[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3297-S3299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. 
        Coburn):
  S. 2384. A bill to require the President to develop a watch list and 
a priority watch list of foreign countries that engage in economic or 
industrial espionage in cyberspace with respect to United States trade 
secrets or proprietary information, to provide for the imposition of 
sanctions with respect to foreign persons that knowingly benefit from 
such espionage, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am joined today by Senators McCain, 
Rockefeller and Coburn in introducing a bill to respond to overwhelming 
and indisputable evidence of large scale cyber intrusions by the 
Government of China into the computer networks of private U.S. 
companies for the purpose of stealing valuable intellectual property 
and proprietary information. Such illegal and damaging behavior demands 
strong and immediate action.
  American companies invest hundreds of billions of dollars every year 
in research and development. The innovation that results from those 
investments drives the growth of American companies and the U.S. 
economy. Unfortunately, our companies are having their intellectual 
property stolen right out from underneath them through cyberspace. 
According to a 2013 Center for Strategic and International Studies 
study, cyber theft costs American companies $100 billion annually--a 
staggering amount that threatens to undermine America's global 
competitiveness.
  General Keith B. Alexander, former head of the National Security 
Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, has called the cyber theft of U.S. 
intellectual property ``the greatest transfer of wealth in history.''
  Monday's Department of Justice indictment of 5 Chinese military 
officials for computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses 
directed at 6 American companies confirms what earlier U.S. Government 
reports have documented: the culprits of cyber theft are frequently 
foreign governments and China is the worst offender. The indictment 
alleges that the defendants, members of China's People's Liberation 
Army, conspired to hack into the computers of U.S. companies to steal 
information useful to those American companies' Chinese competitors, 
including state-owned enterprises.
  The indictments demonstrate the administration's willingness to take 
on cybercrime through the aggressive use of the criminal justice 
system. The legislation we are introducing today, a revised version of 
a bill we introduced last year, gives our Government another tool to 
impose costs on those who steal and profit from the cyber theft of 
American technology, trade secrets and proprietary information.
  Our bill would authorize the President to direct the Treasury 
Department to freeze the assets of any foreign person or company, 
including a state owned enterprise, determined to have benefitted from 
the theft of U.S. technology or proprietary information stolen in 
cyberspace.
  The Deter Cyber Theft Act would also require the Director of National 
Intelligence to compile an annual report on foreign economic and 
industrial espionage that includes: a list of foreign countries that 
engage in economic or industrial espionage in cyberspace against U.S. 
firms or individuals, including a priority watch list of the worst 
offenders; a list of U.S. technologies or proprietary information 
targeted by such espionage, and, to the extent possible, a list of such 
information that has been stolen; a list of items manufactured or 
produced or services or services provided using such stolen 
technologies or proprietary information; a list of foreign companies, 
including state-owned firms, that benefit from such theft; details of 
the espionage activities of foreign countries; and actions taken by the 
DNI and other Federal agencies to combat industrial or economic 
espionage in cyberspace.
  As Dennis C. Blair, former director of national intelligence and co-
chair of the IP Commission report has said, ``Jawboning alone won't 
work. Something has to change China's calculus.'' We need to call out 
those who are responsible for cyber theft and empower the President to 
hit the thieves where it hurts most--in their wallets.
  If foreign governments, like the Chinese government, want to continue 
to deny their involvement in cyber theft despite the proof, that is one 
thing. We can't stop the denials. But we aren't without remedies. We 
can make sure that the companies that benefit from cyber theft, 
including state-owned companies, pay the price. Blocking these 
companies from doing business in the United States will send the 
message that we have had enough.
  We worked closely with the administration in developing this bill. I 
believe it is an important complement to their recent aggressive 
efforts to respond to economic espionage by members of the Chinese 
military.
  In light of the Snowden leaks, some have charged that it is 
inconsistent of the U.S. to criticize China's campaign to steal our 
intellectual property

[[Page S3298]]

through cyberspace. Let's be clear. Attempts to equate China's actions 
and our own are false. The United States economy is built on the hard 
work and innovation of American entrepreneurs who are free to think for 
themselves, develop new products and deliver them to the world. China's 
actions, on the other hand, reveal a country that is satisfied with 
theft as a means of economic growth while ironically, suppressing the 
freedoms that encourage new ideas and innovation. The Snowden 
revelations are about espionage; the United States does not steal 
intellectual property for economic gain.
  I urge the speedy enactment of the Deter Cyber Theft Act.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. HEITKAMP (for herself and Mr. Kaine):
  S. 2390. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create 
a tax credit for foster families; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the important 
issue of foster care and the need to recruit, retain and support foster 
families. What better time than during National Foster Care Month. 
Foster parents make a significant and meaningful difference in the 
lives of so many vulnerable children by opening their hearts and homes. 
But we continue to struggle to recruit and retain enough foster 
families to ensure each child is placed in a family-like setting. This 
is particularly true for Native American kids who are in foster care at 
rates dramatically higher than others.
  Caring for a child in foster care can be more expensive than caring 
for one's own biological children. Children placed into foster care 
often have experienced significant emotional and physical trauma and 
have higher incidences of medical and behavioral health issues, 
resulting in additional costs to parents. Unfortunately, too many 
caring foster parents struggle financially because Federal and State 
programs that reimburse parents for a child's daily living costs do not 
provide for the real cost of caring for the child. A 2007 study of 
State foster care programs, conducted by the University of Maryland 
School of Social Work, Children's Rights, and the National Foster 
Parent Association, found that current foster care rates would have to 
increase on average 36 percent nationwide to provide for basic care.
  A 2002 report by the Department of Health and Human Services' 
Inspector General found that foster parents' expenses often exceed 
foster care reimbursement rates, leading foster parents to pay out-of-
pocket to meet foster children's basic needs. Some benefits already 
exist in the current tax code to support these families, but few are 
aware of their existence or utilize them.
  Today I am introducing the Foster Care Tax Credit Act to provide 
additional tax relief for foster families to help cover the actual 
costs of caring for a foster child. This legislation also requests 
additional outreach and education by the Department of Health and Human 
Services to better equip State and Tribal foster agencies and foster 
families to take advantage of all tax benefits available. I thank my 
colleague, Senator Kaine, for joining me in this effort.
  As we continue working towards the goals of improving child welfare, 
I hope more of my colleagues will join me in seeking to provide 
additional support for families caring for foster children.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Kirk, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
        Isakson):
  S. 2405. A bill to amend title XII of the Public Health Service Act 
to reauthorize certain trauma care programs, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the Trauma 
Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act along 
with Senators Kirk, Murray, and Isakson, and also the Improving Trauma 
Care Act, which includes burn injuries in the definition of trauma.
  These two bills, S. 2405 and S. 2406, build on my previous efforts to 
improve trauma care, which is an essential component of our care 
system. Timely and effective trauma care is critical to ensuring 
lifesaving interventions for those who have serious unintentional 
injuries. Such injuries are the leading cause of death for children and 
adults under 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, CDC.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle toward expeditious passage of these bills.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 2408. A bill to authorize the exploration, leasing, development, 
and production of oil and gas in and from the western portion of the 
Coastal Plain of the State of Alaska without surface occupancy, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce two separate 
bills to open a small portion of the Arctic coastal plain, in my home 
State of Alaska, to oil and gas development. I am introducing these 
bills because new production in northern Alaska is vital to my State's 
future and global energy security.
  The 1.5 million acres of the Arctic coastal plain that lie within the 
non-wilderness portion of the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge are North America's greatest prospect for conventional onshore 
production. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to estimate that this 
part of the coastal plain has a mean likelihood of containing 10.4 
billion barrels of oil and 8.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as 
well as a reasonable chance of economically producing 16 billion 
barrels of oil. If produced at a rate of 1 million barrels per day, 
that supply could last for more than 40 years--bringing us jobs, 
revenues, and security in every one of them.
  Today, Alaska supplies about 7 percent of U.S. crude oil. This is a 4 
percent decline since I last introduced similar bills in 2011. It is an 
even more substantial loss compared to what we have provided in past 
decades, and what we could be providing today. Importantly, despite the 
Federal Government owning almost 70 percent of the lands in Alaska, 
almost all of our oil production is from State lands. The only 
production on Federal lands is from the Northstar project, a small man-
made island that straddles state and federal waters in the Beaufort 
Sea.
  For more than 30 years, my State has successfully balanced resource 
development with environmental protection. Alaskans have proven, over 
and over again, that these endeavors are not mutually exclusive, and 
with advances in technology, the footprint of development projects is 
only getting smaller. Yet at the Federal level, there is an astonishing 
refusal to acknowledge that record.
  As a result, production on the North Slope continues to decline by 
about 6 percent annually. With new exploration and development projects 
on Federal lands blocked or delayed at every turn, Alaska faces a 
tipping point. Declining production is now threatening the continued 
operation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. A closure of TAPS would 
shut down all northern Alaska oil production, devastating Alaska's 
economy, causing global oil prices to rise, and deepening our 
dependence on unstable petrostates throughout the world. Exploration 
and development in the Arctic offshore and National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska are moving forward, but these resources will not be developed 
without a viable way to transport them to market.
  The bills I introduce today, S. 2408 and S. 2409, would disturb no 
more than 2,000 acres of the vast coastal plain, and one bill would not 
allow surface occupancy of the coastal plain, only directional drilling 
from outside the refuge to access the oil and gas resources. To put 
this in perspective, 2,000 acres is less than the size of the local 
Dulles Airport, or about \1/10\ of 1 percent of the refuge. Since these 
areas are less than 60 miles from TAPS, development in the coastal 
plain is the quickest, most environmentally-sound way to increase oil 
production in Alaska and ensure the pipeline will operate well into the 
future, providing jobs and supporting the economies of both Alaska and 
the United States.
  The terms of both bills include strong protections for fish and 
wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence resources, and the 
environment. Development could not move forward if it would cause 
significant adverse impacts to the coastal plain. Both bills

[[Page S3299]]

also return 50 percent of all revenues to the Federal Government, 
rather than the 10 percent allowed under current law. At approximately 
$100 per barrel, and given the Coastal Plain's estimate of over 10 
billion barrels, there is a trillion dollars' worth of oil locked up 
beneath this small area in northern Alaska.
  As we continue to struggle with high long-term unemployment and 
unsustainable national debt, we need to pursue development 
opportunities more than ever. The shale oil and gas boom on state and 
private lands in the Lower 48 has been the one shining light as our 
economy struggles to recover from the recession. My bills offer us a 
chance to produce more of our own energy, for the good of the American 
people, in an environmentally-friendly way. With oil hovering near $100 
a barrel, with so many of our fellow citizens out of work, and with the 
U.S. nation still about 40 percent dependent on foreign oil--it would 
be foolish to once again ignore our most promising prospect for new 
development.
  For decades, Alaskans, whom polls show overwhelmingly support 
development of the coastal plain, have been asking permission to 
explore and develop the resources located there. Technology has 
advanced so that it is possible to develop oil and gas from the refuge 
with little or no impact on the area and its wildlife.
  I hope this Congress will have the common sense to allow America to 
help itself by developing the coastal plain's substantial resources. 
This is critical to my State and the nation as a whole. With this in 
mind, I will work to educate the members of this chamber about the 
opportunity we have and the tremendous benefits it would provide. I 
will show why such development should occur--why it must occur--and how 
it can benefit all of us at a time when we so desperately need good 
economic news.

                          ____________________