[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 72 (Thursday, May 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5565-S5602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

  By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Clinton, 
Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Obama):
  S. 1276. A bill to establish a grant program to facilitate the 
creation of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the bipartisan 
Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act of 2007. I am pleased to have 
the support and cosponsorship of Senator Grassley for this important 
legislation, and I look forward to working closely with Chairman Leahy 
and Ranking Member Specter to advance the bill through the judiciary 
Committee and to secure its enactment into law.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act will take the next step 
toward wiping out the domestic production of methamphetamine, or 
``meth.'' The bill will make it easier to use electronic logbook 
systems in order to monitor sales of meth precursor drugs and notify 
enforcement agencies when individuals illegally stockpile these 
precursors by traveling from pharmacy to pharmacy.
  This legislation is endorsed by the National Alliance of State Drug 
Enforcement Agencies, the National Narcotics Officers' Associations' 
Coalition, the National Criminal Justice Association, the National 
Sheriffs' Association, the Major County Sheriffs' Association, the 
National Troopers Coalition, the National District Attorneys 
Association, the National Association of Counties, and the Community 
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. I also want to commend and thank 
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and her staff for their 
assistance in preparing this legislation.
  For years, the manufacture and use of methamphetamine have plagued 
communities in Illinois and throughout the Nation. Meth is unique among 
illegal drugs in that its harms stem not only from its distribution and 
use, but also from the clandestine manufacturing labs that meth 
``cooks'' use to make meth. These labs pose serious dangers to those 
who live nearby and to the surrounding environment. Law enforcement 
agencies in Illinois and elsewhere are forced to devote a significant 
percentage of their time to locating, busting, and cleaning up meth 
labs.
  The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, ``Combat Meth Act,'' enacted 
in 2006, took several important steps to reduce domestic meth 
manufacturing. These steps included limiting the amount of meth 
precursor drug products that a purchaser can buy, such as 
pseudoephedrine, and requiring pharmacies to keep written or electronic 
logbooks recording each precursor purchase. The Combat Meth Act has led 
to a drop in the number of meth labs discovered in many States.
  However, domestic meth cooks have begun adapting to the Combat Meth 
Act. They have figured out how to circumvent the act's restrictions by 
``smurfing,'' or purchasing illegal amounts of meth precursor drugs by 
traveling to multiple pharmacies that keep written logbooks and buying 
legal quantities at each one. According to Illinois law enforcement 
authorities, smurfing now accounts for at least 90 percent of the 
pseudoephedrine used to make meth in Illinois.
  The next step in combating domestic meth production is to promote the 
use of effective electronic logbook systems. Law enforcement experts 
agree that if pharmacies maintain electronic logbook information and 
share that information with appropriate law enforcement and regulatory 
agencies, this information can be used to prevent the sale of meth 
precursor drugs in excess of legal limits, and to identify and 
prosecute ``smurfs'' and meth cooks.
  This legislation, the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act, 
facilitates and encourages the use of meth precursor electronic logbook 
systems in several ways.
  First, the bill revises the technical logbook requirements in the 
Combat Meth Act. While the Combat Meth Act provides for the use of 
electronic logbook systems, several of the act's requirements are not 
tailored for logbooks kept in electronic form. For example, under the 
act, a prospective purchaser must ``enter[] into the logbook his or her 
name, address, and the date and time of the sale.'' This requirement is 
unwieldy for retailers who use electronic logbook systems, because many 
purchasers cannot type quickly or accurately. The Methamphetamine 
Production Prevention Act would permit retailers' employees to type the 
name and address of a purchaser into an electronic logbook system, and 
would allow retailers to use software programs that automatically 
record the date and time of each sale. Under the bill, a retail 
employee would have to ensure that the name the employee types into the 
system matches the name on the ID that the purchaser is currently 
required to present.
  Also, the Combat Meth Act requires purchasers to sign a logbook at 
the time of sale, regardless of whether the seller uses a paper or 
electronic logbook. Collecting and retaining electronic signatures 
requires a large amount of computer memory, and the transmission of 
these electronic signature files to law enforcement agencies does not 
provide a significant law enforcement benefit. Sellers who use 
electronic logbook systems should be given the option of collecting 
signatures on paper, as long as those signatures are stored for the 
requisite 2-year retention period, and as long as the signatures are 
clearly linked to the electronically-captured sale information.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act would permit a seller 
who uses an electronic logbook to collect purchaser signatures through 
any of three different methods: (1) having the purchaser sign an 
electronic signature device; (2) having the purchaser sigh a bound 
paper book in which the signature is placed adjacent to a unique 
identifier number, or a printed sticker that clearly links the 
signature to the purchaser's logbook information; or (3) having the 
purchaser sign a document that the seller prints out at the time of 
sale that displays the required logbook information and contains a 
signature line. These options ensure that each purchaser's signature 
will be collected, but they give sellers flexibility in developing 
cost-effective electronic logbook systems.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act would also create a 
small but important Federal grant program to help States plan, create 
or enhance electronic logbook systems. Several States, including 
Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virginia and Kentucky, have already begun 
developing electronic logbook systems, and many other States 
are considering them. The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act 
authorizes $3 million in grants

[[Page S5566]]

to States and localities, with grants capped at a maximum of $300,000. 
The bill imposes a 25-percent State matching requirement, to ensure 
that States have, invested in their logbook systems and have a stake in 
ensuring the successful operation of these systems.

  Instead of mandating how States design their electronic logbook 
systems, the bill provides incentives for States to design effective 
logbook systems. Because meth smurfs frequently travel across State 
lines to stockpile meth precursors, State efforts to develop electronic 
logbook systems will be more successful if those efforts are 
coordinated with the activities of other states. The bill would 
therefore give priority to grant applicants whose logbook systems are 
developed in consultation with a working group of key Federal, State 
and private stakeholders spearheaded by the National Alliance for Model 
State Drug Laws. This working group will advise States on best 
practices in developing logbook systems and will help States develop 
logbook systems that are compatible and interoperable with other 
systems across the country.
  The bill also gives a grantmaking preference to applicants whose 
logbook systems are statewide, are capable of sharing information in 
real time, and are designed to share information across jurisdictional 
boundaries. At the same time, the bill preserves the privacy safeguards 
currently established under the Combat Meth Act and State law. To 
promote accountability, the bill requires the Attorney General to 
provide an annual report to Congress that evaluates the grant program 
and its effectiveness in curtailing meth production.
  The Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act does not mandate the 
use of electronic logbook systems, nor does it mandate the features 
that an electronic logbook system must possess. The bill respects the 
fact that States have enacted various types of anti-meth restrictions 
above the Federal Combat Meth Act baseline, and that pharmacies and 
retailers in different States have different capabilities with regard 
to electronic tracking. At the same time, we want to encourage States 
to coordinate their development of methamphetamine precursor electronic 
logbook systems so that smurfs will not be able to supply their meth 
labs by hopping across State lines. Our bill aims to strike a balance 
by coordinating the various State efforts, while still allowing States 
the flexibility to innovate and to respond to their specific State 
needs.
  There are many actions besides promoting electronic logbook systems 
that we must take to address the scourge of methamphetamine. For 
example, we must provide for the prevention and treatment of meth use, 
and we must also prevent the illegal distribution of meth and its 
precursors over the Internet and from other countries. However, law 
enforcement experts agree that electronic logbook systems are an 
important tool in our effort to combat meth, particularly domestic meth 
labs. We can, and should, do more to help make these logbook systems 
work.
  By facilitating and encouraging the use of electronic logbook 
systems, the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act will help wipe 
out domestic meth labs and the environmental and social harms they 
cause. The bill will also help free up law enforcement resources from 
meth lab busts and cleanup, allowing our law enforcement agencies to 
focus on other crime prevention and enforcement efforts. The production 
of methamphetamine has plagued our communities for far too long, and 
this legislation takes a critical step to stop it. I urge the Senate to 
pass this important bill.
  Mr. President, 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. 1276

       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 ``Methamphetamine Production 
     Prevention Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the manufacture, distribution and use of 
     methamphetamine have inflicted damages on individuals, 
     families, communities, businesses, the economy, and the 
     environment throughout the United States;
       (2) methamphetamine is unique among illicit drugs in that 
     the harms relating to methamphetamine stem not only from its 
     distribution and use, but also from the manufacture of the 
     drug by ``cooks'' in clandestine labs throughout the United 
     States;
       (3) Federal and State restrictions limiting the sale of 
     legal drug products that contain methamphetamine precursors 
     have reduced the number and size of domestic methamphetamine 
     labs;
       (4) domestic methamphetamine cooks have managed to 
     circumvent restrictions on the sale of methamphetamine 
     precursors by ``smurfing'', or purchasing impermissibly large 
     cumulative amounts of precursor products by traveling from 
     retailer to retailer and buying permissible quantities at 
     each retailer;
       (5) although Federal and State laws require retailers of 
     methamphetamine precursor products to keep written or 
     electronic logbooks recording sales of precursor products, 
     retailers are not always required to transmit this logbook 
     information to appropriate law enforcement and regulatory 
     agencies, except upon request;
       (6) when retailers' logbook information regarding sales of 
     methamphetamine precursor products is kept in a database in 
     an electronic format and transmitted between retailers and 
     appropriate law enforcement and regulatory agencies, such 
     information can be used to further reduce the number of 
     domestic methamphetamine labs by preventing the sale of 
     methamphetamine precursors in excess of legal limits, and by 
     identifying and prosecuting ``smurfs'' and others involved in 
     methamphetamine manufacturing;
       (7) States and local governments are already beginning to 
     develop such electronic logbook database systems, but they 
     are hindered by a lack of resources;
       (8) efforts by States and local governments to develop such 
     electronic logbook database systems may also be hindered by 
     logbook recordkeeping requirements contained in section 
     310(e) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 830(e)) 
     that are tailored to written logbooks and not to electronic 
     logbooks; and
       (9) providing resources to States and localities and making 
     technical corrections to the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic 
     Act of 2005 will allow more rapid and widespread development 
     of such electronic logbook systems, thereby reducing the 
     domestic manufacture of methamphetamine and its associated 
     harms.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act--
       (1) the term ``local'' means a county, city, town, 
     township, parish, village, or other general purpose political 
     subdivision of a State;
       (2) the term ``methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook 
     system'' means a system by which a regulated seller 
     electronically records and transmits to an electronic 
     database accessible to appropriate law enforcement and 
     regulatory agencies information regarding the sale of a 
     scheduled listed chemical product that is required to be 
     maintained under section 310(e) of the Controlled Substances 
     Act (21 U.S.C. 830(e)) (as amended by this Act), State law 
     governing the distribution of a scheduled listed chemical 
     product, or any other Federal, State, or local law;
       (3) the terms ``regulated seller'' and ``scheduled listed 
     chemical product'' have the meanings given such terms in 
     section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 
     and
       (4) the term ``State''--
       (A) means a State of the United States, the District of 
     Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of 
     the United States; and
       (B) includes an ``Indian tribe'', as that term is defined 
     in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 
     Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR EFFECTIVE METHAMPHETAMINE PRECURSOR 
                   ELECTRONIC LOGBOOK SYSTEMS.

       Section 310(e)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
     U.S.C. 830(e)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ``a written or 
     electronic list'' and inserting ``a written list or an 
     electronic list that complies with subparagraph (H)''; and
       (2) adding at the end the following:
       ``(H) Electronic logbooks.--
       ``(i) In general.--A logbook maintained in electronic form 
     shall include, for each sale to which the requirement of 
     subparagraph (A)(iii) applies, the name of any product sold, 
     the quantity of that product sold, the name and address of 
     each purchaser, the date and time of the sale, and any other 
     information required by State or local law.
       ``(ii) Sellers.--In complying with the requirements of 
     clause (i), a regulated seller may--

       ``(I) ask a prospective purchaser for the name and address, 
     and enter such information into the electronic logbook, and 
     if the seller enters the name and address of the prospective 
     purchaser into the electronic logbook, the seller shall 
     determine that the name entered into the electronic logbook 
     corresponds to the name provided on the identification 
     presented by the purchaser under subparagraph (A)(iv)(I)(aa); 
     and
       ``(II) use a software program that automatically and 
     accurately records the date and time of each sale.

       ``(iii) Purchasers.--A prospective purchaser in a sale to 
     which the requirement of

[[Page S5567]]

     subparagraph (A)(iii) applies that is being documented in an 
     electronic logbook shall provide a signature in at least 1 of 
     the following ways:

       ``(I) Signing a device presented by the seller that 
     captures signatures in an electronic format.
       ``(II) Signing a bound paper book.
       ``(III) Signing a printed document that corresponds to the 
     electronically-captured logbook information for such 
     purchaser.

       ``(iv) Electronic signatures.--

       ``(I) Device.--Any device used under clause (iii)(I) 
     shall--

       ``(aa) preserve each signature in a manner that clearly 
     links that signature to the other electronically-captured 
     logbook information relating to the prospective purchaser 
     providing that signature; and
       ``(bb) display information that complies with subparagraph 
     (A)(v).

       ``(II) Document retention.--A regulated seller that uses a 
     device under clause (iii)(I) to capture signatures shall 
     maintain each such signature for not less than 2 years after 
     the date on which that signature is captured.

       ``(v) Paper books.--

       ``(I) In general.--Any bound paper book used under clause 
     (iii)(II) shall--

       ``(aa) ensure that the signature of the prospective 
     purchaser is adjacent to a unique identifier number or a 
     printed sticker that clearly links that signature to the 
     electronically-captured logbook information relating to that 
     prospective purchaser; and
       ``(bb) display information that complies with subparagraph 
     (A)(v).

       ``(II) Document retention.--A regulated seller that uses 
     bound paper books under clause (iii)(II) shall maintain any 
     entry in such books for not less than 2 years after the date 
     on which that entry is made.

       ``(vi) Printed documents.--

       ``(I) In general.--Any printed document used under clause 
     (iii)(III) shall--

       ``(aa) be printed by the seller at the time of the sale 
     that document relates to;
       ``(bb) display information that complies with subparagraph 
     (A)(v);
       ``(cc) for the relevant sale, list the name of each product 
     sold, the quantity sold, the name and address of the 
     purchaser, and the date and time of the sale;
       ``(dd) contain a clearly identified signature line for a 
     purchaser to sign; and
       ``(ee) include a notice that the signer has read the 
     printed information and agrees that it is accurate.

       ``(II) Document retention.--

       ``(aa) In general.--A regulated seller that uses printed 
     documents under clause (iii)(III) shall maintain each such 
     document for not less than 2 years after the date on which 
     that document is signed.
       ``(bb) Secure storage.--Each signed document shall be 
     inserted into a binder or other secure means of document 
     storage immediately after the purchaser signs the 
     document.''.

     SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR METHAMPHETAMINE PRECURSOR ELECTRONIC 
                   LOGBOOK SYSTEMS.

       (a) Establishment.--The Attorney General of the United 
     States, through the Office of Justice Programs of the 
     Department of Justice, may make grants, in accordance with 
     such regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, to 
     State and local governments to plan, develop, implement, or 
     enhance methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems.
       (b) Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--A grant under this section may be used to 
     enable a methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook system 
     to--
       (A) indicate to a regulated seller, upon the entry of 
     information regarding a prospective purchaser into the 
     methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook system, whether 
     that prospective purchaser has been determined by appropriate 
     law enforcement or regulatory agencies to be eligible, 
     ineligible, or potentially ineligible to purchase a scheduled 
     listed chemical product under Federal, State, or local law; 
     and
       (B) provide contact information for a prospective purchaser 
     to use if the prospective purchaser wishes to question a 
     determination by appropriate law enforcement or regulatory 
     agencies that the prospective purchaser is ineligible or 
     potentially ineligible to purchase a scheduled listed 
     chemical product.
       (2) Access to information.--Any methamphetamine precursor 
     electronic logbook system planned, developed, implemented, or 
     enhanced with a grant under this section shall prohibit 
     accessing, using, or sharing information entered into that 
     system for any purpose other than to--
       (A) ensure compliance with this Act, section 310(e) of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 830(e)) (as amended by 
     this Act), State law governing the distribution of any 
     scheduled listed chemical product, or other applicable 
     Federal, State, or local law; or
       (B) facilitate a product recall to protect public safety.
       (c) Grant Requirements.--
       (1) Maximum amount.--The Attorney General shall not award a 
     grant under this section in an amount that exceeds $300,000.
       (2) Duration.--The period of a grant made under this 
     section shall not exceed 3 years.
       (3) Matching requirement.--Not less than 25 percent of the 
     cost of a project for which a grant is made under this 
     section shall be provided by non-Federal sources.
       (4) Preference for grants.--In awarding grants under this 
     section, the Attorney General shall give priority to any 
     grant application involving a proposed or ongoing 
     methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook system that is--
       (A) statewide in scope;
       (B) capable of real-time capture and transmission of 
     logbook information to appropriate law enforcement and 
     regulatory agencies;
       (C) designed in a manner that will facilitate the exchange 
     of logbook information between appropriate law enforcement 
     and regulatory agencies across jurisdictional boundaries, 
     including State boundaries; and
       (D) developed and operated, to the extent feasible, in 
     consultation and ongoing coordination with the Drug 
     Enforcement Administration, the Office of Justice Programs, 
     the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the non-profit 
     corporation described in section 1105 of the Office of 
     National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (21 
     U.S.C. 1701 note), other Federal, State, and local law 
     enforcement and regulatory agencies, as appropriate, and 
     regulated sellers.
       (5) Annual report.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than December 31 of each 
     calendar year in which funds from a grant received under this 
     section are expended, the Attorney General shall submit a 
     report to Congress containing--
       (i) a summary of the activities carried out with grant 
     funds during that year;
       (ii) an assessment of the effectiveness of the activities 
     described in clause (i) on the planning, development, 
     implementation or enhancement of methamphetamine precursor 
     electronic logbook systems;
       (iii) an assessment of the effect of the activities 
     described in clause (i) on curtailing the manufacturing of 
     methamphetamine in the United States and the harms associated 
     with such manufacturing; and
       (iv) a strategic plan for the year following the year of 
     that report.
       (B) Additional information.--The Attorney General may 
     require the recipient of a grant under this section to 
     provide information relevant to preparing any report under 
     subparagraph (A) in a report that grant recipient is required 
     to submit to the Office of Justice Programs of the Department 
     of Justice.

     SEC. 6. STUDY.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
     which grant funds under section 5 are first distributed, the 
     Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a 
     study and submit to Congress a report regarding the 
     effectiveness of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook 
     systems that receive funding under that section.
       (b) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a) 
     shall include--
       (1) a summary of the activities carried out with grant 
     funds during the previous year;
       (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the activities 
     described in paragraph (1) on the planning, development, 
     implementation or enhancement of methamphetamine precursor 
     electronic logbook systems in the United States;
       (3) an assessment of the extent to which proposed or 
     operational methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook 
     systems in the United States, including those that receive 
     funding under section 5, are--
       (A) statewide in scope;
       (B) capable of real-time capture and transmission of 
     logbook information to appropriate law enforcement and 
     regulatory agencies;
       (C) designed in a manner that will facilitate the exchange 
     of logbook information between appropriate law enforcement 
     and regulatory agencies across jurisdictional boundaries, 
     including State boundaries; and
       (D) developed and operated, to the extent feasible, upon 
     consultation with and in ongoing coordination with the Drug 
     Enforcement Administration, the Office of Justice Programs, 
     the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the non-profit 
     corporation described in section 1105 of the Office of 
     National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (21 
     U.S.C. 1701 note), other Federal, State, and local law 
     enforcement and regulatory agencies, as appropriate, and 
     regulated sellers;
       (4) an assessment of the effect of methamphetamine 
     precursor electronic logbook systems, including those that 
     receive funding under this Act, on curtailing the 
     manufacturing of methamphetamine in the United States and 
     reducing its associated harms;
       (5) recommendations for further curtailing the domestic 
     manufacturing of methamphetamine and reducing its associated 
     harms; and
       (6) such other information as the Comptroller General 
     determines appropriate.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act--
       (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and
       (2) such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year 
     thereafter.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, 
Senator Durbin, in introducing the Methamphetamine Production 
Prevention Act of 2007. Together we offer this important legislation in 
an effort to strengthen existing law by providing some necessary 
changes and updates.
  During my time in the Senate, I have come to the floor many times to 
speak about methamphetamine and how it has destroyed individuals, 
families, and

[[Page S5568]]

communities across the country. The Midwest was hit especially hard by 
meth and the impacts of this drug were devastating to rural areas. As 
opposed to other illegal drugs, meth is often times home cooked and 
made in rural areas using ingredients that are largely available over 
the counter. I am proud to say that Congress has taken action to attack 
this problem head on by working to cut off access to these over the 
counter products that form the basis of the drug.
  Legislation such as the Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005, Combat 
Meth Act of 2005, which was included into the USA Patriot Act 
Reauthorization in 2005 immediately impacted the production of home 
cooked meth. Just a week ago when I joined with Senator Feinstein in 
introducing two other separate bills, the Saving Kids from Dangerous 
Drugs Act and the Drug Endangered Children Act, I noted that because of 
the efforts of Congress in passing the Combat Meth Act, the number of 
clandestine meth lab seizures has dropped across the country.
  The Combat Meth Act was a tremendous step in the right direction 
limiting access to psuedoephedrine, PSE, the main ingredient in 
methamphetamine. The Combat Meth Act required this product to be 
removed from store shelves and placed behind the counter at pharmacies 
across the country. It also limited the number of products containing 
PSE a person could buy at once. Further, it required a logbook system 
be kept by pharmacies containing information regarding the individuals 
that purchased products containing PSE.
  Despite these successes, ever determined meth cooks and users have 
learned how to game this system and continue to produce home grown 
meth.
  The preferred method of these meth cooks is to ``smurf'' between 
different pharmacies for PSE products. Smurfing occurs when a person 
visits a number of different locations buying the legal maximum amount 
of PSE product at each site. The result is an amount of PSE sufficient 
to produce home cooked meth. Smurfing occurs because the Combat Meth 
Act only required that retailers keep a logbook which could be kept on 
paper or electronically. It did not require interoperability or 
electronic transmission of data. As a result, these unscrupulous 
individuals have learned that if they provide false information or 
visit multiple stores, tracking and arresting these individuals is more 
difficult and time consuming for law enforcement. This is especially 
true in metropolitan communities that share a common border, one such 
example is the Quad Cities on the Iowa/Illinois border.

  Recently, the Quad City Times highlighted the successes of the Combat 
Meth Act in an article titled, The Next Step in Meth War. This article 
detailed the efforts of a Scott County Deputy and his dedication in 
fighting the meth war. One noteworthy portion of this article raised a 
question about the lengths that were required for this deputy to do his 
job in combating mom and pop meth labs. The article stated, ``Now we're 
stuck with this image of a detective in each Iowa county sorting 
through thousands of paper forms.'' It read further, ``He must call 
county to county to find out if those purchasing the limit in Scott 
County might be doing so elsewhere as well.'' This statement gets right 
to the heart of our bill. We can't effectively combat meth if we don't 
close the smurfing loophole.
  To address this loophole, Senator Durbin and I have introduced the 
Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act of 2007. This legislation 
would revise the technical requirements of the Combat Meth Act to allow 
for electronic logbook systems. The bill would also create a Federal 
grant program for states looking to create or enhance existing 
electronic logbook systems. Finally, this bill would prioritize these 
Federal grants to states that design and implement the most effective 
systems for sharing information via an electronic logbook system.
  This legislation will take a big step forward in closing this 
loophole that home grown meth cooks abuse. Additionally, it does so 
without creating burdensome mandates upon states to meet requirements. 
This bill facilitates innovation and growth by offering financial 
assistance to states looking to create an electronic logbook system. By 
avoiding mandates, this legislation seeks to promote innovation and 
growth of electronic logbook systems.
  This bill has broad support from the law enforcement community and 
has been endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association, the National 
Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition, National Alliance of State 
Drug Enforcement Agencies, the National Criminal Justice Association, 
the National Troopers Coalition, the National District Attorneys 
Association, the National Association of Counties, and the Community 
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America among others.
  As you can see, this legislation has a broad base of support. Working 
together, state and local governments can use this legislation and 
grant program to create interoperable networks that will reduce the 
illegal smurfing of PSE products and lead us to the goal of ending 
domestic production of meth. I urge my colleagues, join us in support 
of this important legislation and pass the Methamphetamine Production 
Prevention Act of 2007 and help wipe out domestic production of meth.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the aforementioned 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                       [From the Quad-City Times]

                       The Next Step in Meth War

       Scott County Deputy Robert Jackson figures he searched 
     through 12,000 cold medicine receipts to find three possible 
     meth-making offenders. Needles have better odds in haystacks.
       His diligent work has nailed at least three alleged meth 
     makers who tried to skirt Iowa law restricting purchase of 
     pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making the recreational 
     poison.
       When Iowa lawmakers began talking about toughening meth 
     laws in 2005, we were among those cautious about what that 
     would mean to the privacy and convenience of the 99.9 percent 
     of Iowans who bought cold medicine for their colds. But the 
     scourge that is meth convinced us the intrusion was minor and 
     the impact could be major. We joined those supporting the 
     bill, which became law.
       Jackson's success in tracking down offenders affirms the 
     intent was correct. ``When I first started doing it, I'd find 
     12 offenders at a time,'' Jackson says of his paper-trail 
     detective work. Meth makers, indeed, were driving from store 
     to store to buy enough of the key ingredient to make enough 
     meth to sell.
       Now he says the pickings are slimmer. And, he says, the 
     county's biggest pharmacies are talking among themselves, 
     inquiring about people who are trying to buck the limit of 
     7,500 milligrams of pseudoephedrine per month. That's 
     eliminated the high volume meth makers.
       What's left, Jackson surmises, are personal meth-using 
     addicts who cook smaller amounts for themselves and a little 
     to deal. Jackson warns that meth use still rages, fueled by 
     drugs shipped from southern states. But the dangerous labs, 
     set up in hotels, cars, even public parks, have diminished 
     considerably, thanks to laws restricting access to 
     ingredients.
       Now we're stuck with this image of a detective in each Iowa 
     county sorting through thousands of paper forms. Although the 
     record-keeping is required, Jackson must get a court order to 
     view the records. He must call county to county to find out 
     if those purchasing the limit in Scott County might be doing 
     so elsewhere as well.
       We're wondering if a central registry of some sort might 
     help enforcement statewide, alerting authorities to 
     individuals making purchases in multiple counties. Compiling 
     the information electronically at the site of purchase 
     certainly would add costs and require careful planning to 
     assure privacy for the 99 percent of law-abiding 
     psuedoephedrine buyers. But it would trim significant 
     enforcement cost by eliminating the hours that officers like 
     Det. Jackson spend combing paper records. And it would detect 
     meth-makers skirting the law by spreading out their purchases 
     over several counties.

                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 1282. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for the exclusion from gross income of certain wages of a certified 
master teacher, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as you know, teachers are the most 
valuable resource when it comes to educating our Nation's children. 
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, (NCLB), States are required to 
recruit highly qualified teachers, yet schools in rural or high poverty 
areas have trouble attracting and retaining these teachers. It is for 
this reason that Senator Snowe and I have joined together to introduce 
The Master Teacher Act of 2007.
  We have an education problem in America. The schools that most need

[[Page S5569]]

experienced educators simply do not have the resources to attract and 
keep the best teachers. We must give our schools the tools they need to 
prepare our students to succeed.
  As currently designated by NCLB, 100 percent of our Nation's schools 
must meet Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP, in reading/language arts and 
mathematics by the 2013/2014 school year. To date, almost 26 percent of 
schools in the U.S. are not making the grade. According to a report 
released by the National Education Association last year, fewer schools 
met AYP in the 2004/2005 school year than the prior school year. In my 
home State of Maryland, 311 out of 1,429 schools, or almost 22 percent, 
did not make Adequate Yearly Progress, as defined by the No Child Left 
Behind Act and the State targets. During the 2005-2006 school year, 79 
schools, or about 6 percent of Maryland's elementary and secondary 
schools had missed Adequate Yearly Progress toward State achievement 
targets for 5 or more consecutive years. As a result they were placed 
in restructuring and were subject to a variety of major school-wide 
reform strategies. A large majority of these restructuring schools are 
urban schools, and more than half are in the Baltimore City Public 
School System.

  According to research, teacher quality is the schooling factor with 
the most profound effect on student achievement. Good teachers can make 
up to a full year's difference in learning growth for students and 
overwhelm the impact of any other educational investment, including 
smaller class sizes.
  Unfortunately, our educational system pairs the children most behind 
with teachers who, on average, have less experience, less education, 
and less skill than those who teach other children. Certainly, there 
are exceptions, excellent and experienced teachers who have devoted 
their lives to at-risk students. But the overall patterns are clear.
  Despite evidence that teachers become more effective after several 
years experience, students in high-poverty and high-minority schools 
are assigned to novice teachers almost twice as often as children in 
low-poverty schools. Classes in high-poverty and high-minority schools 
are much more likely to be taught by teachers without a major or minor 
in the subject they teach. Certainly, there are excellent first-year 
teachers and ineffective veterans. Indeed, mastery of a subject matter 
does not necessarily translate into effective teaching. But these 
proxies for teacher effectiveness are backed by substantial bodies of 
research. Studies of effective teachers reveal they are distributed 
among our Nation's schools in a manner that actually enlarges 
achievement gaps.
  We will only close student achievement gaps when we improve teacher 
quality and experience. We must make obtaining advanced training and 
experience in teaching more accessible and teaching at-risk students 
more desirable. In short, we must establish a class of ``master 
teachers'' with extensive experience and training who are willing to 
teach for an extended period of time in the schools that need them the 
most.
  Fortunately, research also shows even modest monetary incentives 
lower teacher attrition, especially in high-risk school districts. Our 
legislation will reward master teachers with a 25 percent Federal tax 
exemption on their salary for four years if they agree to teach in a 
school that is not meeting AYP. A master teacher is a teacher that has 
at least 5 years of teaching experience in a public elementary or 
secondary school, holds a master's degree, meets the definition of 
highly qualified as defined by the NCLB, and has obtained advanced 
certification in their state licensing system. Each State would have a 
cap of 10 percent of public school teachers eligible to receive master 
teacher tax treatment at a time. This program would go into effect in 
2007 and end with the 2013/2014 school year, when NCLB requires that 
100 percent of students perform at the proficient level.
  Good teachers are essential to a successful education system; they 
are the profession charged with educating our future work force. The 
Master Teacher Act of 2007 will provide our children access to the best 
possible teachers and our teachers much needed financial support.
  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. 1282

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. MASTER TEACHER EXCLUSION.

       (a) Master Teacher Exclusion.--Part III of subchapter B of 
     chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
     inserting after section 139A the following new section:

     ``SEC. 139B. CERTAIN WAGES OF CERTIFIED MASTER TEACHERS.

       ``(a) 25 Percent Exclusion.--Gross income does not include 
     25 percent of wages earned by a certified master teacher in 
     remuneration for employment at a qualified school in need of 
     improvement or a Head Start program assisted under the Head 
     Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
       ``(b) Certified Master Teacher.--For purposes of this 
     section--
       ``(1) In general.--The term `certified master teacher' 
     means any eligible teacher who is certified by a State as 
     being eligible for the exclusion from gross income provided 
     under subsection (a) with respect to wages earned during a 4-
     year certification period. A teacher shall not be treated as 
     a certified master teacher except during the certification 
     period.
       ``(2) Recertification prohibited.--A teacher shall not be 
     certified as a certified master teacher for more than one 
     certification period.
       ``(3) State limitation on number of certified master 
     teachers.--A State may not certify any teacher if such 
     certification would result (at the time of such 
     certification) in more than 10 percent of the State's public 
     school teachers being certified master teachers.
       ``(c) Qualified School in Need of Improvement.--For 
     purposes of this section, the term `qualified school in need 
     of improvement' means, with respect to any certified master 
     teacher--
       ``(1) the school in need of improvement which first employs 
     such teacher during the certification period,
       ``(2) any school in need of improvement which subsequently 
     employs such teacher, but only if each school in need of 
     improvement which previously employed such teacher during the 
     certification period has ceased to be a school in need of 
     improvement, and
       ``(3) any school described in paragraph (1) or (2) which 
     ceases to be a school in need of improvement, but only if 
     such teacher was employed by such school (during such 
     teacher's certification period) at the time that such school 
     ceased to be a school in need of improvement.
       ``(d) School in Need of Improvement.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term `school in need of improvement' means a 
     public elementary or secondary school that--
       ``(1) is identified for school improvement, corrective 
     action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316), and
       ``(2) is eligible for a schoolwide program under section 
     1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 6314).
       ``(e) Eligible Teacher.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term `eligible teacher' means a teacher who--
       ``(1) has had at least 5 years of teaching experience in a 
     public elementary or secondary school,
       ``(2) is highly qualified, as defined in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801),
       ``(3) has a master's degree, and
       ``(4) has earned--
       ``(A) advanced certification in the teacher's State 
     licensing system, or
       ``(B) in the case of a teacher in a State that does not 
     offer advanced certification, certification from the National 
     Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
       ``(f) Certification Period.--For purposes of this section, 
     the term `certification period' means, with respect to any 
     certified master teacher, the 4-year period described in 
     subsection (b).
       ``(g) State Identification Required on Return.--With 
     respect to any certified master teacher, no exclusion shall 
     be allowed under subsection (a) for any taxable year unless 
     the certified master teacher includes the State in which the 
     teacher has been certified on the certified master teacher's 
     return of tax for such taxable year.
       ``(h) Termination.--This section shall not apply to any 
     taxable year beginning after December 31, 2013.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part III 
     of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
     section 139A the following new item:

``Sec. 139B. Certain wages of certified master teachers.''.

       (c) Report to Congress.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall transmit to the Congress for each of calendar years 
     2007 through 2013 an annual report stating, with respect to 
     each State, the number of individuals certified by such State 
     as certified master teachers who were allowed an exclusion 
     from gross income under section 139B of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 for a taxable year ending in such calendar year.

[[Page S5570]]

       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2006.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. Chambliss):
  S. 1283. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 
management of medical care, personnel actions, and quality of life 
issues for members of the Armed Forces who are receiving medical care 
in an outpatient status, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Armed Services.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague and 
my good friend, the Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Pryor, in introducing 
legislation to ensure that the medical needs of wounded service men and 
women are properly met and that the military bureaucracy does not 
interfere with their recovery progress.
  We have watched with embarrassment and compassion as the unacceptable 
conditions of some of our military medical care facilities and housing 
facilities were revealed and shown to the public. Clearly, we owe our 
wounded military personnel the best treatment and care that can be 
offered. This bill we are introducing today will help provide that.
  Let me say, first of all, I have recently had the opportunity to 
visit the Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon, GA, as well as the 
medical facility at Fort Benning, GA, and I am reminded once again that 
medical care given to our military men and women is truly second to 
none. Are there exceptions? Sure. There are problems that arise from 
time to time in the delivery of health care services to our military 
men and women. Our purpose today is to try to make some of the 
bureaucracy go away and to try to help make sure our medical suppliers 
at all of our military facilities around the country and around the 
world have the ability to deliver the very best medical care to our men 
and women.
  Our bill, S. 1283, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, will 
improve the access to and quality of the health care our military 
personnel receive by requiring that case managers for personnel in 
medical holdover status handle no more than 17 cases and review each 
case once a week.
  Our bill will also create a system of patient advocates who can help 
personnel navigate the cumbersome medical board and review process, as 
well as add necessary funding to hire additional physicians.
  Our bill increases training for health care professionals, medical 
case managers, and patient advocates, with an emphasis on identifying 
and treating difficult-to-diagnose and complex conditions, such as 
post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
  Our bill establishes a toll-free hotline for patients and their 
families to report problems with medical facilities or patient care and 
creates an independent advocate to counsel servicemembers appearing 
before medical evaluation boards.
  Our bill creates a wounded warrior battalion, which will be an Army 
pilot program to improve the transition from military to civilian life 
for wounded combat veterans, as well as track and assist members of the 
Armed Forces who are in outpatient status and in need of medical 
treatment. More than 24,900 soldiers have been wounded in Iraq. We owe 
it to them and their loved ones to have a responsive health care system 
in place, in addition to the very best medical care available.
  This legislation increases the resources available to our veterans in 
order to allow them to focus on their recovery rather than redtape. 
Heroes such as these need and deserve the best medical care and 
attention we can offer them, and this bill will help provide that. They 
do not need to be disadvantaged by an outdated, bureaucratic process 
that adds more stress to their recovery process.
  Our legislation is a step in the right direction to reform and 
modernize the outpatient treatment process and will increase the morale 
and welfare of our recovering servicemembers. They deserve our fullest 
support, and we are committed to meeting their needs.
  This bill mirrors H.R. 1538, which was passed by the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 426 to 0 on March 28 of this year.
  I thank Senator Pryor for the chance to work together with him on 
this important legislation. He and I have had the opportunity to work 
on any number of measures during our now going on 5 years in the 
Senate. He is a true champion of not just our wounded but all of our 
military personnel, and it has been a pleasure to work with him.
  I commend this bill to all of my colleagues. I hope we can move to a 
swift passage of the bill so we can present it to the President for his 
signature. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas is recognized.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Georgia for his 
kind remarks. Of course, everybody in the Senate knows what a friend to 
the men and women in uniform Senator Chambliss has been since he has 
been in the Senate. I am sure that also relates back to his House days. 
He has really been a fabulous leader for our soldiers, and it is an 
honor for me to ask him to join me in the Wounded Warrior Act.
  Last Friday, I had the chance to go to Walter Reed and see three 
Arkansans who were injured in various ways in Iraq. It is always a 
sobering experience to go see our soldiers whom we are so proud of. We 
are proud of the people who put on the uniform and put their lives in 
jeopardy for the principles of this country. And we have other 
facilities, not just Walter Reed. I know that is the one that gets the 
most publicity nationally. Obviously, every State or region has a lot 
of facilities. In Little Rock, there is the John McClellan Veterans 
Hospital, which I visited not too long ago, and we have at least a 
couple of other very good facilities in our State. They offer, 
generally speaking, great care. We know that sometimes people fall 
through the cracks, but we are very proud of our VA presence in the 
State of Arkansas.
  I must say that in my office in Little Rock--and the one here, for 
that matter--we have people on staff who deal and work with soldiers 
virtually on a daily basis--people who are in the VA system who, for 
some reason, have run into some bureaucratic roadblock or a file gets 
lost or a record gets lost or some box doesn't get checked or whatever 
the case may be. We, more or less, like many colleagues here, have 
full-time staff who do that on virtually a full-time basis. We are 
honored to help the citizens of our State in any way we can, but we 
also would like to say that we can help the VA system run better and 
provide better health care with less bureaucracy.
  Arkansas has had about 40 soldiers killed in Iraq. It has been a very 
hard circumstance for our State to go through. It impacts every 
community in the State and almost every family in the State. In 
addition to those 40, which obviously are going to get more notice and 
publicity and discussion, as they should, there are 369 Arkansans who 
have been injured in Iraq. Those numbers track fairly well what the 
national numbers are.
  Across this Nation, there have been 11,215 soldiers, at last count, 
who have been wounded in Iraq so severely that they have not been able 
to return to duty. So it is critical that we have legislation such as 
the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. It will require case managers for 
outpatients to handle no more than 17 cases. They will have to review 
each case weekly. It creates a system of patient advocates within our 
health care system. It increases training for health care 
professionals, medical case managers, and patient advocates, with an 
emphasis on identifying and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and 
traumatic brain injuries. It establishes a toll-free hotline for 
patients and families to report problems with medical facilities or 
patient care. It creates an independent advocate to counsel 
servicemembers appearing before medical evaluation boards. We think all 
of those are healthy, positive, and constructive reforms. We think the 
time has come for this to happen.
  Senator Chambliss, a few moments ago, mentioned that the House passed 
this legislation 426 to 0. They did that late last month. It is the 
Senate's turn to weigh in and be on record for helping our wounded 
warriors.
  The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act allows them to focus on healing 
and not be frustrated by redtape. It improves the access and quality of 
care our veterans receive. It puts an advocate on their side. We know 
that with any large organization, there will be

[[Page S5571]]

some bureaucracy and files will be lost and information gets misplaced. 
We understand that. But, hopefully, what this will do is streamline the 
process and make the system work a lot better for those who have been 
willing to make the sacrifice for this country.
  Mr. President, I think this is important legislation because it does 
good things, but it is also symbolic legislation. It shows our members 
of the military that we are willing--their Government and the people of 
this country--to stand behind them during and after their Active-Duty 
service.
  I ask that my colleagues give this legislation their strong 
consideration. The House passed it overwhelmingly. I hope we will have 
broad-based, bipartisan support in this body. It is an honor for me to 
offer it with my lead cosponsor, Senator Chambliss of Georgia.
  I yield the floor.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
        Stabenow, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
        Johnson, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. 
        Kennedy):
  S. 1284. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for the taxation of income of controlled foreign corporations 
attributable to imported property; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today I am joined by Senators Mikulski, 
Durbin, Stabenow, Rockefeller, Levin, Feinstein, Johnson, Harkin, 
Feingold, Leahy, Kohl, and Kennedy in introducing legislation to close 
an insidious loophole in the U.S. Tax Code that actually rewards U.S. 
companies that move American manufacturing jobs overseas. Some may 
think this is a belated April Fools' Day joke; regrettably, it is not. 
Let me explain how this perverse tax break for these companies works.
  When a U.S. company closes down a U.S. manufacturing plant, fires its 
American workers, and moves those good-paying jobs to China or other 
locations abroad, U.S. tax laws allow these firms to defer paying any 
U.S. income taxes on the earnings from those now foreign-manufactured 
products until those profits are returned, if ever, to this country. 
This tax break is not available to American companies that make the 
very same products here on American soil. So the U.S. company that 
decides to stay at home suffers a competitive disadvantage, a 
disadvantage that our tax laws have helped to create. Multinational 
companies ought to pay the same taxes that domestic companies pay. At a 
minimum, U.S. companies that keep their jobs here should not be put at 
a competitive disadvantage by Federal tax policy.
  The notion that granting large tax breaks to companies that move 
their manufacturing operations offshore is good for this country is 
utter nonsense. Among other things, those who support this half-cocked 
fiscal policy claim that shutting down U.S. manufacturing operations 
and moving them abroad will result in more U.S. jobs and increase our 
exports.
  However, this assertion is not supported by the facts. According to 
the latest available data, the number of foreign manufacturing 
affiliates has grown from 7,420 to 8,490, up some 14 percent since 
1993. From 1993 though 2004, U.S. companies moved 1 million 
manufacturing jobs offshore to their foreign affiliates.
  Throughout this entire period, this perverse deferral break has been 
in effect. Has it resulted in new U.S. manufacturing jobs? No. We have 
lost some 3.2 million U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2000 alone. Has 
this misguided tax subsidy resulted in higher exports from U.S. 
companies to their foreign affiliates as the proponents of this tax 
subsidy suggest? No. In fact, imports into the United States from the 
foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies more than doubled from $92 
billion in 1993 to $203 billion in 2004. And the balance of trade with 
foreign affiliates of U.S. firms plummeted to a $72 billion deficit in 
2004 as compared to $3.4 billion in 1997.
  I have been working to end this wrong-headed Federal tax break for 
many years. Senator Mikulski and I have forced the Senate to vote to 
repeal this tax subsidy several times. I have described stories on the 
Senate floor about a number of American companies that have moved 
production overseas, companies like Huffy bicycles and Radio Flyer 
little red wagons to China; Samsonite, which went to Mexico and then 
China; Levi's, which are now made all over the world, everywhere except 
in the very country that invented them; Maytag, which now makes 
appliances in Mexico and Korea; and Fruit of the Loom, which moved to 
Mexico. And I would point out, once again, that this tax deferral break 
given to companies like Radio Flyer or formerly to Huffy bicycles is 
not available to American companies that make the very same products on 
U.S. main streets.
  But we have run into stiff opposition from many U.S. multinational 
companies, their lobbyists, and some policymakers who claim our 
proposal would impede the ability of U.S. firms to compete and grow in 
the global economy. That is hogwash. This proposal does nothing to 
hinder U.S. multinationals that produce abroad from competing with 
foreign firms in foreign markets. The legislation we are introducing 
today is carefully targeted; it ends the deferral tax break only where 
U.S. multinationals produce goods abroad and ship those products back 
to the U.S. market. In more technical language, this legislation would 
end tax deferral for the ``imported property'' income of controlled 
foreign corporations. The proposal also adds a new separate foreign tax 
credit basket for imported property income. The separate foreign tax 
credit basket is an anti-abuse provision that will stop U.S. 
multinational companies from using the foreign tax credit to shelter 
profits generated in a tax haven country by preventing the cross-
crediting of high foreign taxes on general income against the U.S. tax 
on imported property income that is subject to low foreign taxes.
  The tax experts with the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that 
this pernicious tax break will costs U.S. taxpayers some $15.5 billion 
over the next decade. It is no wonder that the powerful lobby for the 
largest U.S. multinational firms has fought to keep this tax loophole 
fully intact. But as I have told my colleagues on the Senate floor a 
number of times, I intend to offer this proposal again and again until 
this tax subsidy is finally repealed.
  I understand that some U.S. companies will still choose, with or 
without this tax subsidy, to dislocate thousands of workers in America 
in search of cheaper labor, lax regulation, and greater profits abroad 
at whatever the cost. They will be free to do so. But at least U.S. 
taxpayers will not be asked to provide billions of dollars in tax 
subsidies for those who do.
  I urge all of my colleagues in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans 
alike, to take a fresh look at this issue and help us do what Congress 
should have done many years ago; that is, repeal this ill-conceived tax 
break once and for all.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. 
        Obama):
  S. 1285. A bill to reform the financing of Senate elections, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 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. 1285

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fair 
     Elections Now Act''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

     TITLE I--FAIR ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

              Subtitle A--Fair Elections Financing Program

Sec. 101. Findings and declarations.
Sec. 102. Eligibility requirements and benefits of fair elections 
              financing of Senate election campaigns.

    ``TITLE V--FAIR ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

``Sec. 501. Definitions.
``Sec. 502. Senate Fair Elections Fund.
``Sec. 503. Eligibility for allocations from the Fund.
``Sec. 504. Seed money contribution requirement.

[[Page S5572]]

``Sec. 505. Qualifying contribution requirement.
``Sec. 506. Contribution and expenditure requirements.
``Sec. 507. Debate requirement.
``Sec. 508. Certification by Commission.
``Sec. 509. Benefits for participating candidates.
``Sec. 510. Allocations from the Fund.
``Sec. 511. Payment of fair fight funds.
``Sec. 512. Administration of the Senate fair elections system.
``Sec. 513. Violations and penalties.
Sec. 103. Reporting requirements for nonparticipating candidates.
Sec. 104. Modification of electioneering communication reporting 
              requirements.
Sec. 105. Limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party 
              committees with participating candidates.
Sec. 106. Audits.

            Subtitle B--Senate Fair Elections Fund Revenues

Sec. 111. Deposit of proceeds from recovered spectrum auctions.

              Subtitle C--Fair Elections Review Commission

Sec. 121. Establishment of Commission.
Sec. 122. Structure and membership of the commission.
Sec. 123. Powers of the Commission.
Sec. 124. Administration.
Sec. 125. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 126. Expedited consideration of Commission recommendations.

                      TITLE II--VOTER INFORMATION

Sec. 201. Broadcasts relating to candidates.
Sec. 202. Political advertisement vouchers for participating 
              candidates.
Sec. 203. FCC to prescribe standardized form for reporting candidate 
              campaign ads.
Sec. 204. Limit on Congressional use of the franking privilege.

     TITLE III--RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Sec. 301. Petition for certiorari.
Sec. 302. Filing by Senate candidates with Commission.
Sec. 303. Electronic filing of FEC reports.

                   TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Severability.
Sec. 402. Review of constitutional issues.
Sec. 403. Effective date.

     TITLE I--FAIR ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

              Subtitle A--Fair Elections Financing Program

     SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

       (a) Undermining of Democracy by Campaign Contributions From 
     Private Sources.--The Senate finds and declares that the 
     current system of privately financed campaigns for election 
     to the United States Senate has the capacity, and is often 
     perceived by the public, to undermine democracy in the United 
     States by--
       (1) creating a conflict of interest, perceived or real, by 
     encouraging Senators to accept large campaign contributions 
     from private interests that are directly affected by Federal 
     legislation;
       (2) diminishing or giving the appearance of diminishing a 
     Senator's accountability to constituents by compelling 
     legislators to be accountable to the major contributors who 
     finance their election campaigns;
       (3) violating the democratic principle of ``one person, one 
     vote'' and diminishing the meaning of the right to vote by 
     allowing monied interests to have a disproportionate and 
     unfair influence within the political process;
       (4) imposing large, unwarranted costs on taxpayers through 
     legislative and regulatory outcomes shaped by unequal access 
     to lawmakers for campaign contributors;
       (5) driving up the cost of election campaigns, making it 
     difficult for qualified candidates without personal wealth or 
     access to campaign contributions from monied individuals and 
     interest groups to mount competitive Senate election 
     campaigns;
       (6) disadvantaging challengers, because large campaign 
     contributors tend to donate their money to incumbent 
     Senators, thus causing Senate elections to be less 
     competitive; and
       (7) burdening incumbents with a preoccupation with 
     fundraising and thus decreasing the time available to carry 
     out their public responsibilities.
       (b) Enhancement of Democracy by Providing Allocations From 
     the Senate Fair Elections Fund.--The Senate finds and 
     declares that providing the option of the replacement of 
     private campaign contributions with allocations from the 
     Senate Fair Elections Fund for all primary, runoff, and 
     general elections to the Senate would enhance American 
     democracy by--
       (1) eliminating the potentially inherent conflict of 
     interest created by the private financing of the election 
     campaigns of public officials, thus restoring public 
     confidence in the integrity and fairness of the electoral and 
     legislative processes;
       (2) increasing the public's confidence in the 
     accountability of Senators to the constituents who elect 
     them;
       (3) helping to eliminate access to wealth as a determinant 
     of a citizen's influence within the political process and to 
     restore meaning to the principle of ``one person, one vote'';
       (4) reversing the escalating cost of elections and saving 
     taxpayers billions of dollars that are (or that are perceived 
     to be) currently allocated based upon legislative and 
     regulatory agendas skewed by the influence of campaign 
     contributions;
       (5) creating a more level playing field for incumbents and 
     challengers by creating genuine opportunities for all 
     Americans to run for the Senate and by encouraging more 
     competitive elections; and
       (6) freeing Senators from the incessant preoccupation with 
     raising money, and allowing them more time to carry out their 
     public responsibilities.

     SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS OF FAIR 
                   ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION 
                   CAMPAIGNS.

       The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

    ``TITLE V--FAIR ELECTIONS FINANCING OF SENATE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

     ``SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title:
       ``(1) Allocation from the fund.--The term `allocation from 
     the Fund' means an allocation of money from the Senate Fair 
     Elections Fund to a participating candidate pursuant to 
     sections 510 and 511.
       ``(2) Fair elections qualifying period.--The term `fair 
     elections qualifying period' means, with respect to any 
     candidate for Senator, the period--
       ``(A) beginning on the date on which the candidate files a 
     statement of intent under section 503(a)(1); and
       ``(B) ending on the date that is 30 days before--
       ``(i) the date of the primary election; or
       ``(ii) in the case of a State that does not hold a primary 
     election, the date prescribed by State law as the last day to 
     qualify for a position on the general election ballot.
       ``(3) Fair elections start date.--The term `fair elections 
     start date' means, with respect to any candidate, the date 
     that is 180 days before--
       ``(A) the date of the primary election; or
       ``(B) in the case of a State that does not hold a primary 
     election, the date prescribed by State law as the last day to 
     qualify for a position on the general election ballot.
       ``(4) Fund.--The term `Fund' means the Senate Fair 
     Elections Fund established by section 502.
       ``(5) Immediate family.--The term `immediate family' means, 
     with respect to any candidate--
       ``(A) the candidate's spouse;
       ``(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grandparent, brother, 
     half-brother, sister, or half-sister of the candidate or the 
     candidate's spouse; and
       ``(C) the spouse of any person described in subparagraph 
     (B).
       ``(6) Independent candidate.--The term `independent 
     candidate' means a candidate for Senator who is--
       ``(A) not affiliated with any political party; or
       ``(B) affiliated with a political party that--
       ``(i) in the case of a candidate in a State that holds a 
     primary election for Senator, does not hold a primary 
     election for Senator; or
       ``(ii) in the case of a candidate in a State that does not 
     hold primary election for Senator, does not have ballot 
     status in such State.
       ``(7) Major party candidate.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `major party candidate' means a 
     candidate for Senator who is affiliated with a major 
     political party.
       ``(B) Major political party.--The term `major political 
     party' means, with respect to any State, a political party of 
     which a candidate for the office of Senator, President, or 
     Governor in the preceding 5 years, received, as a candidate 
     of that party in such State, 25 percent or more of the total 
     number of popular votes cast for such office in such State.
       ``(8) Minor party candidate.--The term `minor party 
     candidate' means a candidate for Senator who is affiliated 
     with a political party that--
       ``(A) holds a primary for Senate nominations; and
       ``(B) is not a major political party.
       ``(9) Nonparticipating candidate.--The term 
     `nonparticipating candidate' means a candidate for Senator 
     who is not a participating candidate.
       ``(10) Participating candidate.--The term `participating 
     candidate' means a candidate for Senator who is certified 
     under section 508 as being eligible to receive an allocation 
     from the Fund.
       ``(11) Qualifying contribution.--The term `qualifying 
     contribution' means, with respect to a candidate, a 
     contribution that--
       ``(A) is in the amount of $5 exactly;
       ``(B) is made by an individual who--
       ``(i) is a resident of the State with respect to which the 
     candidate is seeking election; and
       ``(ii) is not prohibited from making a contribution under 
     this Act;
       ``(C) is made during the fair elections qualifying period; 
     and
       ``(D) meets the requirements of section 505(c).
       ``(12) Seed money contribution.--The term `seed money 
     contribution' means a contribution or contributions by any 1 
     individual--
       ``(A) aggregating not more than $100; and
       ``(B) made to a candidate after the date of the most recent 
     previous election for the office which the candidate is 
     seeking and before the date the candidate has been certified 
     as a participating candidate under section 508(a).

[[Page S5573]]

     ``SEC. 502. SENATE FAIR ELECTIONS FUND.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury 
     a fund to be known as the `Senate Fair Elections Fund'.
       ``(b) Amounts Held by Fund.--The Fund shall consist of the 
     following amounts:
       ``(1) Proceeds from recovered spectrum.--Proceeds deposited 
     into the Fund under section 309(j)(8)(E)(ii)(II) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934.
       ``(2) Excess spectrum user fees.--Amounts deposited in the 
     Fund under section 315A(f)(2)(B)(ii) of the Communications 
     Act of 1934.
       ``(3) Voluntary contributions.--Voluntary contributions to 
     the fund.
       ``(4) Qualifying contributions, penalties, and other 
     deposits.--Amounts deposited into the Fund under--
       ``(A) section 504(2) (relating to limitation on amount of 
     seed money);
       ``(B) section 505(d) (relating to deposit of qualifying 
     contributions);
       ``(C) section 506(c) (relating to exceptions to 
     contribution requirements);
       ``(D) section 509(c) (relating to remittance of allocations 
     from the Fund);
       ``(E) section 513 (relating to violations); and
       ``(F) any other section of this Act.
       ``(5) Investment returns.--Interest on, and the proceeds 
     from, the sale or redemption of, any obligations held by the 
     Fund under subsection (c).
       ``(c) Investment.--The Commission shall invest portions of 
     the Fund in obligations of the United States in the same 
     manner as provided under section 9602(b) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(d) Use of Fund.--
       ``(1) In general.--The sums in the Senate Fair Elections 
     Fund shall be used to make allocations to participating 
     candidates in accordance with sections 510 and 511.
       ``(2) Insufficient amounts.--Under regulations established 
     by the Commission, rules similar to the rules of section 
     9006(c) of the Internal Revenue Code shall apply.

     ``SEC. 503. ELIGIBILITY FOR ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND.

       ``(a) In General.--A candidate for Senator is eligible to 
     receive an allocation from the Fund for any election if the 
     candidate meets the following requirements:
       ``(1) The candidate files with the Commission a statement 
     of intent to seek certification as a participating candidate 
     under this title during the period beginning on the fair 
     elections start date and ending on the last day of the fair 
     elections qualifying period.
       ``(2) The candidate has complied with the seed money 
     contribution requirements of section 504.
       ``(3) The candidate meets the qualifying contribution 
     requirements of section 505.
       ``(4) Not later than the last day of the fair elections 
     qualifying period, the candidate files with the Commission an 
     affidavit signed by the candidate and the treasurer of the 
     candidate's principal campaign committee declaring that the 
     candidate--
       ``(A) has complied and, if certified, will comply with the 
     contribution and expenditure requirements of section 506;
       ``(B) if certified, will comply with the debate 
     requirements of section 507;
       ``(C) if certified, will not run as a nonparticipating 
     candidate during such year in any election for the office 
     that such candidate is seeking; and
       ``(D) has either qualified or will take steps to qualify 
     under State law to be on the ballot.
       ``(b) General Election.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
     candidate shall not be eligible to receive an allocation from 
     the Fund for a general election or a general run off election 
     unless the candidate's party nominated the candidate to be 
     placed on the ballot for the general election or the 
     candidate qualified to be placed on the ballot as an 
     independent candidate, and the candidate is qualified under 
     State law to be on the ballot.

     ``SEC. 504. SEED MONEY CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.

       ``A candidate for Senator meets the seed money contribution 
     requirements of this section if the candidate meets the 
     following requirements:
       ``(1) Separate accounting.--The candidate maintains seed 
     money contributions in a separate account.
       ``(2) Limitation on amount.--The candidate deposits into 
     the Senate Fair Elections Fund or returns to donors an amount 
     equal to the amount of any seed money contributions which, in 
     the aggregate, exceed the sum of--
       ``(A) in the case of an independent candidate, the amount 
     which the candidate would be entitled to under section 
     510(c)(3); and
       ``(B) in the case of any other candidate, the amount which 
     the candidate would be entitled to under section 510(c)(1).
       ``(3) Use of seed money.--The candidate makes expenditures 
     from seed money contributions only for campaign-related 
     costs.
       ``(4) Records.--The candidate maintains a record of the 
     name and street address of any contributor of a seed money 
     contribution and the amount of any such contribution.
       ``(5) Report.--Unless a seed money contribution or an 
     expenditure made with a seed money contribution has been 
     reported previously under section 304, the candidate files 
     with the Commission a report disclosing all seed money 
     contributions and expenditures not later than 48 hours after 
     receiving notification of the determination with respect to 
     the certification of the candidate under section 508.

     ``SEC. 505. QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.

       ``(a) In General.--A candidate for Senator meets the 
     requirement of this section if, during the fair elections 
     qualifying period, the candidate obtains a number of 
     qualifying contributions equal to the sum of--
       ``(1) 2,000; plus
       ``(2) 500 for each congressional district in excess of 1 in 
     the State with respect to which the candidate is seeking 
     election.
       ``(b) Special Rule for Certain Candidates.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), in the 
     case of a candidate described in paragraph (2), the 
     requirement of this section is met if, during the fair 
     elections qualifying period, the candidate obtains a number 
     of qualifying contributions equal to 150 percent of the 
     number of qualifying contributions that such candidate would 
     be required to obtain without regard to this subsection.
       ``(2) Candidate described.--A candidate is described in 
     this paragraph if--
       ``(A) the candidate is a minor party candidate or an 
     independent candidate; and
       ``(B) in the most recent general election involving the 
     office of Senator, President, or Governor in the State in 
     which the candidate is seeking office, the candidate and all 
     candidates of the same political party as such candidate 
     received less than 5 percent of the total number of votes 
     cast for each such office.
       ``(c) Requirements Relating to Receipt of Qualifying 
     Contribution.--Each qualifying contribution--
       ``(1) may be made by means of a personal check, money 
     order, debit card, or credit card;
       ``(2) shall be payable to the Senate Fair Elections Fund;
       ``(3) shall be accompanied by a signed statement 
     containing--
       ``(A) the contributor's name and home address;
       ``(B) an oath declaring that the contributor--
       ``(i) is a resident of the State in which the candidate 
     with respect to whom the contribution is made is running for 
     election;
       ``(ii) understands that the purpose of the qualifying 
     contribution is to show support for the candidate so that the 
     candidate may qualify for public financing;
       ``(iii) is making the contribution in his or her own name 
     and from his or her own funds;
       ``(iv) has made the contribution willingly; and
       ``(v) has not received any thing of value in return for the 
     contribution; and
       ``(4) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is sent to 
     the contributor with a copy kept by the candidate for the 
     Commission and a copy kept by the candidate for the election 
     authorities in the State with respect to which the candidate 
     is seeking election.
       ``(d) Deposit of Qualifying Contributions.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 21 days after obtaining a 
     qualifying contribution, a candidate shall--
       ``(A) deposit such contribution into the Senate Fair 
     Elections Fund, and
       ``(B) remit to the Commission a copy of the receipt for 
     such contribution.
       ``(2) Deposit of contributions after certification.--
     Notwithstanding paragraph (1), all qualifying contributions 
     obtained by a candidate shall be deposited into the Senate 
     Fair Elections Fund and all copies of receipts for such 
     contributions shall be remitted to the Commission not later 
     than--
       ``(A) in the case of a candidate who is denied 
     certification under section 508, 3 days after receiving a 
     notice of denial of certification under section 508(a)(2); 
     and
       ``(B) in any other case, not later than the last day of the 
     fair elections qualifying period.
       ``(e) Verification of Qualifying Contributions.--The 
     Commission shall establish procedures for the auditing and 
     verification of qualifying contributions to ensure that such 
     contributions meet the requirements of this section. Such 
     procedures may provide for verification through the means of 
     a postcard or other method, as determined by the Commission.

     ``SEC. 506. CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.

       ``(a) General Rule.--A candidate for Senator meets the 
     requirements of this section if, during the election cycle of 
     the candidate, the candidate--
       ``(1) except as provided in subsection (b), accepts no 
     contributions other than--
       ``(A) seed money contributions;
       ``(B) qualifying contributions made payable to the Senate 
     Fair Elections Fund;
       ``(C) allocations from the Senate Fair Elections Fund under 
     sections 510 and 511; and
       ``(D) vouchers provided to the candidate under section 315A 
     of the Communications Act of 1934;
       ``(2) makes no expenditures from any amounts other than 
     from--
       ``(A) amounts received from seed money contributions;
       ``(B) amounts received from the Senate Fair Elections Fund; 
     and
       ``(C) vouchers provided to the candidate under section 315A 
     of the Communications Act of 1934; and
       ``(3) makes no expenditures from personal funds or the 
     funds of any immediate family member (other than funds 
     received through seed money contributions).
     For purposes of this subsection, a payment made by a 
     political party in coordination

[[Page S5574]]

     with a participating candidate shall not be treated as a 
     contribution to or as an expenditure made by the 
     participating candidate.
       ``(b) Contributions for Leadership PACs, etc.--A political 
     committee of a participating candidate which is not an 
     authorized committee of such candidate may accept 
     contributions other than contributions described in 
     subsection (a)(1) from any person if--
       ``(1) the aggregate contributions from such person for any 
     for a calendar year do not exceed $100; and
       ``(2) no portion of such contributions is disbursed in 
     connection with the campaign of the participating candidate.
       ``(c) Exception.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
     candidate shall not be treated as having failed to meet the 
     requirements of this section if any contributions accepted 
     before the date the candidate files a statement of intent 
     under section 503(a)(1) are not expended and are--
       ``(A) returned to the contributor; or
       ``(B) submitted to the Federal Election Commission for 
     deposit in the Senate Fair Elections Fund.
       ``(2) Special rule for seed money contributions and 
     contributions for leadership pacs.--For purposes of paragraph 
     (1), a candidate shall not be required to return, donate, or 
     submit any portion of the aggregate amount of contributions 
     from any person which is $100 or less to the extent that such 
     contribution--
       ``(A) otherwise qualifies as a seed money contribution; or
       ``(B) otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (b).
       ``(3) Special rule for contributions before the date of 
     enactment of this title.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
     candidate shall not be treated as having failed to meet the 
     requirements of this section if any contributions accepted 
     before the date of the enactment of this title are not 
     expended and are--
       ``(A) returned to the contributor;
       ``(B) donated to an organization described in section 
     170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
       ``(C) donated to a political party;
       ``(D) used to retire campaign debt; or
       ``(E) submitted to the Federal Election Commission for 
     deposit in the Senate Fair Elections Fund.

     ``SEC. 507. DEBATE REQUIREMENT.

       ``A candidate for Senator meets the requirements of this 
     section if the candidate participates in at least--
       ``(1) 1 public debate before the primary election with 
     other participating candidates and other willing candidates 
     from the same party and seeking the same nomination as such 
     candidate; and
       ``(2) 2 public debates before the general election with 
     other participating candidates and other willing candidates 
     seeking the same office as such candidate.

     ``SEC. 508. CERTIFICATION BY COMMISSION.

       ``(a) In General.--Not later than 5 days after a candidate 
     for Senator files an affidavit under section 503(a)(4), the 
     Commission shall--
       ``(1) certify whether or not the candidate is a 
     participating candidate; and
       ``(2) notify the candidate of the Commission's 
     determination.
       ``(b) Revocation of Certification.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission may revoke a 
     certification under subsection (a) if--
       ``(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear on the ballot 
     at any time after the date of certification; or
       ``(B) a candidate otherwise fails to comply with the 
     requirements of this title.
       ``(2) Repayment of benefits.--If certification is revoked 
     under paragraph (1), the candidate shall repay--
       ``(A) to the Senate Fair Elections Fund an amount equal to 
     the value of benefits received under this title plus interest 
     (at a rate determined by the Commission) on any such amount 
     received; and
       ``(B) to Federal Communications Commission an amount equal 
     to the amount of the dollar value of vouchers which were 
     received from the Federal Communications Commission under 
     section 315A of the Communications Act of 1934 and used by 
     the candidate.

     ``SEC. 509. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.

       ``(a) In General.--A participating candidate shall be 
     entitled to--
       ``(1) for each election with respect to which a candidate 
     is certified as a participating candidate--
       ``(A) an allocation from the Fund to make or obligate to 
     make expenditures with respect to such election, as provided 
     in section 510;
       ``(B) fair fight funds, as provided in section 511; and
       ``(2) for the general election, vouchers for broadcasts of 
     political advertisements, as provided in section 315A of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315A).
       ``(b) Restriction on Uses of Allocations From the Fund.--
     Allocations from the Fund received by a participating 
     candidate under sections 510 and 511 may only be used for 
     campaign-related costs.
       ``(c) Remitting Allocations From the Fund.--Not later than 
     the date that is 45 days after the date of the election, a 
     participating candidate shall remit to the Commission for 
     deposit in the Senate Fair Elections Fund any unspent amounts 
     paid to such candidate under this title for such election.

     ``SEC. 510. ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND.

       ``(a) In General.--The Commission shall make allocations 
     from the Fund under section 509(a)(1)(A) to a participating 
     candidate--
       ``(1) in the case of amounts provided under subsection 
     (c)(1), not later than 48 hours after the date on which such 
     candidate is certified as a participating candidate under 
     section 508;
       ``(2) in the case of a general election, not later than 48 
     hours after--
       ``(A) the date the certification of the results of the 
     primary election or the primary runoff election; or
       ``(B) in any case in which there is no primary election, 
     the date the candidate qualifies to be placed on the ballot; 
     and
       ``(3) in the case of a primary runoff election or a general 
     runoff election, not later than 48 hours after the 
     certification of the results of the primary election or the 
     general election, as the case may be.
       ``(b) Method of Payment.--The Commission shall distribute 
     funds available to participating candidates under this 
     section through the use of an electronic funds exchange or a 
     debit card.
       ``(c) Amounts.--
       ``(1) Primary election allocation; initial allocation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraphs (B), 
     the Commission shall make an allocation from the Fund for a 
     primary election to a participating candidate in an amount 
     equal to 67 percent of the base amount with respect to such 
     participating candidate.
       ``(B) Independent candidates.--In the case of a 
     participating candidate who is an independent candidate, the 
     Commission shall make an initial allocation from the Fund in 
     an amount equal to 25 percent of the base amount with respect 
     to such candidate.
       ``(C) Reduction for excess seed money.--An allocation from 
     the Fund for any candidate under this paragraph shall be 
     reduced by an amount equal to the aggregate amount of seed 
     money contributions received by the candidate in excess of 
     the sum of--
       ``(i) $75,000; plus
       ``(ii) $7,500 for each congressional district in excess of 
     1 in the State with respect to which the candidate is seeking 
     election.
       ``(2) Primary runoff election allocation.--The Commission 
     shall make an allocation from the Fund for a primary runoff 
     election to a participating candidate in an amount equal to 
     25 percent of the amount the participating candidate was 
     eligible to receive under this section for the primary 
     election.
       ``(3) General election allocation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Commission shall make an allocation from the Fund for a 
     general election to a participating candidate in an amount 
     equal to the base amount with respect to such candidate.
       ``(B) Uncontested elections.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Commission shall make an allocation 
     from the Fund to a participating candidate for a general 
     election that is uncontested in an amount equal to 25 percent 
     of the base amount with respect to such candidate.
       ``(ii) Uncontested elections.--For purposes of this 
     subparagraph, an election is uncontested if not more than 1 
     candidate has received contributions (including payments from 
     the Senate Fair Elections Fund) in an amount equal to or 
     greater than the lesser of--

       ``(I) the amount in effect for a candidate in such election 
     under paragraph (1)(C), or
       ``(II) an amount equal to 50 percent of the base amount 
     with respect to such candidate.

       ``(C) Reduction for excess seed money.--The allocation from 
     the Fund for the general election for any participating 
     candidate in a State that does not hold a primary election 
     shall be reduced by an amount equal to the aggregate amount 
     of seed money contributions received by the candidate in 
     excess of the sum of--
       ``(i) $75,000; plus
       ``(ii) $7,500 for each congressional district in excess of 
     1 in the State with respect to which the candidate is seeking 
     election.
       ``(4) General runoff election allocation.--The Commission 
     shall make an allocation from the Fund for a general runoff 
     election to a participating candidate in an amount equal to 
     25 percent of the base amount with respect to such candidate.
       ``(d) Base Amount.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subsection, the base amount for any candidate is an amount 
     equal to the sum of--
       ``(A) $750,000; plus
       ``(B) $150,000 for each congressional district in excess of 
     1 in the State with respect to which the candidate is seeking 
     election.
       ``(2) Minor party and independent candidates.--
       ``(A) Reduced amount for certain candidates.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of a minor party candidate 
     or independent candidate described clause (ii), the base 
     amount is an amount equal to the product of--

       ``(I) a fraction the numerator of which is the highest 
     percentage of the vote received by the candidate or a 
     candidate of the same political party as such candidate in 
     the election described in clause (ii) and the denominator of 
     which is 25 percent; and
       ``(II) the amount that would (but for this paragraph) be 
     the base amount for the candidate under paragraph (1).

[[Page S5575]]

       ``(ii) Candidate described.--A candidate is described in 
     this clause if, in the most recent general election involving 
     the office of Senator, President, or Governor in the State in 
     which the candidate is seeking office--

       ``(I) such candidate, or any candidate of the same 
     political party as such candidate, received 5 percent or more 
     of the total number of votes cast for any such office; and
       ``(II) such candidate and all candidates of the same 
     political party as such candidate received less than 25 
     percent of the total number of votes cast for each such 
     office.

       ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any 
     candidate if such candidate receives a number of qualifying 
     contributions which is greater than 150 percent of the number 
     of qualifying contributions such candidate is required to 
     receive in order to meet the requirements of section 505(a).
       ``(3) Indexing.--In each odd-numbered year after 2010--
       ``(A) each dollar amount under paragraph (1) shall be 
     increased by the percent difference between the price index 
     (as defined in section 315(c)(2)(A)) for the 12 months 
     preceding the beginning of such calendar year and the price 
     index for calendar year 2008;
       ``(B) each dollar amount so increased shall remain in 
     effect for the 2-year period beginning on the first day 
     following the date of the last general election in the year 
     preceding the year in which the amount is increased and 
     ending on the date of the next general election; and
       ``(C) if any amount after adjustment under subparagraph (A) 
     is not a multiple of $100, such amount shall be rounded to 
     the nearest multiple of $100.
       ``(4) Adjustment by media market.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Commission, in consultation with the 
     Federal Communications Commission, shall establish an index 
     reflecting the costs of the media markets in each State.
       ``(B) Adjustment.--At the beginning of each year, the 
     Commission shall increase the amount under paragraph (1) 
     (after application of paragraph (3)) based on the index 
     established under subparagraph (A).

     ``SEC. 511. PAYMENT OF FAIR FIGHT FUNDS.

       ``(a) Determination of Right to Payment.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall, on a regular 
     basis, make a determination on--
       ``(A) the amount of opposing funds with respect to each 
     participating candidate, and
       ``(B) the applicable amount with respect to each 
     participating candidate.
       ``(2) Basis of determinations.--The Commission shall make 
     determinations under paragraph (1) based on--
       ``(A) reports filed by the relevant opposing candidate 
     under section 304(a) with respect to amounts described in 
     subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)(I); and
       ``(B) reports filed by political committees under section 
     304(a) and by other persons under section 304(c) with respect 
     to--
       ``(i) opposing funds described in clauses (ii)(I) and 
     (iii)(I) of subsection (c)(1)(A); and
       ``(ii) applicable amounts described in subparagraphs (B)(i) 
     and (C)(i) of subsection (b)(2).
       ``(3) Requests for determination relating to certain 
     electioneering communications.--
       ``(A) In general.--A participating candidate may request to 
     the Commission to make a determination under paragraph (1) 
     with respect to any relevant opposing candidate with respect 
     to--
       ``(i) opposing funds described in clauses (ii)(II) and 
     (iii)(II) of subsection (c)(1)(A); and
       ``(ii) applicable amounts described in subparagraphs 
     (B)(ii) and (C)(ii) of subsection (b)(2).
       ``(B) Time for making determination.--In the case of any 
     such request, the Commission shall make such determination 
     and notify the participating candidate of such determination 
     not later than--
       ``(i) 24 hours after receiving such request during the 3-
     week period ending on the date of the election, and
       ``(ii) 48 hours after receiving such request at any other 
     time.
       ``(b) Payments.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall make available to 
     the participating candidate fair fight funds in an amount 
     equal to the amount of opposing funds that is in excess of 
     the applicable amount--
       ``(A) immediately after making any determination under 
     subsection (a) with respect to any participating candidate 
     during the 3-week period ending on the date of the election, 
     and
       ``(B) not later than 24 hours after making such 
     determination at any other time.
       ``(2) Applicable amount.--For purposes of this section, the 
     applicable amount is an amount equal to the sum of--
       ``(A) the sum of--
       ``(i) the amount of seed money contribution received by the 
     participating candidate;
       ``(ii) in the case of a general election, the value of any 
     vouchers received by the candidate under section 315A of the 
     Communications Act of 1934; plus
       ``(iii)(I) in the case of a participating candidate who is 
     a minor party candidate running in a general election or an 
     independent candidate, the allocation from the Fund which 
     would have been provided to such candidate for such election 
     if such candidate were a major party candidate; or
       ``(II) in the case of any other participating candidate, an 
     amount equal to the allocation from the Fund to such 
     candidate for such election under section 510(c);
       ``(B) the sum of--
       ``(i) the amount of independent expenditures made 
     advocating the election of the participating candidate; plus
       ``(ii) the amount of disbursements for electioneering 
     communications which promote or support such participating 
     candidate;
       ``(C) the sum of--
       ``(i) the amount of independent expenditures made 
     advocating the defeat of the relevant opposing candidate; 
     plus
       ``(ii) the amount of disbursements for electioneering 
     communications which attack or oppose the relevant opposing 
     candidate; plus
       ``(D) the amount of fair fight funds previously provided to 
     the participating candidate under this subsection for the 
     election.
       ``(3) Limits on amount of payment.--The aggregate of fair 
     fight funds that a participating candidate receives under 
     this subsection for any election shall not exceed 200 percent 
     of the allocation from the Fund that the participating 
     candidate receives for such election under section 510(c).
       ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Opposing funds.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `opposing funds' means, with 
     respect to any participating candidate for any election, the 
     sum of--
       ``(i)(I) the greater of the total contributions received by 
     the relevant opposing candidate or the total expenditures 
     made by such relevant opposing candidate; or
       ``(II) in the case of a relevant opposing candidate who is 
     a participating candidate, an amount equal to the sum of the 
     amount of seed money contributions received by the relevant 
     opposing candidate, the value of any vouchers received by the 
     relevant opposing candidate for the general election under 
     section 315A of the Communications Act of 1934, and the 
     allocation from the Fund under section 510(c) for the 
     relevant opposing candidate for such election;
       ``(ii) the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount of independent expenditures made 
     advocating the election of such relevant opposing candidate; 
     plus
       ``(II) the amount of disbursements for electioneering 
     communications which promote or support such relevant 
     opposing candidate; plus

       ``(iii) the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount of independent expenditures made 
     advocating the defeat of such participating candidate; plus
       ``(II) the amount of disbursements for electioneering 
     communications which attack or oppose such participating 
     candidate.

       ``(2) Relevant opposing candidate.--The term `relevant 
     opposing candidate' means, with respect to any participating 
     candidate, the opposing candidate of such participating 
     candidate with respect to whom the amount under paragraph (1) 
     is the greatest.
       ``(3) Electioneering communication.--The term 
     `electioneering communication' has the meaning given such 
     term under section 304(f)(3), except that subparagraph 
     (A)(i)(II)(aa) thereof shall be applied by substituting `30' 
     for `60'.

     ``SEC. 512. ADMINISTRATION OF THE SENATE FAIR ELECTIONS 
                   SYSTEM.

       ``(a) Regulations.--The Commission shall prescribe 
     regulations to carry out the purposes of this title, 
     including regulations--
       ``(1) to establish procedures for--
       ``(A) verifying the amount of valid qualifying 
     contributions with respect to a candidate;
       ``(B) effectively and efficiently monitoring and enforcing 
     the limits on the use of personal funds by participating 
     candidates;
       ``(C) the expedited payment of fair fight funds during the 
     3-week period ending on the date of the election;
       ``(D) monitoring the use of allocations from the Fund under 
     this title through audits or other mechanisms; and
       ``(E) returning unspent disbursements and disposing of 
     assets purchased with allocations from the Fund;
       ``(2) providing for the administration of the provisions of 
     this title with respect to special elections;
       ``(3) pertaining to the replacement of candidates;
       ``(4) regarding the conduct of debates in a manner 
     consistent with the best practices of States that provide 
     public financing for elections; and
       ``(5) for attributing expenditures to specific elections 
     for the purposes of calculating opposing funds.
       ``(b) Operation of Commission.--The Commission shall 
     maintain normal business hours during the weekend immediately 
     before any general election for the purposes of administering 
     the provisions of this title, including the distribution of 
     fair fight funds under section 511.
       ``(c) Reports.--Not later than April 1, 2009, and every 2 
     years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the Senate 
     Committee on Rules and Administration a report documenting, 
     evaluating, and making recommendations relating to the 
     administrative implementation and enforcement of the 
     provisions of this title.

     ``SEC. 513. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.

       ``(a) Civil Penalty for Violation of Contribution and 
     Expenditure Requirements.--If a candidate who has been 
     certified as a participating candidate under section 508(a) 
     accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure that is 
     prohibited under section 506, the Commission shall assess a 
     civil penalty against the candidate in an amount that is not 
     more than 3 times the amount of

[[Page S5576]]

     the contribution or expenditure. Any amounts collected under 
     this subsection shall be deposited into the Senate Fair 
     Elections Fund.
       ``(b) Repayment for Improper Use of Fair Elections Fund.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the Commission determines that any 
     benefit made available to a participating candidate under 
     this title was not used as provided for in this title or that 
     a participating candidate has violated any of the dates for 
     remission of funds contained in this title, the Commission 
     shall so notify the candidate and the candidate shall pay to 
     the Senate Fair Elections Fund an amount equal to--
       ``(A) the amount of benefits so used or not remitted, as 
     appropriate, and
       ``(B) interest on any such amounts (at a rate determined by 
     the Commission).
       ``(2) Other action not precluded.--Any action by the 
     Commission in accordance with this subsection shall not 
     preclude enforcement proceedings by the Commission in 
     accordance with section 309(a), including a referral by the 
     Commission to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 
     knowing and willful violation of this title.''.

     SEC. 103. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR NONPARTICIPATING 
                   CANDIDATES.

       (a) In General.--Section 304 of the Federal Election 
     Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(i) Nonparticipating Candidates.--
       ``(1) Initial report.--
       ``(A) In general.--Each nonparticipating candidate who is 
     opposed to a participating candidate and who receives 
     contributions or makes expenditures aggregating more than the 
     threshold amount shall, within 48 hours of the date such 
     aggregate contributions or expenditures exceed the threshold 
     amount, file with the Commission a report stating the total 
     amount of contributions received and expenditures made or 
     obligated by such candidate.
       ``(B) Threshold amount.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
     the term `threshold amount' means 75 percent of the 
     allocation from the Fund that a participating candidate would 
     be entitled to receive in such election under section 510 if 
     the participating candidate were a major party candidate.
       ``(2) Periodic reports.--
       ``(A) In general.--In addition to any reports required 
     under subsection (a), each nonparticipating candidate who is 
     required to make a report under paragraph (1) shall make the 
     following reports:
       ``(i) A report which shall be filed not later than 5 P.M. 
     on the forty-second day before the date on which the election 
     involving such candidate is held and which shall be complete 
     through the forty-fourth day before such date.
       ``(ii) A report which shall be filed not later than 5 P.M. 
     on the twenty-first day before the date on which the election 
     involving such candidate is held and which shall be complete 
     through the twenty-third day before such date.
       ``(iii) A report which shall be filed not later than 5 P.M. 
     on the twelfth day before the date on which the election 
     involving such candidate is held and which shall be complete 
     through the fourteenth day before such date.
       ``(B) Additional reporting within 2 weeks of election.--
     Each nonparticipating candidate who is required to make a 
     report under paragraph (1) and who receives contributions or 
     makes expenditures aggregating more than $1,000 at any time 
     after the fourteenth day before the date of the election 
     involving such candidate shall make a report to the 
     Commission not later than 24 hours after such contributions 
     are received or such expenditures are made.
       ``(C) Contents of report.--Each report required under this 
     paragraph shall state the total amount of contributions 
     received and expenditures made or obligated to be made during 
     the period covered by the report.
       ``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection and 
     section 309(a)(13), the terms `nonparticipating candidate', 
     `participating candidate', and `allocation from the Fund' 
     have the respective meanings given to such terms under 
     section 501.''.
       (b) Increased Penalty for Failure To File.--Section 309(a) 
     of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
     437(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(13) Increased civil penalties with respect to reporting 
     by nonparticipating candidates.--For purposes of paragraphs 
     (5) and (6), any civil penalty with respect to a violation of 
     section 304(i) shall not exceed the greater of--
       ``(A) the amount otherwise applicable without regard to 
     this paragraph; or
       ``(B) for each day of the violation, 3 times the amount of 
     the fair fight funds under section 511 that otherwise would 
     have been allocated to the participating candidate but for 
     such violation.''.

     SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION 
                   REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       Paragraph (2) of section 304(f) of the Federal Election 
     Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(f)(2)) is amended by 
     redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) as subparagraphs (F) 
     and (G), respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph 
     (D) the following new subparagraph:
       ``(E) in the case of a communication referring to any 
     candidate in an election involving a participating candidate 
     (as defined under section 501(9)), a transcript of the 
     electioneering communication.''.

     SEC. 105. LIMITATION ON COORDINATED EXPENDITURES BY POLITICAL 
                   PARTY COMMITTEES WITH PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.

       (a) In General.--Section 315(d)(3) of the Federal Election 
     Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441a(d)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as redesignated 
     by paragraph (1), the following new subparagraph:
       ``(A) in the case of a candidate for election to the office 
     of Senator who is a participating candidate (as defined in 
     section 501), the lesser of--
       ``(i) 10 percent of the allocation from the Senate 
     Elections Fund that the participating candidate is eligible 
     to receive for the general election under section 510(c)(3); 
     or
       ``(ii) the amount which would (but for this subparagraph) 
     apply with respect to such candidate under subparagraph 
     (B);''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subparagraph (B) of section 
     315(d)(3) of such Act, as redesignated by subsection (a), is 
     amended by inserting ``who is not a participating candidate 
     (as so defined)'' after ``office of Senator''.

     SEC. 106. AUDITS.

       Section 311(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
     (2 U.S.C. 438(b)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Commission''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Audits of participating candidates.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), after 
     every primary, general, and runoff election, the Commission 
     shall conduct random audits and investigations of not less 
     than 30 percent of the authorized committees of candidates 
     who are participating candidates (as defined in section 501).
       ``(B) Selection of subjects.--The subjects of audits and 
     investigations under this paragraph shall be selected on the 
     basis of impartial criteria established by a vote of at least 
     4 members of the Commission.''.

            Subtitle B--Senate Fair Elections Fund Revenues

     SEC. 111. DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS FROM RECOVERED SPECTRUM 
                   AUCTIONS.

       Section 309(j)(8)(E)(ii) of the Communications Act of 1934 
     (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(E)(ii)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``deposited in'' and inserting the 
     following: ``deposited as follows:

       ``(I) 90 percent of such proceeds deposited in''; and

       (2) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(II) 10 percent of such proceeds deposited in the Senate 
     Fair Elections Fund established under section 502 of the 
     Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972.''.

              Subtitle C--Fair Elections Review Commission

     SEC. 121. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be 
     known as the ``Fair Elections Review Commission'' (hereafter 
     in this subtitle referred to as the ``Commission'').
       (b) Duties.--
       (1) Review of fair elections financing.--
       (A) In general.--After each general election for Federal 
     office, the Commission shall conduct a comprehensive review 
     of the Senate fair elections financing program under title V 
     of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, including--
       (i) the number and value of qualifying contributions a 
     candidate is required to obtain under section 505 of such Act 
     to qualify for allocations from the Fund;
       (ii) the amount of allocations from the Senate Fair 
     Elections Fund that candidates may receive under sections 510 
     and 511 of such Act;
       (iii) the overall satisfaction of participating candidates 
     with the program; and
       (iv) such other matters relating to financing of Senate 
     campaigns as the Commission determines are appropriate.
       (B) Criteria for review.--In conducting the review under 
     subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider the 
     following:
       (i) Review of qualifying contribution requirements.--The 
     Commission shall consider whether the number and value of 
     qualifying contributions required strikes a balance between 
     the importance of voter choice and fiscal responsibility, 
     taking into consideration the number of primary and general 
     election participating candidates, the electoral performance 
     of those candidates, program cost, and any other information 
     the Commission determines is appropriate.
       (ii) Review of program allocations.--The Commission shall 
     consider whether allocations from the Senate Elections Fund 
     under sections 510 ad 511 of the Federal Election Campaign 
     Act of 1974 are sufficient for voters in each State to learn 
     about the candidates to cast an informed vote, taking into 
     account the historic amount of spending by winning 
     candidates, media costs, primary election dates, and any 
     other information the Commission determines is appropriate.
       (2) Report, recommendations, and proposed legislative 
     language.--
       (A) Report.--Not later than March 30 following any general 
     election for Federal office, the Commission shall submit a 
     report to Congress on the review conducted under paragraph 
     (1). Such report shall contain a detailed statement of the 
     findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Commission

[[Page S5577]]

     based on such review, and shall contain any proposed 
     legislative language (as required under subparagraph (C)) of 
     the Commission.
       (B) Findings, conclusions, and recommendations.--A finding, 
     conclusion, or recommendation of the Commission shall be 
     included in the report under subparagraph (A) only if not 
     less than 3 members of the Commission voted for such finding, 
     conclusion, or recommendation.
       (C) Legislative language.--
       (i) In general.--The report under subparagraph (A) shall 
     include legislative language with respect to any 
     recommendation involving--

       (I) an increase in the number or value of qualifying 
     contributions; or
       (II) an increase in the amount of allocations from the 
     Senate Elections Fund.

       (ii) Form.--The legislative language shall be in the form 
     of a proposed bill for introduction in Congress and shall not 
     include any recommendation not related to matter described 
     subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i)

     SEC. 122. STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Appointment.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of 5 
     members, of whom--
       (A) 1 shall be appointed by the Majority Leader of the 
     Senate;
       (B) 1 shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the 
     Senate; and
       (C) 3 shall be appointed jointly by the members appointed 
     under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
       (2) Qualifications.--
       (A) In general.--The members shall be individuals who are 
     nonpartisan and, by reason of their education, experience, 
     and attainments, exceptionally qualified to perform the 
     duties of members of the Commission.
       (B) Prohibition.--No member of the Commission may be--
       (i) a member of Congress;
       (ii) an employee of the Federal government;
       (iii) a registered lobbyist; or
       (iv) an officer or employee of a political party or 
     political campaign.
       (3) Date.--Members of the Commission shall be appointed not 
     later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.
       (4) Terms.--A member of the Commission shall be appointed 
     for a term of 5 years.
       (b) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission shall be filled 
     not later than 30 calendar days after the date on which the 
     Commission is given notice of the vacancy, in the same manner 
     as the original appointment. The individual appointed to fill 
     the vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired portion of the 
     term for which the individual's predecessor was appointed.
       (c) Chairperson.--The Commission shall designate a 
     Chairperson from among the members of the Commission.

     SEC. 123. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Meetings and Hearings.--
       (1) Meetings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit 
     and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
     receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable 
     to carry out the purposes of this Act.
       (2) Quorum.--Four members of the Commission shall 
     constitute a quorum for purposes of voting, but a quorum is 
     not required for members to meet and hold hearings.
       (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Commission may 
     secure directly from any Federal department or agency such 
     information as the Commission considers necessary to carry 
     out the provisions of this Act. Upon request of the 
     Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such department or 
     agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
       (c) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United 
     States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
     as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
       (d) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of 
     gifts or donations of services or property.

     SEC. 124. ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) Compensation of Members.--
       (1) In general.--
       (A) In general.--Each member, other than the Chairperson, 
     shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
     minimum annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of 
     the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
     States Code, for each day (including travel time) during 
     which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties 
     of the Commission.
       (B) Chairperson.--The Chairperson shall be paid at a rate 
     equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of 
     basic pay prescribed for level III of the Executive Schedule 
     under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, for each 
     day (including travel time) during which such member is 
     engaged in the performance of the duties of the Commission.
       (2) Travel expenses.--Members shall receive travel 
     expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
     accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 
     States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in performance of services for the Commission.
       (b) Personnel.--
       (1) Director.--The Commission shall have a staff headed by 
     an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be paid 
     at a rate equivalent to a rate established for the Senior 
     Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United 
     States Code.
       (2) Staff appointment.--With the approval of the 
     Chairperson, the Executive Director may appoint such 
     personnel as the Executive Director and the Commission 
     determines to be appropriate.
       (3) Actuarial experts and consultants.--With the approval 
     of the Chairperson, the Executive Director may procure 
     temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of 
     title 5, United States Code.
       (4) Detail of government employees.--Upon the request of 
     the Chairperson, the head of any Federal agency may detail, 
     without reimbursement, any of the personnel of such agency to 
     the Commission to assist in carrying out the duties of the 
     Commission. Any such detail shall not interrupt or otherwise 
     affect the civil service status or privileges of the Federal 
     employee.
       (5) Other resources.--The Commission shall have reasonable 
     access to materials, resources, statistical data, and other 
     information from the Library of Congress and other agencies 
     and elected representatives of the executive and legislative 
     branches of the Federal Government. The Chairperson of the 
     Commission shall make requests for such access in writing 
     when necessary.

     SEC. 125. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle.

     SEC. 126. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF COMMISSION 
                   RECOMMENDATIONS.

       (a) Introduction and Committee Consideration.--
       (1) Introduction.--Not later than 60 days after the 
     Commission files a report under section 121(b), the Majority 
     Leader of the Senate, or the Majority Leader's designee, 
     shall introduce any proposed legislative language submitted 
     by the Commission under section 121(b)(2)(C) in the Senate 
     (hereafter in this section referred to as a ``Commission 
     bill'').
       (2) Committee consideration.--
       (A) Referral.--A Commission bill introduced in the Senate 
     shall be referred to the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration of the Senate.
       (B) Reporting.--Not later than 60 calendar days after the 
     introduction of the Commission bill, the Committee on Rules 
     and Administration shall hold a hearing on the bill and 
     report the bill to the Senate. No amendment shall be in order 
     to the bill in the Committee.
       (C) Discharge of committee.--If the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration has not reported a Commission bill at the end 
     of 60 calendar days after its introduction, such committee 
     shall be automatically discharged from further consideration 
     of the Commission bill and it shall be placed on the 
     appropriate calendar.
       (b) Expedited Procedure.--
       (1) Floor consideration in the senate.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 60 calendar days after the 
     date on which a committee has reported or has been discharged 
     from consideration of a Commission bill, the Majority Leader 
     of the Senate, or the Majority Leader's designee shall move 
     to proceed to the consideration of the Commission bill. It 
     shall also be in order for any member of the Senate to move 
     to proceed to the consideration of the bill at any time after 
     the conclusion of such 60-day period.
       (B) Motion to proceed.--A motion to proceed to the 
     consideration of a Commission bill is privileged in the 
     Senate. The motion is not debatable and is not subject to a 
     motion to postpone consideration of the Commission bill or to 
     proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to 
     reconsider the vote by which the motion to proceed is agreed 
     to or not agreed to shall not be in order. If the motion to 
     proceed is agreed to, the Senate shall immediately proceed to 
     consideration of the Commission bill without intervening 
     motion, order, action, or other business, and the Commission 
     bill shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until 
     disposed of.
       (C) Amendments, motions, and appeals.--No amendment shall 
     be in order in the Senate, and any debatable motion or appeal 
     is debatable for not to exceed 5 hours to be divided equally 
     between those favoring and those opposing the motion or 
     appeal.
       (D) Limited debate.--Consideration in the Senate of the 
     Commission bill and on all debatable motions and appeals in 
     connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 40 
     hours, which shall be equally divided between, and controlled 
     by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate 
     or their designees. A motion further to limit debate on the 
     Commission bill is in order and is not debatable. All time 
     used for consideration of the Commission bill, including time 
     used for quorum calls (except quorum calls immediately 
     preceding a vote), shall come from the 40 hours of 
     consideration.
       (E) Vote on passage.--
       (i) In general.--The vote on passage in the Senate of the 
     Commission bill shall occur immediately following the 
     conclusion of the 40-hour period for consideration of the 
     Commission bill under subparagraph (D) and a request to 
     establish the presence of a quorum.
       (ii) Other motions not in order.--A motion in the Senate to 
     postpone consideration of the Commission bill, a motion to 
     proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion 
     to recommit the Commission bill is not in order. A motion in 
     the Senate to reconsider the vote by which the Commission 
     bill is agreed to or not agreed to is not in order.
       (2) Floor consideration in the house.--
       (A) In general.--If a Commission bill is agreed to in the 
     Senate, the Majority Leader

[[Page S5578]]

     of the House of Representatives, or the Majority Leader's 
     designee shall move to proceed to the consideration of the 
     Commission bill not later than 30 days after the date the 
     House or Representatives receives notice of such agreement. 
     It shall also be in order for any member of the House of 
     Representatives to move to proceed to the consideration of 
     the bill at any time after the conclusion of such 30-day 
     period.
       (B) Motion to proceed.--A motion to proceed to the 
     consideration of a Commission bill is privileged in the House 
     of Representatives. The motion is not debatable and is not 
     subject to a motion to postpone consideration of the 
     Commission bill or to proceed to the consideration of other 
     business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 
     to proceed is agreed to or not agreed to shall not be in 
     order. If the motion to proceed is agreed to, the House of 
     Representatives shall immediately proceed to consideration of 
     the Commission bill without intervening motion, order, 
     action, or other business, and the Commission bill shall 
     remain the unfinished business of the House of 
     Representatives until disposed of.
       (C) Amendments, motions, and appeals.--No amendment shall 
     be in order in the House of Representatives, and any 
     debatable motion or appeal is debatable for not to exceed 5 
     hours to be divided equally between those favoring and those 
     opposing the motion or appeal.
       (D) Limited debate.--Consideration in the House of 
     Representatives of the Commission bill and on all debatable 
     motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited 
     to not more than 40 hours, which shall be equally divided 
     between, and controlled by, the Majority Leader and the 
     Minority Leader of the House of Representatives or their 
     designees. A motion further to limit debate on the Commission 
     bill is in order and is not debatable. All time used for 
     consideration of the Commission bill, including time used for 
     quorum calls (except quorum calls immediately preceding a 
     vote), shall come from the 40 hours of consideration.
       (E) Vote on passage.--
       (i) In general.--The vote on passage in the House of 
     Representatives of the Commission bill shall occur 
     immediately following the conclusion of the 40-hour period 
     for consideration of the Commission bill under subparagraph 
     (D) and a request to establish the presence of a quorum.
       (ii) Other motions not in order.--A motion in the House of 
     Representatives to postpone consideration of the Commission 
     bill, a motion to proceed to the consideration of other 
     business, or a motion to recommit the Commission bill is not 
     in order. A motion in the House of Representatives to 
     reconsider the vote by which the Commission bill is agreed to 
     or not agreed to is not in order.
       (c) Rules of Senate and House of Representatives.--This 
     section is enacted by Congress--
       (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
     and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is 
     deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
     applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed 
     in that House in the case of a Commission bill, and it 
     supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
     inconsistent with such rules, and
       (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
     either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
     procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
     to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
     House.

                      TITLE II--VOTER INFORMATION

     SEC. 201. BROADCASTS RELATING TO CANDIDATES.

       (a) Lowest Unit Charge; National Committees.--Section 
     315(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``to such office'' in paragraph (1) and 
     inserting ``to such office, or by a national committee of a 
     political party on behalf of such candidate in connection 
     with such campaign,''; and
       (2) by inserting ``for pre-emptible use thereof'' after 
     ``station'' in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
       (b) Broadcast Rates.--Section 315(b) of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)), as amended by subsection (a), 
     is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraphs (2) and (3)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Participating candidates.--In the case of a 
     participating candidate (as defined under section 501(10) of 
     the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971), the charges made 
     for the use any broadcasting station for a television 
     broadcast shall not exceed 80 percent of the lowest charge 
     described in paragraph (1)(A) during--
       ``(A) the 45 days preceding the date of a primary or 
     primary runoff election in which the candidate is opposed; 
     and
       ``(B) the 60 days preceding the date of a general or 
     special election in which the candidate is opposed.
       ``(4) Rate cards.--A licensee shall provide to a candidate 
     for Senate a rate card that discloses--
       ``(A) the rate charged under this subsection; and
       ``(B) the method that the licensee uses to determine the 
     rate charged under this subsection.''.
       (c) Preemption; Audits.--Section 315 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 
     315) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
     (e) and (f), respectively and moving them to follow the 
     existing subsection (e);
       (2) by redesignating the existing subsection (e) as 
     subsection (c); and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (c) (as redesignated by 
     paragraph (2)) the following:
       ``(d) Preemption.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), and 
     notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A), a 
     licensee shall not preempt the use of a broadcasting station 
     by a legally qualified candidate for Senate who has purchased 
     and paid for such use.
       ``(2) Circumstances beyond control of licensee.--If a 
     program to be broadcast by a broadcasting station is 
     preempted because of circumstances beyond the control of the 
     station, any candidate or party advertising spot scheduled to 
     be broadcast during that program shall be treated in the same 
     fashion as a comparable commercial advertising spot.
       ``(e) Audits.--During the 45-day period preceding a primary 
     election and the 60-day period preceding a general election, 
     the Commission shall conduct such audits as it deems 
     necessary to ensure that each broadcaster to which this 
     section applies is allocating television broadcast 
     advertising time in accordance with this section and section 
     312.''.
       (d) Revocation of License for Failure To Permit Access.--
     Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 312(a)(7)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or repeated'';
       (2) by inserting ``or cable system'' after ``broadcasting 
     station''; and
       (3) by striking ``his candidacy'' and inserting ``the 
     candidacy of the candidate, under the same terms, conditions, 
     and business practices as apply to the most favored 
     advertiser of the licensee''.
       (e) Stylistic Amendments.--Section 315 of such Act (47 
     U.S.C. 315) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``the'' in subsection (f)(1), as 
     redesignated by subsection (b)(1), and inserting 
     ``Broadcasting station.--'';
       (2) by striking ``the'' in subsection (f)(2), as 
     redesignated by subsection (b)(1), and inserting ``Licensee; 
     station licensee.--''; and
       (3) by inserting ``Regulations.--'' in subsection (g), as 
     redesignated by subsection (b)(1), before ``The Commission''.

     SEC. 202. POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT VOUCHERS FOR PARTICIPATING 
                   CANDIDATES.

       (a) In General.--Title III of the Communications Act of 
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
     section 315 the following:

     ``SEC. 315A. POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT VOUCHER PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--The Commission shall establish and 
     administer a voucher program for the purchase of airtime on 
     broadcasting stations for political advertisements in 
     accordance with the provisions of this section.
       ``(b) Candidates.--The Commission shall only disburse 
     vouchers under the program established under subsection (a) 
     to individuals who meet the following requirements:
       ``(1) Qualification.--The individual is certified by the 
     Federal Election Commission as a participating candidate (as 
     defined under section 501(10) of the Federal Election 
     Campaign Act of 1971) with respect to a general election for 
     Federal office under section 508 of the Federal Election 
     Campaign Act of 1971.
       ``(2) Agreement.--The individual has agreed in writing--
       ``(A) to keep and furnish to the Federal Election 
     Commission such records, books, and other information as it 
     may require; and
       ``(B) to repay to the Federal Communications Commission, if 
     the Federal Election Commission revokes the certification of 
     the individual as a participating candidate (as so defined), 
     an amount equal to the dollar value of vouchers which were 
     received from the Commission and used by the candidate.
       ``(c) Amounts.--The Commission shall disburse vouchers to 
     each candidate certified under subsection (b) in an aggregate 
     amount equal to $100,000 multiplied by the number of 
     congressional districts in the State with respect to which 
     such candidate is running for office.
       ``(d) Use.--
       ``(1) Exclusive use.--Vouchers disbursed by the Commission 
     under this section may be used only for the purchase of 
     broadcast airtime for political advertisements relating to a 
     general election for the office of Senate by the 
     participating candidate to which the vouchers were disbursed, 
     except that--
       ``(A) a candidate may exchange vouchers with a political 
     party under paragraph (2); and
       ``(B) a political party may use vouchers only to purchase 
     broadcast airtime for political advertisements for generic 
     party advertising, to support candidates for State or local 
     office in a general election, or to support participating 
     candidates of the party in a general election for Federal 
     office, but only if it discloses the value of the voucher 
     used as an expenditure under section 315(d) of the Federal 
     Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441(d)).
       ``(2) Exchange with political party committee.--
       ``(A) In general.--An individual who receives a voucher 
     under this section may transfer the right to use all or a 
     portion of

[[Page S5579]]

     the value of the voucher to a committee of the political 
     party of which the individual is a candidate in exchange for 
     money in an amount equal to the cash value of the voucher or 
     portion exchanged.
       ``(B) Continuation of candidate obligations.--The transfer 
     of a voucher, in whole or in part, to a political party 
     committee under this paragraph does not release the candidate 
     from any obligation under the agreement made under subsection 
     (b)(2) or otherwise modify that agreement or its application 
     to that candidate.
       ``(C) Party committee obligations.--Any political party 
     committee to which a voucher or portion thereof is 
     transferred under subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) shall account fully, in accordance with such 
     requirements as the Commission may establish, for the receipt 
     of the voucher; and
       ``(ii) may not use the transferred voucher or portion 
     thereof for any purpose other than a purpose described in 
     paragraph (1)(B).
       ``(D) Voucher as a contribution under feca.--If a candidate 
     transfers a voucher or any portion thereof to a political 
     party committee under subparagraph (A)--
       ``(i) the value of the voucher or portion thereof 
     transferred shall be treated as a contribution from the 
     candidate to the committee, and from the committee to the 
     candidate, for purposes of sections 302 and 304 of the 
     Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 432 and 434);
       ``(ii) the committee may, in exchange, provide to the 
     candidate only funds subject to the prohibitions, 
     limitations, and reporting requirements of the Federal 
     Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.); and
       ``(iii) the amount, if identified as a `voucher exchange' 
     shall not be considered a contribution for the purposes of 
     sections 315 or 506 of that Act.
       ``(e) Value; Acceptance; Redemption.--
       ``(1) Voucher.--Each voucher disbursed by the Commission 
     under this section shall have a value in dollars, redeemable 
     upon presentation to the Commission, together with such 
     documentation and other information as the Commission may 
     require, for the purchase of broadcast airtime for political 
     advertisements in accordance with this section.
       ``(2) Acceptance.--A broadcasting station shall accept 
     vouchers in payment for the purchase of broadcast airtime for 
     political advertisements in accordance with this section.
       ``(3) Redemption.--The Commission shall redeem vouchers 
     accepted by broadcasting stations under paragraph (2) upon 
     presentation, subject to such documentation, verification, 
     accounting, and application requirements as the Commission 
     may impose to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the 
     voucher redemption system. The Commission shall use amounts 
     in the Political Advertising Voucher Account established 
     under subsection (f) to redeem vouchers presented under this 
     subsection.
       ``(4) Expiration.--
       ``(A) Candidates.--A voucher may only be used to pay for 
     broadcast airtime for political advertisements to be 
     broadcast before midnight on the day before the date of the 
     Federal election in connection with which it was issued and 
     shall be null and void for any other use or purpose.
       ``(B) Exception for political party committees.--A voucher 
     held by a political party committee may be used to pay for 
     broadcast airtime for political advertisements to be 
     broadcast before midnight on December 31st of the odd-
     numbered year following the year in which the voucher was 
     issued by the Commission.
       ``(5) Voucher as expenditure under feca.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     for purposes of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
     U.S.C. 431 et seq.), the use of a voucher to purchase 
     broadcast airtime constitutes an expenditure as defined in 
     section 301(9)(A) of that Act (2 U.S.C. 431(9)(A)).
       ``(B) Participating candidates.--The use of a voucher to 
     purchase broadcast airtime by a participating candidate shall 
     not constitute an expenditure for purposes of section 506 of 
     such Act.
       ``(f) Political Advertising Voucher Account.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall establish an 
     account to be known as the Political Advertising Voucher 
     Account, which shall be credited with commercial television 
     and radio spectrum use fees assessed under this subsection, 
     together with any amounts repaid or otherwise reimbursed 
     under this section or section 508(b)(2)(B) of the Federal 
     Election Campaign Act of 1971.
       ``(2) Spectrum use fee.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall assess, and collect 
     annually, from each broadcast station, a spectrum use fee in 
     an amount equal to 2 percent of each broadcasting station's 
     gross advertising revenues for such year.
       ``(B) Availability.--
       ``(i) In general.--Any amount assessed and collected under 
     this paragraph shall be used by the Commission as an 
     offsetting collection for the purposes of making 
     disbursements under this section, except that--

       ``(I) the salaries and expenses account of the Commission 
     shall be credited with such sums as are necessary from those 
     amounts for the costs of developing and implementing the 
     program established by this section; and
       ``(II) the Commission may reimburse the Federal Election 
     Commission for any expenses incurred by the Commission under 
     this section.

       ``(ii) Deposit of excess fees into senate fair elections 
     fund.--If the amount assessed and collected under this 
     paragraph for years in any election period exceeds the amount 
     necessary for making disbursements under this section for 
     such election period, the Commission shall deposit such 
     excess in the Senate Fair Elections Fund.
       ``(C) Fee does not apply to public broadcasting stations.--
     Subparagraph (A) does not apply to a public 
     telecommunications entity (as defined in section 397(12) of 
     this Act).
       ``(3) Administrative provisions.--Except as otherwise 
     provided in this subsection, section 9 of this Act applies to 
     the assessment and collection of fees under this subsection 
     to the same extent as if those fees were regulatory fees 
     imposed under section 9.
       ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Broadcasting station.--The term `broadcasting 
     station' has the meaning given that term by section 315(f)(1) 
     of this Act.
       ``(2) Federal election.--The term `Federal election' means 
     any regularly-scheduled, primary, runoff, or special election 
     held to nominate or elect a candidate to Federal office.
       ``(3) Federal office.--The term `Federal office' has the 
     meaning given that term by section 301(3) of the Federal 
     Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(3)).
       ``(4) Political party.--The term `political party' means a 
     major party or a minor party as defined in section 9002(3) or 
     (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9002(3) 
     or (4)).
       ``(5) Other terms.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     section, any term used in this section that is defined in 
     section 301 or 501 of the Federal Election Campaign of 1971 
     (2 U.S.C. 431) has the meaning given that term by either such 
     section of that Act.
       ``(h) Regulations.--The Commission shall prescribe such 
     regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions 
     of this section. In developing the regulations, the 
     Commission shall consult with the Federal Election 
     Commission.''.

     SEC. 203. FCC TO PRESCRIBE STANDARDIZED FORM FOR REPORTING 
                   CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN ADS.

       (a) In General.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
     initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a standardized 
     form to be used by broadcasting stations, as defined in 
     section 315(f)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 315(f)(1)), to record and report the purchase of 
     advertising time by or on behalf of a candidate for 
     nomination for election, or for election, to Federal elective 
     office.
       (b) Contents.--The form prescribed by the Commission under 
     subsection (a) shall require, broadcasting stations to 
     report, at a minimum--
       (1) the station call letters and mailing address;
       (2) the name and telephone number of the station's sales 
     manager (or individual with responsibility for advertising 
     sales);
       (3) the name of the candidate who purchased the advertising 
     time, or on whose behalf the advertising time was purchased, 
     and the Federal elective office for which he or she is a 
     candidate;
       (4) the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the 
     person responsible for purchasing broadcast political 
     advertising for the candidate;
       (5) notation as to whether the purchase agreement for which 
     the information is being reported is a draft or final 
     version; and
       (6) the following information about the advertisement:
       (A) The date and time of the broadcast.
       (B) The program in which the advertisement was broadcast.
       (C) The length of the broadcast airtime.
       (c) Internet Access.--In its rulemaking under subsection 
     (a), the Commission shall require any broadcasting station 
     required to file a report under this section that maintains 
     an Internet website to make available a link to such reports 
     on that website.

     SEC. 204. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL USE OF THE FRANKING 
                   PRIVILEGE.

       (a) In General.--Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), Member of 
     Congress or a Congressional Committee or Subcommittee of 
     which such Member is Chairman or Ranking Member shall not 
     mail any mass mailing as franked mail during the period which 
     begins 90 days before date of the primary election and ends 
     on the date of the general election with respect to any 
     Federal office which such Member holds, unless the Member has 
     made a public announcement that the Member will not be a 
     candidate for reelection to such office in that year.
       ``(ii) A Member of Congress or a Congressional Committee or 
     Subcommittee of which such Member is Chairman or Ranking 
     Member may mail a mass mailing as franked mail if--
       ``(I) the purpose of the mailing is to communicate 
     information about a public meeting; and
       ``(II) the content of the mailed matter includes only the 
     name of the Member, Committee, or Subcommittee, as 
     appropriate, and the date, time, and place of the public 
     meeting.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--

[[Page S5580]]

       (1) Section 3210(a)(6) of title 39, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking subparagraph (B) and by redesignating 
     subparagraphs (C) through (F) as subparagraphs (B) through 
     (E), respectively.
       (2) Section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 39, United States Code, 
     as redesignated by paragraph (1), is amended by striking 
     ``subparagraphs (A) and (C)'' and inserting ``subparagraphs 
     (A) and (B)''.

     TITLE III--RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

     SEC. 301. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI.

       Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
     1971 (2 U.S.C. 437d(a)(6)) is amended by inserting 
     ``(including a proceeding before the Supreme Court on 
     certiorari)'' after ``appeal''.

     SEC. 302. FILING BY SENATE CANDIDATES WITH COMMISSION.

       Section 302(g) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
     (2 U.S.C. 432(g)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(g) Filing With the Commission.--All designations, 
     statements, and reports required to be filed under this Act 
     shall be filed with the Commission.''.

     SEC. 303. ELECTRONIC FILING OF FEC REPORTS.

       Section 304(a)(11) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
     1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(a)(11)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``under this Act--'' 
     and all that follows and inserting ``under this Act shall be 
     required to maintain and file such designation, statement, or 
     report in electronic form accessible by computers.'';
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``48 hours'' and all 
     that follows through ``filed electronically)'' and inserting 
     ``24 hours''; and
       (3) by striking subparagraph (D).

                   TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SEC. 401. SEVERABILITY.

       If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, 
     or the application of a provision or amendment to any person 
     or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 
     remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and 
     the application of the provisions and amendment to any person 
     or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding.

     SEC. 402. REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.

       An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the 
     United States from any final judgment, decree, or order 
     issued by any court ruling on the constitutionality of any 
     provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act.

     SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Except as otherwise provided for in this Act, this Act and 
     the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on January 
     1, 2008.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bingaman, 
        and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 1288. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the 
retirement security of women and small business owners, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Women's 
Retirement Security Act of 2007. This measure has the potential to make 
a significantly positive impact on the ability of Americans to save for 
their retirement years. This is a truly bi-partisan bill and I am 
pleased to be joined today in introducing this important legislation 
with Senators Conrad, Kerry, Bingaman and Snowe.
  Preparing for retirement and achieving financial security are 
daunting tasks for all Americans; however, women face many unique 
challenges. Women are more likely to work part-time or work in 
industries where employers are less likely to offer retirement 
benefits. And many women have significant gaps in their work histories 
due to caring for children or elderly parents.
  As a result, women receive substantially less income during 
retirement than men. What makes this trend even more disturbing is the 
fact that women generally live longer. So if anything, women should be 
entering retirement with more income.
  The Women's Retirement Security Act of 2007 works to narrow the 
retirement income gap between men and women. For example, because women 
are more likely than men to work part-time, the bill will require 
employers to allow long-term, part-time employees to make elective 
deferrals to their 40l(k) plans. In addition, the bill expands the 
Saver's Credit, which is a tax credit for certain low and moderate-
income individuals, so that more Americans will benefit.
  The bill also creates automatic IRAs. Over 75 million Americans work 
for an employer that does not sponsor a retirement plan. This is almost 
half of all working Americans. The Women's Retirement Security Act will 
allow those employees not covered by a qualified retirement plan to 
save for retirement through automatic payroll deposits to IRAs. Under 
the bill, employers with more than 10 employees that don't sponsor a 
retirement plan would be required to offer an option for their 
employees to make regular payroll deposits to IRAs. This concept is 
very similar to direct deposit of paychecks to employees' bank 
accounts, which many employers already do.
  Another key component provides incentives for lifetime payments. 
Since women generally live longer than men, they must be particularly 
concerned with protecting against the risk of exhausting their 
retirement income. Life annuities help ensure that older Americans will 
not outlive their retirement savings, adding stability and security in 
retirement years. The Women's Retirement Security Act encourages 
annuitization by allowing individuals to exclude from taxation a 
portion of payments from qualified or nonqualified annuities that last 
a lifetime.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to narrow the pension 
gap between men and women by enacting the important reforms in this 
legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this legislation be printed in 
the Record. I also ask unanimous consent that my statement be included 
in the Record next to the bill.
  Thank you.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues Senators 
Smith, Conrad, Snowe, and Bingaman in introducing the Women's 
Retirement Security Act of 2007. This legislation comes on the heels of 
the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which makes 
improvements to the defined benefit pension plan system.
  The legislation that we are introducing today builds upon that 
legislation and focuses on defined contribution plans. Our pension 
system has shifted away from defined benefit plans to defined 
contribution plans. We should make it easier for employers to offer 
defined contribution plans and for individuals to participate in these 
plans.
  At a time when we have a negative savings rate that is the lowest 
since the Great Depression, we should provide appropriate incentives to 
help individuals save for retirement. In an effort to achieve this, the 
Women's Retirement Security Act of 2007 focuses on increasing 
retirement savings, the preservation of income, equity in divorce, 
improving financial literacy, and encouraging small businesses to enter 
and remain in the employer retirement plan system.
  This legislation increases savings by allowing employees to 
contribute a portion of their paycheck to an individual retirement 
account (IRA) if their employer does not offer a pension plan. 
Automatic IRAs will help the 71 million workers that do not have 
employer-sponsored plans. It is a low-cost, sensible solution that 
provides a stepping stone toward employer-sponsored retirement plans. 
More workers are likely to contribute to an IRA if the contribution is 
deducted from their payroll. Automatic IRAs will help combat the 
inertia that is a factor in our low savings rate. The bill also 
provides a tax credit to help small businesses with the cost of 
implementation.
  The Pension Protection Act of 2006 increase made the tax credit for 
contributions to qualified pension plans permanent, commonly referred 
to as the saver's credit, permanent. Our legislation builds upon this 
provision by making this credit refundable and making it 50 percent of 
the contribution for all eligible taxpayers. The annual contribution 
eligible for this credit is $2,000. In 2005, five million households 
benefited from this provision. These changes will help many more 
benefit from this important credit. Making the credit refundable will 
help those who are struggling and do not have enough income to save.
  Women are often placed at a disadvantage in our retirement system 
because they cycle in and out of the work force. The Women's Retirement 
Security Act of 2007 addresses this issue by requiring employers that 
offer defined contribution plans to cover part-time employees that meet 
specific requirements.
  Pension coverage needs to improve, particularly for small businesses. 
In

[[Page S5581]]

2004, only 26 percent of workers at firms with fewer than 25 employees 
participated in pension plans. Progress has been made on providing 
coverage to small businesses. Currently, more than 19 million workers 
are covered by small business retirement plans, but more than 36 
million Americans work for firms with less than 25 employees.
  The Women's Retirement Security Act of 2007 provides a start-up 
credit for new small business retirement contributions. In addition, it 
removes rules that discourage small employers from adopting deferral 
only plans.
  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to help 
improve the retirement of mothers, sisters, daughters, and wives. We 
should work together to provide incentives that encourage participation 
in retirement plans and remove barriers preventing employers from 
offering them.
  Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CRAIG:
  S. 1289. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the 
salary and terms of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for 
Veterans Claims, to modify authorities for the recall of retired judges 
of such court, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to comment 
on a bill I am introducing to help ensure the long-term ability of the 
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to promptly dispense 
justice in all veterans cases.
  In 1988, Congress created this court to hear appeals from decisions 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, most commonly on veterans' 
claims for disability compensation based on injuries or diseases they 
suffered during service. As was discussed at a hearing I called last 
year while serving as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
the CAVC is facing some serious challenges, which may impede its 
ability to consistently provide timely decisions to our Nation's 
veterans.
  In fact, between 2004 and 2006 the court experienced something akin 
to a ``perfect storm.'' The last four of the original judges, who were 
appointed when the court was created, all retired, taking 60 years of 
experience with them; the court's incoming caseload experienced a 
dramatic 67-percent increase; and the court was left with a single 
judge who had at least 2 years of experience deciding these often 
complex cases. As a consequence, the court received 30 percent more 
cases than it decided during that time and the number of pending cases 
doubled in less than 2 years. With over 6,000 cases still pending, 
almost 4,000 more than a decade ago, and with the court continuing to 
receive record levels of incoming cases, veterans seeking justice from 
the court may feel the effects of this ``perfect storm'' for many years 
to come, as the court struggles to eliminate the existing backlog and 
to keep up with new appeals.
  For the men and women who have served, sacrificed, and suffered for 
our Nation, I believe we must take steps to ensure that they will 
receive timely decisions on their appeals, not just today but for many 
years to come. That is why I am introducing this bill to help the court 
deal with its existing caseload and to help ensure that, in the long 
term, the court will not face such a devastating combination of events.
  As one means of helping with the current caseload, the bill would 
modify the rules that govern the recall of retired judges. Under 
current law, a retiring judge may opt to be recall eligible, which 
means the judge may be involuntarily called back to work for up to 90 
days per year when needed and may voluntarily serve up to 180 days per 
year. For this court, like other Federal courts, the option of 
receiving help from retired judges can be an extremely important 
resource. In fact, last year, after the court began recalling retired 
judges to help with its caseload, the court's productivity rose over 19 
percent in 3 months.
  In view of the obvious value of having experienced retired judges 
continue to decide veterans' cases and the fact that they currently 
receive the same salary as active judges regardless of how much, if 
any, service they provide in a year, it would be a win-win situation 
for veterans, the court, and taxpayers if a retired judge opted to 
return to the bench more frequently or for longer periods than current 
law permits. To allow for that possibility, the bill would eliminate 
the 180-day cap and permit a retired judge to voluntarily serve in 
recall status as many days during a year as he or she wishes.
  Also, because the court may need an unprecedented level of service 
from retired judges in the next several years to help deal with its 
caseload, the bill would provide an incentive for the current 
complement of recall-eligible judges to provide as much service as 
practical during that time. Specifically, the bill would provide that, 
once a recall-eligible judge has served an aggregate of 5 years of 
recall service, the judge will no longer be subject to involuntarily 
recall and will continue to receive the same salary, that of an active 
judge.
  To put that into perspective, if a retired judge were to be recalled 
for 90 days each year, as current law permits, it would take 20 years 
to provide the equivalent of 5 years of recall service. In addition to 
allowing judges to accelerate their service into fewer years, at a time 
when it may be most beneficial to veterans, this change may also 
encourage retired judges to serve in recall status for longer periods 
of time. This should help minimize concerns expressed by the Chief 
Judge in recent years about how much retired judges would be able to 
accomplish in the limited 90 day recall period. With these changes, the 
court should have the judicial resources it needs to handle its 
caseload in the near term.
  In addition, this bill would take steps to ensure that the court, in 
the long run, is not faced with a difficult transition like the one it 
experienced in recent years. By way of background, the original judges, 
except for one who died, all retired between 2000 and 2005, with four 
of those retirements occurring within a single 12-month period. Given 
the delays inherent in the appointment and confirmation process, this 
left the CAVC without a full complement of active judges for much of 
that 5-year period. As the Chief Judge testified in 2006, functioning 
with less than seven judges ``led to a backlog'' of cases at the court.
  Perhaps more significantly, this cluster of retirements meant that, 
as of August 2005, the court had only one judge, the new Chief Judge, 
who had at least 2 years of experience on the bench. In the words of 
that Chief Judge, ``no other Federal court would be faced with the 
transition that we were faced with as of August 2005. Where else in the 
Federal judiciary system could I, the junior judge . . . suddenly 
become the senior judge, and have all of the experience of the court 
departing?'' The Chief Judge also opined that ``[t]his turnover on the 
Court has had great significance, particularly in the short term, on 
the Court's case management.''
  The effects of this turnover may have been magnified by the fact that 
this court deals with a very specialized area of law, which by all 
accounts has become increasingly complex in recent years. In fact, the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States recently described 
veterans' law as ``a complex thicket of court decisions and statutory 
requirements.''
  To further complicate the situation, the court experienced a dramatic 
rise in the number of incoming cases in recent years. In fact, in 2005 
the court received 37 percent more cases than it had received in any 
prior year and, then, in 2006 the court received an even higher level 
of incoming cases. As I indicated earlier, the combined effect of these 
factors led the court to be ``in the red'' for several years, taking in 
almost 3,000 more cases than it decided.
  Although some factors that have contributed to the court's challenges 
cannot be controlled, it seems clear that multiple retirements of 
experienced judges within a relatively short period of time can have a 
profound impact on the court's ability to decide veterans' cases. It is 
worth noting that Congress previously attempted to stagger the 
retirement dates of the judges by temporarily expanding the size of the 
court and by shortening the length of two judges' terms. Despite those 
efforts, it is possible that 6 of the 7 judges now on the bench will 
retire within a 4-year window, an even shorter period than the 
disruptive turnover between 2000 and 2005.
  That is why I believe we need to try a completely new approach to 
help ensure that experienced judges will stay

[[Page S5582]]

on the bench for as long as practicable and will not retire in 
clusters as their terms expire. To that end, this bill would eliminate 
the term limits for any new judges appointed to the court and would 
provide those judges with full pay-of-the-office only when serving as 
an active judge or when providing service as a recalled retired judge. 
The combined effect of those provisions should encourage judges to stay 
on the bench longer before they retire and to regularly volunteer for 
recall service after they retire.

  Yes, this represents a significant departure from the traditional 
model for article I courts. But as experience has shown, the current 
model is not adequate to consistently provide veterans with timely 
decisions on their claims and we simply cannot allow further 
disruptions in service to our Nation's heroes each time the court turns 
over. Once judges gain years of valuable experience in this complex, 
specialized area of law, we should not force them, and their 
experience, into retirement. Rather, we should take steps, as this bill 
would do, to permit veterans and the court to receive the maximum 
possible benefit from their years on the bench.
  To avoid ``changing the rules'' on those judges who have already been 
appointed and confirmed, these changes would be prospective, applying 
only to judges appointed to the court on or after the date of enactment 
of this bill. In the meantime, I hope the changes to the current recall 
provisions that I mentioned earlier will help avoid a difficult 
transition when the current sitting judges retire.
  In addition to these changes to the term limits and recall rules, the 
bill would require the Chief Judge, in conjunction with the court's 
stakeholders, to set guidelines for when recall would be appropriate, 
taking into account such factors as the number of active judges, 
temporary or prolonged increases or decreases in caseload, and the 
complexity of the caseload. It would also require the court to submit 
annual performance reports to Congress including information on the 
court's workload during the prior year, as well as an analysis of 
whether the standards for recalling judges were met and what service, 
if any, was performed by retired judges. Such guidelines should aid the 
court, retired judges, and Congress in planning for periods when recall 
will likely be used and when it will not.
  More importantly, the number of recall-eligible judges and their 
level of activity are important factors that must be considered in 
determining whether the court has sufficient judicial resources. If 
current caseload trends continue and the court, even fully utilizing 
the services of recalled judges, is unable to provide veterans with the 
level of service they deserve, the addition of judgeships may need to 
be considered. These guidelines and reports will allow Congress to 
closely monitor that situation to ensure that the court has the 
necessary capacity.
  Finally, the bill would recognize the critical and increasingly 
demanding role of the Chief Judge by allowing the salary of the Chief 
Judge to be increased by $7,000 per year, and the bill would direct the 
General Services Administration to provide Congress with a report as to 
the feasibility and desirability of converting the court's current 
location into a dedicated Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center.
  It is my sincere hope that the fundamental changes in this bill will 
help ensure that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is able to 
consistently provide veterans with timely decisions, now and for many 
years to come. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I also 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. 1289

       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 ``Veterans' Justice Assurance 
     Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. REPEAL OF TERM LIMITS FOR JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES 
                   COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 7253(c) of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Term of Office.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph 
     (2), judges of the Court shall hold office during good 
     behavior.
       ``(2) In the case of an individual who is serving a term of 
     office as a judge of the Court on the date of the enactment 
     of the Veterans' Justice Assurance Act of 2007, such term 
     shall be 15 years. A judge who is nominated by the President 
     for appointment to an additional term on the Court without a 
     break in service and whose term of office expires while that 
     nomination is pending before the Senate may continue in 
     office for up to 1 year while that nomination is pending.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 7296(b)(2) of such title 
     is amended by striking ``A judge who'' and inserting ``A 
     judge who was appointed before the date of the enactment of 
     the Veterans' Justice Assurance Act of 2007 and who''.

     SEC. 3. INCREASED SALARY FOR CHIEF JUDGE OF UNITED STATES 
                   COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

       Section 7253(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Each judge''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) The annual salary rate under paragraph (1) for a 
     judge shall be increased by $7,000 during any period that 
     such judge is serving as chief judge of the Court.''.

     SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATING TO RECALL OF RETIRED JUDGES OF 
                   THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS 
                   CLAIMS.

       (a) Elimination of Limit on Service of Retired Judges Who 
     Voluntarily Serve More Than 90 Days.--Section 7257(b)(2) of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ``or for 
     more than a total of 180 days (or the equivalent) during any 
     calendar year''.
       (b) New Judges Recalled After Retirement Receive Pay of 
     Current Judges Only During Periods of Recall.--
       (1) In general.--Section 7296(c) of such title is amended 
     by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the 
     case of a judge who retires under subsection (b) of this 
     section and elects under subsection (d) of this section to 
     receive retired pay under this subsection, the retired pay of 
     the judge shall (except as provided in paragraph (2) of this 
     subsection and section 7257(d)(2) of this title) be the rate 
     of pay applicable to that judge at the time of retirement 
     (disregarding any increase in salary provided in accordance 
     with section 7253(e)(2) of this title).
       ``(B) A judge who was appointed before the date of the 
     enactment of the Veterans' Justice Assurance Act of 2007 and 
     who retires under subsection (b) of this section and elects 
     under subsection (d) of this section to receive retired pay 
     under this subsection shall (except as provided in paragraph 
     (2) of this subsection) receive retired pay as follows:
       ``(i) In the case of a judge who is a recall-eligible 
     retired judge under section 7257 of this title or who was a 
     recall-eligible retired judge under that section and was 
     removed from recall status under subsection (b)(4) of that 
     section by reason of disability, the retired pay of the judge 
     shall be the pay of a judge of the court.
       ``(ii) In the case of a judge who at the time of retirement 
     did not provide notice under section 7257 of this title of 
     availability for service in a recalled status, the retired 
     pay of the judge shall be the rate of pay applicable to that 
     judge at the time of retirement.
       ``(iii) In the case of a judge who was a recall-eligible 
     retired judge under section 7257 of this title and was 
     removed from recall status under subsection (b)(3) of that 
     section, the retired pay of the judge shall be the pay of the 
     judge at the time of the removal from recall status.''.
       (2) Pay during period of recall.--Section 7257(d) of such 
     title is amended to read as follows:
       ``(d)(1) The pay of a recall-eligible retired judge to whom 
     section 7296(c)(1)(B) of this title applies is the pay 
     specified in that section.
       ``(2) A judge who is recalled under this section who 
     retired under chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or to whom section 
     7296(c)(1)(A) of this title applies shall be paid, during the 
     period for which the judge serves in recall status, pay at 
     the rate of pay in effect under section 7253(e) of this title 
     for a judge performing active service, less the amount of the 
     judge's annuity under the applicable provisions of chapter 83 
     or 84 of title 5 or the judge's annuity under section 
     7296(c)(1)(A) of this title, whichever is applicable.''.
       (3) Notice.--The last sentence of section 7257(a)(1) of 
     such title is amended to read as follows: ``Such a notice 
     provided by a retired judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of 
     this title applies is irrevocable.''.
       (c) Limitation on Involuntary Recalls.--Section 7257(b)(3) 
     of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new sentence: ``This paragraph shall not apply to--
       ``(A) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(A) of this title 
     applies; or
       ``(B) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of this title 
     applies and who has, in the aggregate, served at least five 
     years (or the equivalent) of recalled service on the Court 
     under this section.''.
       (d) Establishment of Caseload Thresholds for Determining 
     When to Recall Retired Judges.--Section 7257(b) of such title 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

[[Page S5583]]

       ``(5) For purposes of paragraph (1), the chief judge shall 
     establish guidelines for determining whether recall-eligible 
     retired judges should be recalled on either a voluntary or 
     involuntary basis, taking into account such factors as the 
     number of active judges, temporary or prolonged increases or 
     decreases in caseload, and the complexity of the caseload. In 
     establishing such guidelines, the chief judge shall, to the 
     extent practicable, consult with the following:
       ``(A) Organizations recognized by the Secretary for the 
     representation of veterans under section 5902 of this title.
       ``(B) The bar association of the Court.
       ``(C) The Secretary.
       ``(D) Such persons or entities the chief judge considers 
     appropriate.''.

     SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL DISCRETION IN IMPOSITION OF PRACTICE AND 
                   REGISTRATION FEES.

       Section 7285(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``reasonable'' 
     after ``impose a'';
       (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``, except that 
     such amount may not exceed $30 per year''; and
       (3) in the third sentence, by inserting ``reasonable'' 
     after ``impose a''.

     SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS ON WORKLOAD OF UNITED STATES COURT OF 
                   APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 72 of title 38, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 7288. Annual report

       ``(a) In General.--The chief judge of the Court shall 
     submit annually to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report summarizing the workload of the Court for the last 
     fiscal year that ended before the submission of such report. 
     Such report shall include, with respect to such fiscal year, 
     the following information:
       ``(1) The number of appeals filed.
       ``(2) The number of petitions filed.
       ``(3) The number of applications filed under section 2412 
     of title 28.
       ``(4) The number and type of dispositions.
       ``(5) The median time from filing to disposition.
       ``(6) The number of oral arguments.
       ``(7) The number and status of pending appeals and 
     petitions and of applications described in paragraph (3).
       ``(8) A summary of any service performed by recalled 
     retired judges during the fiscal year and an analysis of 
     whether any of the caseload guidelines established under 
     section 7257(b)(5) of this title were met during the fiscal 
     year.
       ``(b) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means 
     the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 72 of such title is amended by inserting 
     after the item related to section 7287, the following new 
     item:

``7288. Annual report.''.

     SEC. 7. REPORT ON EXPANSION OF FACILITIES FOR UNITED STATES 
                   COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
     is currently located in the District of Columbia in a 
     commercial office building that is also occupied by other 
     Federal tenants.
       (2) In February 2006, the General Services Administration 
     provided Congress with a preliminary feasibility analysis of 
     a dedicated Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center that would 
     house the Court and other entities that work with the Court.
       (3) In February 2007, the Court notified Congress that the 
     ``most cost-effective alternative appears to be leasing 
     substantial additional space in the current location'', which 
     would ``require relocating other current government tenants'' 
     from that building.
       (4) The February 2006 feasibility report of the General 
     Services Administration does not include an analysis of 
     whether it would be feasible or desirable to locate a 
     Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center at the current 
     location of the Court.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
     should be provided with appropriate office space to meet its 
     needs, as well as to provide the image, security, and stature 
     befitting a court that provides justice to the veterans of 
     the United States; and
       (2) in providing that space, Congress should avoid undue 
     disruption, inconvenience, or cost to other Federal entities.
       (c) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General 
     Services shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
     of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
     House of Representatives a report on the feasibility of--
       (A) leasing additional space for the United States Court of 
     Appeals for Veterans Claims within the building where the 
     Court was located on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
     and
       (B) using the entirety of such building as a Veterans 
     Courthouse and Justice Center.
       (2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
     include a detailed analysis of the following:
       (A) The impact that the matter analyzed in accordance with 
     paragraph (1) would have on Federal tenants of the building 
     used by the Court.
       (B) Whether it would be feasible to relocate such Federal 
     tenants into office space that offers similar or preferable 
     cost, convenience, and usable square footage.
       (C) If relocation of such Federal tenants is found to be 
     feasible and desirable, an analysis of what steps should 
     taken to convert the building into a Veterans Courthouse and 
     Justice Center and a time line for such conversion.
       (3) Comment period.--The Administrator shall provide an 
     opportunity to such Federal tenants--
       (A) before the completion of the report required by 
     paragraph (1), to comment on the subject of the report 
     required by such paragraph; and
       (B) before the Administrator submits the report required by 
     paragraph (1) to the congressional committees specified in 
     such paragraph, to comment on a draft of such report.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CRAIG:
  S. 1290. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide 
additional discretion to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 
contracting with State approving agencies, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to comment 
on a bill I am introducing to ensure that veterans and their families 
have access to educational assistance benefits unimpeded by layers of 
bureaucracy and inflexible legal requirements.
  Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs provides educational 
assistance benefits to veterans, servicemembers, reservists, and their 
families to pursue a wide array of educational opportunities, including 
traditional college degrees, vocational training, apprenticeships, and 
on-the-job training programs. VA contracts with entities called ``State 
approving agencies,'' SAAs, to assess whether schools and training 
programs are of sufficient quality for individuals to receive VA 
education benefits while pursuing their programs. That SAA approval 
process was originally instituted after World War II to help stem 
abuses of veterans' education benefits, such as scam vocational and 
business schools profiting from those education benefits and then not 
providing veterans with an education of any value.
  Today, unlike 60 years ago, schools and educational programs of all 
types may be scrutinized by a number of different entities, including 
the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, various national 
and regional accrediting bodies, and state licensing agencies. In fact, 
in 1995 the Government Accountability Office found that a substantial 
portion of the approval activities performed by SAAs overlapped with 
work done by others. Several years later, the Commission on 
Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance concluded that 
veterans should be ``the primary judge of the appropriateness of 
accredited courses to their plans for the future'' and that 
``[a]pproval of institutions accredited by accrediting bodies 
recognized by the Department of Education should suffice for veterans' 
training approval.''
  In the years since those findings, Congress has altered the 
responsibilities of SAAs by requiring them to perform additional 
functions, such as promoting the development of apprenticeships and on-
the-job training programs, conducting outreach services, and approving 
licensing tests. However, the traditional approval functions performed 
by SAAs, which are specifically required by statute, have not been 
significantly modified.
  Last year, in order to assess whether veterans face unnecessary or 
inefficient barriers in accessing VA education benefits under the 
current system, I asked GAO to evaluate the extent to which SAA 
approval activities currently overlap with functions performed by the 
Departments of Labor and Education and what value is added by the 
services performed by SAAs. Let me give you a few examples of GAO's 
recent findings:

       Many education and training programs approved by SAAs have 
     also been approved by the Departments of Education or Labor 
     and VA and SAAs have taken few steps to coordinate approval 
     activities with those Departments.
       To streamline approval processes, VA should collaborate 
     with other agencies but, according to VA, that may be 
     difficult because of the specific approval requirements in 
     law.

[[Page S5584]]

       VA does not require SAAs to track the amount of resources 
     they spend on specific duties and functions, including those 
     that may be performed by other agencies, and thus does not 
     have all relevant information to make resource allocation 
     decisions or to determine whether it is spending federal 
     funds efficiently and effectively.
       It is difficult to assess the effectiveness and progress of 
     SAAs because VA does not have outcome-oriented performance 
     measures in place to fully evaluate their performance.

  Although I have no doubts about the dedication and sincerity of SAA 
personnel in the field, I believe GAO's findings demonstrate that we do 
not have a systematic or objective way to determine whether the current 
mix of services provided by SAAs, which are mandated by statute, are 
either necessary or beneficial to the veterans and their families who 
participate in VA's education programs. That is why I believe we should 
overhaul the entire statutory scheme regarding SAAs, as this bill would 
do, to help eliminate redundant administrative procedures, increase 
VA's flexibility in determining the nature and extent of services that 
should be performed by SAAs, and improve accountability for any 
activities they undertake.
  Specifically, this bill would strike statutory provisions that 
mandate what activities SAAs must perform, how those functions must be 
carried out, and how VA must pay for them. Instead, VA would have 
authority to contract with SAAs for services that it deems valuable and 
to determine how those services should be performed, evaluated, and 
compensated. The bill would also require VA to coordinate approval 
activities performed by State approving agencies, the Department of 
Labor, the Department of Education, and other entities to reduce 
overlapping and unnecessary layers of bureaucracy. To ensure that VA, 
Congress, and other stakeholders will be able to objectively assess the 
effectiveness of any functions performed by SAAs, VA would be required 
to establish outcome-oriented performance measures and SAAs would be 
required to track and report information on the resources expended on 
all activities they perform.
  Finally, the bill includes a provision, similar to legislation that 
the Senate passed last year, that would provide a $19 million spending 
authorization for SAAs effective at the start of the upcoming fiscal 
year and would allow, for the first time, SAA funding to be drawn from 
both mandatory spending accounts and discretionary accounts. By way of 
background, since 1988 VA payment for the services of SAAs has been 
made only out of funds available for ``readjustment benefits'', a VA 
account funded through mandatory appropriations, and has been subject 
to annual funding caps.
  For the current fiscal year, SAA funding from this entitlement 
account is capped at $19 million, but under current law there will be a 
$6 million reduction in authorized spending, to $13 million, for every 
fiscal year thereafter. Although the provisions of this bill would 
maintain a $19 million funding level in future years, it is important 
to note that that level is a ceiling, not a floor. As with any private-
sector business or good-government business model, budgeting and 
funding decisions should be linked to performance and VA should 
contract only for those services that are necessary and valuable.
  In sum, this bill would provide VA with the flexibility to streamline 
approval processes, eliminate redundant bureaucratic procedures, focus 
resources on services that will meet the current needs of education 
program participants, and ensure that veterans and their families will 
not confront layers of bureaucracy and inflexible legal requirements in 
accessing their educational assistance benefits. I ask my colleagues to 
support this measure.
  I also 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. 1290

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES FOR STATE APPROVING 
                   AGENCIES.

       (a) Technical Amendment to Scope of Approval.--Section 3670 
     of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (b); and
       (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``(a)''.
       (b) Modification of Provisions Relating to Approval of 
     Courses.--
       (1) Modification of requirement that standards for programs 
     of apprenticeship be approved under the national 
     apprenticeship act.--Subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 3672 of 
     such title is amended by striking ``pursuant to section 2 of 
     the Act of August 16, 1937 (popularly known as the `National 
     Apprenticeship Act') (29 U.S.C. 50a),''.
       (2) Modification of requirement to promote development of 
     apprenticeship programs.--Subsection (d) of such section is 
     amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``and State approving agencies''; and
       (ii) by striking ``shall utilize the services of'' and 
     inserting ``may utilize the services of State approving 
     agencies and''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``shall'' and inserting 
     ``may''.
       (3) Modification of requirements relating to approval of 
     program of education exclusively by correspondence.--
     Subsection (e) of such section is amended by striking ``only 
     if'' and all that follows through the period and inserting 
     ``under such criteria as the Secretary prescribes pursuant to 
     section 3675.''.
       (c) Restatement of Requirement for Coordination of Approval 
     Activities.--
       (1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 3673 of such 
     title is amended to read as follows:
       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall take appropriate 
     measures to ensure the coordination of approval activities 
     performed by State approving agencies under this chapter and 
     chapters 34 and 35 of this title and approval activities 
     performed by the Department of Labor, the Department of 
     Education, and other entities to reduce overlap and improve 
     efficiency with respect to the activities.''.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--Such section is further 
     amended--
       (A) in subsection (b), by inserting ``Furnishing 
     Materials.--'' before ``The Secretary''; and
       (B) in the heading by striking ``Cooperation'' and 
     inserting ``Coordination of approval activities''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 3673 and inserting the 
     following:

``3673. Coordination of approval activities.''.

       (d) Additional Discretion for the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs for Reimbursing State Approving Agencies for 
     Expenses.--Section 3674 of such title is amended to read as 
     follows:

     ``Sec. 3674. Reimbursement of expenses

       ``(a) In General.--(1) Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 
     the Secretary is authorized to enter into contracts or 
     agreements with State and local agencies to pay such State 
     and local agencies for reasonable and necessary expenses of 
     salary and travel incurred by employees of such agencies and 
     an allowance for administrative expenses in accordance with 
     such criteria as the Secretary determines appropriate for 
     activities performed pursuant to this chapter for purposes of 
     chapters 30 through 35 of this title and chapters 1606 and 
     1607 of title 10.
       ``(2) Each such contract or agreement shall be conditioned 
     upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate for services performed pursuant to this chapter, 
     including the condition that the State approving agency shall 
     collect and report annually to the Secretary, the Committee 
     on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives information 
     on--
       ``(A) the amount of resources expended on such services 
     performed pursuant to that contract; and
       ``(B) the qualification and performance standards for State 
     approving agency personnel responsible for such services.
       ``(b) Source of Payments.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
     Secretary shall make payments authorized under subsection (a) 
     to State and local agencies first out of amounts available 
     for the payment of readjustment benefits and then from other 
     amounts made available to make the payments.
       ``(c) Limitation on Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) 
     The total amount authorized and available under this section 
     for any fiscal year may not exceed $19,000,000, except that 
     the total amount made available for purposes of this section 
     from amounts available for the payment of readjustment 
     benefits may not exceed the following:
       ``(A) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
       ``(B) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and each subsequent 
     fiscal year.
       ``(2) For any fiscal year in which the total amount that 
     would be made available under this section would exceed the 
     amount applicable to that fiscal year under paragraph (1) 
     except for the provisions of this subsection, the Secretary 
     shall provide that each agency shall receive the same 
     percentage of the amount applicable to that fiscal year under 
     paragraph (1) as the agency would have received of the total 
     amount that would have been made available without the 
     limitation of this subsection.''.
       (e) Evaluations of Agency Performance; Qualifications and 
     Performance of Agency Personnel.--Section 3674A of such title 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (b);
       (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``(a)'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as 
     paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), respectively;
       (4) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated by 
     paragraph (3) of this subsection, the following new paragraph 
     (1):
       ``(1) establish performance measures--
       ``(A) to assess the effectiveness of all services for which 
     a State approving agency is

[[Page S5585]]

     reimbursed pursuant to section 3674 of this title that are 
     based on the outcomes of the services; and
       ``(B) to assess the effectiveness of the State approving 
     agency in coordinating with other entities, including the 
     Department of Labor and the Department of Education, to 
     reduce overlap and improve efficiency in approval 
     activities;'';
       (5) by amending paragraph (2), as redesignated by paragraph 
     (3) of this subsection, to read as follows:
       ``(2) conduct an annual evaluation of each State approving 
     agency on the basis of the performance measures established 
     under paragraph (1);''; and
       (6) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by paragraph (3) of 
     this subsection, by striking ``under paragraph (1)'' and 
     inserting ``under paragraph (2)''.
       (f) Approval of Courses.--
       (1) In general.--Section 3675 of such title is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 3675. Approval of courses

       ``(a) Standards.--The Secretary shall establish standards 
     of approval for accredited and nonaccredited courses offered 
     by an educational institution that the Secretary determines 
     are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. 
     Such standards shall be based on the following, as 
     appropriate:
       ``(1) Student achievement.
       ``(2) Curricula, program objectives, and faculty.
       ``(3) Facilities, equipment, and supplies.
       ``(4) Institutional objectives, capacity, and 
     administration.
       ``(5) Student support services.
       ``(6) Recruiting and admissions practices.
       ``(7) Record of student complaints.
       ``(8) Process related requirements, such as application 
     requirements.
       ``(9) Such other criteria as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       ``(b) Approval.--A State approving agency may approve 
     courses offered by an educational institution when the 
     standards established under subsection (a) have been 
     satisfied by such educational institution. In performing such 
     approval function, the State approving agency may, to the 
     extent permitted by the Secretary, rely upon determinations 
     made by other entities, including the Department of Labor and 
     the Department of Education.
       ``(c) Disapproval.--Approval granted under this section may 
     be revoked by the Secretary or a State approving agency under 
     conditions established by the Secretary.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 3452(h) of such title is 
     amended by striking ``an entrepreneurship course (as defined 
     in section 3675(c)(2) of this title)'' and inserting ``a non-
     degree, non-credit course of business education that enables 
     or assists a person to start or enhance a small business 
     concern (as defined pursuant to section 3(a) of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 362(a)))''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item related to section 3675 and inserting the following 
     new item:

``3675. Approval of courses.''.

       (g) Modification of Provisions Relating to Approval of 
     Nonaccredited Courses.--
       (1) In general.--Section 3676 of such title is repealed.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--(A) Section 3677 of such title 
     is redesignated as section 3676.
       (B) Section 3672(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking 
     ``sections 3677'' and inserting ``sections 3676''.
       (C) Section 3687(a)(2) of such title is amended by striking 
     ``section 3677'' and inserting ``section 3676''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 3676 and inserting the 
     following:

``3676. Approval of training on the job.''.

       (h) Notice of Approval.--
       (1) In general.--Section 3678 of such title is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``SEC. 3677. NOTICE OF DETERMINATIONS BY STATE APPROVING 
                   AGENCIES.

       ``A State approving agency shall provide to the Secretary, 
     an educational institution, or such other entities as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate such notification as the 
     Secretary may consider necessary regarding determinations 
     made by the State approving agency pursuant to section 3675 
     of this title.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 3689(d) of such title is 
     amended by striking ``3678'' and inserting ``3677''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking 
     the items relating to section 3677 and 3678 and inserting the 
     following:

``3677. Notice of determinations by State approving agencies.''.

       (i) Modification of Provisions Relating to Disapproval of 
     Courses.--
       (1) In general.--Section 3679 of such title is repealed.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 3689(d) of such title is 
     amended by striking ``3679,''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 3679.
       (j) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date that is one year after the date 
     of the enactment of this section.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CRAIG:
  S. 1293. A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to 
improve educational assistance for members and former members of the 
Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to comment 
on a bill I am introducing to enhance educational assistance benefits 
provided to active duty servicemembers, veterans, members of the Guard 
and Reserve, and their survivors and dependents by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, VA, and the Department of Defense.
  In recent years, many veterans' organizations, members of Congress, 
and others have highlighted the need to modernize these education 
programs to support emerging and alternative education opportunities 
and to recognize that the role of Guard and Reserve members has been 
transformed since September 11, 2001. This bill would take significant 
steps in that direction by providing greater flexibility in the use of 
these education benefits, revising eligibility criteria to reflect 
current mobilization strategies for Guard and Reserve units, and 
enhancing the education program for our ``citizen soldiers'' who have 
been called up to serve in the war on terror.
  First, this bill would provide veterans, Guard and Reserve members, 
and their spouses and dependents with additional flexibility in using 
existing education benefits. Traditionally, educational assistance 
benefits have been paid in equal monthly allotments throughout a 
semester or term. For veterans, the maximum basic rate is now $1,075 
per month, which means a veteran may receive at least $9,675 over the 
course of an average school year and almost $39,000 during a 4-year 
college program.
  This system works well for veterans attending a traditional four-year 
college. But, as the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans 
Transition Assistance reported in 1999, the existing payment structure 
``constrains veterans and servicemembers desiring to enroll in short-
term career-focused technical courses,'' a problem that is ``especially 
acute if the cost of the course dramatically exceeds the benefits 
payable for the few months' duration of the course.''
  That is why in 2001 I cosponsored legislation to establish an 
``accelerated'' payment option for veterans' education benefits. With 
that program now in place, a veteran may receive an up-front, lump-sum 
payment of up to 60 percent of the cost of certain high-tech, high-cost 
programs. Since that option was made available, many veterans have used 
that additional flexibility to train for jobs in high technology 
sectors of the economy, such as the computer and telecommunications 
industry, the aerospace industry, and the electronics industry.
  Then last year, as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I 
supported legislation that would have expanded this option to allow 
accelerated payments for short-term, high-cost education programs 
leading to jobs in any high growth sectors of the economy. Although VA 
also supported that legislation, VA testified that ``implementation 
would be challenging'' and that ``[i]t would be cleaner and more direct 
if the bill simply stated that all high-cost short-term courses were 
eligible for accelerated payments.''
  Having taken those concerns into account, this bill would allow 
veterans to receive accelerated payments for any short-term, high-cost 
education programs, and it would authorize VA to spend up to $3 million 
for those payments in each fiscal year from 2009 to 2012. Not only 
would this provide veterans with the flexibility to pursue 
nontraditional or technical educational opportunities, but it may help 
veterans quickly obtain job skills that currently are in high demand.
  For example, the trucking industry is now experiencing a critical 
shortage of trained drivers, but the GI Bill, as currently structured, 
may pay only a fraction of the cost for a veteran to take the 6 to 8 
week training course, about $2,000 of a total $6,000 bill. With the 
availability of accelerated payments for those and other short-term, 
high-cost training programs, veterans may be able to obtain the skills 
needed

[[Page S5586]]

to thrive in sectors of the economy that, today, are growing rapidly 
and can provide them with lucrative, rewarding career opportunities.
  In addition, the bill would, for the first time, provide Guard and 
Reserve members with the option of receiving accelerated payment of 
their education benefits. They, too, would be eligible to receive up-
front, lump-sum payments of up to 60 percent of the cost of any short-
term, high-cost education program. For fiscal years 2009 to 2012, the 
bill would authorize $2 million per year for the Montgomery GI bill, 
Selected Reserve program and $1 million per year for the smaller 
Reserve Educational Assistance Program to make these payments.
  To ensure that the families of veterans also have flexibility in the 
use of their education benefits, the bill would extend the same 
accelerated payment option to participants in the Survivors' and 
Dependents' Educational Assistance program. It would authorize VA to 
spend up to $1 million per year for those payments in fiscal years 2009 
to 2012.
  The second principal goal of the bill is to update and enhance the 
education program for members of the Guard and Reserve who are called 
to active duty. In 2004, recognizing the increased sacrifices being 
made by our ``citizen soldiers'' who are fighting in the War on Terror, 
Congress created the Reserve Educational Assistance Program for Guard 
and Reserve members who are activated for at least 90 days after 
September 11, 2001. This program was a significant step in the right 
direction, providing a maximum benefit of $860 per month for 36 months, 
a total possible benefit of over $30,000.
  However, the maximum monthly benefit requires a deployment of 2 
continuous years or more of active duty, and the Secretary of Defense 
has recently announced that ``from this point forward, members of the 
Reserves will be involuntarily mobilized for a maximum of one year at 
any one time, in contrast to the current practice of sixteen to twenty-
four months.'' To bring those eligibility criteria in line with current 
practice, this bill would allow members of the Guard or Reserve to 
receive the maximum benefits if they are deployed for an aggregate 
period of 3 or more years.
  Finally, the bill would provide these ``citizen soldiers'' with 
access to a valuable option now available only under the Montgomery GI 
bill program for active duty servicemembers. Specifically, it would 
allow members of the Guard or Reserve to contribute up to $600 in order 
to receive an additional $150 per month in education benefits, which 
amounts to an additional $5,400 in benefits over the course of 36 
months. Under this bill, Guard and Reserve members would, for the first 
time, have access to this valuable opportunity.
  With these modifications, we can take significant strides towards 
ensuring that current education programs are up-to-date and flexible 
and that they provide members of the Guard and Reserve with benefits 
commensurate with the level of service they are now performing on 
behalf of the entire Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  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. 1293

       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 ``Veterans' Education and 
     Vocational Benefits Improvement Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. TEMPORARY EXPANSION OF COURSES FOR WHICH ACCELERATED 
                   PAYMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE MAY BE MADE.

       (a) Accelerated Payment Under Montgomery GI Bill for 
     Certain Short-Term Programs.--
       (1) In general.--Section 3014A of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (b)--
       (i) by striking ``who is--'' and inserting ``who--'';
       (ii) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 
     new paragraph (1):
       ``(1)(A) is enrolled in an approved program of education 
     that leads to employment in a high technology occupation in a 
     high technology industry (as determined pursuant to 
     regulations prescribed by the Secretary); or
       ``(B) during the period beginning on October 1, 2008, and 
     ending on September 30, 2012, first enrolls in any other 
     approved program of education not exceeding two years in 
     duration and not leading to an associate, bachelors, masters, 
     or other degree, subject to subsection (h); and''; and
       (iii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``is'' before 
     ``charged''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(h) The aggregate amount of basic educational assistance 
     payable under this section in any fiscal year for enrollments 
     covered by subsection (b)(1)(B) may not exceed $3,000,000.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Such section is further amended 
     in the heading by striking ``leading to employment in high 
     technology occupation in high technology industry''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 30 of such title is amended in the item 
     relating to section 3014A by striking ``leading to employment 
     in high technology occupation in high technology industry''.
       (b) Accelerated Payment of Survivors' and Dependents' 
     Educational Assistance.--
       (1) In general.--Subchapter IV of chapter 35 of such title 
     is amended by inserting after section 3532 the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 3532A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance 
       allowance

       ``(a) The educational assistance allowance payable under 
     section 3531 of this title with respect to an eligible person 
     described in subsection (b) may, upon the election of such 
     eligible person, be paid on an accelerated basis in 
     accordance with this section.
       ``(b) An eligible person described in this subsection is an 
     individual who--
       ``(1) during the period beginning on October 1, 2008, and 
     ending on September 30, 2012, first enrolls in an approved 
     program of education not exceeding two years in duration and 
     not leading to an associate, bachelors, masters, or other 
     degree, subject to subsection (h); and
       ``(2) is charged tuition and fees for the program of 
     education that, when divided by the number of months (and 
     fractions thereof) in the enrollment period, exceeds the 
     amount equal to 200 percent of the monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the individual under section 3531 of this title.
       ``(c)(1) The amount of the accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance payable with respect to an eligible 
     person making an election under subsection (a) for a program 
     of education shall be the lesser of--
       ``(A) the amount equal to 60 percent of the established 
     charges for the program of education; or
       ``(B) the aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     allowance to which the individual remains entitled under this 
     chapter at the time of the payment.
       ``(2) In this subsection, the term `established charges', 
     in the case of a program of education, means the actual 
     charges (as determined pursuant to regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary) for tuition and fees which similarly 
     circumstanced individuals who are not eligible for benefits 
     under this chapter and who are enrolled in the program of 
     education would be required to pay. Established charges shall 
     be determined on the following basis:
       ``(A) In the case of an individual enrolled in a program of 
     education offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, the 
     tuition and fees charged the individual for the term, 
     quarter, or semester.
       ``(B) In the case of an individual enrolled in a program of 
     education not offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, 
     the tuition and fees charged the individual for the entire 
     program of education.
       ``(3) The educational institution providing the program of 
     education for which an accelerated payment of educational 
     assistance allowance is elected by an eligible person under 
     subsection (a) shall certify to the Secretary the amount of 
     the established charges for the program of education.
       ``(d) An accelerated payment of educational assistance 
     allowance made with respect to an eligible person under this 
     section for a program of education shall be made not later 
     than the last day of the month immediately following the 
     month in which the Secretary receives a certification from 
     the educational institution regarding--
       ``(1) the person's enrollment in and pursuit of the program 
     of education; and
       ``(2) the amount of the established charges for the program 
     of education.
       ``(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for each 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance made 
     with respect to an eligible person under this section, the 
     person's entitlement to educational assistance under this 
     chapter shall be charged the number of months (and any 
     fraction thereof) determined by dividing the amount of the 
     accelerated payment by the full-time monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the person under section 3531 of this title as of 
     the beginning date of the enrollment period for the program 
     of education for which the accelerated payment is made.
       ``(2) If the monthly rate of educational assistance 
     allowance otherwise payable with respect to an eligible 
     person under section 3531 of this title increases during the 
     enrollment period of a program of education for which an 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance is 
     made under this section, the charge to the person's 
     entitlement

[[Page S5587]]

     to educational assistance under this chapter shall be 
     determined by prorating the entitlement chargeable, in the 
     manner provided for under paragraph (1), for the periods 
     covered by the initial rate and increased rate, respectively, 
     in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
       ``(f) The Secretary may not make an accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance allowance under this section for a 
     program of education with respect to an eligible person who 
     has received an advance payment under section 3680(d) of this 
     title for the same enrollment period.
       ``(g) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry 
     out this section. The regulations shall include requirements, 
     conditions, and methods for the request, issuance, delivery, 
     certification of receipt and use, and recovery of overpayment 
     of an accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance 
     under this section. The regulations may include such elements 
     of the regulations prescribed under section 3014A of this 
     title as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of 
     this section.
       ``(h) The aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     payable under this section in any fiscal year for enrollments 
     covered by subsection (b)(1) may not exceed $1,000,000.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 35 of such title is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 3532 the following new 
     item:

``3532A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance.''.
       (c) Accelerated Payment of Educational Assistance for 
     Members of the Selected Reserve.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 1606 of title 10, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after section 16131 the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 16131A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance

       ``(a) The educational assistance allowance payable under 
     section 16131 of this title with respect to an eligible 
     person described in subsection (b) may, upon the election of 
     such eligible person, be paid on an accelerated basis in 
     accordance with this section.
       ``(b) An eligible person described in this subsection is a 
     person entitled to educational assistance under this chapter 
     who--
       ``(1) during the period beginning on October 1, 2008, and 
     ending on September 30, 2012, first enrolls in an approved 
     program of education not exceeding two years in duration and 
     not leading to an associate, bachelors, masters, or other 
     degree, subject to subsection (g); and
       ``(2) is charged tuition and fees for the program of 
     education that, when divided by the number of months (and 
     fractions thereof) in the enrollment period, exceeds the 
     amount equal to 200 percent of the monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the person under section 16131 of this title.
       ``(c)(1) The amount of the accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance payable with respect to an eligible 
     person making an election under subsection (a) for a program 
     of education shall be the lesser of--
       ``(A) the amount equal to 60 percent of the established 
     charges for the program of education; or
       ``(B) the aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     allowance to which the person remains entitled under this 
     chapter at the time of the payment.
       ``(2) In this subsection, the term `established charges', 
     in the case of a program of education, means the actual 
     charges (as determined pursuant to regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs) for tuition and fees which 
     similarly circumstanced individuals who are not eligible for 
     benefits under this chapter and who are enrolled in the 
     program of education would be required to pay. Established 
     charges shall be determined on the following basis:
       ``(A) In the case of a person enrolled in a program of 
     education offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, the 
     tuition and fees charged the individual for the term, 
     quarter, or semester.
       ``(B) In the case of a person enrolled in a program of 
     education not offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, 
     the tuition and fees charged the individual for the entire 
     program of education.
       ``(3) The educational institution providing the program of 
     education for which an accelerated payment of educational 
     assistance allowance is elected by an eligible person under 
     subsection (a) shall certify to the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs the amount of the established charges for the program 
     of education.
       ``(d) An accelerated payment of educational assistance 
     allowance made with respect to an eligible person under this 
     section for a program of education shall be made not later 
     than the last day of the month immediately following the 
     month in which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs receives a 
     certification from the educational institution regarding--
       ``(1) the person's enrollment in and pursuit of the program 
     of education; and
       ``(2) the amount of the established charges for the program 
     of education.
       ``(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for each 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance made 
     with respect to an eligible person under this section, the 
     person's entitlement to educational assistance under this 
     chapter shall be charged the number of months (and any 
     fraction thereof) determined by dividing the amount of the 
     accelerated payment by the full-time monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the person under section 16131 of this title as of 
     the beginning date of the enrollment period for the program 
     of education for which the accelerated payment is made.
       ``(2) If the monthly rate of educational assistance 
     allowance otherwise payable with respect to an eligible 
     person under section 16131 of this title increases during the 
     enrollment period of a program of education for which an 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance is 
     made under this section, the charge to the person's 
     entitlement to educational assistance under this chapter 
     shall be determined by prorating the entitlement chargeable, 
     in the manner provided for under paragraph (1), for the 
     periods covered by the initial rate and increased rate, 
     respectively, in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       ``(f) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe 
     regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall 
     include requirements, conditions, and methods for the 
     request, issuance, delivery, certification of receipt and 
     use, and recovery of overpayment of an accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance allowance under this section. The 
     regulations may include such elements of the regulations 
     prescribed under section 3014A of title 38 as the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate for purposes of 
     this section.
       ``(g) The aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     payable under this section in any fiscal year for enrollments 
     covered by subsection (b)(1) may not exceed $2,000,000.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 1606 of such title is amended by 
     inserting after the item relating to section 16131 the 
     following new item:

``16131A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance.''.
       (d) Accelerated Payment of Educational Assistance for 
     Reserve Component Members Supporting Contingency Operations 
     and Other Operations.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 1607 of title 10, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after section 16162 the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 16162A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance

       ``(a) The educational assistance allowance payable under 
     section 16162 of this title with respect to an eligible 
     member described in subsection (b) may, upon the election of 
     such eligible member, be paid on an accelerated basis in 
     accordance with this section.
       ``(b) An eligible member described in this subsection is a 
     member of a reserve component entitled to educational 
     assistance under this chapter who--
       ``(1) during the period beginning on October 1, 2008, and 
     ending on September 30, 2012, first enrolls in an approved 
     program of education not exceeding two years in duration and 
     not leading to an associate, bachelors, masters, or other 
     degree, subject to subsection (g); and
       ``(2) is charged tuition and fees for the program of 
     education that, when divided by the number of months (and 
     fractions thereof) in the enrollment period, exceeds the 
     amount equal to 200 percent of the monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the member under section 16162 of this title.
       ``(c)(1) The amount of the accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance payable with respect to an eligible 
     member making an election under subsection (a) for a program 
     of education shall be the lesser of--
       ``(A) the amount equal to 60 percent of the established 
     charges for the program of education; or
       ``(B) the aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     allowance to which the member remains entitled under this 
     chapter at the time of the payment.
       ``(2) In this subsection, the term `established charges', 
     in the case of a program of education, means the actual 
     charges (as determined pursuant to regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs) for tuition and fees which 
     similarly circumstanced individuals who are not eligible for 
     benefits under this chapter and who are enrolled in the 
     program of education would be required to pay. Established 
     charges shall be determined on the following basis:
       ``(A) In the case of a member enrolled in a program of 
     education offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, the 
     tuition and fees charged the member for the term, quarter, or 
     semester.
       ``(B) In the case of a member enrolled in a program of 
     education not offered on a term, quarter, or semester basis, 
     the tuition and fees charged the member for the entire 
     program of education.
       ``(3) The educational institution providing the program of 
     education for which an accelerated payment of educational 
     assistance allowance is elected by an eligible member under 
     subsection (a) shall certify to the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs the amount of the established charges for the program 
     of education.
       ``(d) An accelerated payment of educational assistance 
     allowance made with respect to an eligible member under this 
     section for a program of education shall be made not later 
     than the last day of the month immediately following the 
     month in which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs receives a 
     certification from the educational institution regarding--
       ``(1) the member's enrollment in and pursuit of the program 
     of education; and

[[Page S5588]]

       ``(2) the amount of the established charges for the program 
     of education.
       ``(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for each 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance made 
     with respect to an eligible member under this section, the 
     member's entitlement to educational assistance under this 
     chapter shall be charged the number of months (and any 
     fraction thereof) determined by dividing the amount of the 
     accelerated payment by the full-time monthly rate of 
     educational assistance allowance otherwise payable with 
     respect to the member under section 16162 of this title as of 
     the beginning date of the enrollment period for the program 
     of education for which the accelerated payment is made.
       ``(2) If the monthly rate of educational assistance 
     allowance otherwise payable with respect to an eligible 
     member under section 16162 of this title increases during the 
     enrollment period of a program of education for which an 
     accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance is 
     made under this section, the charge to the member's 
     entitlement to educational assistance under this chapter 
     shall be determined by prorating the entitlement chargeable, 
     in the manner provided for under paragraph (1), for the 
     periods covered by the initial rate and increased rate, 
     respectively, in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       ``(f) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe 
     regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall 
     include requirements, conditions, and methods for the 
     request, issuance, delivery, certification of receipt and 
     use, and recovery of overpayment of an accelerated payment of 
     educational assistance allowance under this section. The 
     regulations may include such elements of the regulations 
     prescribed under section 3014A of title 38 as the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate for purposes of 
     this section.
       ``(g) The aggregate amount of educational assistance 
     payable under this section in any fiscal year for enrollments 
     covered by subsection (b)(1) may not exceed $1,000,000.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 1607 of such title is amended by 
     inserting after the item relating to section 16162 the 
     following new item:

``16162A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance.''.
       (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on October 1, 2008.

     SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR RESERVE 
                   COMPONENT MEMBERS SUPPORTING CONTINGENCY 
                   OPERATIONS AND OTHER OPERATIONS.

       (a) Assistance for Three Years Cumulative Service.--
     Subsection (c)(4)(C) of section 16162 of title 10, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``for two continuous 
     years or more.'' and inserting ``for--
       ``(i) two continuous years or more; or
       ``(ii) an aggregate of three years or more.''.
       (b) Contributions for Increased Amount of Educational 
     Assistance.--
       (1) In general.--Such section is further amended by adding 
     at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(f) Contributions for Increased Amount of Educational 
     Assistance.--(1)(A) Any individual eligible for educational 
     assistance under this section may contribute amounts for 
     purposes of receiving an increased amount of educational 
     assistance as provided for in paragraph (2).
       ``(B) An individual covered by subparagraph (A) may make 
     the contributions authorized by that subparagraph at any time 
     while a member of a reserve component, but not more 
     frequently than monthly.
       ``(C) The total amount of the contributions made by an 
     individual under subparagraph (A) may not exceed $600. Such 
     contributions shall be made in multiples of $20.
       ``(D) Contributions under this subsection shall be made to 
     the Secretary concerned. Such Secretary shall deposit any 
     amounts received as contributions under this subsection into 
     the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
       ``(2) Effective as of the first day of the enrollment 
     period following the enrollment period in which an individual 
     makes contributions under paragraph (1), the monthly amount 
     of educational assistance allowance applicable to such 
     individual under this section shall be the monthly rate 
     otherwise provided for under subsection (c) increased by--
       ``(A) an amount equal to $5 for each $20 contributed by 
     such individual under paragraph (1) for an approved program 
     of education pursued on a full-time basis; or
       ``(B) an appropriately reduced amount based on the amount 
     so contributed as determined under regulations that the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe, for an 
     approved program of education pursued on less than a full-
     time basis.''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Cochran):
  S. 1294. A bill to strengthen national security by encouraging and 
assisting in the expansion and improvement of educational programs in 
order to meet critical needs at the elementary, secondary, and higher 
education levels, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support the 
Homeland Security Education Act. This bill encourages initiatives to 
increase the number of Americans trained in science, technology, 
engineering, math, and foreign languages.
  More than a century ago, Henry Ford revolutionized transportation and 
industry with the creation of the Model T. This car and the process 
designed to create it were so innovative that it was copied by every 
other company. The Model T became the base model for all cars that 
followed. This is a classic American story. Some of the most important 
scientific breakthroughs in modern history have occurred in the labs, 
workshops, and classrooms of America. We take pride in our Nation's 
ability to meet any challenge and solve any problem with innovation and 
discovery. But we are falling behind. Today's innovations in the auto 
industry come not from Detroit but from Japan. Engineers in Asia are 
designing tomorrow's hybrid car while Henry Ford's company and other 
American companies are just trying to keep up.
  America's colleges and universities can play an important role in 
reversing the decline in American innovation. The United States 
graduates some of the world's best engineers, scientists, and 
mathematicians, but a far higher proportion of the students in China, 
India, South Korea, and Japan are focusing on these fields. The 
National Academies of Science reports that in 2004, only 32 percent of 
the undergraduate degrees awarded in the United States were in science 
or engineering compared to 59 percent in China and 66 percent in Japan. 
If we do not address this crisis soon, China, India, and Japan will 
become the new centers for scientific and technological innovation, 
while American workers scramble to keep up. We must act now to ensure 
that America remains the world's economic, scientific, and 
technological leader.
  American workers are also increasingly finding themselves at a 
disadvantage in a multilingual global community. In our increasingly 
global economy and with a heightened concern for security in the post-
911 world, we need Americans who can speak a foreign language. Only 9 
percent of American students enroll in a foreign language course in 
college. We especially need to focus on less commonly taught languages, 
including Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, and Korean, and other languages that 
are of particular value in the world today.
  The best place to address both of these concerns is in the classroom. 
We must adapt our educational system by providing the teachers and 
resources needed to encourage students to study science, technology, 
engineering, mathematics, and foreign languages. The Homeland Security 
Education Act is an important step in the right direction.
  This bill would encourage students to pursue math, science, 
technology, engineering, and critical foreign languages by providing 
them with $5,000 scholarships. Scientists, engineers, technology 
professionals, and those fluent in foreign languages would be 
encouraged to return to the classroom and use their career experiences 
to inspire students in high-need or low-income schools. New grant 
programs would encourage educational institutions, public entities, and 
businesses to enter into partnerships that improve math and science 
curricula, establish programs that promote students' foreign language 
proficiency along with their science and technological knowledge, and 
create and establish foreign language pathways from elementary school 
through college. Finally, the bill would fund a student loan repayment 
program for qualified individuals trained in science, technology, 
engineering, math, and foreign languages who join the Federal 
workforce.
  Our country is quickly approaching a crisis of competitiveness. To 
avoid falling behind our international competitors in science and 
innovation, we must confront this problem immediately in our schools. 
We need to strengthen our students' proficiency in science, technology, 
engineering, math, and foreign languages and provide them with the 
incentives necessary to pursue careers in those fields. Today's 
students are tomorrow's innovators, scientists, and technology leaders, 
and we can't afford not to invest in them. I encourage my colleagues to 
join me in cosponsoring the Homeland Security Education Act.

[[Page S5589]]

  Mr. President, 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. 1294

       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 ``Homeland Security Education 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Investing in science, technology, engineering, 
     mathematics, and foreign language education is essential to 
     maintaining the competitive advantage and national security 
     of the United States. Significant improvements in the 
     quantity and quality of science, technology, engineering, 
     mathematics, and foreign language instruction offered in 
     United States elementary schools and secondary schools are 
     necessary.
       (2) For the past 3 decades, about one-third of the 
     baccalaureate degrees awarded in the United States have been 
     granted in science and engineering, compared to 59 percent in 
     China and 66 percent in Japan.
       (3) The United States is behind its European counterparts 
     in foreign language skills, in that one-half of European 
     citizens speak a second language while only 9 percent of 
     Americans speak another language.
       (4) Elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States need more qualified teachers, equipment, and resources 
     to improve education in mathematics, science, and foreign 
     languages.
       (5) The optimum time to begin learning a second language is 
     in elementary school, when children have the ability to learn 
     and excel in several foreign language acquisition skills, 
     including pronunciation.
       (6) Foreign language study can increase children's capacity 
     for critical and creative thinking skills, and children who 
     study a second language show greater cognitive development in 
     areas such as mental flexibility, creativity, tolerance, and 
     higher order thinking skills.
       (7) All people of the United States should strive to have a 
     global perspective. To understand the world around us, we 
     must acquaint ourselves with the languages, cultures, and 
     history of other nations.
       (8) Federal agencies have reported shortfalls in language 
     capability that is integral to, or directly supports, every 
     discipline and is an essential factor in national security 
     readiness, disaster response, law enforcement, information 
     superiority, and coalition peacekeeping or warfighting 
     missions.
       (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to ensure the 
     national security and the competitiveness of the United 
     States through increasing the quantity, diversity, and 
     quality of the teaching and learning of subjects in the 
     fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and 
     foreign language.

     SEC. 3. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, 
                   MATHEMATICS, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION.

       (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
     establish and implement a program to award scholarships to 
     individuals who are citizens, nationals, or permanent legal 
     residents of the United States or citizens of the Freely 
     Associated States (as defined in section 103 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)), to serve as 
     incentives for students to obtain degrees in science, 
     technology, engineering, mathematics, and foreign language.
       (b) Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, 
     Mathematics, and Foreign Language Education.--Part A of title 
     IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

    ``Subpart 9--Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, 
              Mathematics, and Foreign Language Education

     ``SEC. 420K. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, 
                   ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE 
                   EDUCATION.

       ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to award 
     scholarships to students to provide incentives for pursuing 
     and obtaining a baccalaureate degree in science, technology, 
     engineering, mathematics, or a critical foreign language.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Critical foreign language.--The term `critical 
     foreign language' means any language identified as critical 
     by the National Security Education Board and the Secretary.
       ``(2) Science.--The term `science' means any of the natural 
     and physical sciences, including chemistry, biology, physics, 
     and computer science. Such term shall not include any of the 
     social sciences.
       ``(c) Program Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated 
     under subsection (g), the Secretary shall carry out a program 
     to award scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each to 
     individuals who meet each of the following requirements:
       ``(1) The individual agrees to obtain a baccalaureate 
     degree in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or a 
     critical foreign language.
       ``(2) The individual is a student at an institution of 
     higher education who is in good academic standing and is 
     capable, in the opinion of the Secretary, of maintaining good 
     standing in such course of study.
       ``(d) Selection of Recipients.--The Secretary shall 
     promulgate regulations to establish a formula for the 
     selection of scholarship recipients under this section that--
       ``(1) ensures fairness and equality for applicants in the 
     selection process, based on the amounts appropriated under 
     subsection (g); and
       ``(2) awards not less than 50 percent of amounts available 
     under this section for an academic year for scholarships to 
     students who meet the requirements described in subsection 
     (c) and are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 
     for such year.
       ``(e) Failure to Complete Degree.--If, by the end of the 5-
     year period beginning when an individual receiving a 
     scholarship under this section begins a program of study in 
     accordance with the agreement described in subsection (c)(1), 
     the individual does not obtain a baccalaureate degree in 
     science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or a critical 
     foreign language, the individual shall reimburse the Federal 
     Government for the amount of the scholarship, including 
     interest, at a rate and schedule to be determined by the 
     Secretary pursuant to regulations.
       ``(f) Report to Congress.--
       ``(1) Proposed regulations.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the date of enactment of the Homeland Security Education Act, 
     the Secretary shall--
       ``(A) publish the proposed regulations that the Secretary 
     determines are necessary to carry out this section; and
       ``(B) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report on how the Secretary plans--
       ``(i) to implement the program under this section; and
       ``(ii) to advertise such program to institutions of higher 
     education and potential applicants.
       ``(2) Final regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     last day of the comment period for the proposed regulations 
     under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall promulgate the 
     final regulations to carry out this section.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may be 
     necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.

     SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

       (a) In General.--Title V of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

       ``PART E--STRENGTHENING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

     ``SEC. 5701. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this part:
       ``(1) Conditional agreement.--The term `conditional 
     agreement' means an arrangement between representatives of 
     the private sector and a local educational agency to provide 
     certain services and funds to the local educational agency, 
     such as--
       ``(A) the donation of computer hardware and software;
       ``(B) the donation of science laboratory equipment suitable 
     for students in kindergarten through grade 12;
       ``(C) the establishment of internship and mentoring 
     opportunities for students who participate in mathematics, 
     science, and information technology programs under this part;
       ``(D) the donation of scholarship funds for use at 
     institutions of higher education by eligible students who 
     have participated in the mathematics, science, and 
     information technology programs under this part; and
       ``(E) the donation of technology tools.
       ``(2) Private sector.--The term `private sector' includes 
     corporations, institutions of higher education, State or 
     local government agencies, membership organizations, and 
     other similar entities involved in the mathematics and 
     science fields.
       ``(3) Science.--The term `science' means any of the natural 
     and physical sciences, including chemistry, biology, physics, 
     and computer science. The term does not include any of the 
     social sciences.

     ``SEC. 5702. FEDERAL GRANTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

       ``(a) Grant Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall 
     establish a demonstration program under which the Secretary 
     shall award grants to local educational agencies to enable 
     such agencies to--
       ``(1) develop and implement programs that--
       ``(A) build or expand mathematics and science curricula;
       ``(B) provide--
       ``(i) a rich standards-based course of study in mathematics 
     and science to students; and
       ``(ii) opportunities for students who excel in mathematics 
     or science, particularly students who are members of 
     traditionally underrepresented groups in the fields of 
     mathematics or science, to be mentored by adults currently 
     active in the appropriate field;
       ``(2) provide mentoring opportunities for students in the 
     fields of mathematics and science;
       ``(3) upgrade existing laboratory facilities; or
       ``(4) purchase the equipment necessary to establish and 
     maintain such programs.
       ``(b) Application.--
       ``(1) In general.--A local educational agency desiring a 
     grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
     information as the Secretary

[[Page S5590]]

     may require by regulation, in accordance with paragraph (3).
       ``(2) Contents.--The application described in paragraph (1) 
     shall include--
       ``(A) a description of the proposed activities under the 
     grant, consistent with the uses of funds described in 
     subsection (a);
       ``(B) a description of how programs under the grant will 
     involve innovative experience learning, such as laboratory 
     experience;
       ``(C) a description of any mathematics and science 
     mentoring component (which may take place at the school, at a 
     workplace and paired with internships, or via the Internet), 
     including--
       ``(i) the program model and goals;
       ``(ii) the anticipated number of students served;
       ``(iii) the criteria for selecting students for the 
     mentoring component; and
       ``(iv) the mentoring best practices that will be followed;
       ``(D) a description of any applicable higher education 
     scholarship program, including--
       ``(i) the criteria for student selection;
       ``(ii) the duration of the scholarships;
       ``(iii) the number of scholarships to be awarded each year; 
     and
       ``(iv) the funding levels for the scholarships;
       ``(E) evidence of the private sector participation and 
     support in cash or in kind, as required under subsection (c); 
     and
       ``(F) an assurance that, upon receipt of a grant under this 
     part, the local educational agency will--
       ``(i) execute a conditional agreement with a representative 
     of the private sector; and
       ``(ii) enter into an agreement with the Secretary to comply 
     with the requirements of this part.
       ``(3) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of the Homeland Security Education Act, the 
     Secretary shall issue and publish proposed regulations for 
     this subsection. Not later than 180 days after the date on 
     which the period for comment concerning the proposed 
     regulations ends, the Secretary shall issue the final 
     guidelines under this subsection.
       ``(c) Private Sector Participation.--A local educational 
     agency receiving a grant under this section shall enter into 
     a conditional agreement with a representative of the private 
     sector regarding the programs carried out under this section, 
     including not less than 1 conditional agreement with a 
     private sector entity that has agreed to recruit the entity's 
     employees or members in the mathematics and science fields to 
     serve as mentors to students.
       ``(d) Award Basis.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall select a local 
     educational agency to receive a grant under this section on 
     the basis of merit, as determined after the Secretary has 
     conducted a comprehensive review of the application.
       ``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Secretary shall give priority to a local educational agency 
     that is a high need local educational agency (as such term is 
     defined in section 201(b) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965).

     ``SEC. 5703. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     part $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5618 
     the following:

       ``Part E--Strengthening Mathematics and Science Education

``Sec. 5701. Definitions.
``Sec. 5702. Federal grants to public schools.
``Sec. 5703. Authorization of appropriations.''.

     SEC. 5. FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE CLASSROOM SCHOLARSHIPS.

       (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to increase 
     the amount of elementary and secondary educators with a 
     background and expertise in scientific or engineering 
     subjects by awarding scholarships to practicing scientists 
     and engineers to encourage them to return to school to become 
     certified or licensed elementary and secondary teachers in 
     those disciplines.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Eligible individual.--The term ``eligible individual'' 
     means a person who--
       (A) is a citizen, national, or permanent legal resident of 
     the United States or a citizen of 1 of the Freely Associated 
     States (as defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003));
       (B) holds a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a 
     scientific or engineering field from an institution of higher 
     education; and
       (C) has not less than 3 years of work experience in a 
     scientific or engineering position.
       (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
       (3) Qualified expenses.--The term ``qualified expenses'' 
     means the tuition, books, fees, supplies, and equipment 
     required for a course of instruction, at the institution of 
     higher education the eligible individual chooses to attend, 
     that leads to elementary or secondary teaching certification 
     or licensure in any State, and other expenses for completing 
     a teacher preparatory program or obtaining a teaching 
     certificate or license.
       (4) Scientific or engineering.--The term ``scientific or 
     engineering'' means any discipline within the natural 
     sciences, physical sciences, technology, mathematics, or 
     engineering subject areas.
       (5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States of the United States and the District of Columbia.
       (c) Program Authorized.--
       (1) In general.--From amounts appropriated under subsection 
     (f), the Secretary of Education shall award scholarships to 
     eligible individuals which shall be used to enable the 
     individuals to pay for qualified expenses and attend an 
     institution of higher education of the individual's choosing.
       (2) Designation.--A scholarship awarded under this section 
     shall be known as a ``From the Laboratory to the Classroom 
     Scholarship''.
       (d) Amount; Duration.--
       (1) Amount.--A scholarship awarded under this section shall 
     be in an amount of not more than $15,000 per year.
       (2) Duration of scholarship.--A scholarship awarded to an 
     eligible individual under this section shall be for the 
     period of time required for the individual to complete a 
     course of study leading to elementary or secondary school 
     teacher certification or licensure in a State or a territory 
     of the United States, except that no scholarship shall exceed 
     a period of 2 years.
       (e) Terms of Scholarship.--
       (1) Employment as teacher.--As a condition of receiving a 
     scholarship under this section, an eligible individual shall 
     agree to be employed full-time as an elementary or secondary 
     education teacher in science, mathematics, or engineering at 
     a high-need, low-income school, as determined by the 
     Secretary, for a period of not less than 5 years after 
     receiving the teacher certification or licensure.
       (2) Failure to teach.--If an individual who receives a 
     scholarship under this section does not comply with paragraph 
     (1), the individual shall reimburse the Federal Government 
     for the amount of such scholarship, including interest, at a 
     rate and schedule to be determined by the Secretary.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section--
       (1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
       (2) $375,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
       (3) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
       (4) $600,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 
     2014.

     SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES.

       (a) In General.--Title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

          ``PART E--ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

     ``SEC. 2501. ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES.

       ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
     improve the performance of students in the study of foreign 
     languages by encouraging States, institutions of higher 
     education, elementary schools, and secondary schools to 
     participate in programs that--
       ``(1) upgrade the status and stature of foreign language 
     teaching by encouraging institutions of higher education to 
     assume greater responsibility for improving foreign language 
     teacher education through the establishment of a 
     comprehensive, integrated system of recruiting and advising 
     such teachers;
       ``(2) focus on the education of foreign language teachers 
     as a career-long process that should continuously stimulate 
     the teachers' intellectual growth and upgrade the teachers' 
     knowledge and skills;
       ``(3) bring foreign language teachers in elementary schools 
     and secondary schools together with linguists or higher 
     education foreign language professionals to increase the 
     subject matter knowledge and improve the teaching skills of 
     teachers through the use of more sophisticated resources that 
     institutions of higher education are better able to provide 
     than the schools; and
       ``(4) develop more rigorous foreign language curricula that 
     are aligned with--
       ``(A) professional accepted standards for elementary and 
     secondary education instruction; and
       ``(B) the standards expected for postsecondary study in 
     foreign language.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Critical foreign languages.--The term `critical 
     foreign languages' refers to any language identified as 
     critical by the National Security Education Board and the 
     Secretary.
       ``(2) Eligible partnership.--The term `eligible 
     partnership' means a partnership that--
       ``(A) shall include--
       ``(i) a foreign language department of an institution of 
     higher education; and
       ``(ii) a local educational agency; and
       ``(B) may include--
       ``(i) another foreign language department, or a teacher 
     training department, of an institution of higher education;
       ``(ii) another local educational agency, or an elementary 
     school or secondary school;
       ``(iii) a business;
       ``(iv) a nonprofit organization, including a museum;
       ``(v) a heritage or community center for language study;
       ``(vi) a national language resource and training center 
     authorized under part A of title VI of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965; or

[[Page S5591]]

       ``(vii) the State foreign language coordinator or State 
     educational agency.
       ``(3) High need local educational agency.--The term `high 
     need local educational agency' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 201(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
       ``(4) Summer workshop or institute.--The term `summer 
     workshop or institute' means a workshop or institute that--
       ``(A) is conducted for a period of not less than 2 weeks 
     during the summer;
       ``(B) provides direct interaction between students and 
     faculty; and
       ``(C) provides for followup training during the academic 
     year that--
       ``(i) except as provided in clause (ii) or (iii), shall be 
     conducted in the classroom for a period of not less than 3 
     days, which may or may not be consecutive;
       ``(ii) if the program described in subparagraph (A) is for 
     a period of not more than 2 weeks, shall be conducted for a 
     period of more than 3 days; and
       ``(iii) may be conducted through distance education.
       ``(c) Grants to Partnerships.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
     grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to 
     enable the eligible partnerships to pay the Federal share of 
     the costs of carrying out the authorized activities described 
     in this section.
       ``(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall 
     be for a period of 5 years.
       ``(3) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs of the 
     activities described in this section shall be--
       ``(A) 75 percent of the costs for the first year of a grant 
     under this section;
       ``(B) 65 percent of such costs for the second such year; 
     and
       ``(C) 50 percent of such costs for each of the third, 
     fourth, and fifth such years.
       ``(4) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the 
     costs of carrying out the authorized activities described in 
     this section may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly 
     evaluated.
       ``(5) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Secretary shall give priority to eligible partnerships--
       ``(A) that include high need local educational agencies; or
       ``(B) that emphasize the teaching of the critical foreign 
     languages.
       ``(d) Applications.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each eligible partnership desiring a 
     grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph 
     (1) shall include--
       ``(A) an assessment of the teacher quality and professional 
     development needs of all the schools and educational agencies 
     participating in the eligible partnership with respect to the 
     teaching and learning of foreign languages;
       ``(B) a description of how the activities to be carried out 
     by the eligible partnership will be based on a review of 
     relevant research, and an explanation of why the activities 
     are expected to improve student performance and to strengthen 
     the quality of foreign language instruction; and
       ``(C) a description of--
       ``(i) how the eligible partnership will carry out the 
     authorized activities described in subsection (e); and
       ``(ii) the eligible partnership's evaluation and 
     accountability plan in accordance with subsection (f).
       ``(e) Authorized Activities.--An eligible partnership that 
     receives a grant under this section may use the grant funds 
     to carry out activities such as--
       ``(1) creating opportunities for enhanced and ongoing 
     professional development that improves the subject matter 
     knowledge of foreign language teachers;
       ``(2) recruiting students from 4-year institutions of 
     higher education with foreign language majors for teaching;
       ``(3) promoting strong teaching skills for foreign language 
     teachers and teacher educators;
       ``(4) establishing foreign language summer workshops or 
     institutes (including followup training) for teachers;
       ``(5) establishing distance learning programs for foreign 
     language teachers;
       ``(6) designing programs to prepare a teacher at a school 
     to provide professional development to other teachers at the 
     school and to assist novice teachers at the school, including 
     (if applicable) a mechanism to integrate experiences from a 
     summer workshop or institute; and
       ``(7) developing instruction materials.
       ``(f) Evaluation and Accountability Plan.--Each eligible 
     partnership receiving a grant under this section shall 
     develop an evaluation and accountability plan for activities 
     assisted under this section that includes strong performance 
     objectives and measures for--
       ``(1) increased participation by students in advanced 
     courses in foreign language;
       ``(2) increased percentages of secondary school classes in 
     foreign language taught by teachers with academic majors in 
     foreign language; and
       ``(3) increased numbers of foreign language teachers who 
     participate in content-based professional development 
     activities.
       ``(g) Report.--Each eligible partnership receiving a grant 
     under this section shall annually report to the Secretary 
     regarding the eligible partnership's progress in meeting the 
     performance objectives described in subsection (f).
       ``(h) Termination.--If the Secretary determines that an 
     eligible partnership is not making substantial progress in 
     meeting the performance objectives described in subsection 
     (f) by the end of the third year of a grant under this 
     section, the Secretary shall not make grant payments to the 
     eligible partnership for the fourth and fifth years of the 
     grant.
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may be 
     necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2441 
     the following:

          ``Part E--Encouraging Early Foreign Language Studies

``Sec. 2501. Encouraging early foreign language studies.''.

     SEC. 7. SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, AND ADVANCED 
                   FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to support 
     programs in institutions of higher education that encourage 
     students--
       (1) to develop an understanding of science, technology, and 
     engineering;
       (2) to develop foreign language proficiency; and
       (3) to foster future international scientific 
     collaboration.
       (b) Development.--The Secretary of Education shall develop 
     and carry out a program to award grants to institutions of 
     higher education that develop innovative programs for the 
     teaching of foreign languages.
       (c) Regulations and Requirements.--The Secretary of 
     Education shall promulgate regulations for the awarding of 
     grants under subsection (b).
       (d) Application.--An institution of higher education 
     desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 
     application to the Secretary of Education at such time, in 
     such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
     shall require.
       (e) Use of Funds.--An institution of higher education 
     receiving a grant under this section shall use grant funds 
     for, among other things--
       (1) the development of an on-campus cultural awareness 
     program by which students attend classes taught in the 
     foreign language and study the science, technology, or 
     engineering developments and practices in a non-English-
     speaking country;
       (2) immersion programs where students study science, 
     technology, or engineering related coursework in a non-
     English-speaking country; and
       (3) other programs, such as summer workshops, that 
     emphasize the intense study of a foreign language and 
     science, technology, or engineering.
       (f) Grant Distribution.--In awarding grants to institutions 
     of higher education under this section, the Secretary of 
     Education shall give priority to--
       (1) institutions that have programs focusing on a 
     curriculum that combines the study of foreign languages and 
     the study of science and technology and produces graduates 
     who have both skills; and
       (2) institutions teaching the languages identified as 
     critical by the National Security Education Board and the 
     Secretary of Education.
       (g) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001).
       (2) Science.--The term ``science'' means any of the natural 
     and physical sciences, including chemistry, biology, physics, 
     and computer science. Such term does not include any of the 
     social sciences.
       (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     succeeding fiscal year.

     SEC. 8. NATIONAL SECURITY EDUCATION PROGRAM SERVICE 
                   AGREEMENT.

       Section 802(b)(2) of the David L. Boren National Security 
     Education Act of 1991 (50 U.S.C. 1902(b)(2)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(2) will--
       ``(A) in the case of a recipient of a scholarship, not 
     later than 3 years after the date of the recipient's 
     completion of the study for which scholarship assistance was 
     provided under the program, work--
       ``(i) for not less than 1 year in a position in the 
     Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, 
     the Department of State, or any element of the intelligence 
     community that is certified by the Secretary as contributing 
     to national security;
       ``(ii) if such recipient demonstrates to the Secretary of 
     Defense that no position described in clause (i) is 
     available, for not less than 1 year in a position in another 
     department or agency of the Federal Government that is 
     certified by the Secretary as contributing to national 
     security; or
       ``(iii) if such recipient demonstrates to the Secretary of 
     Defense that no position described in clause (i) or (ii) is 
     available, for not less than 1 academic year in a position in 
     the field of education in a discipline related to the studies 
     supported under this section; or

[[Page S5592]]

       ``(B) in the case of a recipient of a fellowship, not later 
     than 2 years after the date of the recipient's completion of 
     the study for which the fellowship assistance was provided 
     under the program, work--
       ``(i) for not less than 1 year in a position in the 
     Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, 
     the Department of State, or any element of the intelligence 
     community that is certified by the Secretary as contributing 
     to national security;
       ``(ii) if such recipient demonstrates to the Secretary of 
     Defense that no position described in clause (i) is 
     available, for not less than 1 year in a position in another 
     department or agency of the Federal Government that is 
     certified by the Secretary as contributing to national 
     security; or
       ``(iii) if such recipient demonstrates to the Secretary of 
     Defense that no position described in clause (i) or (ii) is 
     available, for not less than 1 academic year in a position in 
     the field of education in a discipline related to the studies 
     supported under this section.''.

     SEC. 9. CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM.

       (a) Grants Authorized.--From amounts appropriated under 
     subsection (f), the Secretary of Education shall award grants 
     to institutions of higher education to pay the Federal share 
     of programs established by the institutions, in collaboration 
     with elementary schools and secondary schools, for language 
     learning pathways that train students from kindergarten 
     through graduate education to be proficient in the critical 
     foreign languages.
       (b) Application Requirements.--An institution of higher 
     education desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 
     application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
     and containing such information as the Secretary of Education 
     shall require. In the application, the institution of higher 
     education shall--
       (1) demonstrate the ability of the institution to 
     collaborate effectively with elementary schools and secondary 
     schools to ensure that students who successfully achieve an 
     advanced proficiency level in a critical foreign language at 
     such schools will continue studying a foreign language at an 
     institution of higher education and achieve a superior 
     proficiency level while enrolled in an academic degree 
     program;
       (2) demonstrate that the program designed by the 
     institution under this section can be replicated for use by 
     other institutions of higher education and elementary schools 
     and secondary schools in the United States; and
       (3) agree to provide the non-Federal share of the costs of 
     the program under this section.
       (c) Federal Share; Non-Federal Share.--The Federal share of 
     the costs of the program under this section shall be not more 
     than 90 percent of such costs. The non-Federal share shall be 
     not less than 10 percent of such costs, and may be provided 
     in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated.
       (d) Program.--A program assisted under this section may 
     include--
       (1) study or work abroad opportunities;
       (2) experiential and community learning;
       (3) distance learning;
       (4) language learning for professional purposes, business, 
     and other disciplines; and
       (5) innovative opportunities for language learning through 
     immersion, internships, and community service.
       (e) Definition of Critical Foreign Language.--In this 
     section, the term ``critical foreign language'' means any 
     language identified as critical by the National Security 
     Education Board and the Secretary of Education.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2008 and each succeeding fiscal year.

     SEC. 10. WORLD LANGUAGE TEACHING SCHOLARSHIPS.

       (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to increase 
     the number of elementary school and secondary school 
     educators with foreign language proficiency by awarding 
     scholarships to language proficient individuals to enable the 
     individuals to become certified or licensed as foreign 
     language teachers.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Eligible individual.--The term ``eligible individual'' 
     means a person who--
       (A) is a citizen, national, or permanent legal resident of 
     the United States or is a citizen of 1 of the Freely 
     Associated States (as defined in section 103 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003));
       (B) holds at least a baccalaureate degree from an 
     institution of higher education; and
       (C) demonstrates written and verbal fluency in a critical 
     foreign language.
       (2) Critical foreign language.--The term ``critical foreign 
     language'' means any language identified as critical by the 
     National Security Education Board and the Secretary of 
     Education.
       (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
       (4) Qualified expenses.--The term ``qualified expenses'' 
     means the tuition, books, fees, supplies, and equipment 
     required for a course of instruction, at the institution of 
     higher education the eligible individual chooses to attend, 
     that leads to elementary or secondary teaching certification 
     or licensure in any State, and other expenses for completing 
     a teacher preparatory program or obtaining a teaching 
     certificate or license.
       (5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States of the United States and the District of Columbia.
       (c) Program Authorized.--
       (1) In general.--From amounts appropriated under subsection 
     (e), the Secretary of Education shall award scholarships to 
     eligible individuals that shall be used to pay for the 
     qualified expenses of a teacher certification or licensure 
     program.
       (2) Designation.--A scholarship under this section shall be 
     known as a ``World Language Teaching Scholarship''.
       (d) Amount; Duration; Terms.--
       (1) Amount.--A scholarship awarded under this section shall 
     be in an amount of not more than $15,000 per year.
       (2) Duration of scholarship.--A scholarship awarded to an 
     eligible individual under this section shall be for the 
     number of years required to complete a course of study 
     leading to elementary or secondary school teaching 
     certification or licensure in a State or a territory of the 
     United States, except that no scholarship shall exceed a 
     period of 2 years.
       (3) Terms of scholarship.--
       (A) Employment as a teacher.--As a condition of receiving a 
     scholarship under this section, an eligible individual shall 
     agree to be employed full-time as a foreign language 
     elementary or secondary education teacher at a high-need, 
     low-income school, as determined by the Secretary, for a 
     period of not less than 5 years.
       (B) Failure to teach.--If an individual who receives a 
     scholarship under this section does not comply with 
     subparagraph (A), the individual shall reimburse the Federal 
     Government for the amount of such scholarship, including 
     interest, at a rate and schedule to be determined by the 
     Secretary.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section--
       (1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
       (2) $375,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
       (3) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
       (4) $600,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 
     2013.

     SEC. 11. PILOT PROGRAM FOR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT FOR FEDERAL 
                   EMPLOYEES WITH CRITICAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, 
                   ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE 
                   SKILLS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter VII of chapter 53 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
     5379 the following:

     ``Sec. 5379a. Pilot program for student loan repayment for 
       Federal employees with critical science, technology, 
       engineering, mathematics, and foreign language skills

       ``(a) In this section:
       ``(1) The term `agency' means any agency that, based on the 
     agency's human capital strategic plan, has a shortfall in the 
     number of individuals possessing critical science, 
     technology, engineering, mathematics, and foreign language 
     skills.
       ``(2) The term `human capital strategic plan' means an 
     agency's strategic plan under section 306 of this title.
       ``(3) The term `student loan' means--
       ``(A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of 
     title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 
     et seq.);
       ``(B) a loan made under part D or E of title IV of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq., 1087aa 
     et seq.); or
       ``(C) a health education assistance loan made or insured 
     under part A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) or under part E of title VIII of such 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.).
       ``(b) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
     shall establish and administer a program under which not less 
     than 3 but not more than 5 agencies, for a period of 5 years, 
     shall set aside an amount, as described in subsection (d), to 
     fund a student loan repayment program under section 5379 of 
     this title to repay (by direct payments on behalf of the 
     employee) any student loan previously taken out by employees 
     possessing science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or 
     foreign language skills deemed critical to an agency under 
     the agency's human capital strategic plan.
       ``(c) A program established under this section shall remain 
     in effect for the 5-year period beginning on the date of 
     enactment of the Homeland Security Education Act. 
     Notwithstanding the previous sentence, such program shall 
     continue to pay an employee recruited under this program who 
     is in compliance with this section and section 5379 of this 
     title the employee's benefits under this section through the 
     commitment period in accordance with section 5379(c).
       ``(d) Each agency participating in this program shall set 
     aside enough funds to repay the student loans of at least 
     one-half of the number of employees needed with critical 
     science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or foreign 
     language skills, according to the agency's human capital 
     strategic plan.
       ``(e)(1) Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
     of the Homeland Security Education Act and after 
     consultations with the heads of agencies, the Director of the 
     Office of Personnel Management shall propose regulations for 
     the pilot program.
       ``(2) Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
     comment period for proposed regulations under paragraph (1) 
     ends, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
     shall promulgate final regulations.
       ``(f)(1)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of the Homeland Security

[[Page S5593]]

     Education Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel 
     Management shall report to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress on the implementation of the program under this 
     section.
       ``(B) As part of its annual report on the Federal 
     Government's student loan repayment program under section 
     5379, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
     shall report on the status of the program established under 
     this section and the success of such program in recruiting 
     and retaining employees possessing such skills, including an 
     assessment as to whether the program should be expanded to 
     other agencies or to individuals possessing other critical 
     skills.
       ``(2) The head of each agency establishing a student loan 
     repayment program under this section shall provide any 
     necessary information to the Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management to enable the Director to carry out this 
     subsection.
       ``(g) For the purpose of enabling the Federal Government to 
     recruit and retain employees possessing critical science, 
     technology, engineering, mathematics, and foreign language 
     skills under this section, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
     section for each fiscal year.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5379 
     the following:

``Sec. 5379a. Pilot program for student loan repayment for Federal 
              employees with critical science, technology, engineering, 
              mathematics, and foreign language skills.''.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my friends 
Senators Durbin and Cochran, to reintroduce legislation that will 
provide students much needed educational opportunities in foreign 
languages and science, technology engineering and mathematics, STEM.
  The future economic health and security of our Nation depends on 
programs such as those called for in our legislation. This country's 
national security depends upon having a workforce with the necessary 
science, technology, engineering, math, and foreign language skills to 
rapidly and efficiently adapt to the challenges of globalization. Yet, 
we are falling behind.
  According to a study conducted by the Committee on Economic 
Development, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Federal 
Government agencies do not have a sufficient number of personnel 
trained in critical languages to translate intelligence information in 
a timely manner. Similarly, a GAO report issued August 4, 2006, GAO-06-
894 noted that the State Department was still suffering from gaps in 
language proficiency which could adversely impact its ability to 
communicate with foreign audiences and execute critical duties.
  We all know that we live in a global marketplace. The United States, 
which has the world's largest economy, is the engine for global 
economic growth. However, this also means that American workers must 
compete with others in the global market for skilled labor. The signs 
have long been clear that we are failing to develop the next generation 
of workers. As a recent study by the National Center for Public Policy 
and Higher Education observes, in the United States ``about one-quarter 
of 15-year-olds fall into the lowest proficiency level on assessments 
of skills and knowledge.'' The United States ranks 16th among 27 
countries in the number of students who earn a college degree or 
certificate. We can delay no longer in taking the steps to train 
students to compete and thrive in a multi-lingual and technologically 
complex environment.
  Our bill the Homeland Security Education Act, provides schools with 
the framework they need to prepare our Nation's youth for the future. 
Its enactment is a critical step in reenergizing and reinvigorating our 
education system to meet the needs of our Nation. It will increase 
students' proficiency in foreign languages and encourage them to become 
scientists and engineers.
  The Homeland Security Education Act provides schools with the 
equipment and materials necessary to teach STEM and foreign language 
courses by encouraging public private partnerships to improve science 
and math curricular--upgrade laboratory facilities; provide 
scholarships for students to study math, science, or engineering at the 
university level; and Establish internship and mentoring opportunities 
for students in grades K-12; developing cultural awareness and 
immersion programs in colleges and universities that combine science, 
technology, and engineering instruction with foreign language to expand 
international understanding and scientific collaboration; and creating 
language learning pathways to facilitate proficiency in critical 
foreign languages from kindergarten through graduate school.
  In addition, this act addresses the shortage of STEM and foreign 
language teachers. Our Nation needs mathematicians, scientists, and 
linguists in order to compete in a global mart. Accordingly, our bill 
awards scholarships in the amount of $15,000 to language proficient 
individuals and to practicing scientists and engineers to encourage 
them to become certified to teach these critical skills to students in 
high-need, low-income schools. The bill would also allow National 
Security Education Program scholarship and fellowship recipients to 
meet their service requirements by teaching in critical areas if they 
cannot find a national security position in the Federal service. In 
addition, a key provision awards grants to build professional 
development programs, summer workshops or institutes, and foreign 
language distance learning programs for elementary and secondary school 
teachers in order to facilitate partnerships between 12 schools and 
institutions of higher education.
  Not only do we need to encourage individuals and professionals to 
become teachers in these critical need areas, we also need to encourage 
students to study languages, science, technology, engineering, and math 
by underscoring the importance of these subjects to our country's 
security and economic well-being. As Secretary of Education Margaret 
Spellings noted in January 2006, only 44 percent of this country's high 
school students are studying any foreign language, while learning a 
second or even a third language is compulsory for students in the 
European Union, China, Thailand, and many other nations. Only 32 
percent of undergraduates in the United States receive their degrees in 
science and engineering compared to 59 percent in China and 66 percent 
in Japan. Our children deserve better opportunities to become math, 
science, and language proficient. The Homeland Security Education Act 
helps correct this growing skill gap between students in the United 
States and students across the globe by providing scholarships for 
students to earn their degrees in STEM or a foreign language.
  Mr. President, education is the foundation of our Nation's long-term 
security. In order to fulfill our role as a world leader, this Nation 
needs Americans who are well educated and can communicate and compete 
in a global environment. The bill we are introducing today will help us 
meet this essential goal.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. Reed):
  S. 1298. A bill to amend the Social Security Act to establish a 
Federal Reinsurance Program for Catastrophic Health Care Costs; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, States like my home state of Massachusetts 
are setting an example for the rest of the country by taking bold steps 
to provide quality health coverage for everyone. Now it is time for 
Washington to do the same by bringing meaningful, affordable healthcare 
to the uninsured, in Massachusetts and across America.
  In Massachusetts there is still a major obstacle in the overall goal 
of universal coverage: cost. The fact is the problem of the uninsured 
can't be solved unless the issue of skyrocketing health costs to 
families and businesses is also tackled. And fully reforming the 
healthcare system will require that the Federal Government begin 
shouldering some of the burden to help alleviate costs.
  Healthcare costs are highly concentrated in this country. The very 
few who suffer from catastrophic illness or injury drive costs up for 
everyone. One percent of patients account for 25 percent of healthcare 
costs, and 20 percent of patients account for 80 percent of costs. To 
make healthcare more affordable, we must find a better way to share the 
immense burden of insuring the chronically ill and seriously injured.
  Part of the reason that businesses and health plans today fail to 
cover

[[Page S5594]]

their workers is an aversion to risk, a fear that they will be saddled 
with a sick employee whose high premiums will bankrupt them. And 
patients who are catastrophically ill or injured often face the tragic 
combination of failing health and financial peril. But there's a way to 
combat these costs.
  Congress should make employers and healthcare plans an offer they 
can't refuse. It's called ``reinsurance.'' Reinsurance provides a 
backstop for the high costs of healthcare. The Federal Government will 
reimburse a percentage of the highest cost cases if employers agree to 
offer a substantive insurance benefit to all full time employees, 
including preventative care and health promotion benefits that are 
proven to make care affordable. This means lower costs and lower 
premiums for both employers and employees. If the Federal Government 
can help small and large businesses bear the burden of cost in the most 
expensive cases, we'll dramatically improve the health of everyone.
  Today I am introducing the Healthy Businesses, Healthy Workers 
Reinsurance Act, a bill that will make Government a partner in helping 
businesses with the heavy financial burden of those catastrophic cases: 
those that use over $50,000 in a single year in healthcare costs. 
Healthy Businesses, Healthy Workers will protect business owners from 
skyrocketing premiums, and provide more working families affordable, 
quality healthcare. With reinsurance, health insurance premiums for all 
of us will go down, by up to 10 percent under this plan. This plan does 
have a cost associated with it, but the benefits will outweigh the 
costs. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year on 
inefficient and wasteful health expenditures. We need to make sure that 
these funds are being spent wisely to ensure that we can lower health 
care costs and improve coverage.
  I believe that even in today's sharply divided Washington, this plan 
is feasible. There is a growing bipartisan consensus that the Federal 
Government has a responsibility to help the catastrophically ill. 
Consider the Medicare prescription drug program: Despite its flaws, the 
bill did cover 95 percent of the cost of prescription drugs once 
seniors passed through the disastrous ``doughnut hole'' in their 
coverage. The same approach has been used to protect the insurance 
market from going under in case of another catastrophic act of 
terrorism.
  As we take the next steps toward alleviating our Nation's healthcare 
crisis, a commonsense partnership between employers, families, and the 
government to share the costs of the sickest among us will lay the 
groundwork for achieving our ultimate goal: healthcare coverage for 
every single American.
  I ask for 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. 1298

       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 ``Healthy Businesses, Healthy 
     Workers Reinsurance Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The cost of health insurance premiums for families has 
     risen 87 percent since 2000, nearly 4 times the growth in 
     overall inflation and workers earnings.
       (2) Health insurance premium increases have resulted in a 
     nearly 10 percentage point drop in the number of firms 
     choosing to offer coverage to their workers over that time 
     period.
       (3) Today, just 48 percent of firms with between 3 and 9 
     employees offer health insurance benefits, down from 58 
     percent in 2001.
       (4) The decline in employer-sponsored coverage has added to 
     the growing problem of the uninsured. An additional 4 million 
     Americans have been added to the ranks of the uninsured since 
     2001.
       (5) Health care costs are highly concentrated. Twenty 
     percent of the population that is catastrophically or 
     chronically ill accounts for 80 percent of the health care 
     spending, with just 1 percent driving a full 22 percent of 
     health care costs.

     SEC. 3. FEDERAL REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR CATASTROPHIC HEALTH 
                   CARE COSTS.

       (a) Program.--The Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     title:

``TITLE XXII--FEDERAL REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR CATASTROPHIC HEALTH CARE 
                                 COSTS

     ``SEC. 2201. OFFICE OF FEDERAL REINSURANCE.

       ``(a) In General.--There is established within the 
     Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known 
     as the `Office of Federal Reinsurance'.
       ``(b) Duty.--The Office of Federal Reinsurance shall 
     establish and administer the Federal Reinsurance Program for 
     Catastrophic Health Care Costs in accordance with the 
     provisions of this title.

     ``SEC. 2202. PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Office shall establish and 
     administer a Federal Reinsurance Program for Catastrophic 
     Health Care Costs under which reinsurance payments are 
     provided to eligible health plans that experience 
     catastrophic health care costs during a year with respect to 
     an individual covered under the plan. For purposes of this 
     title, the term `individual covered under the plan' includes 
     employees, retirees, spouses, and dependants.
       ``(2) Program to begin in 2009.--The Office shall establish 
     the Program in a manner so that reinsurance payments are made 
     with respect to catastrophic health care costs occurring on 
     or after January 1, 2009.
       ``(3) Eligible health plan.--
       ``(A) In general.--In this title, the term `eligible health 
     plan' means any of the following:
       ``(i) A group health plan that meets the requirements 
     described in subparagraph (B).
       ``(ii) A governmental plan (as defined in section 3(32) of 
     the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) that 
     meets the requirements described in subparagraph (B).
       ``(iii) A multiemployer plan (as defined in section 3(37) 
     of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) that 
     meets the requirements described in subparagraph (B).
       ``(iv) A plan that offers coverage through health 
     purchasing cooperatives in conjunction with a State health 
     program that makes available health insurance coverage to the 
     small group market and the individual market on the same 
     terms and that meets the requirements described in 
     subparagraph (B).
       ``(B) Requirements.--The requirements described in this 
     subparagraph are that--
       ``(i) the plan involved--

       ``(I) provides eligibility for health insurance coverage 
     (after any waiting period (as defined in section 9801(b)(4))) 
     to all full-time employees of the employer maintaining or 
     contributing to the plan;
       ``(II) ensures that if there is a deductible under the 
     plan, such deductible does not exceed $1,000 for an 
     individual and $2,000 for a family;
       ``(III) ensures that the plan offers preventative benefits; 
     and
       ``(IV) ensures that the plan employs effective high-cost 
     case management tools (in accordance with the definition of 
     disease management by the Disease Management Association of 
     America) in order to reduce costs over time; and

       ``(ii) the employer maintaining or contributing to the plan 
     involved pays at least 50 percent of the costs of health 
     insurance coverage for each employee covered under the plan 
     (regardless of whether the employee is a full-time or part-
     time employee).
       ``(C) Cost-of-living adjustment.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of any calendar year after 
     2009. each dollar amount in subparagraph (B)(ii) 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) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for such 
     calendar year determined by substituting `calendar year 2008' 
     for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.

       ``(ii) Date for determination.--For purposes of clause (i), 
     section 1(f)(4) of such Code shall be applied by substituting 
     `March 31' for `August 31', and the Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall publish the adjusted amounts under subparagraph (B)(ii) 
     for the calendar year not later than June 1 of the preceding 
     calendar year.
       ``(iii) Rounding.--If any increase under clause (i) is not 
     a multiple of $50, such increase shall be rounded to the 
     nearest multiple of $50.
       ``(D) Employer.--For purposes of this title, the term 
     `employer' includes the Federal government and any other 
     governmental entity (within the meaning of section 5000(d) of 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986).
       ``(b) Enrollment.--
       ``(1) Procedures.--The Office shall establish procedures 
     for the enrollment of eligible health plans in the Program.
       ``(2) Application and annual recertification.--
       ``(A) In general.--The procedures established under 
     paragraph (1) shall include a process for an eligible health 
     plan--
       ``(i) to submit an application to the Office for enrollment 
     in the Program; and
       ``(ii) to be annually recertified for enrollment in the 
     Program.
       ``(B) Requirement.--The application and recertification 
     process under subparagraph (A) shall require that an eligible 
     health plan submit to the Office--
       ``(i) a detailed description of the projected and actual 
     reduction in total costs under the plan that are a result of 
     the Program, including both individual and employer portions; 
     and
       ``(ii) such other information determined appropriate by the 
     Office.
       ``(3) Approval.--

[[Page S5595]]

       ``(A) In general.--The procedures established under 
     paragraph (1) shall provide for the approval or disapproval 
     of applications and requests for recertification submitted by 
     eligible health plans under paragraph (2).
       ``(B) Specific requirement.--The Office shall not approve 
     an application or a request for recertification unless the 
     Office finds that the eligible health plan is reducing total 
     costs under the plan, based on the information submitted 
     under paragraph (2)(B) and audits conducted under paragraph 
     (4).
       ``(4) Audits.--The Office shall conduct audits of claims 
     data of eligible health plans in order to ensure that the 
     eligible health plan is in compliance with the requirements 
     under the Program, including the requirement under paragraph 
     (3)(B). An eligible health plan shall not be eligible for 
     reinsurance payments unless it provides the Office with 
     access to such data.
       ``(c) Cost-Sharing in Costs of Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--An eligible health plan that 
     participates in the Program shall pay the fee established by 
     the Office under paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Authorization.--The Office is authorized to charge a 
     fee to each eligible health plan that participates in the 
     Program. Any amounts collected shall be deposited into the 
     Trust Fund.
       ``(3) Requirements.--In establishing the fee under 
     paragraph (2)--
       ``(A) the Office shall consult with interested parties; and
       ``(B) shall ensure that the amount of such fee is not 
     excessive so as to unduly discourage eligible health plans 
     from enrolling in the Program.
       ``(d) Appeals Process.--The Office shall establish an 
     appeals process under the Program.
       ``(e) Procedures to Protect Against Fraud, Waste, and 
     Abuse.--The Office shall establish procedures to protect 
     against fraud, waste, and abuse under the Program.

     ``SEC. 2203. REINSURANCE PAYMENTS.

       ``(a) Amount.--
       ``(1) In general.--The amount of a reinsurance payment 
     under the Program to an eligible health plan that experiences 
     catastrophic health care costs in a year with respect to an 
     individual covered under the plan shall be an amount equal to 
     75 percent of such costs.
       ``(2) Catastrophic health care costs.--
       ``(A) In general.--In this title, the term `catastrophic 
     health care costs' means, with respect to a year, costs for 
     medical care (as defined in section 9832(d)(3) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986) provided under an eligible 
     health plan to an individual covered under the plan, but only 
     with respect to such costs which exceed $50,000.
       ``(B) Negotiated prices.--In determining the amount of 
     catastrophic health care costs under the Program, the 
     eligible health care plan shall take into account any 
     negotiated price concessions, such as discounts, direct or 
     indirect subsidies, rebates, and direct or indirect 
     remunerations, obtained by the plan.
       ``(C) Inflation adjustment.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of a calendar year after 
     2009, the $50,000 amount in subparagraph (A) shall be 
     increased by an amount equal to--

       ``(I) such dollar amount; multiplied by
       ``(II) the percentage (if any) by which the average of the 
     medical care component of the Consumer Price Index for all 
     urban consumers (United States city average) for the 12-month 
     period ending with August of the preceding calendar year 
     exceeds such average for the 12-month period ending with 
     August 2008.

       ``(ii) Rounding.--If any dollar amount after being 
     increased under clause (i) is not a multiple of $1,000, such 
     dollar amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 
     $1,000.
       ``(b) Requests for Payment.--To be eligible for a 
     reinsurance payment with respect to an individual for a year, 
     an eligible health plan shall submit to the Office, at a time 
     and in a manner determined appropriate by the Office, a 
     request for payment that contains--
       ``(1) a certification--
       ``(A) that the plan paid or incurred catastrophic health 
     care costs during the year with respect to the individual; 
     and
       ``(B) of the amount of such costs; and
       ``(2) such other information determined appropriate by the 
     Office.
       ``(c) Payments From Trust Fund.--
       ``(1) In general.--Payments to eligible health plans under 
     the Program shall be made from the Trust Fund.
       ``(2) Tax treatment.--For purposes of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986--
       ``(A) payments from the Trust Fund to the eligible health 
     plan shall not be included in gross income; and
       ``(B) no deduction shall be allowed to the eligible health 
     plan with respect to the payment of any catastrophic health 
     care costs for the portion of such costs which was reimbursed 
     from the Trust Fund.

     ``SEC. 2204. FEDERAL REINSURANCE FOR CATASTROPHIC HEALTH CARE 
                   COSTS TRUST FUND.

       ``(a) Creation of Trust Fund.--There is established in the 
     Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the 
     `Federal Reinsurance for Catastrophic Health Care Costs Trust 
     Fund', consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or 
     credited to the Trust Fund (including any fees deposited 
     under section 2202(c)).
       ``(b) Mandatory Appropriations.--There are appropriated to 
     the Trust Fund such sums as may be necessary in order to make 
     the reinsurance payments required under section 2203.
       ``(c) Rules Regarding Transfers to and Management of Trust 
     Fund.--For purposes of this section, rules similar to the 
     rules of sections 9601 and 9602 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 shall apply.
       ``(d) Distribution of Amounts in Trust Fund.--Amounts in 
     the Trust Fund shall be available for making payments under 
     section 2203.

     ``SEC. 2205. REPORTS.

       ``(a) Secretary.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than March 1, 2011, and 
     biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
     a report on the Program.
       ``(2) Requirements.--
       ``(A) In general.--Each report submitted under paragraph 
     (1) shall contain--
       ``(i) a detailed description of the Program, including a 
     detailed description of the impact the Program has had on 
     reducing premiums for health insurance coverage and 
     increasing the number of individuals with health insurance 
     coverage; and
       ``(ii) any other information or recommendations determined 
     appropriate by the Secretary.
       ``(B) Individual market.--The first report submitted under 
     paragraph (1) shall also contain recommendations regarding 
     expanding the Program to the individual market.
       ``(C) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the 
     National Association of Insurance Commissioners in preparing 
     each report under paragraph (1).
       ``(b) GAO.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than March 1, 2011, and 
     biennially thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to Congress and the Secretary a report on 
     the Program.
       ``(2) Requirements.--
       ``(A) In general.--Each report submitted under paragraph 
     (1) shall contain--
       ``(i) a detailed description of the Program, including a 
     detailed description of the impact the Program has had on 
     reducing premiums for health insurance coverage and 
     increasing the number of individuals with health insurance 
     coverage; and
       ``(ii) any other information or recommendations determined 
     appropriate by the Comptroller General.
       ``(B) Individual market.--The first report submitted under 
     paragraph (1) shall also contain recommendations regarding 
     expanding the Program to the individual market.

     ``SEC. 2206. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title:
       ``(1) Group health plan.--The term `group health plan' has 
     the meaning given such term by section 5000(b)(1) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(2) Individual market; small group market.--The terms 
     `individual market' and `small group market' have the 
     meanings given such terms by section 2791 of the Public 
     Health Service Act.
       ``(3) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of 
     Federal Reinsurance established under section 2201.
       ``(4) Program.--The term `Program' means the Federal 
     Reinsurance Program for Catastrophic Health Care Costs under 
     this title.
       ``(5) Trust fund.--The term `Trust Fund' means the Federal 
     Reinsurance for Catastrophic Health Care Costs Trust Fund 
     established under section 2204.''.
       (b) Funding Start-up Administrative Costs for Program.--
       (1) In general.--There are appropriated to the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services $200,000,000 to carry out the 
     provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act.
       (2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2009.

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I join my colleague, Senator Kerry, in 
introducing the Reinsure America's Businesses Act of 2007. This 
legislation represents a critical step forward in bringing affordable 
health care to the uninsured and lowering the ever increasing costs of 
health care for families and businesses.
  The bill that we are introducing today proposes that the Federal 
Government assume responsibility for the most burdensome risk for 
employers, and in doing so helps to provide greater access to lower 
priced health care. Under our legislation, the Federal Government will 
reimburse employers for a significant portion of the costs of their 
most ill employees--75 percent of medical bills in excess of $50,000. 
In exchange, employers agree to offer all of their workers preventative 
care and quality coverage.
  At the heart of this bill lies the fact that 1 percent of patients 
account for 25 percent of health care costs, and 20 percent of the 
population that is catastrophically ill accounts for 80 percent of the 
costs. Planning for the unfortunate chance that one falls into one of 
these categories is precisely why individuals have health insurance. 
Yet it is also the primary reason why many employers, particularly 
small businesses where one critically ill individual can have a 
tremendous influence on the

[[Page S5596]]

overall cost, do not offer their employees health insurance. Through 
reinsurance, the Federal Government has an opportunity to absorb a 
large portion of this risk and encourage more affordable and meaningful 
employer sponsored health coverage. This legislation also eases the 
burden on health insurance companies by making rate determinations more 
predictable.
  Federal reinsurance is an efficient use of Federal dollars because it 
spreads the burden across employers, the Federal Government, and 
employees, thereby lowering costs and increasing access to quality 
health care. Reinsurance reduces health insurance premiums for 
everyone; some estimates suggest as much as 10 percent. Actions to 
decrease the cost of health care and improve access to care are crucial 
if we are to combat ever-rising health care costs in this country. In 
Rhode Island, from 2000 to 2006, premiums increased 75 percent while 
median earnings went up only 23 percent. Uninsured rates have also 
grown in Rhode Island with more than 13 percent of residents under age 
65 with no health insurance, up from 8.1 percent in 1999. Rhode Island 
is not unique; the entire country bears the burden of high health care 
costs and increasingly declining access. This legislation lays the 
groundwork for achieving our goal of making health care more affordable 
and more accessible to every American.
  I am pleased to join with my colleague in introducing this important 
initiative and hope the Senate will give it prompt consideration.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 1302. A bill to amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 to encourage and support parent, family, and 
community involvement in schools, to provide needed integrated services 
and comprehensive supports to children, and to ensure that schools are 
centers of communities, for the ultimate goal of assisting students to 
stay in school, become successful learners, and improve academic 
achievement; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce the 
Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged or Keeping PACE Act, to foster 
greater involvement of parents in their children's education, engage 
community partners in supporting the comprehensive learning needs of 
students in school, as well as to address our Nation's high dropout 
rate.
  It is clear that engaged parents can make a positive difference in 
students' achievement. Parents are their children's first teachers, and 
they have immense influence over their children's attitudes, focus, 
priorities and goals. Well-informed parents are more likely to be 
involved, to ask questions, to suggest constructive changes and to make 
a difference in their child's education. They deserve to know what 
their children are learning and being tested on, what their children's 
grades and assessment scores mean, and how assessment data may be used 
for improvement. Informed and engaged parents can help turn around 
struggling schools.
  We crafted the No Child Left Behind Act to recognize parents as full 
partners in their children's education. The Act includes essential 
requirements to develop parent involvement policies and programs, 
develop and release school report cards, and to establish a team of 
parents and community representatives to construct a plan to improve 
schools if they are identified as struggling. We should build on these 
important reforms. But in the upcoming reauthorization of the law, we 
must also explore new and innovative strategies to engage parents and 
communities in helping kids succeed in school.
  Better coordination among parents, schools, and the community can 
also help create a network that enables and empowers students to take 
advantage of every opportunity to learn. That's particularly important 
for students needing the greatest help and attention in their learning 
and those who need more challenging schoolwork to keep them engaged and 
progressing, as well as students at risk of dropping out of school. 
Today, more than one million students who enter the ninth grade fail to 
receive a high school diploma 4 years later and approximately 7,000 
students drop out of school every day. We've made great advances in 
recent years to improve the education of every student, but it remains 
clear that more must be done to respond to this challenge.
  We must support and strengthen our elementary and secondary schools 
and do more to attend to the learning and nonacademic needs of our most 
at-risk students, which make such a difference in how well they master 
their subjects. That means support for community programs to meet 
children's social, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs. It 
means making parent involvement a top priority, and offering support to 
schools to involve parents and families more effectively in their 
children's education, including postsecondary education planning.
  The Keeping PACE Act will address these fundamental issues. This bill 
amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to encourage 
and support parent, family, and community involvement in schools, to 
provide needed supports and services to children, and to ensure that 
schools are centers of communities.
  Educators recognize, on the basis of abundant research and common 
experience, that parental involvement is a critical element in 
children's academic and social development. Unfortunately, as noted in 
a recent report by Appleseed, too often, schools and districts continue 
to face challenges that impede efforts to effectively advance parental 
involvement. My bill enables States to award grants to local education 
agencies to assist schools in hiring and maintaining Parent and 
Community Outreach Coordinators. These coordinators will build critical 
partnerships among families, schools, and the community. They'll work 
with school principals, teachers, and staff to encourage parents to 
become more involved in their child's education and give them the tools 
necessary to become successful advocates for their children.
  Last year, a Massachusetts pilot initiative placed 17 full-time 
Family and Community Outreach Coordinators in Boston Public Schools. 
The Coordinators were responsible for supporting families, teachers, 
and the community in a common effort to help students excel 
academically and socially.
  Their efforts have worked. The Family and Community Outreach 
Coordinator at the Condon School in Boston, Massachusetts, has offered 
workshops for parents on middle school transition and math curriculum; 
coordinated parent participation on the School Climate Committee, an 
anti-bullying initiative at the school; helped teachers and parents 
make connections for parent-teacher conferences; and brought in over 
200 parents to participate in the fall open house, where some teachers 
reported having contact with over 80 percent of their students' 
families. The Coordinator has also leveraged donations to the school 
through the generosity of local businesses.
  The success of the coordinators led the Boston School Committee to 
approve its budget for the next school year with the addition of 14 
more full-time Family and Community Outreach Coordinators. All together 
this means that almost 22 percent of Boston Public Schools will have a 
coordinator by September 2007-2008.
  The director of the Harvard Family Research Project notes that many 
years of research confirm that ``now is the time . . . for action. The 
question we must ask is, in addition to quality schools, what non-
school learning resources should we invest in and scale up to improve 
educational outcomes, narrow achievement gaps, and equip our children 
with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the complex and 
global 21st century.''

  The bill answers that question and responds directly to these needs 
by creating new grants for community-based organizations to work in 
partnership with schools to bring essential comprehensive and 
integrated services to children in need. These support services may 
include health care, counseling, social services, enrichment, 
mentorship, and tutoring, services that can often spell the difference 
between a dropout and a graduate.
  Rather than giving teachers, counselors, and principals more to do as 
they address the non-classroom needs

[[Page S5597]]

of students, every school should have a resource they can turn to for 
help with identifying student needs and leveraging community services 
to help all students succeed. We know that comprehensive, integrated 
supportive services increase graduation rates and improve student 
achievement. In one national report: 82 percent of tracked students 
improved their attendance in school; 86 percent of tracked students had 
fewer behavior incidents; 89 percent of tracked students had fewer 
suspensions. In addition, 98 percent of tracked students stayed in 
school and 85 percent of eligible seniors graduated. Students who are 
identified as needing these services, but do not receive them are more 
likely to drop out of school.
  The Lucy Stone School in Boston, Massachusetts, demonstrates the 
effectiveness of student supports on learning. The once failing school 
took action and focused on improving core learning skills, a broad 
array of enrichment activities and health and social supports. Lucy 
Stone is making strong progress. Students in Grades 3 and 4 are passing 
the literacy MCAS at rates well above the Boston Public School average 
percentages, and are approaching State averages. Grade 4 math MCAS 
passing rates are approaching Boston and State averages as well.
  In other communities, diverse community partners have played an 
important role in providing accelerated learning and mentoring 
opportunities that have made all the difference for students.
  For example, a comprehensive evaluation of nine schools in New 
England found that classroom participation in community service outdoor 
learning projects increased student engagement and retention of science 
knowledge. And the ``Being Enthusiastic about Math and Science'' 
(BEAMS) enrichment program at the Jefferson National Lab in Virginia, 
which serves 1,800 inner-city students and their teachers, has resulted 
in increased achievement and attendance rates, and a better 
understanding of academic subjects, careers and applications among 
participating students.
  The National Commission on Service Learning found that mentorships 
and internships with caring adults in a workplace resulted in higher 
grade point averages and better attendance than for students who spend 
less time with adult mentors.
  There is one particular organization that has a demonstrated track 
record in helping leverage the integrated services and supports that 
students need to succeed in school. Communities in Schools (CIS) is the 
Nation's largest dropout prevention organization, and has a nearly 30-
year track record of helping connect students, families and schools 
with supportive services to help them graduate and prepare for life. 
With affiliates operating in 27 States and the District of Columbia, 
Communities in Schools helps about 2 million students every year.
  Community involvement means real help for children in need, and the 
evidence shows. For instance:
  In Georgia, CIS currently supports graduation coaches directly 
serving approximately 37,000 high school students who are at risk of 
dropping out.
  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, CIS stepped in to provide morning 
classes and afternoon activities for students whose parents had lost 
their social support systems after they were forced to relocate to 
Houston, Texas.
  There are also countless individual stories of community-based 
integrated services making a difference. In Texas, CIS helped 14-year-
old Yeana Carbajal, who was born with cerebral palsy, to obtain proper 
medical attention and social services, enabling her to return to school 
after hip surgery when her doctors had told her that would be 
impossible. Yeana is now back in school and thriving academically and 
socially.
  Another student, who at 14 became the primary caregiver of a mother 
who eventually died with AIDS, overcame homelessness and became the 
first in her family to graduate high school. A turning point for her 
came when she participated in a career exploration program coordinated 
through the community-based program office at her school. She 
discovered her special talents in the culinary arts, and is now an 
honor student at Johnson and Wales University.
  Finally, a growing body of educational research suggests that student 
achievement improves in environments where learning is a community 
value, and where schools have the ability to address a broad range of 
educational needs. Many school districts have gone even further to 
respond to this research, by establishing full-service community 
schools that directly involve parents, families, and the entire 
community in education.
  The Keeping PACE Act also responds to this research by providing new 
avenues to establish and support full-service community schools. These 
efforts have wide-ranging positive impacts, including ``better family 
functioning and parental involvement, healthy youth development and 
improved social behavior, improved academic achievement and learning 
outcomes, and enhanced community life.'' Two prominent researchers in 
the field further note, ``In community schools . . . schools are 
transformed into much more than just a portfolio of programs and 
services. They become a powerful agent for change in the lives of young 
people and their families and improve the climate of the entire 
school.''
  This bill enables States to provide incentives to local education 
agencies that coordinate with mayors, community-based organizations, 
for-profit organizations and other community partners to re-design and 
modernize their current school plans and facilities to better link 
students with community resources. School districts across the country 
are beginning to recognize the benefits of planning a school not only 
as an academic center for students, but also as a neighborhood center 
that serves the entire community. Designing schools from the onset to 
leverage integrated services to students helps meet multiple local 
needs such as educational, health, social service, and recreational 
needs.
  It's time for America to make a real commitment, and give real 
opportunity and real fairness to address the comprehensive learning 
needs of children and families, guarantee a place for parents and 
families in schools, and provide real hope to our students most at-risk 
of dropping out. Engaging parents and communities in the success of 
students enrolled in our public schools is critical to the future and 
prosperity of our entire Nation.
  This bill is supported by 15 organizations representing education 
communities. I ask unanimous consent that their letters of support be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                       Communities in Schools,

                                   Alexandria, VA, April 16, 2007.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: On behalf of Communities In Schools--
     our national offices and our network of local affiliates in 
     27 states and District of Columbia--I would like to 
     congratulate you on the introduction of the Keeping Parents 
     and Communities Engaged (Keeping PACE) Act. For 30 years 
     Communities In Schools has been working to connect existing 
     community resources with schools to improve student 
     achievement. This legislation provides much needed structure, 
     funding, and support at the federal level for critical 
     community engagement activities in our nation's public 
     schools. The Keeping PACE Act's provisions are research-
     based, effective, and fiscally responsible. Communities In 
     Schools strongly supports this legislation.
       While much of the rhetoric in education is about the 
     problems in the system, the Keeping PACE Act offers a real 
     solution to help to lower the high school dropout rate and 
     raise the achievement level of students in need. Too often, 
     students at risk of dropping out or not achieving 
     academically have the talent, intelligence, and potential to 
     achieve, but they need assistance to address challenges that 
     may block their way. The Keeping PACE Act's three components 
     provide a strong foundation to help students--particularly 
     those at risk of dropping out of school--with their 
     challenges by supporting: grants to states to support parent 
     and community outreach coordinators in schools; grants to 
     community-based organizations to engage schools and provide 
     integrated services; and grants to help make schools the 
     centers of their communities.
       Communities In Schools is particularly pleased that the 
     Keeping PACE Act provides support for community-based 
     organizations that provide integrated student services. 
     Community-based, integrated student services are 
     interventions that improve student achievement by connecting 
     community resources--such as mentoring, service-learning, and 
     afterschool programs--with both the academic and social 
     service needs of students. Programs focus energy, resources, 
     and time on shared school and student goals. The core 
     strategy of community-based, integrated student services is 
     to leverage existing community resources and effectively

[[Page S5598]]

     link these resources with students in need in order to 
     address whatever barriers the students may face. This 
     leverages a greater return on federal, state, and local 
     investments that are already being made in education. Without 
     coordination, however, many students cannot benefit from 
     these programs. The Keeping PACE Act supports funding for 
     this critical coordination and effectively leverages current 
     federal, state, and local investments in education.
       Importantly, research and experience establish that the 
     model supported by the Keeping PACE Act works in all types of 
     schools across the country--urban, rural, and suburban. By 
     supporting community-based, integrated student services and 
     parental involvement, the Keeping PACE Act provides strong 
     support for a very effective strategy to address our nation's 
     dropout rate and the achievement gap in communities across 
     the country.
       Thank you again for your leadership the Keeping PACE Act. 
     This very important bill will go along way toward supporting 
     the services that young people need and will make a huge 
     difference in lowering the dropout rate and closing the 
     achievement gap.
           Sincerely,
                                              Daniel J. Cardinali,
     President.
                                  ____

                                               Center for American


                                         Progress Action Fund,

                                   Washington, DC, April 16, 2007.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 
         Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: This letter is written to express the 
     support of the Center for American Progress Action Fund for 
     your PACE Act of 2007. The PACE Act takes great strides 
     towards facilitating community support for low-income 
     schools, a crucial step towards closing the achievement gap 
     and providing all American children with equal educational 
     opportunity.
       Schools, families, communities, and children themselves all 
     play important roles in promoting student learning. Children 
     are more likely to do their best when all these players work 
     together to ensure that challenges students face outside the 
     classroom are addressed, rather than remaining as ongoing 
     barriers to student learning and achievement.
       Community schools reshape the structure of traditional 
     schools and recast their roles in the community by explicitly 
     positioning schools, families and communities as vital 
     partners in fostering the health, well-being and academic 
     growth of children. These schools help address the out-of-
     school needs of students and their families so that young 
     people can focus on learning when they are in the classroom, 
     and also take advantage of nurturing opportunities outside of 
     the classroom.
       Providing supplemental support services to students and 
     their families has been shown to lead to real improvements in 
     their well-being. Researchers have documented that students 
     in community schools demonstrate positive outcomes, including 
     higher test scores, fewer disciplinary problems, improved 
     attendance and graduation rates, and diminished incidence of 
     self-destructive behaviors.
       We are pleased that the report by the Renewing Our Schools, 
     Securing Our Future National Task Force on Public Education, 
     issued by our sister organization, the Center for American 
     Progress, has influenced the drafting of this legislation, 
     and that the PACE Act reflects the community schools 
     recommendations in that report. It is our hope that Congress 
     and the nation as a whole will embrace the ideas in this 
     important piece of legislation.
           Best Regards,
                                                     John Podesta,
     President and CEO.
                                  ____



                                              Citizen Schools,

                                       Boston, MA, April 13, 2007.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: I am writing in support of the 
     Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged (Keeping PACE) Act of 
     2007. The Keeping PACE Act proposes a promising set of 
     initiatives to strengthen two areas that are key to student 
     success: parental involvement and coordinated community 
     support.
       At Citizen Schools, we see the importance of parental 
     engagement and integrated student support systems every day. 
     Citizen Schools operates a national network of after-school 
     programs that advance student achievement and mobilize adult 
     volunteers to teach hands-on apprenticeship courses. Our 
     programs blend real-world learning projects with rigorous 
     academic and leadership development activities, preparing 
     students in the middle grades for success in high school, 
     college, the workforce, and civic life. Citizen Schools 
     currently serves 3,000 students and engages 2,400 volunteers 
     in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and 
     Texas. In Massachusetts, our programs operate in Boston, 
     Lowell, Malden, New Bedford, Worcester, and Springfield.
       Citizen Schools works intensively with low-income students, 
     most of whom are struggling academically. A rigorous 
     independent evaluation has reported that Citizen Schools' 
     students significantly outperformed a matched comparison 
     group on key metrics of school success and advancement, 
     including grades and standardized test scores. These 
     achievements would not be possible without the engagement and 
     support of students' families and communities.
       Our program also brings together students and adult 
     volunteers, and we have seen the rewards that both groups 
     derive from this opportunity to interact. As such, Citizen 
     Schools wholeheartedly supports efforts that reduce the 
     barriers between schools and communities.
       The Keeping PACE Act will produce positive outcomes for our 
     neediest students by facilitating parent involvement and 
     access to community resources. Thank you for your leadership 
     on this important issue.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Eric Schwarz,
     President and CEO.
                                  ____

                                              National Association


                                          for Gifted Children,

                                   Washington, DC, April 11, 2007.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
         Pensions, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kennedy: The National Association for Gifted 
     Children (NAGC), the largest organization devoted to meeting 
     the needs of the nation's more than three million gifted and 
     talented students, is writing to express its support of the 
     Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged (Keeping PACE) Act.
       In high-poverty school districts, little attention is being 
     paid to finding and supporting the children who meet the 
     requirements of NCLB-mandated tests and are ready to move to 
     higher levels of achievement. Many low-income promising 
     students may be trapped in schools that do not acknowledge 
     the presence of gifted children, do not offer appropriate 
     level of intellectual stimulation, and do not provide the 
     services necessary to encourage talent development. This 
     failure to address the learning needs of high-ability 
     children is a tragedy for the children, their families, 
     communities, and the nation.
       The Keeping PACE Act will be a catalyst for developing the 
     partnerships necessary to support bright children from 
     disadvantaged backgrounds. The Act establishes an integrated 
     service strategy for students and their families in several 
     key areas--including mentoring, tutoring, and enrichment--
     which go a long to supporting the intellectual appetites of 
     students who are unchallenged in the classroom, who want to 
     explore in-depth learning on their own, or who need safe 
     haven from negative peer attitudes towards academic 
     achievement. We also applaud the Act's focus on assisting 
     students and parents in planning for post-secondary 
     educational opportunities. Many of these bright children will 
     be the first in their families to pursue post-secondary 
     options and they will need assistance to make appropriate 
     decisions and to understand the range of grant and other 
     funding opportunities available to high-achieving students.
       NAGC is invested in building alliances with other national 
     organizations that serve low-income learners and has made a 
     strong commitment to enhancing the competency of teachers who 
     work with underserved populations of students. We look 
     forward to working with you and your office in support of 
     this legislation and to strengthen NCLB in other ways for 
     gifted and talented students.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Nancy Green,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                            National Collaboration


                                                    for Youth,

                                   Washington, DC, March 26, 2007.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kennedy: The National Collaboration for Youth 
     is writing to express its support of the Keeping Parents and 
     Communities Engaged (Keeping PACE) Act.
       The National Collaboration for Youth membership comprises 
     national youth-serving organizations that have a presence in 
     almost every community in the United States. The signers of 
     this letter include community-based organizations, and 
     organizations that conduct research, evaluation, and provide 
     technical assistance to communities and schools across the 
     country. As advocates striving to improve the conditions of 
     young people in America, we believe that student achievement 
     is enhanced when parents, caregivers and communities are 
     engaged in education.
       Research and experience demonstrate that improving the 
     interaction between school and community, and providing 
     integrated services and supports for students and their 
     families in such areas as healthcare, employment, mentoring, 
     tutoring, enrichment and recreation, will help to serve the 
     intellectual, social, emotional, and physical well-being of 
     students. Access to these and other related non-academic 
     needs pave the way for the successful education of a young 
     person. By incorporating family and community engagement with 
     schools, the Keeping PACE Act will strengthen the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act, and will be an important tool in 
     reducing the school dropout rate and closing the achievement 
     gap.
       We look forward to continuing to work with you and your 
     office to strengthen the goals of this legislation, and move 
     it towards enactment. Please do not hesitate to contact us if 
     we can be of any assistance.

[[Page S5599]]

       Thank you for your leadership and public service.
           Sincerely,
       America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, Marguerite 
     Kondracke, President and CEO.
       Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Judy Vredenburgh, 
     President and CEO.
       Camp Fire USA, Jill Pasewalk, National President and CEO.
       Communities In Schools, Inc., Daniel Cardinali, President.
       First Focus, Bruce Lesley, President.
       Forum for Youth Investment, Karen J. Pittman, Executive 
     Director.
       GLSEN--The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 
     Kevin Jennings, Executive Director.
       Leadership & Renewal Outfitters, Janet R. Wakefield, CEO.
       MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, Gail Manza, 
     Executive Director.
       National Collaboration for Youth, Irv Katz, President and 
     CEO.
       National Network For Youth, Victoria Wagner, President and 
     CEO.
       YMCA of the USA, Neil Nicoll, President and CEO.
                                  ____



                                                  First Focus,

                                   Alexandria, VA, March 23, 2007.
     Hon. Edward Kennedy,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
         Pensions, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: It is a pleasure to formally endorse the 
     Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged Act. This important 
     legislation recognizes the critical role played by families 
     and communities in improving the academic success of our 
     students. We applaud this bill and look forward to working 
     with you toward its enactment.
       First Focus believes, and research demonstrates, that we 
     must meet the needs of students in and outside the classroom 
     in order to bolster their success in school. A study 
     commissioned by the America's Promise Alliance analyzed the 
     impact of having five key resources in children's lives: 
     caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective 
     education, and opportunities to help others. Students with 
     four or five of these resources were twice as likely as their 
     peers with zero or one resource to get As in school, 40 
     percent more likely to volunteer, and twice as likely to 
     avoid violence. The Keeping PACE Act is crucial because it 
     will help to connect young people to an array of services and 
     supports, thereby increasing their access to these and other 
     important resources.
       The debate surrounding the reauthorization of the No Child 
     Left Behind Act will appropriately center on issues 
     surrounding accountability, teacher quality, national 
     standards and other important topics. We thank you for 
     raising the importance of parent and community engagement as 
     well. Every child can succeed, but we must provide them with 
     the tools to do so. By building stronger connections between 
     parents, schools, and communities, the Keeping PACE Act will 
     help the nation be stronger supporters of our students.
       Chairman Kennedy, thank you for your leadership. We look 
     forward to working with you.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bruce Lesley,
                                                        President.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 1304. A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 
the Arizona National Scenic Trail; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today by Senator 
Kyl in introducing the Arizona Trail Feasibility National Scenic Trail 
Act. This bill would designate the Arizona Trail as a National Scenic 
Trail. A similar bill is being introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Congresswoman Giffords.
  The Arizona Trail is a beautifully diverse stretch of public lands, 
mountains, canyons, deserts, forests, historic sites, and communities. 
The Trail is approximately 807 miles long and begins at the Coronado 
National Memorial on the U.S.-Mexico border and ends in the Bureau of 
Land Management's Arizona Strip District on the Utah border near the 
Grand Canyon. In between these two points, the trail winds through some 
of the most rugged, spectacular scenery in the Western United States. 
The corridor for the Arizona Trail encompasses the wide range of 
ecological diversity in the State, and incorporates a host of existing 
trails into one continuous trail. In fact, the trail route is so 
topographically diverse that a person can hike from the Sonoran Desert 
to Alpine forests in 1 day.
  For over a decade, more than 16 Federal, State, and local agencies, 
as well as community and business organizations, have partnered to 
create, develop, and manage the Arizona Trail. Through their combined 
efforts, these agencies and the members of the Arizona Trail 
Association have completed over 90 percent of the longest contiguous 
land-based trail in the State of Arizona. Designating the Arizona Trail 
as a National Scenic Trail would help streamline the management of the 
high-use trail to ensure that this pristine stretch of diverse land is 
preserved for future generations to enjoy.
  Since 1968, when the National Trails System Act was established, 
Congress has designated over 20 National trails. Before a trail 
receives a national designation, a Federal study is typically required 
to assess the feasibility of establishing a trail route. The Arizona 
Trail doesn't require a feasibility study because it's virtually 
complete with less than 60 miles left to build and sign. All but 1 
percent of the trail resides on public land, and the unfinished 
segments don't involve private property. The trail meets the criteria 
to be labeled a National Scenic Trail and already appears on all 
Arizona State maps. Therefore, the Congress has reason to forego an 
unnecessary and costly feasibility study and proceed straight to 
National Scenic Trail designation.
  The Arizona Trail is known throughout the State as boon to outdoor 
enthusiasts. The Arizona State Parks recently released data showing 
that two-thirds of Arizonans consider themselves trail users. Millions 
of visitors also use Arizona's trails each year. In one of the fastest-
growing States in the U.S., the designation of the Arizona Trail as a 
National Scenic Trail would ensure the preservation of a corridor of 
open space for hikers, mountain bicyclists, cross country skiers, 
snowshoers, eco-tourists, equestrians, and joggers.
  I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this legislation.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join with Senator 
McCain in introducing the Arizona National Scenic Trail Act. This bill 
would amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Arizona 
Trail as a national scenic trail. In 1968, Congress established the 
National Trails System to promote the preservation of historical 
resources and outdoor areas. National scenic and historic trails may be 
designated only by an act of Congress.
  This is not a new proposal. Senator McCain and I have been working on 
legislation relating to the Arizona Trail since the 108th Congress. 
Past legislation focused on conducting a feasibility study to determine 
whether the trail is physically possible and financially feasible. A 
feasibility study is generally the first step toward national trail 
designation, but such legislation was not successfully enacted. In the 
meantime the Arizona Trail Association and its State and Federal 
partners have continued to develop the trail with national designation 
in mind. Senator McCain and I believe a feasibility study is not 
necessary. Let me explain: the Arizona Trail already exists. It extends 
over 800 continuous miles and is over 90 percent complete--clearly, it 
is physically possible. It is also financially feasible, as this trail 
does not require a single land acquisition, and commitments already 
exist to manage the trail and complete the remaining few miles of trail 
construction. This trail is ready for designation. In fact, the Arizona 
Trail is farther along than many national scenic trails that have 
already been designated by Congress.
  The Arizona Trail is highly deserving of national designation. The 
trail is a roller coaster ride through the wide range of ecological 
diversity in the State. The trail corridor begins at the Coronado 
National Memorial on the U.S.-Mexico border and winds some 800 miles, 
ending on the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona Strip District on the 
Utah border. Between these two points, it invites recreationists to 
explore the State's most renowned mountains, canyons, deserts and 
forests, including the Grand Canyon and the Sonora Desert. This trail 
is unique in that it maximizes the incorporation of already existing 
public trails into one continuous trail to showcase some of the most 
spectacular scenery in the West.
  Over 16 Federal, State and local agencies, as well as numerous 
community and business organizations and countless volunteers, have 
cooperated to develop and sustain the trail as a recreational resource 
for future generations. Designating the Arizona Trail

[[Page S5600]]

as a national scenic tail will help streamline its management, boost 
tourism and recreation, and preserve a magnificent natural, cultural, 
and historical experience of the American West. I urge my colleagues to 
enact this legislation at the earliest possible date.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. Levin, and Mrs. McCaskill):
  S. 1307. A bill to Include Medicare provider payments in the Federal 
Payment Levy Program, to require the Department of Health and Human 
Services to offset Medicare provider payments by the amount of the 
provider's delinquent Federal debt, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Medicare Provider 
Accountability Act on behalf of myself, and my colleagues Senator Levin 
and Senator McCaskill. This bill is a direct result of the recent 
bipartisan investigation by the Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations exposing Medicare physicians and related providers who 
cheat on their taxes. At our March 20 hearing, entitled ``Medicare 
Doctors Who Cheat On Their Taxes,'' the Subcommittee presented evidence 
that more than 21,000 physicians and other providers received millions 
of dollars through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, 
under Medicare Part B, even though they collectively owe more than $1.3 
billion in undisputed Federal taxes as of September 30, 2006.
  I think it is important to note that the vast majority of physicians 
are working hard to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries. In 
fact, I know that many doctors struggle with on-going reductions in 
payments under the so-called Sustainable Growth Rate.
  The focus of PSI's ongoing investigations has been tax fraud and 
government contractors. CMS is the only Federal agency of considerable 
size that has resisted participating in the Federal Payment Levy 
Program that I will describe later. As we looked into CMS, we found 
that there were physicians receiving payments from the government while 
they simultaneously withheld money from the government by cheating on 
taxes, and failing to pay child support or student loan debts. Through 
their actions, these ``bad apples'' are hurting efforts to promote the 
longterm sustainability of the Medicare Program.
  What is disturbing is that the delinquent doctors identified by our 
investigation were not hardship cases but rather folks living the 
``good life.'' This minority of physicians live in multi-million-dollar 
homes, own luxury vehicles and pleasure boats, and gamble with millions 
of dollars, yet still cheat the government.
  Some of the most egregious examples that GAO discovered include the 
following:
  An ambulance company received more than $1 million from Medicare in 
just the first 9 months of 2005, although it owed more than $11 million 
in back taxes.
  One doctor has refused to pay Federal income taxes since the 1970s 
and now owes more than $3 million in unpaid Federal taxes, and more 
than $1 million to another Federal agency. He was paid approximately 
$100,000 by Medicare in the first 9 months of 2005. He tried to hide 
his assets by attempting to transfer property to his children.
  Another physician who owes more than $1 million, primarily as payroll 
taxes withheld from his employees, received more than $1 million from 
Medicare between January and September 2005. He was flaunting his 
illegally gained windfall with a million-dollar home, 58-foot yacht, 
and ownership of several night clubs. His recently reported income is 
half a million dollars, but the compromise offer he made to the IRS 
only covers the penalty for nonpayment and not the overdue taxes 
themselves.

  Another physician whose medical license is on probation owes more 
than $400,000 in unpaid Federal taxes. Despite this debt, he purchased 
a luxury vehicle predominantly with cash, deposited tens of thousands 
of dollars in cash in such a way as to avoid mandatory reporting to the 
IRS, and gambled away millions of dollars. Although he did report more 
than $600,000 in net profits for 2 recent years, he still managed to 
fall behind in his child support payments by tens of thousands of 
dollars and to default on his installment agreement with the IRS.
  Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. Worse, as if failing to pay 
their taxes was not a sufficient insult to American taxpayers, Medicare 
providers also owed $33 million in child support, $27 million in unpaid 
student loans, $114 million owed to other Federal agencies, and $22 
million in unpaid state income taxes.
  While these figures and case studies are obviously disturbing, the 
good news is that the Federal Government has two marvelous programs for 
recovering Federal debt from Federal payments, the Federal Payment Levy 
Program, FPLP, for tax debt, and the Treasury Offset Program, TOP, for 
non-tax debt, such as delinquent student loans, child support, and 
money owed Federal agencies. The Financial Management Service, FMS, 
handles both of these programs and matches pending payments from the 
Federal Government against outstanding Federal tax debt in the case of 
FPLP, and against other outstanding federal debt in TOP. If such debt 
exists, a levy of 15 percent or more is imposed upon each payment made 
to the delinquent taxpayer until that debt is recovered. FMS currently 
screens most Federal payments for unpaid taxes, including salaries and 
payments to contractors and vendors.
  The Government Accountability Office specifically recommended that 
CMS confer with the IRS and FMS to figure out how to get Medicare 
payments into the levy program. That recommendation came in six years 
ago, in 2001, so it is clear that CMS and the other agencies have been 
``on notice'' about this very issue for years. In fact, although CMS 
has been sending information on payments to Medicare Part C and D 
providers to FMS for matching in FPLP, it has failed to include the 
more than $300 billion in payments to Part A and B providers.
  As a result, the Federal Government has lost countless opportunities 
to levy Medicare payments made to tax-delinquent doctors and other 
suppliers. The GAO estimated that, if CMS had participated in the levy 
program, the government could have recouped anywhere between $50 
million and $140 million of unpaid Federal taxes from these Medicare 
tax-cheats in just the first nine months of 2005 alone. That does not 
include potential millions recouped for delinquent student loans, 
unpaid child support, and back-taxes owed to States.
  But we are not in the blame business, we are in the problem-solving 
business. So, the paramount question is how to fix this mess. Make no 
mistake: these are complex problems, but I am confident that we can fix 
them. This legislation is a good start.
  The bill, entitled the Medicare Provider Accountability Act, has 
three prongs to assist the Federal government with the collection of 
these outstanding debts. It establishes a timetable for CMS to join the 
Federal Payment Levy Program for all payments to Medicare providers, 
and expressly authorizes CMS to participate in the Treasury Offset 
Program to collect nontax debt. Finally, it enables the IRS to begin 
levying payments earlier in the notice process.
  First, this bill sets a deadline by which CMS must fully participate 
in the FPLP. Fifty percent of the payments to Part A and B providers 
must be sent to FMS for matching tax debt under FPLP within 1 year of 
enactment. Within 2 years of enactment, every Medicare provider 
payment, regardless of Part, will be checked by FMS under FPLP for 
outstanding Federal tax debt.
  Second, this bill gives CMS the authority to submit payments to its 
providers to TOP, which it had previously been unable to do. CMS and 
FMS testified at the hearing that CMS cannot legally participate in TOP 
as a Federal disbursing authority, and that to do so will require a 
Legislative fix. This bill explicitly includes payments to Medicare 
providers as disbursements that can be offset, allowing for the 
recovery of delinquent student loans, overdue child support, debts owed 
to other federal agencies and state taxes.
  In addition, this legislation enables IRS to levy Federal payments to 
recover delinquent tax debt earlier in the process. Currently, only 
about half of the $140 billion in tax debt eligible for

[[Page S5601]]

matching is ``turned on'' to allow FMS to begin levying payments 
through FPLP. This is a result of IRS's current procedure, sending four 
computer-generated notices followed by a Collection Due Process, CDP, 
notice. Although the delinquent taxpayer can enter a payment plan or 
challenge the amount throughout the process, the formal appeals process 
begins only after all of those notices are issued. This protracted 
process allows a delinquent taxpayer to drag out the process and 
prevent automatic levies anywhere from months to years. An additional 
problem beyond the delay is that by the time the appeals process 
concludes, the contractor may no longer be receiving Federal payments. 
This provision of the bill accelerates the collection process, enabling 
a postlevy appeals process, whereby the IRS can begin to levy Federal 
payments prior to the CDP notice. To be clear, this would permit the 
Government to begin levying payments earlier, while still preserving 
the taxpayer's right to appeal. This will not affect levies on third 
parties.
  Congress has spent much of this session focusing on health care. We 
all know that we have a crisis looming with Medicare. In order to 
ensure the long term sustainability of the program, we need to be sure 
that the money that is going out through this program is being spent 
efficiently and effectively. We also need to be sure that the money 
that is coming into this program through our taxes is being collected 
efficiently and effectively. They are part and parcel of the same 
problem. As we look for money to spend on programs to benefit our most 
vulnerable, this legislation can go a long way to identifying possible 
sources.
  I would especially like to thank Chairman Levin for his ongoing 
support of our efforts to address those who receive Federal payments 
without paying their taxes. This is truly a bipartisan effort and a 
bipartisan bill in its writing and its sponsorship.
  Mr. President, 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. 1307

       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 ``Medicare Provider 
     Accountability Act''.

     SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF MEDICARE PROVIDER PAYMENTS IN FEDERAL 
                   PAYMENT LEVY PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
     Services shall take all necessary steps to participate in the 
     Federal Payment Levy Program under section 6331(h) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as soon as possible and shall 
     ensure that--
       (1) at least 50 percent of all payments under parts A and B 
     of title XVIII of the Social Security Act are processed 
     through such program within one year of the date of enactment 
     of this Act, and
       (2) all remaining payments under such parts A and B are 
     processed through such program within two years of such date.
       (b) Assistance.--The Financial Management Service and the 
     Internal Revenue Service shall provide assistance to the 
     Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure that all 
     payments described in subsection (a) are included in the 
     Federal Payment Levy Program by the deadlines specified in 
     that subsection.

     SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFSET PROVISIONS TO 
                   MEDICARE PROVIDER PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3716 of title 31, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``the Department of Health and Human 
     Services,'' after ``United States Postal Service,'' in 
     subsection (c)(1)(A), and
       (2) by adding at the end of subsection (c)(3) the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(D) This section shall apply to claims or debts, and to 
     amounts payable, under title XVIII of the Social Security 
     Act.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to payments made after the date of enactment of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 4. STREAMLINING TAX LEVIES ON FEDERAL PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 6330(f) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 (relating to jeopardy and State refund 
     collection) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1),
       (2) by striking the comma at the end of paragraph (2) and 
     inserting ``; or'',
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(3) the Secretary has approved a levy, including a 
     continuing levy under section 6331(h), on specified payments, 
     as defined in section 6331(h)(2),'', and
       (4) by striking the heading and inserting ``Jeopardy, State 
     Refund, and Collection From Federal Payments''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to levies made after the date of enactment of 
     this Act.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I join today with my colleagues, Senator 
Coleman and Senator McCaskill, in introducing the Medicare Provider 
Accountability Act. This bill targets Medicare, a program which is 
indispensable to the health of our citizens, because some Medicare 
service providers are profiting from the program while abusing the 
federal tax system. The facts show that, while the vast majority of 
Medicare health care providers are honest, tax-paying citizens, others 
are getting paid with taxpayer dollars while, at the same time, failing 
to pay their taxes.
  Legislation to stop this abuse is a product of the work of the 
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, on which I serve as Chairman 
and Senator Coleman serves as the Ranking Member. On March 20, 2007, a 
Subcommittee hearing presented testimony from the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) showing that about 21,000 Medicare Part B 
health care providers, including doctors, ambulance companies, and 
medical laboratories, collectively owe more than $1 billion in 
delinquent taxes. GAO also determined that, despite this pending tax 
debt, during the first 9 months of 2005 alone, these health care 
providers had received payments on Medicare claims totaling around $140 
million. In other words, these providers were stuffing taxpayer dollars 
in their pockets at the same time they were stiffing Uncle Sam by not 
paying their taxes.
  Federal programs exist to stop this type of abuse. One key program is 
the Federal Payment Levy Program, which was established about ten years 
ago to enable the Federal government to identify federal payments being 
made to tax delinquents, and authorize the withholding of a portion of 
those taxpayer dollars to apply to the person's tax debt. That program 
has successfully collected taxes from federal payments made through the 
Treasury Department and by agencies like the Defense Department who 
screen their own payments to contractors through Treasury's Financial 
Management Service.
  As our March hearing demonstrated, however, despite a legal 
requirement to do so, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
(CMS) have never participated in the tax levy program with respect to 
Medicare Part A and B payments. This failure means that, year after 
year, as much as $300 billion in Federal Medicare payments have not 
been screened for unpaid taxes. The first substantive provision of our 
bill would redress this situation by mandating CMS to bring all 
Medicare part A and B payments into the Federal Payment Levy Program 
over the next two years.
  The second part of our bill would enable CMS to participate in a 
similar automated program, known as the Treasury Offset Program, to 
collect non-tax debt, such as unpaid student loans and child support. 
GAO has determined that certain Medicare health care providers 
collectively owe hundreds of millions of dollars in student loans, 
child support, and unpaid state taxes that could be collected through 
administrative offsets.
  The third and final part of our bill would eliminate a barrier to 
including a large part of IRS's uncollected tax assessments in the 
Federal Payment Levy Program for collection from Medicare provider 
payments, as well as other federal contractor payments. Right now, for 
a variety of legal and technical reasons, only 45 percent of the tax 
debt assessed but still uncollected in 2006 was actually made subject 
to levy under the federal program. In 2006, over half of this assessed 
tax debt--some $67 billion--was never ``turned on'' for actual 
collection under the tax levy program. Now, $67 billion is a big 
number, even by Washington standards.
  One key reason that this tax debt was not ``turned on'' for 
collection by levy is that many of the accounts had not reached the 
stage in their processing where the required notice of intent to levy 
had been sent to the taxpayer. Until that notice is sent and the 
taxpayer has exhausted all rights of appeal available under the tax 
law, the

[[Page S5602]]

IRS is currently barred from placing a tax levy on the taxpayer's 
property. In the case of Medicare providers and other federal 
contractors, that means federal dollars continue to go into their 
pockets, without any withholding, despite their unpaid taxes.
  While it may be appropriate to delay tax levies on most types of 
taxpayer property until a taxpayer's appeals are exhausted, it makes no 
sense to keep sending taxpayer dollars to a tax delinquent Medicare 
provider or other federal contractor while they are appealing the tax 
assessment. Withholding should be allowed when it is taxpayer dollars 
that are being paid to the tax delinquent. That's why our bill would 
create a special rule for federal payments, allowing a tax levy to be 
initiated and continue in effect, while the taxpayer's appeal goes 
forward. The taxpayer would retain the same due process rights, but a 
tax levy would be allowed to begin earlier in the administrative 
process; it would no longer have to wait until all of the taxpayer's 
appeal rights were exhausted. For property other than federal payments, 
the bill would maintain the current system, requiring a pre-levy notice 
and exhausted appeal rights before the property could be levied.
  The vast majority of Medicare providers render valuable services to 
their patients, and they do so while paying their taxes. These honest 
health care providers are put at a competitive disadvantage by the 
Medicare tax cheats who reduce their operating costs by failing to pay 
taxes. Besides hurting honest businesses, this type of tax dodging 
hurts our country by undermining the fairness of our tax system and by 
forcing honest taxpayers to make up the shortfall needed to pay for 
basic federal protections--like health care. When these tax delinquents 
also receive large payments of federal funds, it adds insult to injury. 
We must force these tax dodgers to pay their tax debt, and a key tool 
is to subject any federal payments they receive to an effective tax 
levy program.
  The Medicare Providers Accountability Act would target those tax 
dodgers by strengthening the tax levy program and subjecting additional 
hundreds of billions of dollars in federal payments each year to 
screening for unpaid taxes. An improved tax levy program would, in 
turn, strengthen federal tax enforcement, take a load off the shoulders 
of honest taxpayers, and reduce the tax gap. I urge my colleagues to 
join us in supporting the bill's enactment.
  I ask unanimous consent that my remarks follow those of Senator 
Coleman in today's Congressional Record.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. Lott, and Mr. Conrad):
  S. 1310. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for an extension of increased payments for ground ambulance 
services under the Medicare program; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today I, along with Senators Lott and 
Conrad, introduce the Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act. Without 
this legislation, ambulance service providers stand to lose $306 
million in Medicare reimbursement in 2008 and 2009 in addition to the 
nearly $150 million they will lose this year. Our legislation will 
restore $341 million in Medicare reimbursement with a 5 percent 
increase in payments for 2008 and 2009.
  Ambulance services are a vital component of the health care and 
emergency response systems of our Nation. Unfortunately, ambulance 
services providers are being significantly under-funded in providing 
their critical services to Medicare patients. We need to ensure that 
our ambulance service providers have the financial resources necessary 
to provide all Americans with high quality, life-saving services.
  Fortunately, in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, MMA, Congress 
implemented several provisions to provide temporary relief to help 
struggling ambulance service providers. The MMA ambulance provisions 
provided short-term relief through 1 percent urban and 2 percent rural 
increases, a mileage rate increase for long trips, a payment boost for 
ambulance transports in extremely rural areas, and a regional 
adjustment that helped a majority of providers depending on their 
state. While the rural payment boost and long trip increase are 
temporarily still intact, the 1 percent urban and 2 percent rural 
increases expired at the end of last year and the regional adjustment 
has dropped from 80 percent to only 20 percent of payments. If Congress 
does not act, ambulance service providers will lose over $450 million 
in relief from 2007 through 2009.
  Ambulance service providers cannot afford to face decreased 
reimbursement in the coming years. Ambulances services respond to not 
only 911 calls and nonemergency requests but also as first responders 
to natural disasters and acts of terrorism. Medicare patients account 
for approximately 45 percent of the call volume of an ambulance 
operation. Ambulance service providers cannot afford to have half of 
their transports reimbursed at below the cost of providing services.
  While all health care providers face reimbursement challenges, 
ambulance service providers are required by law to respond to a plea 
for emergency medical care, regardless of whether the provider will 
recoup the full, if any, cost of the service. This additional 
responsibility along with the requirement that ambulance service 
providers accept the Medicare ambulance fee schedule rate as payment in 
full has further deteriorated the financial stability of ambulance 
operations. With increased focus on ensuring that our first responders 
are prepared in the event of a terrorist attack or national disaster, 
we should be bolstering, not deteriorating, this health care safety 
net.
  The Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act will ensure that 
patients across America will continue to have access to critical 
ambulance services. We urge our colleagues to support this legislation, 
and I look forward to its passage this year.
  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. 1310

       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 ``Medicare Ambulance Payment 
     Extension Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF INCREASED MEDICARE PAYMENTS FOR GROUND 
                   AMBULANCE SERVICES.

       Section 1834(l)(13) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395m(l)(13)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), in the heading, by striking ``In 
     general'' and inserting ``For the second half of 2004 and for 
     2005 and 2006'';
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
       (3) by inserting the following after subparagraph (A):
       ``(B) For 2008 and 2009.--After computing the rates with 
     respect to ground ambulance services under the other 
     applicable provisions of this subsection, in the case of such 
     services furnished on or after January 1, 2008, and before 
     January 1, 2010, the fee schedule established under this 
     section shall provide that the rate for the service otherwise 
     established, after application of any increase under 
     paragraphs (11) and (12), shall be increased by 5 percent.''; 
     and
       (4) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
       (A) in the heading, by striking ``Application of increased 
     payments after 2006'' and inserting ``No effect on subsequent 
     periods''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The 
     increased payments under subparagraph (B) shall not be taken 
     into account in calculating payments for services furnished 
     after the period specified in such subparagraph.''.

                          ____________________