[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 51 (Monday, March 31, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1860-S1866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MINIMUM WAGE FAIRNESS ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 250, S. 
1737, the Minimum Wage Fairness Act.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 250, S. 1737, a bill to 
     provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage and to 
     amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend increased 
     expensing limitations and the treatment of certain real 
     property as section 179 property.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.


                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 404

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I shortly am going to make a unanimous 
consent request on S. Res. 404, a resolution I submitted honoring the 
life and legacy of Cesar Chavez. This resolution has been blocked by my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle every time it has come up for 
the last 7 consecutive years--every time.
  Now, today, on what would have been Cesar Chavez's 87th birthday, I 
ask my Republican colleagues to find it in their hearts to honor a man 
who really made a difference in our country. Frankly, I do not 
understand their reluctance. I do not understand their obstructionism. 
I do not understand how they can look back at that time in history, at 
the sacrifices Cesar Chavez made for our country, asking for nothing 
more than fair treatment and justice.
  I realize it is uncommon to make a live unanimous consent request for 
a

[[Page S1861]]

commemorative resolution, but if Republicans are going to object yet 
again--for an eighth year in a row--to honoring, in my view, a great 
American hero, I really want it to be on the record. I think 
Republicans need to answer to the American people as to why, as a 
party, they can agree to passing resolutions honoring World Plumbing 
Day or congratulating the Penn State Dance Marathon--both Senate 
resolutions that were adopted this month by unanimous consent--but 
insist on standing in the way of honoring a civil rights trailblazer 
who changed the course of our Nation's history.
  Cesar Chavez was a man before his time, and he deserves proper 
recognition. He dedicated his life to fighting for equality, justice, 
and dignity--not only for Hispanic farm workers but for all workers in 
the United States. Yet our friends on the other side cannot find it in 
their hearts to honor him. I have to ask why. Why can't they simply say 
yes, he was an extraordinary man who gave of himself for his cause and 
deserves to be remembered and honored by the U.S. Senate?
  The President of the United States proclaimed today, March 31, 2014, 
as Cesar Chavez Day. Over 10 States honor his life and legacy each year 
on this day. The Secretary of the Interior established a national 
monument in his honor, and across the country you will find schools, 
parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities named after 
Cesar Chavez as well.
  So I implore Senate Republicans to reconsider denying Cesar Chavez's 
legacy for an eighth year in a row. Adopt this commemorative resolution 
by unanimous consent. Give Cesar Chavez the recognition he so deserves. 
That is all we ask--nothing more.
  This year there is a new movie chronicling the life of Cesar Chavez--
a life lived with honor and dignity and decency for the betterment of 
all of us. The film is long overdue. That life, that dedication, that 
spirit will always be missed.
  He was born near his family's farm in Yuma, AZ. When he was 10, in 
the hard times of the Depression, the family lost their farm, like 
millions of Americans, and they became migrant farm workers, laboring 
in vineyards across the Southwest, where he learned of the injustice 
and hardship of a farm worker's life. He never left those fields. He 
never left the land. He never turned his back on the people who worked 
it. And the rest is history.
  Robert Kennedy called him one of the most heroic figures of our time. 
I think it is because Cesar Chavez understood and believed in one 
fundamental truth. He always said: ``The fight is never about grapes or 
lettuce; it's always about people.''
  He was right. And that fight continues today. The struggle for 
fairness and dignity for every American goes on, and Cesar Chavez was 
and is its inspiration. He certainly is an American hero but most 
definitely a hero to the Hispanic community. He paved the way for the 
contributions of Hispanic Americans--for innovative progress and social 
improvements. If there is one man who redefined leadership, it is Cesar 
Chavez.
  I think my colleagues need to know that the community stands with me 
today and stands firmly behind my resolution honoring the life and 
legacy of Cesar Chavez.
  Mr. President, I have a list--and in the interest of time, I will not 
read it--of 37 national Hispanic and labor organizations that all 
support the resolution. I ask unanimous consent to have that list 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               2014 CESAR CHAVEZ RESOLUTION (S. Res. 404)

                              ENDORSEMENTS

                           (LIST IN PROGRESS)


                          LATINO ORGANIZATIONS

       1. Aspira
       2. Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network
       3. Cuban American National Council, Inc. (CNC)
       4. Farmworker Justice
       5. Friends of the American Latino Museum
       6. Hispanic Federation
       7. Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
       8. Latino Justice PRLDEF
       9. Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
       10. League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
       11. Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
     (MALDEF)
       12. MANA, A National Latina Organization
       13. National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean 
     Communities (NALACC)
       14. National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed 
     Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
       15. National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives 
     (NAHFE)
       16. National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
       17. National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC)
       18. National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL)
       19. National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA)
       20. National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
       21. National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA)
       22. National Institute for Latino Policy (NILP)
       23. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health 
     (NLIRH)
       24. SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
       25. Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP)
       26. U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI)
       27. US Mexico Foundation
       28. National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
       29. Minority Business RoundTable


                              LABOR GROUPS

       1. AFL-CIO
       2. American Federation of Government Employees
       3. American Federation of Teachers
       4. Communications Workers of America (CWA)
       5. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots
       6. International Union of Bricklayers and Allied 
     Craftworkers
       7. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & 
     Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)
       8. Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association.

  Mr. MENENDEZ. We all eagerly await the day when politics will no 
longer preclude its passage.
  Cesar Chavez's profound legacy and lasting influence can be reduced 
to three words--the motto of the United Farm Workers--that recall his 
fight for justice and have echoed from the fields of Delano, CA, across 
America all the way to the White House: ``Si se puede.'' These three 
words, while simple in nature, harbored the power to move entire 
communities from the dark shadows of injustice toward a brighter light 
of hope. These three words represent at their very core the spirit that 
breathes life into Americans' struggle for a better life.
  As the leader of the first successful farm workers union in the 
United States, he fought to ensure those working tirelessly to provide 
Americans with food received the benefits they deserved. Nonetheless, 
his service extends far beyond our agricultural fields and provides 
inspiration to those working to improve human rights, empowering 
workers, regardless of race or ethnicity. His countless efforts to 
ensure equality, justice, and dignity for all people in the United 
States are a testament of his leadership and success--a success that 
can only be measured by the lasting impact he has made toward ending 
workplace discrimination, unsafe and unfair working conditions, low 
wages, and child labor. He was more than just a farmer with a vision. 
He was a civil rights leader who embodied the pursuit of justice that 
continues to inspire millions of Americans today.
  So I come to the floor today to honor the life and achievements of 
Cesar Chavez, to ask my Republican colleagues to put aside their 
politics and do what is right by a man whose life and legacy deserve 
the recognition of this Nation--one Nation and one Congress.
  Let's stand together and recognize the accomplishments of a great 
American hero but, most importantly, let's honor the values that make 
our country great--the values of tolerance, hope, and freedom, upon 
which this country was founded. And let's always remember, as Chavez 
said, the fight is always about the people.
  With that, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 404, the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would 
note that the resolution has not come out of the Judiciary Committee 
and

[[Page S1862]]

that Senator Vitter, who has filed an amendment to the resolution, asks 
that that amendment be accepted or voted on, which has been not agreed 
to. The amendment would say a couple things.
  One:

       Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez strongly believed in enforcing 
     immigration laws, thereby reducing the deleterious effects of 
     inexpensive labor on the wages of farm workers in the United 
     States, as recognized by the Congressional Budget Office in 
     the June 2013 report entitled ``The Economic Impact of S. 
     744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and 
     Immigration Modernization Act. . . .

  And he offers this ``whereas,'' a second one:

       Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez recognized the importance of a 
     secure southern border with Mexico, through citizen 
     participation in the enforcement of immigration laws, by 
     encouraging members of the United Farm Workers of America to 
     contact the Immigration and Naturalization Service to report 
     instances of illegal labor. . . .
  So that not having been accepted, I would ask that be accepted. It is 
at the desk. I ask it be agreed to prior to adoption of this 
resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from New Jersey so modify his 
request?
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Reserving the right to object, this is not about Cesar 
Chavez. This is about immigration. I know my distinguished colleague 
has a different view about immigration than I do. I know Senator 
Vitter, for whom he is offering this amendment, also has a different 
view.
  The Senate has spoken on the question of immigration. Sixty-seven 
Senators, two-thirds of the Senate has already sent an immigration 
reform bill to the House of Representatives. So while we may have 
different views, that is not the issue of Cesar Chavez. In my view it 
is an injustice to his memory to offer such an amendment. That is why I 
will have to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the original request?
  Mr. SESSIONS. I would object and would note I do have a different 
view on these issues. With regard to the impact of S. 744, had it 
passed, it would have been adverse to farmworkers who are in this 
country working hard, need pay raises, and need better job 
opportunities. I think these are important parts of Mr. Chavez's 
career. It seems to me that the Senator would be pleased to accept 
that, but I understand we have a disagreement. I express my respect for 
Senator Menendez and his leadership on the Foreign Relations Committee, 
but we disagree on this subject.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I have a deep respect for Senator 
Sessions. But I will just simply say this is the 8th year, the 8th year 
in which under some figleaf--before they could hide through their 
objections. But this is really a fig leaf. The Senate has expressed 
itself on immigration reform. This is not about immigration reform. 
This is about Cesar Chavez. This is about a man who led boycotts across 
the country to bring to justice the rights of farmworkers and of all 
workers across the land.
  There is no bigger supporter, by the way, than the United Farm 
Workers, which he helped build, create, and today is one of the 
strongest voices for that immigration reform.
  It is, from my view, shameful that we can pass commemorative 
resolutions on some of the most insignificant issues, but on the life 
of someone who changed the course of this country for millions of 
Latinos who understand that life and history and would want to see that 
life commemorated, that there can be a continuing objection for 8 
years. I will keep coming each year to the floor to make this happen. 
At some point it will.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Before the distinguished Senator from New Jersey 
leaves, I wish to thank him for his diligence and advocacy on behalf of 
a distinguished American. I can say, as chair of the agriculture 
committee, without the work of Cesar Chavez, without those who toiled 
in the fields picking the fruits and vegetables and providing the 
backbone of the agricultural workforce, we would not have an 
agricultural economy in many places in this country.
  To say on the date of his birth that we recognize Cesar Chavez is 
something that is straightforward and ought to be happening and should 
have happened 8 years ago.


                      Community Mental Health Care

  Mr. President, today marks the culmination of a long fight to improve 
community mental health care in our country. Last Thursday the House of 
Representatives passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, which 
includes a demonstration project based on the Excellence in Mental 
Health Act that my friend and partner from Missouri Roy Blunt and I 
authored.
  I wish to recognize Senator Maria Cantwell, who is one of our 
cosponsors who is on the floor, for her wonderful, passionate support 
and voice helping us get this done. I wish to thank our House sponsors. 
This is a House-Senate Republican-Democratic initiative. Who says we 
cannot work together when we want to get things done?
  Congresswoman Matsui, a Democrat from Hawaii; Congressman Lance, a 
Republican from New Jersey, were our sponsors. We also had significant 
partnership and advocacy from Congressman Tim Murphy, a leader in 
mental health in the Congress, a Republican from Pennsylvania.
  I wish to thank Susan Collins who, as a Senator from Maine, has been 
a passionate advocate as well and Senator Jack Reed, who has worked 
with me for years on this legislation. He and I were partners for a 
long time to get this done. I wish to thank the chairman of the Ways 
and Means Committee in the House, Chairman Camp, and Chairman Upton for 
working with us, both from my home State of Michigan--for working and 
partnering with us.
  I wish to thank the Speaker and Majority Leader Reid, who put 
together a proposal, not what most of us would have liked to have seen 
in terms of permanently fixing this issue of the SGR or Medicare 
reimbursement for physicians, but even in looking at a fix for just 1 
year, they came together and supported our vision for positively moving 
forward on a demonstration project to increase community mental health 
services.
  Certainly, last but not least, I wish to thank Senator Ron Wyden, who 
has been there since day one and now as chairman of the Finance 
Committee has been unequivocal in his passionate support for what we 
are doing. I wish to thank Chairman Wyden for his leadership and 
support.
  Our legislation is a landmark step forward for community mental 
health funding, one of the most significant advances we have seen in 
decades. This bill will improve the lives of people all across the 
country by providing funding to create 24-hour emergency psychiatric 
services and higher standards and funding for community care.
  We authored this bill because mental illness touches all of our 
families in some way, one out of four Americans. For me, it was my 
father who suffered from bipolar disorder and was not diagnosed for at 
least 10 years when I was growing up. I saw the impact on my dad, the 
most loving, wonderful father someone could have, on my mom, on my 
brothers, our whole family, as we struggled to figure out what was 
going on and get him the help and support he needed.
  When he finally was accurately diagnosed and received the right 
treatment and support, got the right tools to manage this disease, he 
was able to go back to work and live a happy and rewarding life for the 
rest of his life. Similar to my dad, too many people who need treatment 
do not get it, including one-third of all people living with mood 
disorders and more than half of those with severe mental diseases.
  That is because in this country we treat mental health and physical 
health differently. If you have diabetes, you monitor your sugar 
levels, you take insulin to manage your disease. You go on with your 
life as you are managing your disease. If you are bipolar, meaning you 
have a chemical imbalance in the brain, you may receive zero treatment, 
maybe lose your job or worse your family, maybe end up in jail or on 
the streets.
  Diabetes and bipolar disorders are both chemical imbalances in 
different

[[Page S1863]]

parts of the body. Both deserve treatment. People deserve to be able to 
get effective treatment for both. Both are treatable--both are 
treatable. The same is true for schizophrenia and many other behavioral 
diseases. There is hope when people get help.
  There is treatment available and from that the ability to manage 
diseases, as we do for so many physical diseases that people have. This 
bill which we just passed in the Senate will make it more likely to 
happen that people can get the treatment and support they need. This 
bill makes great improvements in the way we treat mental health care as 
well. It will expand access, make sure people get treatment at a higher 
quality level, because just as we do with federally qualified health 
centers, we are now creating federally qualified behavioral health 
clinics.
  If you meet higher standards, you get higher reimbursements and 
therefore more services available. This legislation authorizes eight 
States to be designated to receive enhanced funding for community 
mental health services, based on meeting high-quality standards for 
services, as I said before, for the designation of federally qualified 
behavioral health clinics.
  This is voluntary. States will compete to be designated as one of the 
eight demonstration States. I expect many States and communities across 
the country to be working together to do that. I fully expect this 
demonstration project will save lives and save money to communities in 
every State that is housing people in jails who should be getting the 
treatment they need in the community in order to manage their diseases 
and live productive lives.
  It has taken a long time to get here. The fight began 50 years ago, 
when President John F. Kennedy called on Congress to create a new type 
of health care facility that would improve the quality of mental health 
care in the community--in the community--and reduce stigma. He pushed 
Congress to take action on mental health care because he had a vision 
to bring mental health treatment out of institutions and into 
communities across America.
  Following his lead, Congress sent him the Community Mental Health 
Act. It was the last bill he signed before he was murdered in Dallas. 
It is one of the most important bills that he signed. Senator Blunt and 
I spoke on the Senate floor last fall to commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of that bill's signing because it marked a major change in 
the way we treat mental health.
  Unfortunately, over the past few decades, instead of increasing 
funding for mental health services, we have seen cut after cut after 
cut. We are seeing the consequences. Inpatient facilities all across 
the country have closed their doors, but they have not been replaced by 
services in the community. Too often we are turning the emergency room 
or worse to jails or prisons as our primary mental health treatment 
facilities.
  As Cook County, IL, Sheriff Tom Dart testified in the House of 
Representatives just last week, ``The unfortunate and undeniable 
conclusion is, that because of dramatic and sustained cuts in mental 
health funding, we have criminalized mental illness in this country.''
  The ER and the jails are not the place to treat mental illness. We 
can do better than that in this country. We have now taken a major step 
to do that. Our families deserve better. That is why our former 
colleagues Senator Pete Domenici and Senator Paul Wellstone, a dear 
friend to so many of us and whom we miss dearly, and later another dear 
friend, Senator Ted Kennedy, whom we also miss dearly, a towering 
figure on so many issues, joined together with Senator Kennedy's son, 
Representative Patrick Kennedy, and wrote the bipartisan Mental Health 
Parity and Addiction Act. They wanted to make sure we had parity in how 
insurance companies treat mental and physical health. That bill became 
law finally in 2008. It was a huge step forward.
  I was proud to offer mental health parity in the Affordable Care Act, 
which was the next big step forward. Today we voted on the final step 
in mental health parity in the community, the ability to get funding 
for quality mental health care services the same way we fund quality 
community health services.
  I have met and heard from so many people who personally felt the 
effects of mental illness and who wanted us to pass this bill so they 
and others could get the treatment they need.
  One of those people who joined us--in fact, today at a press 
conference, flew in from Michigan--is Malkia Newman, who lived for over 
30 years with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. She finally got the 
treatment she needed through the Oakland County Community Mental Health 
Authority in the Detroit suburbs.
  She recovered, is now managing her illness, and is the board chair of 
the very same mental health board community she turned to for help so 
she can help others. Her message to Congress is: ``Please pass this 
bill so everyone can get the mental health help they need.''
  Not everyone is as lucky as Malkia, though. There are many who still 
need our help, which is why what we have done today is so important.
  Today, one in four returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is in 
some need of some form of mental health care treatment. I recently 
heard from Marcia in Dearborn about her friend.
  She said:

       My friend bravely served two tours in Iraq for this 
     country. Before he left for war, he was so outgoing and all 
     he wanted was to put a smile on everyone's face. He had the 
     biggest heart of anyone I know.

  But when he came home from war with PTSD, her friend was in trouble.
  Marcia writes:

       What is done for these men and women when they come home? 
     They go to war, they see things no one should ever see and do 
     things no one should ever do, and they're expected to return 
     home and live normally?

  Her friend killed himself after suffering from PTSD for 8 years. 
Marcia's friend is only 1 of the 22 veterans who take their own lives 
every single day in America. This is where our bill comes in. This 
bipartisan bill expands access to mental health care, working with 
outpatient VA clinics, working with community mental health centers, 
and federally qualified mental health centers, all working together. I 
thank so much the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for being with us every 
step of the way, advocating, all of the veterans organizations that 
have been so supportive. This bill will create a broad range of mental 
health services, such as 24-hour crisis psychiatric services in 
communities that are selected, integrated preventive screenings, 
integrated treatment for mental illness and substance abuse, and 
expanded peer support and counseling for families and patients alike.
  It allows community mental health centers to finally be reimbursed 
the same as physical health providers. We are finally saying that as a 
country we are going to treat illnesses from the neck up, the same way 
we treat illnesses from the neck down.
  Instead of merely talking about mental health in the wake of 
tragedies such as the Navy Yard in Washington last fall that took 13 
lives or the tragedy at Sandy Hook, we have taken action this evening.
  Mental health isn't a partisan issue. Senators Domenici and Wellstone 
understood it just as Senator Blunt, Senator Cantwell, Senator Collins, 
and I understand.
  Senator Wellstone isn't here to see the progress we have made, but he 
once said:

       Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. 
     Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. 
     Politics is about the improvement of people's lives.

  That is exactly what we are doing, improving people's lives and 
creating hope and opportunity for people to get the help they need to 
live long, successful lives.
  I thank all of our colleagues for working together to get this done. 
It will be something, as we move forward, of which we can all be proud.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate as in 
morning business for less than 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, first I wish to address legislation that 
passed the Senate earlier this evening. The sustainable growth rate is 
such an important issue to the people from the

[[Page S1864]]

State of Kansas. I come from a State in which senior citizens are a 
very prevalent portion of our population, and access to health care is 
so dependent upon whether Medicare reimburses a physician, a hospital, 
a home health care agency or a nursing home in an adequate amount. I 
fear that in the absence of that adequate Medicare reimbursement we 
will see a lot fewer doctors, and hospital doors will close.
  I have been an advocate of and in fact I never voted to create the 
sustainable growth rate, and I suppose I should explain what that is. 
In the broadest of terms it means there is a formula that ultimately 
reduces the reimbursement a physician receives under Medicare. It has 
become a very dramatic issue. This year I believe it is around a 24 
percent reduction that will occur April 1, tomorrow, if the sustainable 
growth rate formula is not altered.
  The reality is that Congress has altered that formula to avoid those 
reductions, because we know when a health care provider is not 
compensated in a way that covers the cost of providing the service, 
most likely we are going to have fewer health care providers. Hospitals 
will not be there, physicians will no longer be in practice, and, 
particularly in areas of our country that are rural where, again, a 
significant portion of the population is senior citizens whose medical 
bills are paid, in part, through Medicare.
  My discouragement, my dissatisfaction, is once again the Senate has 
demonstrated its dysfunction by passing a very short-term fix to this 
long-term problem. If history is any indication, we will be back 1 year 
from now in the same predicament. We have made alterations 16 times 
previously. This is the 17th time in which we have done a short-term 
fix to a long-term problem. To me, it is one more symptom of our 
inability as a Senate to function in a way that benefits the American 
people: in this case, patients who are served by physicians who will be 
harmed.
  In instances across Kansas, our hospitals are now employers of 
physicians, and so they have entered into a contract with a physician. 
When the reimbursement rate for the physician is reduced, it means less 
revenue to the hospital and a tighter squeeze to the many hospitals 
that barely hang on by a thread.
  I express my appreciation to Senator Wyden, the chairman of the 
Finance Committee, for his efforts to find a long-term solution, a 
permanent repeal of the SGR and again express my willingness to him and 
to others to work with Democrats in the Senate, to work with 
Republicans in the Senate, to find the necessary numbers of us who will 
come together to support legislation that would permanently end the 
SGR, and that we would not be then asked a few months from now to come 
back once again to solve the problem.
  We know the problem is there. We know we will have to find a 
solution. The consequences of failing are so great, but we were 
unwilling to take the necessary steps today to pass a permanent repeal 
and an elimination of the SGR formula.
  Again, to Senator Wyden, he and I have had conversations since last 
Thursday about my willingness to have conversations with Republican 
Members of the Senate to find the necessary votes to pass legislation 
for a permanent repeal. I expressed that offer again to Senator Wyden, 
that we are still interested in doing that, and that the country, its 
health care providers and their patients, deserve better than what we 
were able to do today.


                      Remembering the Mull Family

  I turn to a story about a very special Kansas family. Unfortunately, 
it is a sad story.
  I often describe to my friends and colleagues in Washington, DC, how 
special Kansas is and in a special way how we live our lives there.
  Families are important. The values of family run deep in our 
communities. We have neighbors who care for each other and we all know 
each other one on one, name by name, family by family. We know where 
they go to church, we know what schools their kids are in, and we know 
how their families are doing. When tragedy strikes, the entire 
community is shaken.
  I pay tribute today to a family from north central Kansas, the Mulls. 
Glenn Mull and his wife Elaine, their daughter Amy Harter and their 
granddaughter Samantha Harter were traveling to the National 
Cattlemen's Beef Association trade show in Nashville on February 3 when 
the plane they were in crashed during its second landing attempt. The 
jet went down about 10 miles from the airport in Bellevue, TN.
  I saw on the Internet a Bellevue resident, who I don't know. She 
wrote this tribute to Glenn Mull, the pilot.
  She said:

       Glenn had reached the most bustling section of our 
     community at the busiest time of the day. . . . He would have 
     seen hundreds of homes with cars in the driveway. A Kroger 
     packed with shoppers. An assisted living community. And an 
     enormous YMCA, where hundreds of families were streaming in 
     and out to swim in the indoor pool, exercise and take 
     classes. Glenn didn't know this, but school was cancelled for 
     our kids . . . so a larger number than usual were at the Y 
     with their parents. Some experts are saying now that the 
     last-second sharp turn Glenn made in the seconds before the 
     plane crashed indicates that he made a heroic decision to hit 
     the one spot in the immediate vicinity where no one on the 
     ground would be hurt. . . . Glenn managed to spare all of 
     their lives.

  The Bellevue resident went on to describe her own community as one 
which is ``filled with people who shared Glenn's obvious affinity for 
family.'' She said that Bellevue residents:

       . . . are all talking about Glenn Mull, the hero, who we 
     believe had the extraordinary courage and presence of mind to 
     save our families, even as he realized he couldn't save his 
     own.

  Glenn was born in Great Bend and raised on his family farm near 
there, where his parents instilled in him a strong work ethic and a 
sense of integrity. He went on to graduate from Kansas State University 
with a business degree, and K-State is where he met his wife Elaine. 
They moved back to north central Kansas to grow the three-generation 
family farm and eventually to raise their three children. He promoted 
his life's work through representation of Kansas farmers and ranchers 
in organizations such as the Kansas Livestock Association and the 
National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
  Glenn and Elaine were well respected not only in the cattle industry 
but also in their community for their generous commitment to improving 
the lives of their neighbors. As a founding board member of Pawnee 
Valley Community Hospital Foundation, one of Glenn's top priorities was 
improving health care in Larned, KS. Their hospital was faced with 
potential closure in 2009 until efforts were made by the city of Larned 
and community members such as Glenn to solve the problem and to keep 
the hospital doors open. For rural communities such as Larned, access 
to the types of health care facilities offered by Pawnee Valley 
Community Hospital is essential to their community's future.
  Elaine, his wife, had a tireless heart for service and volunteered in 
a number of organizations, including the Fort Larned Historical 
Society, the Larned Hospital Auxiliary, the Santa Fe Trail Center, 
Larned Music Club, 4-H, Girl Scouts, and was a K-State trustee, just to 
name a few of her activities.
  She played the piano and taught Bible study classes at Grace 
Community Church in Great Bend where the pastor said that he loved to 
talk with Glenn about the weather, which is a very common Kansas 
conversation, and that he always used the farmer's expertise to analyze 
the day.
  The pastor said:

       He knew exactly how much moisture we had and what we 
     needed, whether this was good for the wheat versus the milo 
     and how it might affect the feed yards.

  The pastor continued:

       There has been talk that Glenn behaved in a very heroic 
     way. I have no idea whether that is true, but I will tell you 
     that he is the kind of guy who would absolutely have done the 
     right thing.

  Glenn and Elaine's legacies of selflessness, philanthropy, and 
leadership undoubtedly live on. I have met many people in my life, and 
I don't know that I have ever met a couple with more optimism, with 
more care and concern for other people, with a sense that things will 
be better tomorrow, and that the idea that hard work and living your 
life with integrity and as a companion to your Creator, would mean that 
good things would happen for you and your family.
  Amy Harter, their daughter, and her family lived in a house on the 
Mulls' land and worked in the family business, while she and her 
husband Doug raised their children, Chase and Samantha.

[[Page S1865]]

  Sixteen-year-old Samantha, the granddaughter, was killed in that 
plane crash. She was described by one of her classmates at Larned High 
School, which has a student body of about 300, as a silly girl but a 
serious enough one to be a member of the honor choir. She would have 
the most energy in the honor choir practice at 7 in the morning. She 
would either be there--tired--with caramel rolls her mom had made or 
laughing and having fun.
  Kansans know what it means to persevere, and certainly the Mull 
family has persevered through many difficulties. No farmer or rancher 
escapes that in our State. We embrace our State's motto--``Ad astra per 
aspera''--``To the stars through difficulties.'' During difficult times 
we often see the very best in people--as in Glenn's decision to save 
lives in Tennessee when he couldn't save himself or his family.
  Amidst the loss of Glenn and Elaine, their daughter and 
granddaughter, and the suffering of this Kansas community, what stands 
out is the outpouring in Larned and Great Bend in central Kansas of 
care and compassion shown by their friends and neighbors but also by 
the residents of Belleview, NE, who were united in their care and 
concern for this family they never knew.
  Glenn, Elaine, their daughter Amy, and granddaughter Samantha will be 
greatly missed, and all we can do now is model our lives after the 
lives they led and ask that God comfort them, their families and be a 
source of support for all who knew them as we go through this continued 
time of grief.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Kansas for his 
remarks and extend my sympathies to the family. I thank the Senator for 
his rendition of his State's fortitude. My State is working with 
fortitude right now too in the Oso-Darrington mudslides, and 
perseverance is a good word.
  So I thank him.
  Mr. MORAN. I thank my colleague.


                    Excellence in Mental Health Act

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, we took an important step today to 
improve the lives of millions of Americans who deal with mental 
illness. I am talking about the Excellence in Mental Health Act, which 
was included in the provisions of the legislation we just passed this 
evening.
  I thank my colleagues, Senators Stabenow and Blunt, for their 
leadership on this bill. Senator Stabenow just gave a very passionate 
history of why she has been so involved with this issue. People may not 
realize that she has been working on this since 2005. So I thank her 
for that leadership because around here it takes time to get things 
done, and she has never forgotten how important this is for those with 
mental illness and the loved ones and family members who care about 
them.
  This legislation was bipartisan legislation, and that certainly 
helped us get the bill passed. It was something I was happy to 
cosponsor with Senator Stabenow when we worked it through the committee 
and then also when we tried to get it included in this latest package. 
So I am proud to be here tonight to thank her and Senator Blunt for 
their leadership in getting this done.
  This legislation improves access to community health centers and 
leads to better quality of care. It will give access to those 
participating States that are fortunate enough to be in this first 
phase of a pilot program, and it will help local governments and health 
care systems that are all plagued by these challenges. Most 
importantly, it will help save lives.
  Community mental health treatment centers are struggling because they 
are trying to meet the demand and do so within the balance of their 
budgets. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, States 
have cut more than $1.6 billion in mental health funds since 2009. So 
here we are with a very pervasive problem and budget tightening, which, 
obviously, causes big challenges. What are those challenges? Basically 
too many people falling through the cracks.
  Nationally, more than half of those with serious mental disorders 
don't get the treatment they need to lead productive healthy lives. In 
my State, the State of Washington, 55 percent of those with mental 
illness are not getting treatment. That translates to 500,000 people 
who are not getting the help they need, according to the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration. When they reach a 
crisis point, it is not just a burden on them and their families but on 
our communities, our hospitals, and our criminal justice systems. As a 
result, our jails and our emergency rooms have become the mental health 
clinic of last resort.
  As the Tacoma News Tribune wrote in a recent editorial, ``Jails and 
prisons have become our de facto mental institutions.''
  Not only is that approach ineffective, it is also extremely 
expensive. It means local governments spend more for housing and court 
services and medication and treatment of the mentally ill while in 
their custody. For emergency rooms it means they fill up with mentally 
ill patients they are often ill equipped to deal with.
  In Washington we have seen a dramatic rise in psychiatric boarding--
or warehousing. Boarding happens when involuntarily committed patients 
must wait for hours in a hospital emergency room because psychiatric 
facilities have no open beds.
  A recent investigation by the Seattle Times found that boarding has 
become routine in our State, ``traumatizing thousands of mentally ill 
residents, wreaking havoc on hospitals, and wasting millions [in] 
taxpayer dollars.'' Patients are ``frequently parked in hallways or 
bound to beds, usually given medication but otherwise no psychiatric 
care.''
  This report is the basis of why this legislation is so important. The 
report also talked about financial costs. Boarding costs Washington 
State's health care system $10.5 million a year, according to the 
State.
  I believe we can do better, and this legislation helps us do that. We 
can support proven models that improve efficiency and reduce spending. 
One such model is this legislation we just passed--community -based 
care that focuses on prevention, early intervention, and coordination 
between providers. All of that is why the legislation is so important. 
It helps increase efficiency while bolstering the community health 
centers with increased Medicaid support.
  It will also enable the State to improve the quality and range of 
services. It requires the State to certify community mental health 
centers and meet higher standards. Some of those services would be 
things such as 24-hour crisis management, screening assessments and 
diagnosis, outpatient mental health substance abuse services, 
outpatient primary care screenings to monitor the indicators of health 
conditions, peer support and counseling, better coordination with 
veterans' clinics, acute care hospitals, and inpatient psychiatric and 
substance abuse services.
  All of these are missing in our communities, and oftentimes those 
individuals end up, as I just said, in either the emergency room of a 
hospital or in a jail. Currently, there are no standards for mental 
health services in community health facilities. States that will 
participate in this program will be able to get a Medicaid 
reimbursement equal to what federally qualified health centers receive 
for primary care services.
  This is so important, and something Senator Stabenow mentioned--
putting this on equal footing. More than 50 mental health, medical, and 
law enforcement groups and organizations supported this important 
legislation because it is what they need to help do their job in these 
communities. Some of those organizations that supported this 
legislation are the National Sheriffs' Association, the National 
Association of Police Organizations, the American Psychological 
Association, the American Medical Association, and the American 
Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
  In Washington we have seen how some of these community-based services 
are paying off. In rural central Washington, the counties of Yakima, 
Kittitas, and Klickitat have reduced their hospitalization through 
strengthening outpatient services and investing in early intervention 
programs, such as community treatment teams that meet with patients in 
their homes.
  This region in my State now has the lowest per capita psychiatric 
hospitalizations, according to an editorial in the Seattle Times just 
last week. This demonstration project builds on what we already know 
can be successes.

[[Page S1866]]

  Clearly, we have a lot of work to do, but this important legislation 
will help us be smarter about community-based care that will keep 
people out of the emergency rooms and out of our jails, keeping them 
from becoming the mental health clinics of last resort.
  As Chris Imhoff, an official with the Washington State Department of 
Social and Health Services, remarked:

       It's exciting for a community when something like this 
     happens. . . . It helps us not strand people with psychiatric 
     emergencies in emergency rooms, which is a good thing.

  That is why this legislation is taking us in the right direction. So 
again, I thank the Senators from Michigan and Missouri for their 
leadership on this legislation. It is so important we got it passed, 
and, hopefully, now it will move towards the President's desk and 
implementation.

                          ____________________