[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1678-S1682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. HARKIN:
S. 576. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 to improve standards for physical education; to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the FIT Kids Act.
That first word, FIT, an acronym for Fitness Integrated with Teaching,
an important concept that I am proud to promote today. The FIT Kids Act
encourages schools to provide children with quality physical education
in an effort to promote health and wellness throughout their lives.
Since the 1970s, the incidence of obesity has more than doubled for
preschool children aged 2-5 years and for young people aged 12-19
years; for children aged 6-11 years, it has more than tripled. Since
there are many reasons for this public health crisis, we know that
addressing it will require multiple solutions. An important place we
can address childhood obesity is in our schools. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention has found that fewer than 10 percent of
our public schools offer daily physical education for the entire school
year for all students. Let me repeat that, fewer than 10 percent. Our
kids deserve better. Research has shown that physical education not
only promotes health and wellness, it also has a direct correlation
with kids' academic performance in school.
The FIT Kids Act would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act to shine a light on the availability of quality physical education
for all public school children through grade 12, and to ensure they
receive important health and nutritional information. As Chairman of
the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, I have been
working in a bipartisan way with my colleagues on the committee to
reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, we must fix the things that are not working, while protecting the
goals of the bill, including narrowing achievement gaps. It is truly
alarming to see the discrepancies in achievement between children in
the United States and children abroad. Here in the U.S., despite making
some progress, we continue to have wide and persistent achievement gaps
that are leaving behind children of color, young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds, and children with disabilities.
In addition to achievement gaps, I am also concerned about the trends
in physical education in schools across the Nation. Currently, schools
are decreasing the amount of free play or physical activity that
children engage in during school hours. Only about one-third of
elementary children have daily physical education, and less than one-
fifth have extracurricular physical activity programs at their schools.
I know that difficult resource decisions have to be made but we cannot
short-change our children's health. This is short-sighted for two big
reasons: One, we are fighting a childhood obesity epidemic of
frightening proportions. And, two, as research shows, and as any
teacher or parent knows, kids have to have time to play and burn off
energy if they are going to be in a proper frame of mind to learn.
The association between physical activity and academic achievement is
an important part of why we need to continue to support physical
education. Broad evidence suggests a positive relationship between
physical activity and grade point average, rate of learning, memory,
attention span, and classroom behavior, as well as cognitive, social,
and motor skill development. Research indicates that youth who report
engaging in physical activity at school are 20 percent more likely than
their less active peers to earn good grades in math or English.
Furthermore, data suggests that children who are overweight have
greater risk for school absenteeism than their peers who are average
weight. In order for our Nation's children to be successful students,
we must do all that we can to ensure they are in school and ready to
learn.
This legislation will ensure that parents receive critical
information regarding the time and resources devoted to their children
for a quality physical education. Specifically, the bill will require
schools, local educational agencies, and state educational agencies to
publicly report on the quantity and quality of physical education
courses provided using nationally recognized guidelines and standards.
This will give parents the information they need to assess whether
their children are receiving an appropriate physical education.
Furthermore, the FIT Kids Act would give parents the tools necessary to
encourage and support a healthy and active lifestyle, including
increased physical activity during and outside the school day, and
nutritious eating habits both at home and at school.
In addition, the bill promotes professional development for teachers
and school principals to promote healthy lifestyles and physical
activity through evidence-based curricula, and thereby boost students'
ability to learn more effectively. The bill also promotes physical
activity in after-school programs and amends the school counseling
program to take into account both students' emotional wellbeing and
their physical wellbeing.
Finally, this legislation authorizes research on the ways physical
activity can be incorporated into all aspects of the school day, the
impact of physical activity on students' readiness to learn, and the
best ways to measure student progress in increasing physical activity.
The FIT Kids Act shines a spotlight on children's health and how our
schools can play a greater role in teaching our children healthy
behaviors. As we move forward in reauthorizing the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, we cannot neglect the importance of proper
physical education. We know that sedentary lifestyles that begin in
childhood can lead to number of major chronic diseases that affect
their health and wellbeing in adulthood. Accordingly, we owe it to
American students to teach them healthy behaviors and the importance of
physical activity, and how these lessons will benefit them throughout
their lives. The FIT Kids Act provides the framework to accomplish
this. I urge my colleagues to support this 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. 576
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 ``Fitness Integrated with
Teaching Kids Act'' or the ``FIT Kids Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
[[Page S1679]]
(1) Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in
the United States.
(2) Obesity-related diseases cost the United States economy
more than $117,000,000,000 every year.
(3) The prevalence of overweight in children between the
ages of 6 and 11 years increased from 4.0 percent in 1971-
1974 to 17.5 percent in 2001-2004, and the prevalence of
overweight in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 years
increased from 6.1 percent to 17.0 percent.
(4) More than 9,000,000 children and adolescents between
the ages of 6 and 19 years are considered overweight on the
basis of being in the 95th percentile or higher of BMI values
in the 2000 CDC growth chart for the United States.
(5) If children do not become more active and healthy, one-
third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from
diabetes at some point in their lives.
(6) Of all United States deaths from major chronic disease,
23 percent are linked to sedentary lifestyles that now begin
at childhood.
(7) Adolescents who are overweight have a 70-80 percent
chance of becoming overweight adults, increasing their risk
for chronic disease, disability, and death.
(8) A recent study showed that plaque build-up in the neck
arteries of children who are obese or those with high
cholesterol is similar to those levels seen in middle-aged
adults.
(9) A decline in physical activity has contributed to the
unprecedented epidemic of childhood obesity.
(10) The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
recommend that children engage in 60 minutes or more of
physical activity each day.
(11) In a 2005 Government Accountability Office report on
key strategies to include in programs designed to target
childhood obesity, ``increasing physical activity'' was
identified as the most important component in any such
program.
(12) Part of the decline in physical activity has been in
our Nation's schools, where physical education programs have
been cut back in the past 2 decades.
(13) The national standard for physical education frequency
is 150 minutes per week in elementary school and 225 minutes
per week in middle school and high school.
(14) Only 3.8 percent of elementary school, 7.9 percent of
middle school, and 2.1 percent of high schools provide daily
physical education or its equivalent for the entire school
year, and 22 percent of schools do not require students to
take any physical education at all.
(15) Among children ages 9 to 13, 61.5 percent do not
participate in any organized physical activity during out-of-
school hours.
(16) Regular physical activity is associated with a
healthier, longer life and a lower risk of cardiovascular
disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some
cancers.
(17) Research suggests a strong correlation between
children's fitness and their academic performance as measured
by grades in core subjects and standardized test scores.
(18) Approximately 81 percent of adults believe daily
physical education should be mandatory in schools.
SEC. 3. REPORT CARDS.
Section 1111(h) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(C)--
(A) in clause (vii), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in clause (viii), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(ix) the amount of time students spend in required
physical education as measured against the national standards
of 150 minutes per week of required physical education for
students in elementary school and 225 minutes per week of
required physical education for students in middle school and
secondary school;
``(x) the percentage of local educational agencies in the
State that have a required, age-appropriate physical
education curriculum for all students in elementary schools,
middle schools, and secondary schools that adheres to
national guidelines adopted by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and State standards;
``(xi) the percentage of elementary school and secondary
school physical education teachers who are State licensed or
certified as physical education teachers; and
``(xii) the percentage of schools that have a School Health
Council that includes parents, students, representatives of
the school food authority, representatives of the school
board, school administrators and members of the public and
that meets monthly to promote a healthy school
environment.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)--
(A) in subclause (I), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in subclause (II), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(III) the percentage of elementary school and secondary
school physical education teachers who are State certified as
physical education teachers; and
``(IV) the amount of square feet of indoor and outdoor
facilities that are primarily used for physical education and
the amount of square feet of indoor and outdoor facilities
that are primarily used for physical activity; and''; and
(3) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii)--
(A) in subclause (I), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in subclause (II), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(III) the percentage of elementary school and secondary
school physical education teachers who are State certified as
physical education teachers; and
``(IV) the number of meetings of a School Health Council
that includes parents, students, representatives of the
school food authority, representatives of the school board,
school administrators and members of the public during the
school year.''.
SEC. 4. PROMOTING PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ACTIVITY IN SCHOOL
PROGRAMS.
(a) Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs.--
Section 5421 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7245) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(2)(H), by inserting ``, which design
and implementation shall take into consideration the overall
emotional and physical well-being of students'' after ``the
program''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(2)(E), by inserting ``health, the
importance of regular physical activity,'' after
``relationships,''.
(b) Smaller Learning Communities.--Section 5441(b) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7249(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(14) How the local educational agency will ensure that
smaller learning communities support healthy lifestyles
including participation in physical education and physical
activity by all students and access to nutritious food and
nutrition education.''.
(c) 21st Century Community Learning Centers.--
(1) Purpose; definitions.--Section 4201 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ``nutrition
education programs, structured physical activity programs,''
after ``recreation programs,''; and
(B) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ``nutrition
education, structured physical activity,'' after
``recreation,''.
(2) Local competitive grant program.--Section 4204(b)(2) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7174(b)(2))--
(A) in subparagraph (M), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (N) as subparagraph (O);
and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (M) the following:
``(N) an assurance that the proposed program is coordinated
with the physical education and health education programs
offered during the school day; and''.
(3) Local activities.--Section 4205(a) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7175(a))--
(A) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(13) programs that support a healthy, active lifestyle,
including nutritional education and regular, structured
physical activity programs.''.
(d) Parental Involvement.--Section 1118 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G);
and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) involve and train parents in encouraging and
supporting a healthy and active lifestyle, including
increased physical activity during and outside the school
day, and nutritional eating habits in the home and at school;
and'';
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting after
``Achievement'' the following: ``by Healthy, Active
Students'';
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``standards.'' and inserting ``standards and to ensure that
the children lead healthy, active lives.''; and
(C) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by inserting after ``supportive'' the following: ``,
healthy,'';
(ii) by striking ``; and participating'' and inserting ``;
participating''; and
(iii) by inserting after ``extracurricular time'' the
following: ``and supporting their children in leading a
healthy and active life, such as by providing healthy meals
and snacks, encouraging participation in physical education,
and sharing in physical activity outside the school day'';
and
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (14) as
paragraphs (7) through (15), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6)(A) shall ensure that parents and teachers have
information about the importance of a healthy lifestyle,
including nutritional eating habits, physical education, and
physical activity, to an effective learning environment; and
``(B) shall coordinate activities with parents and teachers
to ensure that children are provided with nutritious meals
and snacks, and have ample opportunities for physical
education and physical activity during and outside the school
day;''.
[[Page S1680]]
SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS.
(a) State Applications.--Section 2112(b) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6612(b)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(13) A description of how the State educational agency
will use funds under this part to provide professional
development that is directly related to the fields of
physical education and health education to physical education
teachers and health education teachers to ensure that
children are leading healthy, active lifestyles that are
conducive to effective learning.''.
(b) State Use of Funds.--Section 2113(c)(6) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6613(c)(6)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``, in cases in which a State educational
agency determines support to be appropriate,''; and
(2) by inserting ``, physical education teachers, and
health education teachers'' after ``pupil services
personnel''.
(c) Local Applications and Needs Assessment.--Section
2122(b)(9) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6622(b)(9)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) improve the health and eating habits of students and
increase rates of physical activity of students.''.
(d) Local Use of Funds.--Section 2123(a)(3) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6623(a)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) effective strategies for improving the healthy
habits of students and the rates of physical activity by
students that result in the ability to learn more
effectively; and''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in clause (iv), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(vi) provide training, with curricula that is evidence-
based, in how to teach physical education and health
education that results in the ability of students to learn
more effectively.''.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Education shall enter into a contract
with the National Research Council of the National Academy of
Sciences to--
(1) examine and make recommendations regarding--
(A) various means that may be employed to incorporate
physical activity into Head Start and childcare settings,
elementary, middle, and high school settings, and before- and
after-school programs; and
(B) innovative and effective ways to increase physical
activity for all students;
(2) study the impact of health, level of physical activity,
and amount of physical education on students' ability to
learn and maximize performance in school; and
(3) study and provide specific recommendations for--
(A) effectively measuring the progress of students, at the
school level, in improving their health and well-being,
including improving their--
(i) knowledge, awareness, and behavior changes, related to
nutrition and physical activity;
(ii) cognitive development, and fitness improvement, in
physical education;
(iii) knowledge of lifetime physical activity and health
promotion;
(iv) decrease in obesity; and
(v) levels on overall health indicators; and
(B) effectively measuring the progress of students, at the
school level, in increasing physical activity.
______
By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself and Mr. Inouye):
S. 583. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to
permit direct payment under the Medicare program for clinical social
worker services provided to residents of skilled nursing facilities; to
the Committee on Finance.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, in honor of World Social Work Day, I
rise today to introduce the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr.
Social Work Reinvestment Act and the Clinical Social Work Medicare
Equity Act of 2011. I am proud to introduce legislation that will
reduce the shortage of social workers in our nation and properly
reimburse social workers for the services they provide.
Social workers play a crucial role combating the social problems
facing our nation and are essential providers in our health care
system. Our health care and social service needs have drastically
increased over the past decade and will continue to do so in the next
decade. We must have the workforce in place to make sure that our
returning soldiers have access to mental health services, our elderly
maintain their independence in the communities in which they live, and
abused children are placed in safe homes. Social workers provide mental
health therapy, caregiver and family counseling, health education,
program coordination, and case management. In these tough economic
times, social workers have an essential role in keeping communities
together and helping individuals and families cope with the stresses
they are facing. Social workers are vital to America's social safety
net.
The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work
Reinvestment Act provides grants to social workers, identifies
workforce challenges and resource needs, and determines how any
workforce shortage will affect the communities social workers serve. I
am honored to introduce this bill named after two social visionaries,
Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young. Dorothy Height, who passed away
last year, was a pioneer of the civil rights movement. Like me, she
began her career as a case worker and continued to fight for social
justice. Whitney Young, another trailblazer of the civil rights
movement, also began his career transforming our social landscape as a
social worker. He helped create President Johnson's War on Poverty and
has served as President of the National Association of Social Workers.
This bill is about continued investment in social work. It provides
grants for social work education, research, and training. These grants
will fund community-based programs of excellence and provide
scholarships to train the next generation of social workers. This bill
addresses the recruitment and retention of social workers and will
result in a renewed focus on improving social worker workplace safety.
According to the National Association of Social Workers, 44 percent of
social workers surveyed have faced personal safety issues when on the
job. In addition, this bill will help identify and disseminate
evidence-based best practices in social work interventions. This bill
also establishes a national coordination center that will allow social
education, advocacy and research institutions to collaborate and work
together. The coordination center will facilitate gathering and
distributing social work research to make the most effective use of the
information we have on how social work service improves our social
fabric. This bill also creates a media campaign that will promote
social work. This bill gives social work the attention it deserves.
As a social worker, I understand the critical role social workers
have in the overall care of our populations. Social workers can be
found in every facet of community life--in hospitals, mental health
clinics, senior centers, and private agencies that serve individuals
and families in need. Social workers are there to help struggling
students, returning soldiers, and the chronically ill. Oftentimes,
socials workers are the only available option for mental health care in
rural and underserved urban areas. Yet there are not enough social
workers to meet these needs. By 2018, it is estimated an additional
100,000 social workers will be needed. We need to get our workforce in
place today so that we can meet the needs of our population,
particularly our aging Americans. The first of the baby boomers turn 65
this year. The aging tsunami will hit us. We must be prepared.
I believe that social work is full of great opportunities, both to
serve and to lead. Social work is about putting our values into action.
Social workers are among our best and brightest, our most committed and
compassionate. They are at the frontlines of providing care, often
putting themselves in dangerous and violent situations. Social workers
have the ability to provide psychological, emotional, and social
support--quite simply, the ability to change lives. I think we can do
better by our constituents including our servicemembers, seniors, and
children. We must make sure we have the social workers in place to meet
their needs. I'm fighting to make sure we do.
I also stand on the Senate floor today to introduce the Clinical
Social Work Medicare Equity Act of 2009. This bill ensures that
clinical social workers receive Medicare reimbursement for the mental
health services they provide in skilled nursing facilities. Under the
current system, social workers cannot
[[Page S1681]]
bill Medicare directly for the services they provide. Psychologists and
psychiatrists, who provide similar counseling, are able to separately
bill Medicare for their services.
Since my first days in Congress, I have been fighting to protect and
strengthen the safety of our Nation's seniors. Making sure that seniors
have access to quality, affordable mental health care is an important
part of this fight. I know that millions of seniors do not have access
to, or are not receiving, the mental health services they urgently
need. Five million seniors are affected by depression, yet few ever
receive treatment. According to the American Psychological Association,
20 percent of people over the age of 55 have a mental health disorder
and 2/3 of nursing home residents have a mental or behavioral health
issue, but less than 3 percent receive treatment. These mental health
disorders, which include severe depression and debilitating anxiety,
interfere with a person's ability to carry out activities of daily
living and adversely affect their quality of life. Furthermore, older
people account for 20 percent of suicide deaths in the U.S., and white
men age 85 or older have the highest suicide rate of any age group.
Every year nearly 5,000 older Americans kill themselves. This is
unacceptable and must be addressed.
This bill helps residents of skilled nursing facilities across the
country get the mental health and psychosocial services they need. It
ensures that seniors living in underserved urban and rural areas, where
clinical social workers are often the only available option for mental
health care, continue to receive the treatment they need. Clinical
social workers, much like psychologists and psychiatrists, diagnose and
treat mental illnesses. In fact, clinical social workers are the
primary mental health providers for nursing home residents and seniors
residing in rural environments. Unlike other mental health providers,
clinical social workers cannot bill Medicare directly for the important
services they provide to their patients. Protecting seniors' access to
clinical social workers ensures that our most vulnerable citizens get
the quality, affordable mental health care they need. This bill will
correct this inequity and make sure clinical social workers get the
payments and respect they deserve.
Before the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, clinical social workers
billed Medicare Part B directly for mental health services they
provided in nursing facilities for each patient they served. Under the
Prospective Payment System, services provided by clinical social
workers are lumped, or ``bundled,'' along with the services of other
health care providers for the purposes of billing and payments.
Psychologists and psychiatrists, who provide similar counseling, were
exempted from this system and continue to bill Medicare directly. This
bill would exempt clinical social workers, like their colleagues, from
the Prospective Payment System, and would make sure that clinical
social workers are paid for the services they provide to patients in
skilled nursing facilities.
This bill is about more than paperwork and payment procedures. This
bill is about equal access to Medicare payments for the equal and
important work done by clinical social workers. It is about making sure
our nation's most vulnerable citizens have access to quality,
affordable mental health care. The overarching goal we should be
striving to achieve for our seniors is an improved quality of life.
Without clinical social workers, many nursing home residents would
never get the counseling they need when faced with a life threatening
illness or the loss of a loved one. I think we can do better by our
nation's seniors. I am fighting to make sure we do.
As a social worker, I have been on the frontlines of helping people
cope with issues in their everyday lives. I started off fighting for
abused children, making sure they were placed in safe homes. I will
continue to fight every day for our children, seniors, and families on
the floor of the United States Senate.
The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work
Reinvestment Act and the Clinical Social Work Medicare Equity Act of
2011 are both strongly supported by the National Association of Social
Workers. I also want to thank Senator Inouye for his cosponsorship of
the Clinical Social Work Medicare Equity Act of 2012 and thank Senator
Begich, Senator Cardin, and Senator Inouye for their cosponsorship of
the Social Work Reinvestment Act. I look forward to working with my
colleagues to enact these two important pieces of legislation.
______
By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mrs. McCaskill):
S. 586. A bill to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995
to apply whistleblower protections available to certain executive
branch employees to legislative branch employees, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill that will
keep the Federal Government accountable.
Whistleblowers are the key to unlocking the secrets of wrongdoing
because they have access to information about how the frauds were
perpetrated and can help lead authorities in the right direction to
uncover the frauds. However, for their brave efforts, they are often
the victims of retaliation and are removed from their jobs by
supervisors who don't want the wrongdoing uncovered. I have often said
whistleblowers are as welcome as skunks at a Sunday picnic, despite the
fact that all they do is bring forward the truth. This is wrong and
that is why I have supported strong whistleblower protection laws
during my time in Congress.
The landmark whistleblower law, the Whistleblower Protection Act of
1989, WPA, provided rights and remedies to Executive Branch
whistleblowers that are the victims of retaliation. I proudly
cosponsored the WPA, but like many laws that are 20 years old, it needs
to be updated. So, I cosponsored legislation introduced by Senator
Akaka in the previous Congress to do just that. We are currently
working to introduce similar legislation in this Congress. Despite this
effort, there is still a critical gap in whistleblower protections for
government employees, namely the lack of whistleblower protections for
employees of the Legislative and Judicial branches of the Federal
Government. I am here today to start that discussion and introduce
legislation that will provide the same whistleblower protection rights
currently extended to Executive Branch employees to the Legislative
Branch.
I am pleased to be joined by Senator McCaskill in introducing the
Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011. This important
legislation simply adds whistleblower protections to the Legislative
Branch by incorporating the WPA into the Congressional Accountability
Act of 1995, a law I authored to bring Congress in line with many labor
laws and workplace protections. I have long believed Congress should
practice what it preaches, and this legislation will do just that.
A theme that has dominated this new Congress, as well as the
elections this past November, is accountability and responsibility in
Washington. In most instances, the only reason we discover waste or
fraud is because employees are brave enough to stand up to the
wrongdoers and expose their offenses. Without these whistleblowers, the
American taxpayer would continue to foot the bill.
This bill is long overdue. I have previously introduced similar
legislation but, unfortunately, those bills were never brought up in
Committee. I hope that the Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Committee will examine this legislation closely and expeditiously
report it to the full Senate so we can ensure employees of the
Legislative Branch that they are protected from any reprisals related
to protected whistleblowing.
Now, it's been a number of years since the Congressional
Accountability Act was signed into law by President Clinton, so I would
like to remind my colleagues why we passed this law. It was a time very
similar to today, the American people were demanding more from their
elected officials in Washington and wanted accountability and
transparency in all branches of Government. I believed then, as I do
now, that Congress needs to put its money where its mouth is and apply
the various labor and employment laws that we enforce on other branches
of government
[[Page S1682]]
and businesses all across the country to ourselves. The Congressional
Accountability Act did just that.
It applied a number of important laws to Congress, including, the
Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination and
Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Occupational Safety
and Health Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Rehabilitation Act, as
well as some provisions of title 5 related to Federal service labor-
management relations. It also created the Office of Compliance in the
Legislative Branch that oversees application of these important laws to
the Legislative Branch and ensures that employee's rights under these
laws are protected. While the Congressional Accountability Act was a
good start, the Office of Compliance has recommended additional laws be
applied to the Legislative Branch, including the Whistleblower
Protection Act.
We have already taken the steps to protect whistleblowers in the
Executive Branch. It doesn't make sense not to extend these same
protections to whistleblowers in our own backyard. This bill will, very
simply, give congressional employees the same protections that workers
in the other branches of government already possess. It does this by
simply adding the Whistleblower Protection Act to the preexisting list
of statutes that are applied to the Legislative Branch by the
Congressional Accountability Act. This is a straightforward and simple
solution to ensure that employees of the Legislative Branch are not
without vital whistleblower protections.
I hope my colleagues will join me and Senator McCaskill in supporting
this bill to ensure that those who help us in the fight to hold
government accountable are not punished for their efforts.
______
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) (by request):
S. 590. A bill to convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth
of the North Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same
benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and
American Samoa have in their submerged lands; to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I join with my colleague and the
Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Lisa
Murkowski, in re-introducing, by request, legislation to convey certain
submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands, CNMI,
that would give that territory the same benefits in its submerged lands
as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged
lands.
This bill is identical to H.R. 934 that was considered in the 111th
Congress and which passed the House on July 15, 2009 and was reported
by the Committee on May 6, 2010. Enactment of this legislation is time-
sensitive because there is currently no Federal or local administrative
regime in place to manage the lands from the mean high-tide line out to
3 miles surrounding the 14 islands of the CNMI. As a result,
development and other near shore activities are on hold, or are
conducted under a cloud of legal uncertainty.
I refer those interested in additional information on this proposal
to Senate Report 111-197. Included in that report, is the CBO estimate
which states that enacting H.R. 934 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Congress of the United States,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, March 14, 2011.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
Ranking Member, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Murkowski: As you
know, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
favorably reported in the last Congress H.R. 934, a bill
conveying submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands. The measure had received unanimous support
in the House. And it was included in Majority Leader Reid's
amendment to S. 303, the America's Great Outdoors Act, but
proceeded no further in the Senate.
I have now reintroduced the bill, exactly as reported by
the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as H.R. 670 in
this Congress; and I would like to request that, as a
courtesy, you together introduce companion legislation in the
Senate.
For your ready reference a copy of H.R. 670 is attached.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
Member of Congress.
____________________