[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1647-S1649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TAX ON BONUSES RECEIVED FROM CERTAIN TARP RECIPIENTS--Resumed

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the pending 
business.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1586) to impose an additional tax on bonuses 
     received from certain TARP recipients.

  Pending:

       Rockefeller amendment No. 3452, in the nature of a 
     substitute.
       Sessions/McCaskill modified amendment No. 3453 (to 
     amendment No. 3452), to reduce the deficit by establishing 
     discretionary spending caps.
       McCain/Bayh amendment No. 3475 (to amendment No. 3452), to 
     prohibit earmarks in years in which there is a deficit.
       McCain amendment No. 3527 (to amendment No. 3452), to 
     require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration to develop a financing proposal for fully 
     funding the development and implementation of technology for 
     the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

[[Page S1648]]

       McCain amendment No. 3528 (to amendment No. 3452), to 
     provide standards for determining whether the substantial 
     restoration of the natural quiet and experience of the Grand 
     Canyon National Park has been achieved and to clarify 
     regulatory authority with respect to commercial air tours 
     operating over the Park.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota is 
recognized.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, Senator Rockefeller will be back on the 
floor shortly. We are on the FAA reauthorization bill. This is the 
fourth day in the Senate that we have been trying to pass the FAA 
reauthorization bill. We have accepted many amendments. We have had 
many amendments offered that have nothing at all to do with this 
legislation. I understand that. I think we voted on three or four of 
them last night. But the process of trying to get something through the 
Senate these days is slow and difficult. It is a little like watching 
paint dry to see activity on the floor of the Senate. We are trying 
very hard to do this.
  This is not and should not be a controversial bill. Every American 
who gets on a commercial airplane in this country has a stake in this 
bill. This bill includes modernization of the air traffic control 
system which will allow people to fly in the skies more safely, more 
direct routes, save energy, and save pollution.
  Modernization of the air traffic control system, to go from ground-
based radar to a GPS navigation system--we should have done that a 
while ago. We have not. We need to catch up with the Europeans and 
others. We need to move with some dispatch.
  This bill should have been done long ago, but it has been extended 11 
times.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. DORGAN. I am happy to yield.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I serve on the Commerce Committee with 
Senator Dorgan. I thank him for his leadership.
  During the time we waited and dithered and didn't get this done--not 
you but others--have other countries modernized their air traffic 
control systems?
  Mr. DORGAN. Other countries are making good progress on this, going 
to a GPS system. GPS is not a new technology, as many of us know. You 
see many vehicles, automobiles around town using a GPS to navigate. You 
have people using GPS on their cell phones. But on a jet airliner 
flying across the country, hauling a couple of hundred people behind 
the cockpit, they are using World War II technology, ground-based radar 
for navigation, not GPS, which is the modernization approach.
  This is called NextGen, modernizing the air traffic control system. 
Europe is moving on it, other parts of the world are moving on it, and 
we need to move. This is about safety. It is about modernizing the 
system. But more than that, it is about investing in the infrastructure 
for aviation in the country, building the airports and the runways. It 
is about the issue of the passenger bill of rights, which is in this 
bill, saying to the airlines: Here are the new rules. You can't have 
somebody in an airplane 6 or 7 hours sitting on a runway someplace; 3 
hours and then you have to bring them back to the gate. I know some do 
not like that, but that is the passenger bill of rights, giving 
passengers some rights as well.
  I have spoken at length about this legislation, as has Senator 
Rockefeller. I guess our hope would be that, if there are those who 
have additional amendments and wish to debate them, they might come to 
the floor or engage in the discussion on the floor so we can get this 
piece of legislation passed. It makes no sense for us to continue to 
talk and to continue to wait and not pass legislation when we have so 
much ahead of us to do.


                           Cobell Settlement

  I want to mention a couple of other issues we need to address while I 
am waiting. One is the proposed settlement of the Cobell v. Salazar 
litigation. The parties to the Cobell settlement asked Congress to pass 
legislation approving the settlement by April 16th. It needs to be done 
by April 16th or the parties may return to litigation.
  Let me tell you what the Cobell settlement is. It is about American 
Indians, the people who were here first in this country, the first 
Americans. American Indians ceded certain property as a result of 
treaties and other agreements, and reserved lands for their 
communities. The federal government promised to manage these 
reservations and hold the lands in trust. Well, over the last century, 
Indians watched as timber companies would come in and produce timber 
from those lands, mineral companies would come in and produce minerals, 
and drill for oil on those lands. All the while, the government was 
managing these lands and holding monies earned from that land in trust 
for the Indians.
  Then the Indians asked the question: What has happened to our money? 
We see all these timber, grazing, and mineral activities going on and 
we are supposed to get money from these lands--that the government is 
holding in trust--but the money never quite shows up.
  The Cobell case is named after a remarkable woman, Elouise Cobell, 
from Montana. She is an American Indian, a member of the Blackfeet 
Nation, and a banker. She filed a lawsuit against the United States and 
she asked for one thing. She said to the Federal government: Give me an 
accounting of the monies that you collected from my lands, my lands 
that you held and managed in trust for me. And do the same for all 
other Native Americans.
  The fact is, nobody knew how much money was owed her. When they took 
a look at the records that the Federal government had, and held for 
Indian property and income, it was shameful.
  For example, Mary Fish, an Oklahoma Indian, lived on her land in a 
very small, humble house, and she lived next to an oil well pump that 
was constantly pumping oil off of her land. She received just a 
pittance of money from that oil. Where did the money go? Who would 
account for that money? Why is it that Mary lived in such a humble 
manner, in a very small home, when on her land, an oil well was 
producing oil. Why is it that the money being managed by the Federal 
Government somehow never got to Mary?
  When the lawsuit was filed by Elouise Cobell, the judges in the 
Federal courts asked: Where are the trust records for all these timber, 
grazing, and mineral activities?
  Here is what they found: the Federal Government could not produce the 
records necessary for an accounting. For example, there were 162 boxes 
of case-related documents that were shredded after the trial began--a 
procedure that the U.S. Justice Department lawyers withheld from the 
court for 3 months. Other records were in Louisiana, and in a rat-
infested warehouse in New Mexico.

  Still more records were in North Dakota, and scattered in sheds 
across the country. I have photographs of what they saw when they 
opened up the warehouses in North Dakota. You can see piles of worn and 
damaged boxes of what were supposed to have been records. And, this is 
how the Federal Government cared for the information that was going to 
tell American Indians how their trust lands were used. It is 
unbelievable.
  After years of litigation, the Parties in the Cobell case have 
reached a $3.4 billion settlement. The settlement needs to be approved 
by Congress, and the parties have an April 16th deadline for Congress 
to approve the settlement. I have mentioned this on the floor of the 
Senate before. This Congress has a responsibility to proceed by the 
April 16th deadline to avoid further, unnecessary litigation.
  The President, the Secretary of Interior--whom I commend, by the way, 
who negotiated this settlement--have asked us to get this done, and we 
have a responsibility to get this done.


                           Disability Claims

  I also have another point which we will get to in a short period of 
time on appropriations. I will mention those Americans who have filed 
disability claims under Social Security and are now waiting over 16 
months to have the Federal Government determine whether their claims 
are valid, waiting 490 days after a claim is filed. That is pretty 
unbelievable to me. This Congress has included about $2.5 billion of 
additional funding for the Social Security Administration in the last 4 
to 5 years. The expectation was that we would reduce the giant backlog 
that existed of cases, disability claims filed by people who have paid 
for this insurance.
  American people pay for disability insurance out of their paycheck 
under

[[Page S1649]]

OASDI. When someone who is disabled files a claim in this country, on 
average it takes 491 days to process it. That, after we have given more 
than $2.5 billion in increased funding to the Social Security 
Administration.
  Precious little progress has been made. They say it used to be 514 
days, now it is 491 days. That is not much progress as far as I am 
concerned if you are disabled and you are expecting to file a claim and 
have a claim processed in a reasonable period of time.
  In my State there are 2,800 claims that are awaiting action. The 
number of administrative law judges--we have two vacancies now out of 
five. One gave his notice almost a year ago and has not been replaced.
  None of this makes any sense to me. Congress should expect, of an 
agency like this, especially when you get $2.5 billion in extra funding 
over five years, to understand why has no progress been made. I sent a 
letter to the head of Social Security asking what happened to the $2.5 
billion. On the appropriations side, I want some understanding of what 
happened to that money and why significant progress has not been made 
in these disability claims that resulted from the funding given the 
administration by the Congress.
  Let me withhold for a moment and yield the floor so my colleague can 
take the floor with an agreement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized.


                      Unanimous Consent Agreement

                           Executive Calendar

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. As in executive session I ask unanimous consent that 
today at 3 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider 
Calendar No. 653, the nomination of O. Rogeriee Thompson to be a U.S. 
circuit judge for the First Circuit, and there be up to 30 minutes of 
debate with respect to the nomination with the time equally divided and 
controlled between Senators Whitehouse and Sessions or their designees; 
with Senator Reed of Rhode Island controlling up to 5 minutes; that at 
3:30 p.m. the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination; 
that upon confirmation, the motion to reconsider be considered made and 
laid on the table and any statements relating to the nomination be 
printed in the Record as if read, the President be immediately notified 
of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I thank the distinguished Senator for yielding for 
that unanimous consent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, In the remaining couple of minutes, let me 
say it is my hope and the hope of Senators Rockefeller and Hutchison 
that we will be able to make progress and complete the FAA 
reauthorization bill. This is the fourth day. We have seen so many 
interminable delays in the Senate. Let's not delay legislation that has 
bipartisan support, that deals with the issue of air safety in this 
country, and has so many important provisions. Let's not at this point 
decide to delay this, of all pieces of legislation, something that 
should have been done long ago and has had 11 extensions instead of a 
reauthorization bill, when we finally have a bipartisan reauthorization 
bill brought to the floor of the Senate.
  It is my hope if we are going to get cooperation on anything, at 
least we could expect it on this piece of legislation. My hope would be 
in the half-hour debate--I guess 1-hour debate and subsequent vote on 
the judge, we might make some progress in seeing whether we could get 
cooperation to be able to complete this bill today.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator withhold the 
request?
  Mr. DORGAN. I will withhold.

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