulations. Such
penalty shall be in addition to any other penalty which may
be imposed.
(c) Office of Professional Responsibility.--Section 330 of
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(e) Office of Professional Responsibility.--
``(1) In general.--There shall be in the Internal Revenue
Service an Office of Professional Responsibility the
functions of which shall be as prescribed by the Secretary of
the Treasury, including the carrying out of the purposes of
this section.
``(2) Director.--
``(A) In general.--The Office of Professional
Responsibility shall be under the supervision and direction
of an official known as the `Director, Office of Professional
Responsibility'. The Director, Office of Professional
Responsibility, shall report directly to the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue and shall be entitled to compensation at the
same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for
the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5,
or, if the Secretary of the Treasury so determines, at a rate
fixed under section 9503 of such title.
``(B) Appointment.--The Director, Office of Professional
Responsibility, shall be appointed by the Secretary of the
Treasury without regard to the provisions of title 5 relating
to appointments in the competitive service or the Senior
Executive Service.
``(3) Hearing.--Any hearing on an action initiated by the
Director, Office of Professional Responsibility, to impose a
sanction under regulations promulgated under this section
shall be conducted in accordance with sections 556 and 557 of
title 5 by 1 or more administrative law judges appointed by
the Secretary of the Treasury under section 3105 of title 5.
``(4) Coordination with state sanction programs.--In
carrying out the purposes of this section, the Director,
Office of Professional Responsibility shall coordinate with
appropriate State officials in order to collect information
regarding representatives, employers, firms and other
entities which have been disciplined or suspended under State
or local rules.
``(5) Information on sanctions to be available to the
public.--
``(A) Sanctions initiated by action.--When an action is
initiated by the Director, Office of Professional
Responsibility, to impose a sanction under regulations
promulgated under this section, the pleadings, and the record
of the proceeding and hearing shall be open to the public
(subject to restrictions imposed under subparagraph (C)).
``(B) Sanction not initiated by action.--When a sanction
under regulations promulgated under this section (other than
a private reprimand) is imposed without initiation of an
action, the Director, Office of Professional Responsibility,
shall make available to the public information identifying
the representative, employer, firm, or other entity
sanctioned, as well as information about the conduct which
gave rise to the sanction (subject to restrictions imposed
under subparagraph (C)).
``(C) Restrictions on release of information.--Information
about clients of the representative, employer, firm, or other
entity and medical information with respect to the
representative shall not be released to the public or
discussed in an open hearing, except to the extent necessary
to understand the nature, scope, and impact of the conduct
giving rise to the sanction or proposed sanction.
Disagreements regarding the application of this subparagraph
shall be resolved by the administrative law judge or, when a
sanction is imposed without initiation of an action, by the
Director, Office of Professional Responsibility.
``(6) Fees.--Any fees imposed under regulations promulgated
under this section shall be available without fiscal year
limitation to the Office of Professional Responsibility for
the purpose of reimbursement of the costs of administering
and enforcing the requirements of such regulations.''.
(d) Ban on Audit Insurance.--Section 330 of title 31,
United States Code, as amended by subsection (c), is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(f) Ban on Audit Insurance.--No person admitted to
practice before the Department of the Treasury may directly
or indirectly offer or provide insurance to cover
professional fees and other expenses incurred in responding
to or defending an audit by the Internal Revenue Service.''.
(e) Penalties.--
(1) Increase in certain penalties.--Subsections (a), (b),
and (c) of section 6695 (relating to other assessable
penalties with respect to the preparation of income tax
returns for other persons) are each amended by striking ``a
penalty of $50'' and all that follows and inserting ``a
penalty equal to--
``(1) $1,000, or
``(2) in the case of 3 or more such failures in a calendar
year, $500 for each such failure.
The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to any
failure if such failure is due to reasonable cause and not
due to willful neglect.''.
(2) Use of penalties.--Unless specifically appropriated
otherwise, there is authorized to be appropriated and is
appropriated to the Office of Professional Responsibility for
each fiscal year for the administration of the public
awareness campaign described in subsection (g) an amount
equal to the penalties collected during the preceding fiscal
year under sections 6694 and 6695 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 and under the regulations promulgated under
section 330 of title 31, United States Code (by reason of
subsection (b)(1)).
(3) Review by the treasury inspector general for tax
administration.--Section 7803(d)(2)(A) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (iii),
(B) by striking the period at the end of clause (iv) and
inserting ``, and'', and
(C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(v) a summary of the penalties assessed and collected
during the reporting period under sections 6694 and 6695 and
under the regulations promulgated under section 330 of title
31, United States Code, and a review of the procedures by
which violations are identified and penalties are assessed
under those sections,''.
(f) Coordination With Section 6060(a).--The Secretary of
the Treasury shall coordinate the requirements under the
regulations promulgated under section 330 of title 31, United
States Code, with the return requirements of section 6060 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(g) Public Awareness Campaign.--The Secretary of the
Treasury or the Secretary's delegate shall conduct a public
information and consumer education campaign, utilizing paid
advertising--
(1) to encourage taxpayers to use for Federal tax matters
only professionals who establish their competency under the
regulations promulgated under section 330 of title 31, United
States Code, and
(2) to inform the public of the requirements that any
compensated preparer of tax returns, documents, and
submissions subject to the requirements under the regulations
promulgated under such section must sign the return,
document, or submission prepared for a fee and display notice
of such preparer's compliance under such regulations.
(h) Additional Funds Available for Compliance Activities.--
The Secretary of the Treasury may use any specifically
appropriated funds for earned income tax credit compliance to
improve and expand enforcement of the regulations promulgated
under section 330 of title 31, United States Code.
(i) Additional Certification on Documents Other Than
Returns.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall require that
each document or other submission filed with the Internal
Revenue Service (other than a return signed by the taxpayer)
shall be signed under penalty of perjury and the identifying
number of any paid preparer who prepared such
[[Page S5104]]
document (if any) under rules similar to the rules under
section 6109(a)(4).
SEC. 5. CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR EXAMINATIONS OF PREPARERS.
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to contract for
the development or administration, or both, of any
examinations under the regulations promulgated under section
330 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 6. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN FACILITATORS.
(a) Regulation of Refund Anticipation Loan Facilitators.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 77 (relating to miscellaneous
provisions) is amended by inserting at the end the following
new section:
``SEC. 7529. REFUND ANTICIPATION LOAN FACILITATORS.
``(a) Registration.--Each refund loan facilitator shall
register with the Secretary on an annual basis. As a part of
such registration, each refund loan facilitator shall provide
the Secretary with the name, address, and taxpayer
identification number of such facilitator, and the fee
schedule of such facilitator for the year of such
registration.
``(b) Disclosure.--Each refund loan facilitator shall
disclose to a taxpayer both orally and on a separate written
form at the time such taxpayer applies for a refund
anticipation loan the following information:
``(1) Nature of the transaction.--The refund loan
facilitator shall disclose--
``(A) that the taxpayer is applying for a loan that is
based upon the taxpayer's anticipated income tax refund,
``(B) the expected time within which the loan will be paid
to the taxpayer if such loan is approved,
``(C) the time frame in which income tax refunds are
typically paid based upon the different filing options
available to the taxpayer,
``(D) that there is no guarantee that a refund will be paid
in full or received within a specified time period and that
the taxpayer is responsible for the repayment of the loan
even if the refund is not paid in full or has been delayed,
``(E) if the refund loan facilitator has an agreement with
another refund loan facilitator (or any lender working in
conjunction with another refund loan facilitator) to offset
outstanding liabilities for previous refund anticipation
loans provided by such other refund loan facilitator, that
any refund paid to the taxpayer may be so offset and the
implication of any such offset,
``(F) that the taxpayer may file an electronic return
without applying for a refund anticipation loan and the fee
for filing such an electronic return, and
``(G) that the loan may have substantial fees and interest
charges that may exceed those of other sources of credit and
the taxpayer should carefully consider--
``(i) whether such a loan is appropriate for the taxpayer,
and
``(ii) other sources of credit.
``(2) Fees and interest.--The refund loan facilitator shall
disclose all refund anticipation loan fees with respect to
the refund anticipation loan. Such disclosure shall include--
``(A) a copy of the fee schedule of the refund loan
facilitator,
``(B) the typical fees and interest rates (using annual
percentage rates as defined by section 107 of the Truth in
Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1606)) for several typical amounts of
such loans and of other types of consumer credit,
``(C) typical fees and interest charges if a refund is not
paid or delayed, and
``(D) the amount of a fee (if any) that will be charged if
the loan is not approved.
``(3) Other information.--The refund loan facilitator shall
disclose any other information required to be disclosed by
the Secretary.
``(c) Fines and Sanctions.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may impose a monetary
penalty on any refund loan facilitator who--
``(A) fails to register under subsection (a), or
``(B) fails to disclose any information required under
subsection (b).
``(2) Maximum monetary penalty.--Any monetary penalty
imposed under paragraph (1) shall not exceed--
``(A) in the case of a failure to register, the gross
income derived from all refund anticipation loans made during
the period the refund loan facilitator was not registered,
and
``(B) in the case of a failure to disclose information, the
gross income derived from all refund anticipation loans with
respect to which such failure applied.
``(3) Reasonable cause exceptions.--No penalty may be
imposed under this subsection with respect to any failure if
it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause.
``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) Refund loan facilitator.--
``(A) In general.--The term `refund loan facilitator' means
any electronic return originator who--
``(i) solicits for, processes, receives, or accepts
delivery of an application for a refund anticipation loan, or
``(ii) facilitates the making of a refund anticipation loan
in any other manner.
``(B) Electronic return originator.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term `electronic return originator'
means a person who originates the electronic submission of
income tax returns for another person.
``(2) Refund anticipation loan.--The term `refund
anticipation loan' means any loan of money or any other thing
of value to a taxpayer in connection with the taxpayer's
anticipated receipt of a Federal tax refund. Such term
includes a loan secured by the tax refund or an arrangement
to repay a loan from the tax refund.
``(3) Refund anticipation loan fees.--The term `refund
anticipation loan fees' means the fees, charges, interest,
and other consideration charged or imposed by the lender or
facilitator for the making of a refund anticipation loan.
``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary may prescribe such
regulations as necessary to implement the requirements of
this section.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
77, as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end
the following new item:
``Sec. 7529. Refund anticipation loan facilitators.''.
(b) Disclosure of Penalty.--Section 6103(k) (relating to
disclosure of certain returns and return information for tax
administration purposes) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(10) Disclosure of penalties on refund anticipation loan
facilitators.--The Secretary may disclose the name and
employer (including the employer's address) of any person
with respect to whom a penalty has been imposed under section
7529 and the amount of any such penalty.''.
(c) Use of Penalties.--Unless specifically appropriated
otherwise, there is authorized to be appropriated and is
appropriated to the Internal Revenue Service for each fiscal
year for the administration of the public awareness campaign
described in subsection (d) an amount equal to the penalties
collected during the preceding fiscal year under section 7529
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(d) Public Awareness Campaign.--The Secretary of the
Treasury or the Secretary's delegate shall conduct a public
information and consumer education campaign, utilizing paid
advertising, to educate the public on making sound financial
decisions with respect to refund anticipation loans (as
defined under section 7529 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986), including the need to compare--
(1) the rates and fees of such loans with the rates and
fees of conventional loans; and
(2) the amount of money received under the loan after
taking into consideration such costs and fees with the total
amount of the refund.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(f) Termination of Debt Indicator Program.--The Secretary
of the Treasury shall terminate the Debt Indicator program
announced in Internal Revenue Service Notice 9958 and may not
implement any similar program.
SEC. 7. TAXPAYER ACCESS TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of the
Treasury is authorized to award demonstration project grants
(including multi-year grants) to eligible entities which
partner with volunteer and low-income preparation
organizations to provide tax preparation services and
assistance in connection with establishing an account in a
federally insured depository institution for individuals that
currently do not have such an account.
(b) Eligible Entities.--
(1) In general.--An entity is eligible to receive a grant
under this section if such an entity is--
(A) an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under
section 501(a) of such Code,
(B) a federally insured depository institution,
(C) an agency of a State or local government,
(D) a community development financial institution,
(E) an Indian tribal organization,
(F) an Alaska Native Corporation,
(G) a Native Hawaiian organization,
(H) a labor organization, or
(I) a partnership comprised of 1 or more of the entities
described in the preceding subparagraphs.
(2) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(A) Federally insured depository institution.--The term
``federally insured depository institution'' means any
insured depository institution (as defined in section 3 of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)) and any
insured credit union (as defined in section 101 of the
Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752)).
(B) Community development financial institution.--The term
``community development financial institution'' means any
organization that has been certified as such pursuant to
section 1805.201 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations.
(C) Alaska native corporation.--The term ``Alaska Native
Corporation'' has the same meaning as the term ``Native
Corporation'' under section 3(m) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(m)).
(D) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native
Hawaiian organization'' means any organization that--
(i) serves and represents the interests of Native
Hawaiians, and
[[Page S5105]]
(ii) has as a primary and stated purpose the provision of
services to Native Hawaiians.
(E) Labor organization.--The term ``labor organization''
means an organization--
(i) in which employees participate,
(ii) which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of
dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of
work, and
(iii) which is described in section 501(c)(5) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary of
the Treasury in such form and containing such information as
the Secretary may require.
(d) Limitation on Administrative Costs.--A recipient of a
grant under this section may not use more than 6 percent of
the total amount of such grant in any fiscal year for the
administrative costs of carrying out the programs funded by
such grant in such fiscal year.
(e) Evaluation and Report.--For each fiscal year in which a
grant is awarded under this section, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall submit a report to Congress containing a
description of the activities funded, amounts distributed,
and measurable results, as appropriate and available.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury, for the
grant program described in this section, $10,000,000, or such
additional amounts as deemed necessary, to remain available
until expended.
(g) Regulations.--The Secretary of the Treasury is
authorized to promulgate regulations to implement and
administer the grant program under this section.
(h) Study on Delivery of Tax Refunds.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the National Taxpayer Advocate, shall
conduct a study on the payment of tax refunds through
Treasury debit cards or other electronic means to assist
individuals that do not have access to financial accounts or
institutions.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
submit a report to Congress containing the result of the
study conducted under subsection (a).
SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE ORDER AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--Section 7811(b)(2) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as
subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively, and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) chapter 74 (relating to closing agreements and
compromises),''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to orders issued after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARDS FOR EVALUATION OF
COMPROMISE OFFERS.
Section 7122(d)(1) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``based on doubt as to liability, doubt as
to collectibility, or equitable consideration'' after
``dispute'', and
(2) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Equitable consideration.--In prescribing guidelines
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall compromise a
liability to promote effective tax administration when it is
inequitable to collect any unpaid tax (or any portion
thereof, including penalties and interest) based on all of
the facts and circumstances, including--
``(A) whether the taxpayer acted reasonably, responsibly,
and in good faith under the circumstances, such as, by taking
reasonable actions to avoid or mitigate the tax liability or
delayed resolution of such liability,
``(B) whether the taxpayer is a victim of a bad act by a
third party or any other unexpected event that significantly
contributed to the tax liability or delayed resolution of
such liability,
``(C) whether the taxpayer has a recent history of
compliance with tax filing and payment obligations (before
and after the situation that led to the current tax
liability) or has a reasonable explanation for previous
noncompliance,
``(D) whether any Internal Revenue Service processing
errors, systemic or employee-related, led to or significantly
contributed to the tax liability,
``(E) whether the Internal Revenue Service action or
inaction has unreasonably delayed resolution of the tax
liability, and
``(F) any other fact or circumstance that would lead a
reasonable person to conclude that a compromise would be
fair, equitable, and in the best interest of tax
administration.''.
______
By Mr. KERRY:
S. 1221. A bill to provide for the enactment of comprehensive health
care reform; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this week thousands of business owners,
union members, faith leaders, physicians, nurses, and patients will
come together in Washington and in each of the 50 States to demand
immediate action to fix our Nation's growing health insurance crisis.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's fifth annual Cover the Uninsured
Week will once again call attention to the 45 million of our neighbors,
co-workers and friends--including 11 million children under age 21--who
live without any health care coverage. Unable to afford doctor's visits
and prescription drugs, they live day to day in fear that a child will
get sick or suffer an accident. No family in this great Nation should
have to live in such fear.
Understandably, the focus of Cover the Uninsured Week this year is on
the great opportunity presenting this Congress to expand coverage to
millions of America's uninsured children through the reauthorization
and expansion of the successful, bipartisan State Children's Health
Insurance Program. This is the number one domestic budget priority for
me and for the new Democratic Congress.
In a given year, uninsured kids are only half as likely to receive
any medical care. That neglect leads to chronic disease. Uninsured kids
also cost us productivity when parents must choose between working and
caring for a sick child without the help of a doctor. Kids in public
insurance programs perform 68 percent better in school, and insuring
all of them would reduce avoidable hospitalizations by 22 percent.
But while kids are undoubtedly our first priority, we must take care
not to lose sight of our ultimate objective: Ensuring that every single
man, woman, and child in America has affordable and meaningful health
insurance coverage. The fact is that denying health insurance is not
just immoral, it's ultimately more costly than insuring them. In the
long run, this is an obvious choice.
But we do not have time to wait for the long run. Our businesses,
families, and health care providers need relief immediately from the
insecurity, inefficiency, and inequity bred by a system which insures
too few at too high a cost.
Therefore, I am introducing today the ``Countdown to Coverage Act of
2007.'' It's simple: The Countdown to Coverage Act requires Congress to
pass legislation by the end of the 111th session that will ensure all
Americans have quality, affordable health care coverage. If Congress
fails to act, members will become responsible for 100 percent of the
cost of their own plan through FEHBP.
Senators and Congressmen give ourselves the very best health care
coverage, and it's American taxpayers who foot the bill. Now, Congress
needs to step up and pass universal health care coverage by 2011--or
pay the price and pick up the cost of our own health care ourselves. 45
million people--11 million kids--without health insurance is
unacceptable in the richest country in the world. Every American
deserves the kind of quality care that Senators and Congressmen give
themselves, and this bill sets a deadline for members of Congress to
take real action.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1221
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 ``Countdown to Coverage Act of
2007''.
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE REFORM.
(a) In General.--If a provision of law that ensures
accessible, affordable, and meaningful health insurance for
all Americans is not enacted before the adjournment, sine
die, of the 111th Congress, as determined by Institute of
Medicine, there shall be no Government contribution under
section 8906 of title 5, United States Code, for any Member
of Congress and any Member of Congress shall pay 100 percent
of all premiums for any health benefits plan under chapter 89
of that title.
(b) Notification.--The Institute of Medicine shall submit
timely notice to the Office of Personnel Management, the
Secretary of the Senate, and the Chief Administrative Officer
of the House of Representatives of--
(1) the determination that a provision of law has not been
enacted before the adjournment, sine die, of the 111th
Congress, as described under subsection (a); and
(2) the dates and adjustments that are required to take
effect under this Act.
(c) Adjustments.--After receiving notice under subsection
(b), the Office of Personnel Management, the Secretary of the
Senate, and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives shall make such
[[Page S5106]]
adjustments as may be necessary on the first day of the first
applicable pay period beginning on or after the date of that
notice.
(d) Regulations.--The Office of Personnel Management may
prescribe regulations to carry out this section.
______
By Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mr. Durbin):
S. 1222. A bill to stop mortgage transactions which operate to
promote fraud, risk, abuse, and under-development, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation to
protect American consumers and homeowners from fraudulent and abusive
mortgage lending practices. Mortgage fraud and abuse are growing
problems in this country, problems that are depriving thousands of
Americans of their dream of homeownership and often their hard-earned
life savings. These problems are also costing the mortgage industry
hundreds of millions of dollars each year and making the housing
market, which is critical to our economy and the stability of our
neighborhoods, more vulnerable.
Although the data in this area is limited, mortgage fraud, which
takes a variety of forms from inflated appraisals to the use of straw
buyers, is a growing problem. In September of 2002, the FBI had 436
mortgage fraud investigations. Currently, they have more than 1,036--an
increase of 137 percent in less than 5 years. And of the 1,036 current
cases, more than half have expected losses of more than $1 million.
This is due largely to the housing boom which has driven up housing
prices across the country. Nearly $2.37 trillion in mortgage loans were
made during 2006, and the number may be even higher this year.
But mortgage fraud is not just about dollars and statistics; it's
about real people, real homes, and real lives. I first introduced this
legislation last year after my hometown Chicago Tribune featured a
series of articles about mortgage fraud in Illinois, which, along with
Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, California,
Nevada, Colorado and Utah, is among the FBI's top-ten mortgage fraud
``hot spots.''
The Tribune stories highlighted the plight of the good folks on May
Street in Chicago, who saw a block's worth of homes go boarded up in
the span of a just few years, as swindlers racked up hundreds of
thousands of dollars in bad loans. The shells of houses were left
behind as sad reminders of broken dreams. The Tribune highlighted the
plight of 75-year-old Ruth Williams, who had to spend her personal
funds to clear the title to her home after fraudsters secured $400,000
in loans on three buildings they didn't own. A recent Tribune
investigation turned up a 91-year-old woman defrauded into signing away
her brick Chicago home, her sole asset, leaving her with nothing.
Law enforcement, consumer groups and many in the mortgage industry
are working extremely hard to combat fraud and abusive lending
practices. I applaud their good work. Now, Congress should come to the
table and do its part, and I'm pleased to introduce legislation today
with my good friend Senator Durbin to address this important issue.
The STOP FRAUD Act, which was first introduced in February 2006, is
aimed at stopping mortgage transactions which operate to promote fraud,
risk, abuse and underdevelopment. This year, the bill includes new
provisions to protect the legal rights of borrowers with particularly
risky subprime loans. The Act provides the first Federal definition of
mortgage fraud and authorizes stiff criminal penalties against
fraudulent actors. STOP FRAUD requires a wide range of mortgage
professionals to report suspected fraudulent activity, and gives these
same professionals safe harbor from liability when they report
suspicious incidents. It also authorizes several grant programs to help
State and local law enforcement fight fraud, provide the mortgage
industry with updates on fraud trends, and further support the
Departments of Treasury, Justice and Housing and Urban Development's
fraud-fighting efforts.
At a time when many homeowners are concerned about losing their home
to foreclosure, and policymakers are worried about fraudulent,
deceptive, and even just plain confusing lending practices that are
roiling communities across the country, STOP FRAUD provides $25 million
for housing counseling. The Department of Housing and Urban Development
will contract with public or private organization to provide
information, advice, counseling, and technical assistance to tenants,
homeowners, and other consumers with respect to mortgage fraud and
other activities that are likely to increase the risk of foreclosure.
The Act also protects the legal rights of borrowers with risky,
subprime loans. The greatest growth in the mortgage lending market is
in subprime loans and some have estimated that more than 2 million
homeowners with subprime mortgages are at risk of losing their homes.
If a borrower receives a subprime mortgage with any one of several
high-risk characteristics, the Act protects the rights of borrowers to
challenge lending practices in foreclosure proceedings. The high-risk
characteristics targeted by this Act include loans for which the
borrower does not have the ability to repay at the maximum rate of
interest, loans whose true long-term costs are not clearly disclosed to
the borrower, stated-income and no-documentation loans, and loans with
unreasonable prepayment penalties.
Many States are actively trying to prevent a wave of expected
foreclosures as housing prices stop rising while adjustable rates on
many risk loans start rising. STOP FRAUD instructs the Government
Accountability Office to evaluate the various State initiatives and
report to Congress on lending practices and regulations related to
mortgage fraud and deception, predatory lending, and homeownership
preservation efforts.
We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American
families face the risk of losing their homes. There is excellent work
being done by the Banking Committees in the House and Senate to tackle
some of the thorniest and most challenging problems affecting the
mortgage industry today. I look forward to working with my colleagues
on comprehensive legislation to protect consumers and strengthen the
housing market. The STOP FRAUD Act is just the beginning of an
important Federal response. It is a tough, cost-effective, and balanced
way to address the serious problem of mortgage fraud in our country and
to provide additional protections for vulnerable borrowers. I urge my
colleagues to join me in this important effort.
______
By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Carper, and Mr.
Pryor):
S. 1223. A bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to support efforts by local or regional
television or radio broadcasters to provide essential public
information programming in the event of a major disaster, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak about the
First Response Broadcasters Act, legislation I am introducing today
along with Senators Stevens, Carper and Pryor.
As my State suffered the devastating impact of Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita and the levee breaks that followed, we learned that one of the
most vital relief supplies is information. In providing it, all of our
local media--newspapers, broadcasters and web sites included--did
amazing work to keep the people of my State informed, even when
displaced thousands of miles away. But with phone lines down and
streets too flooded to move around, the sound of a local radio or
television station was for many of my constituents the only voice in
those first few dark nights after the hurricanes. Our local
broadcasters provided life-saving information and comfort when both
were needed the most. Many of them worked through unimaginable
technical and emotional obstacles, staying on the air as their
facilities and staff homes were destroyed, and loved ones remained
missing.
With the entire industry dependent on public airwaves, broadcasters
have a duty to serve the public in times of crisis. As local radio and
television stations stand up, as so many did, to put commercial
interests aside to serve the public interest, the federal government
[[Page S5107]]
should be ready to stand with them. This is not a new partnership.
Under laws going back to 1951, radio and television stations are
today required to participate in the national Emergency Alert System
(EAS), and many stations have protected, government-funded circuits
connecting them to emergency command centers. This legislation would
directly connect more stations nationwide to this network by
authorizing $6.5 million to FEMA to set up Primary Entry Point radio
stations in another twenty five states and U.S. territories. Currently
there are thirty-two stations and two under development in Alabama and
Mississippi.
A Primary Entry Point (PEP) station is a radio broadcast station
designated to provide public information following national and local
emergencies where there is no commercial power. For example, WWL Radio
in New Orleans was the only PEP station in the Gulf Coast after Katrina
and it provided radio broadcasts for two weeks after the storm until
commercial power was restored. FEMA commissioned recommendations from
the Primary Entry Point Advisory Committee, a non-profit group they set
up to oversee the stations, and just needs the additional funds to
build the additional facilities. Included in the findings of the
legislation is a comprehensive list of the states that are currently
without PEP stations and which would benefit from this provision. There
are also States which have PEP stations, but because of geographic
limitations, require an additional station to fully cover the State.
This bill would provide those two additional stations in Kansas and
Florida.
But what good is this successful emergency information chain if the
last link fails? By technical necessity, this last link is right in the
disaster's path. Simply put, the transmitter needs to be in the same
area as the people in need of warning. Despite our Federal investments
in the emergency system and entry point stations, there were several
Gulf Coast broadcasters after the hurricanes that could not stay on the
air simply because the government took their fuel away. They were told
they weren't on the list.''
This legislation puts these broadcasters on the list, where they
belong. To protect vital broadcast infrastructure and encourage more
broadcasters to deploy disaster-resistant telecommunications equipment,
this bill would also create a 3-year pilot program managed by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide annual matching grants
to qualified First Response Broadcasters for the protection and
reinforcement of critical-to-air facilities and infrastructure. The
program would receive $10 million per year to fund matching program
grants, and grants could also be used for projects to enhance essential
disaster-related public information services.
As the program encourages both disaster preparedness and community
coordination, increased scoring would be granted to applications from
broadcasters who form cooperative proposals with other broadcasters in
the area or those who submit plans in conjunction with local or State
governments. Priority scoring would also be given to applicants in
disaster-prone areas and also based on the public service merits of the
broadcasters disaster programming plan.
No disaster warning, evacuation plan or emergency instruction matters
if it can't get to the people who need it. This is why the Federal
Communications Commission and a presidential advisory panel have each
recommended we take steps to keep these lifesaving broadcasts on the
air.
In particular, this bill would require that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and other Federal response agencies, in coordination
with State and local authorities and the National Guard, honor press
access guidelines and credentials set by the local governing authority
in the declared disaster area. For example, if the City of New Orleans
issued press credentials before the disaster and the city decided to
continue honoring them post-disaster, FEMA officials operating in the
area would be required to honor those credentials as well. The local
entity, at its own discretion, would be able to request that this
credentialing authority be passed instead to federal or state
officials.
Along these same lines, the bill would also direct the Federal
Emergency Management Agency to coordinate with local and State agencies
to allow access, where practicable and not impeding recovery or
endangering public safety, into the disaster area for personnel and
equipment essential to restoring or maintaining critical-to-air
broadcast infrastructure. The priority policies and procedures for this
coordination would be similar to those practiced for restoring public
utilities, and would include access for refueling generators and re-
supplying critical facilities.
For all journalists working to tell the story-newspapers and web
sites included-the First Response Broadcasters Act makes sure that the
local officials, who know local reporters best, decide where the
journalists can go, not some Washington bureaucrat who just stepped off
the plane.
In closing, I would like to submit for the record the stories of a
few incredible broadcasters who through recent disasters have
demonstrated exactly the type of response this bill is intended to
encourage. I would also like to submit for the record a list of
organizations which have already endorsed this legislation-including
the state broadcasting associations from every one of the 50 states and
the District of Columbia.
Broadcasters have a duty to the American people to spread the word in
times of crisis. No one else can do it. They are already a key part of
our national emergency response plan, and have been for more than 50
years. This bill merely reinforces this fact and secures the logical
extension of commitments already made by Federal government. We have a
responsibility to make sure the tools are protected to make the system
work.
Broadcasters are first responders--and with this bill today, we will
strengthen our essential partnership with them for the benefit of all
Americans. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation
and ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation, the
broadcaster stories, and a list of the organizations already supporting
this bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1223
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 ``First Response Broadcasters
Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) in the periods before, during, and after major
disasters that occurred not long before the date of enactment
of this Act (including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001), local media
organizations (including newspapers, public and private
broadcasters, and online publications) provided a valuable
public service by transmitting and publishing disaster-
related information, guidance, and assistance;
(2) local broadcasters, public and private, provided a
particularly valuable public service by transmitting
evacuation instructions, warnings of impending threats,
timely response status updates, and other essential
information related to such major disasters to listeners and
viewers to whom other forms of media were often unavailable
or inaccessible;
(3) an inability to access a disaster area may impede the
ability of local media organizations to provide such public
services;
(4) according to the report by the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, titled
``Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared'', dated May
2006, ``It is essential that the news media receive accurate
disaster information to circulate to the public. News media
can also help inform the public by reporting on rumors and
soliciting evidence and comment on their plausibility, if
any'';
(5) according to testimony provided on September 22, 2005,
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
the Senate, an estimated 100 Gulf Coast broadcast stations
were unable to broadcast as a result of Hurricane Katrina,
with approximately 28 percent of television stations and
approximately 35 percent of radio stations unable to
broadcast in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina;
(6) according to testimony provided on September 7, 2005,
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives, following Hurricane Katrina only 4 of the 41
radio broadcast stations in the New Orleans metropolitan area
remained on the air in the immediate aftermath of that
hurricane;
[[Page S5108]]
(7) the only television station in New Orleans to continue
transmitting its over-the-air signal uninterrupted during and
after Hurricane Katrina was able to do so only as a direct
result of steps taken to better protect its transmitter and
provide redundant production facilities in the region;
(8) fuel and other supply shortages inhibit the ability of
a broadcaster to stay on the air and provide essential public
information following a major disaster;
(9) according to the report by the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, titled
``Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared'', dated May
2006, there were instances of Federal authorities
confiscating privately-purchased fuel supplies in the area
affected by Hurricane Katrina;
(10) the ability of several broadcasters in Mississippi to
remain on the air was unduly compromised by the confiscation
of their privately-purchased fuel supplies;
(11) practices put in place following Hurricane Andrew to
involve broadcasters in disaster response and expedite access
by broadcast engineers to disaster areas for the purpose of
repairing critical-to-air facilities and infrastructure has
significantly increased the ability of broadcasters in
Florida to continue transmitting essential public information
during subsequent major disasters;
(12) a June 12, 2006, report to the Federal Communications
Commission from the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of
Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks recommends that
cable and broadcasting infrastructure providers, and their
contracted workers, be afforded emergency responder status
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and that this
designation would remedy many of the access and fuel sharing
issues that hampered industry efforts to quickly repair
infrastructure following Hurricane Katrina;
(13) the partnership of competing radio broadcasters in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina, casting aside commercial interests
to provide uninterrupted, redundant public information
programming from multiple transmission facilities, served the
public well and for many hurricane victims was the only
source of disaster-related information for many days;
(14) other similar models for regional broadcaster
cooperation nationwide, such as the initiative by 3 public
and private radio groups to cooperatively produce essential
disaster-related programming in eastern and central Maine,
will further prepare the industry to effectively respond to
major disasters;
(15) following Hurricane Katrina, a Primary Entry Point
station in Louisiana, operating only on generator power until
commercial power was restored 2 weeks after the disaster, was
instrumental in providing life-saving information to the
general public throughout the area as battery-operated radios
were the only source of official news and information;
(16) as of April 18, 2007, there were 24 States with 1
Primary Entry Point station, 4 States with 2 Primary Entry
point stations, 2 Primary Entry Point stations located in
territories of the United States, and 2 Primary Entry Point
stations under development in Alabama and Mississippi;
(17) in the event of a man-made or natural disaster, it is
essential to provide for Primary Entry Point stations in any
State or territory where there is not a facility, meaning an
additional 23 stations are required, located in--
(A) Arkansas;
(B) Connecticut;
(C) Delaware;
(D) the District of Columbia;
(E) Indiana;
(F) Iowa;
(G) Kentucky;
(H) Maine;
(I) Michigan;
(J) Nebraska;
(K) New Hampshire;
(L) New Jersey;
(M) Oklahoma;
(N) Oregon;
(O) Pennsylvania;
(P) Rhode Island;
(Q) South Dakota;
(R) Vermont;
(S) West Virginia;
(T) Wisconsin;
(U) American Samoa;
(V) the Northern Mariana Islands; and
(W) Guam; and
(18) in the event of a man-made or natural disaster, it is
essential to provide for the Primary Entry Point stations in
larger States where there is currently a facility, but an
additional station is required to ensure full sufficient
geographic coverage, meaning 2 stations are required, located
in--
(A) Kansas; and
(B) Florida.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(2) the term ``disaster area'' means an area in which the
President has declared a major disaster, during the period of
that declaration;
(3) the term ``first response broadcaster'' means a local
or regional television or radio broadcaster that provides
essential disaster-related public information programming
before, during, and after the occurrence of a major disaster;
(4) the term ``major disaster'' has the meaning given the
term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122); and
(5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
SEC. 4. PRIMARY ENTRY POINT STATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated
$6,500,000 to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency for facility and equipment expenses to
construct an additional 25 Primary Entry Point stations in
the continental United States and territories.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Primary Entry
Point station'' means a radio broadcast station designated to
provide public information following national and local
emergencies where there is no commercial power.
SEC. 5. BROADCAST DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``pilot
program'' means the Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Grant
Program established under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a
pilot program under which the Administrator may make grants
to first response broadcasters, to be known as the
``Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Grant Program''.
(c) Priority.--The Administrator may give priority to an
application for a grant under the pilot program that--
(1) is submitted--
(A) on behalf of more than 1 first response broadcaster
operating in an area;
(B) in cooperation with State or local authorities;
(C) on behalf of a first response broadcaster with 50
employees or less;
(D) on behalf of a first response broadcaster that is
principally owned and operated by individuals residing within
the State, county, parish, or municipality in which the
broadcaster is located; or
(2) provides, in writing, a statement of the intention of
the applicant to provide disaster-related programming
dedicated to essential public information purposes before,
during, and after a major disaster.
(d) Use of Funds.--A grant under the pilot program shall be
used by a first response broadcaster to--
(1) protect or provide redundancy for facilities and
infrastructure, including transmitters and other at-risk
equipment (as determined by the Administrator), critical to
the ability of that first response broadcaster to continue to
produce and transmit essential disaster-related public
information programming; or
(2) upgrade or add facilities or equipment that will
enhance or expand the ability of the first responder
broadcaster to acquire, produce, or transmit essential
disaster-related public information programming.
(e) Federal Share.--The Federal share of an activity
carried out with a grant under this section shall be not more
than 50 percent.
(f) Termination.--The authority to make grants under the
pilot program shall terminate at the end of the third full
fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the pilot
program $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2010.
SEC. 6. FIRST RESPONSE BROADCASTER ACCESS FOLLOWING A MAJOR
DISASTER.
(a) Access.--Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting ``(including
providing fuel, food, water, and other supplies to first
response broadcasters, after providing essential emergency
services, health care, and utility restoration services)''
before the semicolon at the end; and
(2) in subsection (c)(6)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as
subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
(B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(A) First response broadcaster.--The term `first response
broadcaster' has the meaning given that term in section
707.''.
(b) Confiscation.--Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5201
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 707. CONFISCATION FROM FIRST RESPONSE BROADCASTERS.
``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `first
response broadcaster' means a local or regional television or
radio broadcaster that provides essential disaster-related
public information programming before, during, and after a
major disaster.
``(b) In General.--In the event of a major disaster, and to
the extent practicable and consistent with not endangering
public safety, a Federal officer or employee may not
confiscate fuel, water, or food from a first response
broadcaster if that first response broadcaster adequately
documents that such supplies will be used to enable that
broadcast first responder to broadcast essential disaster-
related public information programming in the area affected
by that major disaster.''.
(c) Restoration of Services.--The Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et seq.) is amended--
[[Page S5109]]
(1) by redesignating section 425 (42 U.S.C. 5189e)
(relating to essential service providers) as section 427; and
(2) in section 427, as so redesignated, by adding at the
end the following:
``(d) First Response Broadcasters.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `first
response broadcaster' has the meaning given that term in
section 707.
``(2) In general.--In the event of a major disaster, the
head of a Federal agency, in consultation with appropriate
State and local government authorities, and to the greatest
extent practicable and consistent with not endangering public
safety or inhibiting recovery efforts, shall allow access to
the area affected by that major disaster for technical
personnel, broadcast engineers, and equipment needed to
restore, repair, or resupply any facility or equipment
critical to the ability of a first response broadcaster to
continue to acquire, produce, and transmit essential
disaster-related public information programming, including
the repair and maintenance of transmitters and other facility
equipment and transporting fuel for generators.
``(3) News gathering employees.--This subsection shall not
apply to news gathering employees or agents of a first
response broadcaster.''.
(d) Guidelines for Press.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``credentialing authority'' means a Federal,
State, or local government agency that--
(i) issues press credentials; and
(ii) permits and coordinates access to a designated
location or area on the basis of possessing such press
credentials;
(B) the term ``press credential'' means the identification
provided to news personnel to identify such personnel as
members of the press; and
(C) the term ``news personnel'' includes a broadcast
journalist or technician, newspaper or periodical reporter,
photojournalist, and member of a similar professional field
whose primary interest in entering the disaster area is to
gather information related to the disaster for wider
publication or broadcast.
(2) Access to disaster area.--For purposes of permitting
and coordinating access by news personnel to a disaster
area--
(A) any State or local government agency that serves as the
primary credentialing authority for that disaster area before
the date of the applicable major disaster shall remain the
primary credentialing authority during and after that major
disaster, unless--
(i) the State or local government agency voluntarily
relinquishes the ability to serve as primary credentialing
authority to another agency; or
(ii) the State or local government agency, in consultation
with appropriate Federal disaster response agencies, assigns
certain duties, including primary credentialing authority, to
the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another
appropriate Federal, State, or local government agency; and
(B) the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other
appropriate Federal disaster response agencies operating in a
disaster area shall permit and coordinate news personnel
access to the disaster area consistent with the access
guidelines determined by the primary credentialing authority
for that disaster area.
(3) Catastrophic incident access.--In the event of a
catastrophic incident (as that term is defined in section 501
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311)) that
leaves a State or local primary credentialing authority
unable to execute the duties of that credentialing authority
described under paragraph (2) or to effectively communicate
to Federal officials a determination regarding the intent of
that credentialing authority to retain, relinquish, or assign
its status as the primary credentialing authority, the
Secretary may designate the Federal Emergency Management
Agency or another Federal agency as the interim primary
credentialing authority, until such a time as the State or
local credentialing authority notifies the Secretary of
whether that authority intends to retain, relinquish, or
assign its status.
____
Organization Endorsements
1. The National Association of Broadcasters
2. The Radio-Television News Directors Association
3. The Alabama Broadcasters Association
4. The Alaska Broadcasters Association
5. The Arizona Broadcasters Association
6. The Arkansas Broadcasters Association
7. The California Broadcasters Association
8. The Colorado Broadcasters Association
9. The Connecticut Broadcasters Association
10. The Florida Association of Broadcasters
11. The Georgia Association of Broadcasters
12. The Hawaii Association of Broadcasters
13. The Idaho State Broadcasters Association
14. The Illinois Broadcasters Association
15. The Indiana Broadcasters Association
16. The Iowa Broadcasters Association
17. The Kansas Association of Broadcasters
18. The Kentucky Broadcasters Association
19. The Louisiana Association of Broadcasters
20. The Maine Association of Broadcasters
21. The Maryland/DC/Delaware Broadcasters Association
22. The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association
23. The Michigan Association of Broadcasters
24. The Minnesota Broadcasters Association
25. The Mississippi Association of Broadcasters
26. The Missouri Broadcasters Association
27. The Montana Broadcasters Association
28. The Nebraska Broadcasters Association
29. The Nevada Broadcasters Association
30. The New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters
31. The New Jersey Broadcasters Association
32. The New Mexico Broadcasters Association
33. The New York State Broadcasters Association
34. The North Carolina Association of Broadcasters
35. The North Dakota Broadcasters Association
36. The Ohio Association of Broadcasters
37. The Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters
38. The Oregon Association of Broadcasters
39. The Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters
40. The Rhode Island Broadcasters Association
41. The South Carolina Broadcasters Association
42. The South Dakota Broadcasters Association
43. The Tennessee Association of Broadcasters
44. The Texas Association of Broadcasters
45. The Utah Broadcasters Association
46. The Vermont Association of Broadcasters
47. The Virginia Association of Broadcasters
48. The Washington State Association of Broadcasters
49. The West Virginia Broadcasters Association
50. The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
51. The Wyoming Association of Broadcasters
52. Calcasieu Parish (La.) Sherriff Tony Mancuso
____
Real Stories of First Response Broadcasters
[From WWL-TV--New Oreleans, LA]
(By News Director Chris Slaughter)
Our 150 employees developed a plan that would enable WWL-TV
to be the only television station to stay on the air and keep
information flowing in our community's darkest hour. 95
percent of the station's news, engineering, production and
administrative personnel made sure their families were safe,
then devoted 14 straight days and nights using their most
valuable tool--information--to help their metropolitan New
Orleans neighbors survive. Many did this while knowing they
had lost everything they owned (40 percent of station
personnel lost homes in the storm). Many worked with the
stress of knowing that spouses, relatives and friends were
missing or working in dangerous situations.
During the course of the storm and initial aftermath, WWL-
TV broadcast from four different studios. When the storm
forced the evacuation of our French Quarter studio, the
broadcast seamlessly shifted to the Louisiana State
University Manship School of Mass Communications in Baton
Rouge, which WWL-TV had chosen as an alternative broadcast
site in early 2004. Half of the newsroom worked from that
location while the other half stayed in New Orleans and
worked from the station transmitter site. When it became
apparent that lack of city services would keep us out of our
undamaged station for an extended time, we rented the
Louisiana Public Broadcasting studios in Baton Rouge. Our
signal was carried by satellite to our New Orleans
transmitter.
WWL-TV informed viewers wherever they were. The commercial-
free programming was broadcast from our transmitter,
simulcast on radio, streamed on our website and seen
statewide on Louisiana's public broadcasting channel.
Satellite feeds of our coverage were rebroadcast by stations
from Texas to New England, and other areas housing evacuees.
Our parent company, Belo Corp., and its affiliated stations
provided major support. Corporate staff worked to provide
communications, housing, fuel, food and clothing for
displaced WWL-TV employees. Satellite News Gathering trucks
from Belo stations began moving in shortly after the storm
first entered the Gulf of Mexico. The stations also sent
news, production and technical staff to help as WWL covered
the storm of the century.
____
[From KPLC-TV--Lake Charles, LA]
(By General Manager Jim Serra)
KPLC's non-stop coverage of the approach, passage, and
aftermath of Hurricane Rita began several days before the
storm came ashore just south of Lake Charles and extended for
two weeks until the region was reopened to evacuees.
Throughout the storm, KPLC never lost its broadcast signal,
and maintained full coverage including live streaming video
on its website. Evacuated citizens of Southwest Louisiana,
even those who fled far from the station's broadcast signal,
never lost touch with local emergency information from their
community
Upon its approach, Rita was the strongest hurricane ever
recorded in the Gulf. Based on the anticipated threat of wind
damage and flooding, 25 KPLC employees rode out the hurricane
in a makeshift studio in the more secure confines of nearby
CHRISTUS-St. Patrick Hospital. Hospital employees became our
partners in the storm coverage.
After the hurricane, KPLC produced a DVD documentary on
Rita, donating nearly $50,000 in proceeds to the St. Patrick
Foundation. As a result of this partnership, CMN
[[Page S5110]]
(Children's Miracle Network) awarded KPLC and St. Patrick
Hospital their national community service award.
KPLC's coverage was simulcast on multiple local radio
stations. It was also augmented by the efforts of several
television stations within Louisiana and beyond.
____
[From WLOX-TV--Biloxi, MS]
(By News Director Dave Vincent)
For more than 12 days, WLOX employees banded together &
provided exceptional coverage of Hurricane Katrina despite
personal danger & ultimately great personal loss. WLOX News
broadcast 24/7 for 12 days delivering life saving information
to the people of South Mississippi. Our news coverage went
wall to wall when it became apparent that Hurricane Katrina
would gravely impact South Mississippi. Katrina's winds &
deadly 30 foot plus tidal surge did not stop our coverage.
Neither did her massive path of destruction nor her impact on
our TV station. We continued to broadcast even when Katrina
ripped off our newsroom roof, destroyed another wing of our
station, toppled one of our TV towers, wiped out our Jackson
& Hancock County news bureaus & forced us in the main station
to evacuate to a safer section of our building.
There is no doubt that without the courageous action of
WLOX employees many more lives would have been lost in this,
the worst natural disaster to hit our county. In addition, we
have been told by many viewers that we were their only life
line during the height of the storm & in those first days
after Katrina, when our community was devastated & very much
like a third world country.
Here is an excerpt from one letter: ``During the storm we
ran our small generator a few hours a day. Your station was
the only one we could count on to have news when we could see
it. God Bless all of you for being there for all of us.''
Scott and Lori Lasher of Carnes, Mississippi Sept 16, 2005.
Here is one other letter: ``First of all, I would like to
commend you on an AWESOME JOB!! Your coverage of Hurricane
Katrina and her aftermath was and continues to be superb!
Thanks for giving us here in South Mississippi some semblance
of normalcy during such a teffifying time.'' Doyla Ashe,
Poplarville, MS Sept., 16 2005.
During our coverage, we were the source of information for
our community. We told people where to find shelter, where to
find food & medicine & other needed supplies. To insure that
life saving information reached our community we reached out
to all the radio groups on the coast & they carried our
signal. Also the local newspaper contacted us & we put many
of their reporters on the air. The local FOX affiliate even
carried our signal for a few days. After Katrina knocked out
our ability to stream our continual coverage on our web site,
our sister stations in the Liberty chain took over the
postings & helped us keep thousands of evacuees informed
through wlox.com.
Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people homeless &
forever changed the face of our community. Our station is a
reflection of the community in which we live & work. At least
12 of our employees lost everything. Another 60 had
significant damage to their homes. Everyone suffered some
loss. Yet our employees continued to work putting the safety
& welfare of their community above their personal situation.
____
[From WRC-TV--Washington, DC]
(By News Director Vicki Burns)
September 11th 2001 presented broadcast journalists with
unforeseen and unprecedented challenges. In Washington DC and
New York City, those challenges were especially difficult.
The nation had never been attacked on this scale at home.
Modern television journalists had a critical role in
communicating what had happened and what it meant.
As journalists in the nation's capital, our
responsibilities were two-fold: to report rapidly changing
developments amidst an uncertain and frightening environment,
and to keep the community and ourselves safe and informed.
The day of the initial attack was chaotic. Our ability to
provide crucial public safety information to the community
depended upon our access to key officials, locations and
events, along with the ability to be mobile when necessary.
Our efforts were severely hampered when our portable Nextel
radios, our cell phones, and our landline phones went down.
Newsroom decision makers were unable to communicate with
reporters and photographers for some time.
Our field teams were on site and on air for hours,
sometimes days at a time. In order to sustain that coverage,
we used couriers to shuttle food, water and supplies. Due to
road closures and other limitations, that task became
extremely difficult.
At every location, we were forced to provide several pieces
of identification, and at times were turned away from
critical places.
It is important to note that in a time of great chaos and
danger, our role as journalists contributes to the solution.
We cannot provide a service to the community without the
cooperation and support of governing jurisdictions.
____
With Power Out, Local Radio Station Becomes Voice in the Dark
(By John Curran, Associated Press Writer, Apr. 21, 2007)
Rutland, VT.--Some of them needed generators, others
kerosene. Some wanted to know how many others were in the
dark, or which streets were passable. Some just needed to
hear a voice.
``This is Glendora,'' one caller said. ``I'm a little
nervous. The laundromat across my window here, the whole sign
just completely came out of its case off and is flying over
the street right now.''
The power was out, she told Terry Jaye, who was taking
calls on WJJR. Her house was shaking from the high winds and
it had no heat. She didn't know who else to call.
``Only thing I have is my CD disc radio, listening to you
guys, and a cell phone,'' she said.
When a ferocious nor'easter blew chaos into Rutland last
Monday, she and others turned to WJJR. With the lights out,
televisions silenced and personal computers powerless, the
50,000-watt local radio station shucked its adult
contemporary music format and turned over its airwaves to
listeners, giving and getting information about problems big
and small.
It wasn't the first time local radio proved itself the go-
to medium in time of crisis.
It happened when ice storms ravaged northern New England in
1998, it happened when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in
2005, it happened Monday after 70 mph winds from a nor'easter
blew chaos into this small Vermont city.
When the lights go out and Google is unavailable, radio is.
``Part of it goes back to the technology,'' said former
radio news director Suzanne Goucher, president of the Maine
Association of Broadcasters. ``People aren't likely to have
battery-powered TVs in their home, but everybody's got a car
radio. What you're left with is the old reliable standby of
radio. It's always on and it's always on when you need it.''
It was on at 7:30 a.m. Monday, when the winds ripped into
town, snapping utility poles, blowing trees into houses and
collapsing power lines in the streets. Soon, the switchboard
at WJJR's studios in a downtown office building began
lighting up.
The calls came from New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Don called to say a front window in his Victorian home had
``imploded.'' Michelle from West Rutland called to say she
had no power and no telephone service. Millie's power was
out, and her back yard was full of fallen trees.
``It's horrible. It hit my ex-husband's car,'' she said.
``A lot of women would be happy if it hit their ex-
husband's car,'' Jaye replied.
Some people called to pass on information about impassable
streets. One was looking for a pet hotel. Another warned
about the hazards of operating a generator indoors.
Jaye, 52, a veteran radio personality with a soothing voice
and the patience of a traffic cop, was in his element.
``I had a lady call about a generator, which she needed for
her husband's oxygen tank,'' he said Tuesday, taking a break
from the microphone. ``A friend of hers called the next
morning to tell us that within 40 minutes of that call, a man
from Springfield was on his way to her house with a
generator. You hear stuff like that and go `How cool is
that?' ''
``That's as important as it gets,'' he said.
The only breaks came when there were studio guests. Mayor
Christopher Louras, Fire Chief Robert Schlachter, police
Officer Tim Tuttle and utility company spokesman Steve
Costello all made appearances, eager to get word out about
the condition of the city and the severity of the outages.
``We have 1,000 trees down,'' said Schlachter, asking
callers not to bother reporting downed trees that posed no
hazard. ``If it's against a car, or you see arcing and
sparking or someone in a car, let us know.''
All that day and into Tuesday, as utility crews raced to
address downed power lines and crippled substations, lines
remained open.
Sometimes, the information they got was erroneous, and
later corrected. Rutland Regional Medical Center was said to
be open only for emergencies; soon after, Jaye corrected
himself, saying anyone with an appointment there should go to
it,
And there were callers like the one from Forest Dale, who
lost power and reported winds howling ``like a train''
outside his home but appreciated having someone on the air.
``Boy, this is a real case for having radio stations that
are staffed by actual live people. Thanks to you guys for
getting into work and getting on the air,'' he told Jaye.
On Tuesday afternoon, WJJR started easing back into its
normal format, as power began returning to many of the 50,000
homes and businesses in Rutland and elsewhere that had lost
it.
Brian Collamore, 56, of sister station WSYB, also worked
the impromptu storm-a-thon with Jaye and studio sidekick
Nanci Gordon. He called situations like it the reason he got
into radio in the first place.
``Satellite radio can't do this. TV can't do this. The
Internet can't do this. When push comes to shove, and you're
in a situation like this, this is the only medium that can do
this,'' he said.
[[Page S5111]]
____
[From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Oct. 16, 2006]
2 Stations Take Real-Time Lead--KSSK Radio and KITV Become the Primary
Sources for the Latest News After the Quakes
(By Gary C.W. Chun)
Soon after the earthquakes hit yesterday morning, ``the
coconut wireless'' kicked into high gear at KSSK radio,
getting out the news as quickly as possible to anxious local
listeners.
At another building, KITV was using the Internet to stream
its newscast on its Web site to a worldwide audience.
The key for such rapid response: backup generators.
Also, KSSK is the state's designated emergency action
system radio station, connected to the state Civil Defense,
and is expected to stay on the air.
Popular morning personalities Michael W. Perry and Larry
Price took over the microphones around 9 a.m., relieving on-
air personality Kathy Nakagawa and director of programming
Paul Wilson, who broke into recorded public-service
programming an hour earlier.
``When it's something of this magnitude, it's Perry-and-
Price time,'' Nakagawa said.
With the help of their listener ``posse,'' the familiar duo
were the voices for the constantly flowing information,
staying on the air for most of the day. Nakagawa and Wilson
hung around to help. ``It feels great to be here,'' Nakagawa
said. ``Those two are such a reassuring presence, just
passing on the info to the public as we get it.''
``Everyone's working well in crisis mode,'' Wilson said.
``And everyone on staff that was needed came in on their
own,'' Nakagawa said.
``I'm planning to stay put till the power is restored,''
said Hawaii National Guard public relations officer Maj.
Chuck Anthony, who was at the KSSK studios. ``Coincidentally,
the Guard is on drill weekend, with about 5,000 at the ready
at duty stations and armories. We're just waiting to get
damage assessment teams assembled.''
Simulcasting on most of the other Clear Channel-owned
stations, chief engineer Dale Machado, looking at all the
activity around him, said ``when something like this happens,
it's back to basics. You dig out your transistor radio and
turn it on for the news.''
Regular morning newscaster Julia Norton-Dennis and
assistant Gina Garcia were busily screening phone calls in
the adjoining room to the on-air studio, occasionally typing
up messages to send to Perry and Price for their immediate
attention. Announcements about the cancellation and
postponement of scheduled events and airline flights, the
occasional emergency tip and the inevitable ``will there be
school tomorrow?'' were all taken care of on air.
Gov. Linda Lingle called the station around 1 p.m. for her
latest assessment of the disaster that struck especially
close to her, having stayed at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel in
Kohala the previous night.
JUST AS KSSK was able to stream its audio on its Web site,
KITV was doing the same thing, albeit with the additional
help of its news staff and technicians.
KHON and KGMB were unable to stream their newscasts,
although they did broadcast newscasts and updates when power
was available.
KHNL/KFVE Internet coordinator Mike Strong said that with
the help of a fellow Raycom station in Tyler, Texas, they
were able to update information on its Web site and had set
up a Yahoo! address to have people send digital photos of
quake damage and information.
Photos were also sent to KITV, which inserted some of them
into the streaming newscast.
KITV General Manager Mike Rosenberg said that anchor Pamela
Young started it off around 8:15 a.m. from the update desk,
with Paula Akana and Shawn Ching joining later.
``Coincidentally, we were in the process of doing emergency
continuity planning, in light of what happened to our sister
Hearst-Argyle-owned station in New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina,'' said Rosenberg. ``We realized that even though
we're not on the air, we could start streaming our newscast
on the Internet.''
CNN's pipeline premium subscriber service even picked up
the KITV Webcast for further distribution on the Net.
Managing Editor Brent Suyama said that the station's site
would easily approach 1 million hits yesterday. ``I've
already received dozens of e-mails from people everywhere
thanking us for doing this. I even received one as far as
South Africa from a man who wanted to check on his mom.''
____
[From the Dotham Eagle, Mar. 14, 2007]
TV Weather Report Saves Life
(By Lance Griffin)
Enterprise.--The sound of a backhoe moving debris next door
rumbled as Gwen Black stood outside what is left of her
Henderson Street home.
A blue Enterprise High School stadium cushion rests in a
tree in her yard. It is one of the few trees left standing in
this neighborhood. An American flag flies from one of its
branches.
She still has moments when the tears come. This is one of
them. It is almost two weeks after the March 1 tornado, but
everything around her is a reminder of that terrible
afternoon.
``I'll be glad when they knock this house down so I don't
have to see it anymore,'' she said.
But Black is alive. She doesn't know how long she spent in
the hall of her modest brick house. Sometimes, it feels like
seconds, sometimes, hours. What she does know is a television
weather alert saved her life along with the lives of most of
her family.
Black, her three grandchildren, younger sister and her son
were home watching television that afternoon when Dothan
television station WDHN interrupted programming for a special
weather bulletin. A tornado had been spotted on the ground in
Enterprise. Meteorologist Greg Dee warned residents.
``I just remember him saying `Enterprise, take cover now,'
'' Black recalled.
Black and the others were in the living room at the front
of the house. She ordered everyone to the home's interior
hallway. She held the remote control in her hand and turned
up the volume as she backed into the hall.
At the same time, the twister was ravaging Enterprise High
School. Black's home sits across the street from the football
stadium. She and her husband bought the house last July, the
first house they ever bought together.
``That's when the power went out and the roof blew off,''
she said.
Black said she remembers reaching her arms around her
grandchildren, trying to protect them from flying glass and
other debris tossed into their home.
``We were screaming, yelling and crying,'' Black said.
When the storm passed, much of the home was gone. The
interior hall, however, remained. Black said a fireman
responded almost immediately and took them to safety.
Everyone was fine, other than a few scrapes and minor cuts
from the glass. When she walked outside, something was
missing.
``Where is our car-'' she asked.
The wind snatched the Black's 2005 Mazda Tribute and tossed
it into a back room of the house.
A few days later, a relative sent an e-mail to WDHN,
letting management know Dee's report spurred the family to
act.
Black and Dee met for the first time Tuesday at the
Henderson Street home. Black cried and her hands trembled as
she embraced Dee.
``If it hadn't been for you, we would have been dead. I
know it,'' she said.
Dee walked through the destroyed home as Black showed him
where the family huddled to avoid the storm.
``You talk about it on television, but when you see it
first-hand, it brings it home,'' Dee said. ``Just the fact we
were able to make a difference means something. When I got
that e-mail on my desk and read it, I just welled up.''
Workers will tear down what is left of Black's home soon,
but she plans to rebuild there.
``No tornado is going to move us away,'' she said.
______
By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Smith and Ms. Collins):
S.J. Res. 12. A joint resolution providing for the recognition of
Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel before the United States
recognizes a Palestinian state, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text
of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the joint resolution was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S.J. Res. 12
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ``Jerusalem
Resolution''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for
3,000 years.
(2) Jerusalem has never been the capital for any other
state other than for the Jewish people.
(3) Jerusalem is central to Judaism and is cited in the
Tanach, the Hebrew Bible, 766 times.
(4) Jerusalem is not mentioned by name in the Koran.
(5) Every sovereign nation has the right to designate its
own capital.
(6) Jerusalem is the seat of the Government of Israel,
including the President, the parliament, and the Supreme
Court.
(7) United States law states as a matter of United States
policy that Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of
Israel.
(8) Israel is the only country in which the United States
neither maintains an embassy in the city designated as the
capital by the host country nor recognizes such city as the
capital.
(9) The citizens of Israel should be allowed to worship
freely and according to their traditions.
(10) Israel supports religious freedom for all faiths.
(11) Relocating the United States Embassy in Israel from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would
[[Page S5112]]
express the continued support of the United States for Israel
and for an undivided Jerusalem.
(12) The year 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the
reunification of Jerusalem.
SEC. 3. LOCATION OF UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN ISRAEL.
Not later than 180 days before recognizing a Palestinian
state, the United States shall move the United States Embassy
in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
SEC. 4. RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL AS UNDIVIDED CAPITAL OF ISRAEL.
The United States shall not recognize a Palestinian state
until the international community resolves the status of
Jerusalem by recognizing the city as the undivided capital of
Israel.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FREEDOM OF WORSHIP.
It is the sense of Congress that the citizens of Israel
should be allowed, as a fundamental human right recognized by
the United States and United Nations General Assembly
resolution 181 of November 29, 1947, to worship freely and
according to their traditions.
____________________