[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10881-S10883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. LEAHY:
  S. 3726. A bill to reauthorize the Crime-Free Rural States Grants 
program; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce the Crime-
Free Rural States Reauthorization Act, a bill designed to help rural 
communities deal with a growing drug and crime problems made worse by 
the devastating recession we now face.
  This week the Senate is focused on passing a bill to authorize 
billions of dollars to bail out the automobile industry. Congress has 
already passed legislation providing for hundreds of billions of 
dollars to rescue the financial industry. These are difficult pieces of 
legislation, but we are trying to protect countless jobs and the 
economy as a whole. These efforts have done little, though, to help the 
millions of people in rural America, who have been hit as hard as 
anyone by the devastating effects of this recession, but will see few 
benefits from financial and corporate bailouts.
  We must help rural communities, and they especially need our help as 
they try to pull together to combat the worsening drug and crime 
problems that threaten the safety and well-being of too many in our 
small cities and towns and, most particularly, our young people. The 
Crime-Free Rural States Reauthorization Act will provide just this kind 
of help.
  I pushed for the original Crime-Free Rural States grant program. It 
was first authorized in 2002 and funded in 2003. Like too many valuable 
programs to help local law enforcement and crime prevention, it was 
allowed to lapse under the Bush administration. The program provides 
grants for rural states to come up with a plan to help communities 
confront drug and crime problems and to offer training and assistance 
for local prevention programs and law enforcement. This program can 
help cash-strapped communities with assistance they desperately need.
  Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee traveled to St. Albans, VT, 
to hear from the people of that resilient community about the 
persistent problem of drug-related crime in rural America, and about 
the innovative steps they are taking to combat that problem. The 
introduction of this bill is a small first step to apply the lessons 
learned in that hearing and in previous hearings in Vermont and 
elsewhere.
  Drug-related crime is not just a big-city issue. As we heard in St. 
Albans last week and at a hearing in Rutland earlier this year, drugs 
and related crime are a growing problem in rural communities in Vermont 
and across the country. Fortunately, resourceful communities like St. 
Albans and Rutland are coming together to find innovative, community-
based solutions to these complex problems.
  Of course, law enforcement continues to be an important component in 
our efforts to combat the scourge of drugs. There continues to be an 
urgent need for the Federal Government to support

[[Page S10882]]

state and local law enforcement. What more and more cities and towns 
are finding is that the best solutions involve all segments of the 
community coming together with law enforcement to find meaningful, 
community-based approaches. Solving these problems as they arise is 
essential, but preventing them is even better, and less expensive.
  Unfortunately, for the last eight years, throughout the country, 
state and local law enforcement agencies have been stretched thin as 
they shoulder both traditional crime-fighting duties and new homeland 
security demands. They have faced continuous cuts in federal funding 
during the Bush years, and time and time again, our state and local law 
enforcement officers have been unable to fill vacancies and get the 
equipment they need.
  This trend is unacceptable. I intend to work with the new 
administration to reverse it. Eric Holder, whom President-Elect Obama 
has designated to be our next Attorney General, focused on the 
importance of state and local law enforcement when he was introduced to 
the nation last Monday. He was a local U.S. Attorney and understands 
the critical role of state and local law enforcement, our first 
responders. We need to restore the COPS and Byrne grant programs to 
help support local law enforcement, and I hope we will do a better job 
when it comes to rural communities and rural states. That is why I am 
introducing this bill today to bring back the Crime-Free Rural States 
grant program.
  As a former prosecutor, I have always advocated vigorous enforcement 
and punishment of those who commit serious crimes. But I also know that 
punishment alone will not solve the problems of drugs and violence in 
our communities. Police chiefs from Vermont and across the country have 
told me that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem.
  Combating drug use and crime requires attention to enforcement, 
prevention and treatment. The best way to prevent crime is often to 
provide young people with opportunities and constructive things to do, 
so they stay away from drugs and crime altogether. And if young people 
do get involved with drugs, treatment in many cases can work to help 
them to turn their lives around. Good prevention and treatment programs 
have been shown again and again to reduce crime, but regrettably, the 
Bush administration has consistently sought to reduce funding for these 
important programs. It is time to move in a new direction.
  I will work in the next Congress to advance legislation that will 
give state and local law enforcement the support it needs, that will 
help our cities and towns to implement the kinds of innovative and 
proven community-based solutions needed to reduce crime. The 
legislation I introduce today is a modest beginning, addressing the 
urgent and unmet need to support our rural communities as they struggle 
to combat drugs and crime.
  By funding planning, training, and technical assistance, Crime-Free 
Rural States grants provide an anchor for our rural communities as they 
work to address the devastating problems of crime and drugs. It is a 
first step for us to help our small cities and towns weather the 
worsening conditions of these difficult times and begin to move in a 
better direction.
  I hope Senators on both sides of the aisle will join me in supporting 
this important legislation.
  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. 3726

       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 ``Crime-Free Rural States 
     Reauthorization Act''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF CRIME-FREE RURAL STATES GRANTS.

       Section 2989 of Part GG of Title I of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797y-4) is 
     amended by striking ``2003, 2004 and 2005'' and inserting 
     ``2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. SANDERS:
  S. 3728. A bill to direct the Secretary of Transportation to waive 
non-Federal share requirements for certain transportation programs and 
activities through September 30, 2009; to the Committee on Environment 
and Public Works.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from 
Vermont, Senator Sanders, to introduce a bill that will help States 
struggling with meeting non-Federal match requirements for federal 
transportation funding under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act, SAFETEA. Representative Peter 
Welch from Vermont introduced identical legislation in the House today 
as well.
  Our States are struggling with enormous budget deficits due to the 
current economic crisis. As a result, nearly every one of our States 
has been forced to make drastic cuts to their transportation budgets. 
On top of that, state and local governments around the country report 
they do not have the necessary funding in their budgets to match any 
new Federal transportation money possibly forthcoming in an economic 
stimulus package. The inability of our states to improve roads and 
bridges, support public transit agencies facing record demand, and 
upgrade rail lines puts a strain on our already sagging economy.
  Waiving the non-Federal match requirements for all highway, transit, 
and rail projects contained in SAFETEA would allow cash-strapped states 
to implement high priority transportation projects immediately--at no 
additional cost to the Federal Government. Since State and local 
transportation officials have ready-to-go projects that simply cannot 
move forward without untying the strings of the required match, our 
legislation would waive the non-Federal matching requirements of 
SAFETEA through September 30, 2009.
  I hope my colleagues will take a good look at our bill and support 
this important legislation that will stimulate needed transportation 
infrastructure investments all across the country.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KOHL:
  S. 3730. A bill to expand, train, and support all sectors of the 
health care workforce to care for the growing population of older 
individuals in the United States; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Retooling the 
Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act, a bill that will 
address the impending and severe shortage of health care workers who 
are adequately trained and prepared to care for older Americans. The 
unfortunate fact of the matter is that while our country is aging 
rapidly, the number of health care workers devoted to caring for older 
Americans is experiencing a shortage--one that will only grow more 
desperate as the need for these caregivers skyrockets.
  We face many challenges. We know that few nursing programs require 
coursework in geriatrics and that in medical schools, comprehensive 
geriatric training is a rarity. Currently, only 1 percent of all 
physicians are certified geriatricians, even as the population of older 
people is on track to double by 2030, and less than 1 percent of all 
nurses are certified gerontological nurses. Absent any change, by 2020, 
the supply of nurses in the United States will fall 29 percent below 
projected requirements, resulting in a severe shortage of nursing 
expertise relative to the demand for care of frail older adults.
  Ensuring that health care workers are properly trained in the 
provision of care to our seniors is vital. For the direct care 
workforce, which includes home health aides and personal care 
attendants, we know that Federal and State training requirements vary 
enormously, despite the fact that studies show that more training is 
correlated with better staff recruitment and retention. We also know 
that family caregivers want enhanced education and training to develop 
the necessary skills to provide the best possible care for an ailing 
family member. There are more than 44 million people providing care for 
a family member or friend nationwide. These caregivers frequently do 
the same work as a professional caregiver, but they do so voluntarily 
and with little or no training. To their loved one, they are the 
doctor, the nurse, the assistant, the therapist, and oftentimes the 
sole source of emotional and financial support.

[[Page S10883]]

  Fortunately, knowing what we need to change is half the battle. The 
bill I introduce today will expand, train, and support the workforce 
that is dedicated to providing care for the older members of our 
population, incorporating the major recommendations for improving the 
skills and preparedness of the health care workforce put forth in the 
Institute of Medicine report, ``Retooling for an Aging America: 
Building the Healthcare Workforce.''
  By the year 2020, it is estimated that the number of older adults in 
need of care will increase by one-third. The United States will not be 
able to meet the approaching demand for health care and long-term care 
without a workforce that is prepared for the job. Bolstering the health 
care workforce will be an integral part of national health care reform, 
and I look forward to working with Finance and HELP Committee leaders 
on incorporating this legislation into their policy proposals.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REID:
  S.J. Res. 46. A joint resolution ensuring that the compensation and 
other emoluments attached to the office of Secretary of State are those 
which were in effect on January 1, 2007; considered and passed.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
joint resolution be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was 
ordered to be placed in the Record, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 46

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. COMPENSATION AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS ATTACHED TO THE 
                   OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE.

       (a) In General.--The compensation and other emoluments 
     attached to the office of Secretary of State shall be those 
     in effect January 1, 2007, notwithstanding any increase in 
     such compensation or emoluments after that date under any 
     provision of law, or provision which has the force and effect 
     of law, that is enacted or becomes effective during the 
     period beginning at noon of January 3, 2007, and ending at 
     noon of January 3, 2013.
       (b) Civil Action and Appeal.--
       (1) Jurisdiction.--Any person aggrieved by an action of the 
     Secretary of State may bring a civil action in the United 
     States District Court for the District of Columbia to contest 
     the constitutionality of the appointment and continuance in 
     office of the Secretary of State on the ground that such 
     appointment and continuance in office is in violation of 
     article I, section 6, clause 2, of the Constitution. The 
     United States District Court for the District of Columbia 
     shall have exclusive jurisdiction over such a civil action, 
     without regard to the sum or value of the matter in 
     controversy.
       (2) Three judge panel.--Any claim challenging the 
     constitutionality of the appointment and continuance in 
     office of the Secretary of State on the ground that such 
     appointment and continuance in office is in violation of 
     article I, section 6, clause 2, of the Constitution, in an 
     action brought under paragraph (1) shall be heard and 
     determined by a panel of three judges in accordance with 
     section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. It shall be the 
     duty of the district court to advance on the docket and to 
     expedite the disposition of any matter brought under this 
     subsection.
       (3) Appeal.--
       (A) Direct appeal to supreme court.--An appeal may be taken 
     directly to the Supreme Court of the United States from any 
     interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order upon the 
     validity of the appointment and continuance in office of the 
     Secretary of State under article I, section 6, clause 2, of 
     the Constitution, entered in any action brought under this 
     subsection. Any such appeal shall be taken by a notice of 
     appeal filed within 20 days after such judgment, decree, or 
     order is entered.
       (B) Jurisdiction.--The Supreme Court shall, if it has not 
     previously ruled on the question presented by an appeal taken 
     under subparagraph (A), accept jurisdiction over the appeal, 
     advance the appeal on the docket, and expedite the appeal.
       (c) Effective Date.--This joint resolution shall take 
     effect at 12:00 p.m. on January 20, 2009.

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