[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2263-S2266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Ms. Duckworth):
  S. 2701. A bill to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to carry out a pilot program to enhance the mapping 
of urban flooding and associated property damage and the availability 
of that mapped data to homeowners, businesses, and localities to help 
understand and mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. 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. 2701

       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 ``Flood Mapping Modernization 
     and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. FLOOD MAPPING MODERNIZATION AND HOMEOWNER EMPOWERMENT 
                   PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       (2) Coastal.--The term ``coastal'' means, with respect to a 
     unit of general local government, that the unit borders a 
     body of water that--
       (A) is more than 2,000 square miles in size; and
       (B) is not a river.
       (3) Pelagic.--The term ``pelagic'' means, with respect to a 
     unit of general local government, that--
       (A) the unit is a coastal unit; and
       (B) the body of water that the unit borders is--
       (i) an ocean; or
       (ii) a large, open body of water, including a bay or a 
     gulf, that empties into an ocean.
       (4) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the 
     pilot program carried out by the Administrator under this 
     section.
       (5) Urban flooding.--The term ``urban flooding''--
       (A) means the innundation, by water, of property in a built 
     environment, particularly in a densely populated area, that--
       (i) is caused by falling rain--

       (I) collecting on an impervious surface; or
       (II) increasing the level of a body of water that is 
     located near that built environment; and

       (ii) overwhelms the capacity of drainage systems in the 
     built environment, such as storm sewers;
       (B) includes--
       (i) a situation in which stormwater enters a building 
     through a window, door, or other opening;
       (ii) the backup of water through a sewer pipe, shower, 
     toilet, sink, or floor drain;
       (iii) the seepage of water through a wall or a floor;
       (iv) the accumulation of water on property or a public 
     right-of-way; and
       (v) the overflow from a body of water, such as a river, 
     lake, or ocean; and
       (C) does not include flooding in an undeveloped or 
     agricultural area.
       (6) Urbanized area.--The term ``urbanized area'' means an 
     area that has been defined and designated as an urbanized 
     area by the Bureau of the Census during the most recently 
     completed decennial census.
       (b) Establishment.--The Administrator shall carry out a 
     pilot program to make grants to units of local government 
     to--
       (1) enhance the production of maps relating to urban 
     flooding and associated property damage; and
       (2) increase the availability of the maps described in 
     paragraph (1) to homeowners, businesses, and units of local 
     government to enable those entities to minimize the risk of 
     urban flooding.
       (c) Objectives.--Amounts from grants made under the pilot 
     program may be used only to carry out activities that meet 
     the following objectives:
       (1) Developing a methodology for assessing the risk of 
     urban flooding through the deployment of technology-based 
     mapping tools that--
       (A) are easily understandable by the public; and
       (B) effectively convey information regarding the level of 
     flood risk.
       (2) Providing structure-specific projections of annual 
     chance flood frequency.
       (3) Providing structure-based flood risk assessments.
       (4) Providing program design for the mitigation of the risk 
     of urban flooding.
       (5) Incorporating information regarding climate trends into 
     urban flooding risk assessments.
       (6) Making the information described in this subsection 
     publicly available on the Internet through a web-based portal 
     so as to increase transparency regarding homeowner flood 
     risks.
       (d) Eligible Recipients.--
       (1) In general.--A grant under the pilot program may be 
     made only to--
       (A) a unit of general local government that is located in 
     an urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000 
     individuals; or
       (B) a stormwater management authority of a unit of general 
     local government described in subparagraph (A).
       (2) One-time grants.--A grant under the pilot program may 
     not be made to--
       (A) any unit of general local governmental, or the 
     stormwater management authority of a unit of general local 
     government, that previously received a grant under the pilot 
     program;
       (B) any unit of general local government if the stormwater 
     management agency for that unit previously received a grant 
     under the pilot program; or
       (C) any stormwater management agency of a unit of general 
     local government if that unit previously received a grant 
     under the pilot program.

[[Page S2264]]

       (3) Treatment of certain stormwater management 
     authorities.--
       (A) In general.--In the case of a stormwater management 
     authority that operates with respect to more than 1 unit of 
     general local government, the application of that authority 
     shall be considered for purposes of paragraph (2) of this 
     subsection and subsections (f), (g), and (h)(1) to be made 
     for the largest unit of general local government with respect 
     to which that authority operates.
       (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) may 
     be construed to limit the ability of a stormwater management 
     authority described in that subparagraph to carry out 
     activities under a demonstration project in any other 
     jurisdiction in, or with respect to any other unit of local 
     government with, which that authority operates.
       (e) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under the 
     pilot program, a unit of general local government or a 
     stormwater management agency shall submit to the 
     Administrator an application in such form and containing such 
     information as the Administrator shall require.
       (f) Selection of Recipients.--
       (1) Annual selection.--Subject to paragraph (2), and to the 
     submission of approvable applications, in each fiscal year 
     for which amounts are made available for grants under the 
     pilot program, the Administrator shall select, from among 
     applications submitted under subsection (e) for that fiscal 
     year, 3 units of general government or stormwater management 
     authorities to receive grants under the pilot program.
       (2) Aggregate limit.--Subject only to the submission of 
     approvable applications, the Administrator shall select, in 
     the aggregate over the entire duration of the pilot program, 
     12 units of general government or stormwater management 
     authorities to receive grants under the pilot program, as 
     follows:
       (A) Tier 1.--3 of the applicants selected shall be units of 
     general local government, or stormwater management 
     authorities for those units, each of which has a population 
     of more than 800,000 individuals, as follows:
       (i) Pelagic coastal city.--One shall be--

       (I) a unit of general local government that is a pelagic 
     unit; or
       (II) a stormwater authority for a unit described in 
     subclause (I).

       (ii) Non-pelagic coastal city.--One shall be--

       (I) a unit of general local government that--

       (aa) is a coastal unit; and
       (bb) is not a pelagic unit; or

       (II) a stormwater authority for a unit described in 
     subclause (I).

       (iii) Non-coastal city.--One shall be--

       (I) a unit of general local government that is not a 
     coastal unit; or
       (II) a stormwater authority for a unit described in 
     subclause (I).

       (B) Tier 2.--Six of the applicants selected shall be units 
     of general local government, or stormwater management 
     authorities for such units, each of which has a population 
     that is more than 200,000 individuals and not more than 
     800,000 individuals, as follows:
       (i) Coastal cities.--Three shall be--

       (I) units of general local government that are coastal 
     units; or
       (II) stormwater management authorities for units described 
     in subclause (I).

       (ii) Non-coastal cities.--Three shall be--

       (I) units of general local government that are not coastal 
     units; or
       (II) stormwater management authorities for units described 
     in subclause (I).

       (C) Tier 3.--Three of the applicants selected shall be--
       (i) units of general local government, each of which has a 
     population that is more than 50,000 individuals but not more 
     than 200,000 individuals; or
       (ii) stormwater management authorities for units described 
     in clause (i).
       (g) Priority.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator shall select applicants 
     for grants under the pilot program based on the extent to 
     which the applications of those applicants shall achieve the 
     objectives described in subsection (c).
       (2) Tiers 2 and 3.--In selecting applicants to receive 
     grants under the pilot program under subparagraphs (B) and 
     (C) of subsection (f)(2), the Administrator shall give 
     priority to applicants--
       (A) that are highly vulnerable to sea level rise;
       (B) within which are located a military installation or 
     another facility relating to national security concerns; or
       (C) that have--
       (i) populations that are highly vulnerable to urban 
     flooding; and
       (ii) an uneven capacity for flood mitigation and response 
     efforts resulting from socioeconomic factors.
       (h) Amount.--
       (1) Considerations.--In determining the amount of a grant 
     under the pilot program, the Administrator shall consider the 
     population of the grant recipient, which may be considered in 
     terms of the tier under subsection (f)(2) with respect to the 
     recipient.
       (2) Federal share.--The amount of a grant under the pilot 
     program may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost incurred 
     in carrying out the activities described in subsection (c).
       (i) Duration.--The Administrator shall require each 
     recipient of a grant under the pilot program to complete the 
     activities described in subsection (c), which shall be, 
     subject to subsection (h)(2), carried out using the grant 
     amounts, not later than 18 months after the date on which the 
     recipient initially receives the grant amounts under the 
     pilot program.
       (j) Use of Census Data.--The Administrator shall make all 
     determinations regarding population under the pilot program 
     by using data from the most recently completed decennial 
     census by the Bureau of the Census.
       (k) Grantee Reports to FEMA.--Each recipient of a grant 
     under the pilot program shall, not later than 30 months after 
     the date on which the recipient initially receives the grant 
     amounts, submit to the Administrator a report that 
     describes--
       (1) the activities carried out with the grant amounts;
       (2) how the activities carried out with the grant amounts 
     have met the objectives described in subsection (c);
       (3) any lessons learned in carrying out the activities 
     described in paragraph (2); and
       (4) any recommendations for future mapping modernization 
     efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       (l) Biennial Reports by FEMA.--Not later than 2 years after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 
     than once every 2 years thereafter until the date on which 
     all activities carried out with amounts from grants under the 
     pilot program are completed, the Administrator shall submit 
     to Congress and make available to the public on an Internet 
     website a report that--
       (1) describes--
       (A) the progress of the activities carried out with amounts 
     from those grants; and
       (B) the effectiveness of technology-based mapping tools 
     used in carrying out the activities described in subparagraph 
     (A); and
       (2) with respect to the final report that the Administrator 
     is required to submit under this subsection, includes 
     recommendations to Congress and the executive branch of the 
     Federal Government for implementing strategies, practices, 
     and technologies to mitigate the effects of urban flooding.
       (m) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, 
     because the pilot program is limited with respect to scope 
     and resources, communities that participate in the pilot 
     program should acknowledge that the most successful efforts 
     to mitigate the effects of urban flooding--
       (1) take a structural-based mitigation approach with 
     respect to construction, which includes--
       (A) recognizing any post-storm damage that may occur; and
       (B) pursuing designs that proactively minimize future flood 
     damage;
       (2) make individuals in the community aware, through any 
     cost-effective and available means of education, of the best 
     approaches regarding the construction of properties that are 
     able to survive floods, which reduces the cost of future 
     repairs; and
       (3) encourage home and property owners to consider the 
     measures described in paragraphs (1) and (2), which are the 
     most cost-effective and prudent ways to reduce the impact of 
     flooding, when constructing or renovating building 
     components.
       (n) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated for 
     grants under the pilot program--
       (1) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
       (2) $4,300,000 for fiscal year 2020, to remain available 
     through 2022.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. Peters):
  S. 2703. A bill to authorize the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant 
Program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. CORNYN. 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. 2703

       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 ``Project Safe Neighborhoods 
     Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``firearms offenses'' means an offense under 
     section 922 or 924 of title 18, United States Code;
       (2) the term ``Program'' means the Project Safe 
     Neighborhoods Block Grant Program established under section 
     3; and
       (3) the term ``transnational organized crime group'' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 36(k)(6) of the State 
     Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 
     2708(k)(6)).

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

       The Attorney General of the United States is authorized to 
     establish and carry out a program, to be known as the 
     ``Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program'' within the 
     Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice.

     SEC. 4. PURPOSE.

       (a) Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program.--The 
     purpose of the Program is to foster and improve existing 
     partnerships between Federal, State, and local

[[Page S2265]]

     agencies, including the United States Attorney in each 
     Federal judicial district, entities representing members of 
     the community affected by increased violence, victims' 
     advocates, and researchers to create safer neighborhoods 
     through sustained reductions in violent crimes by--
       (1) developing and executing comprehensive strategic plans 
     to reduce violent crimes, including the enforcement of gun 
     laws, and prioritizing efforts focused on identified subsets 
     of individuals or organizations responsible for increasing 
     violence in a particular geographic area;
       (2) developing evidence-based and data-driven intervention 
     and prevention initiatives, including juvenile justice 
     projects and activities which may include street-level 
     outreach, conflict mediation, provision of treatment and 
     social services, and the changing of community norms, in 
     order to reduce violence; and
       (3) collecting data on outcomes achieved through the 
     Program, including the effect on the violent crime rate, 
     incarceration rate, and recidivism rate of the jurisdiction.
       (b) Additional Purpose Areas.--In addition to the purpose 
     described in subsection (a), the Attorney General may use 
     funds authorized under this Act for any of the following 
     purposes--
       (1) competitive and evidence-based programs to reduce gun 
     crime and gang violence;
       (2) the Edward Byrne criminal justice innovation program;
       (3) community-based violence prevention initiatives; or
       (4) gang and youth violence education, prevention and 
     intervention, and related activities.

     SEC. 5. RULES AND REGULATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate 
     rules to create, carry out, and administer the Program in 
     accordance with this section.
       (b) Funds To Be Directed to Local Control.--Amounts made 
     available as grants under the Program shall be, to the 
     greatest extent practicable, locally controlled to address 
     problems that are identified locally.
       (c) Regional Gang Task Forces.--30 percent of the amounts 
     made available as grants under the Program each fiscal year 
     shall be granted to established Regional Gang Task Forces in 
     regions experiencing a significant or increased presence of, 
     or high levels of activity from, transnational organized 
     crime groups posing threats to community safety in terms of 
     violent crime, firearms offenses, human trafficking, drug 
     trafficking, and other crimes.
       (d) Priority.--Amounts made available as grants under the 
     Program shall be used to prioritize the investigation and 
     prosecution of individuals who have an aggravating or 
     leadership role in a criminal organization.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney 
     General to carry out the Program $50,000,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2019 through 2021.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Harris, Mr. Booker, 
        Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Schatz, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
        Heinrich, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Udall):
  S. 2708. A bill to provide for the establishment of Medicare part E 
public health plans, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, the most important words of our 
Constitution are the first three words: ``We the people.'' That is the 
mission statement of our Constitution.
  Our Founders did not seek to design a government that would enable 
the powerful and the privileged to make rules to benefit themselves. 
They didn't say: We want to have a Constitution that enables the 
wealthy and the well-connected to take away the riches of this country 
at the expense of the people. No, they laid out the vision ``We the 
people.'' They put that mission statement in supersized font, so even 
if you were reading the Constitution from across the room, you would 
understand its core mission--a core mission that unfortunately has been 
sabotaged in the Citizens United decision, which, instead of pursuing 
government of, by, and for the people, instead of providing what 
Jefferson called the equal voice, mother principle of America--that 
each citizen should have an equal voice--proceeds to give the powerful 
the reins of power through unlimited third-party campaign spending.
  The corruption of our democracy is in full gear, and we see it 
through the bills that are coming to this floor--bills to wipe out 
healthcare for 22 to 30 million Americans, a bill that passed that 
borrows $1.5 trillion from our children and proceeds to give that money 
virtually entirely--more than 80 percent--to the very richest 
Americans. I encourage my colleagues to think about how we have a 
responsibility under our oath of office to fight for this vision of 
America, not a corrupted ``we the powerful'' vision of America.

  As we address the issues that people care about at the kitchen table, 
it comes down to four basic things. It comes down to education, 
housing, living-wage jobs, and healthcare. Eisenhower said: ``Because 
the strength of our nation is in its people, their good health is a 
proper national concern.''
  We have worked to design improved healthcare systems, lower costs, 
higher quality, and improved accessibility. We have come a long way 
through the ACA, the expansion of Medicaid, and the establishment of 
competitive marketplaces for insurance. Indeed, in Oregon, we reduced 
the uninsured rate from 15 percent to 5 percent. That is a huge stride 
forward. We increased our resources in our rural healthcare clinics, 
our rural hospitals, and our urban healthcare clinics and our urban 
hospitals. We strengthened the healthcare system, but it is not enough. 
We still have 41 million adults in this country who are underinsured. 
We have 30 million who remain completely uninsured.
  That is why, today, I am delighted to join with my colleague Senator 
Chris Murphy to introduce the Choose Medicare Act. Every American 
deserves the promise of access to a popular, affordable, high-quality 
healthcare option. Fortunately, we have such an option. It is called 
Medicare. It is time-tested. It is well-vetted. It is admired and 
desired by our seniors.
  Today, Chris Murphy and I are introducing the Choose Medicare Act, 
which creates a Medicare option for all, putting consumers and 
businesses in the driver's seat on the pathway to universal healthcare. 
With the Choose Medicare Act, we affirm that here in America, 
healthcare is not a privilege for the wealthy and well-connected. It is 
a right and a fundamental value to have healthcare for all.
  I am pleased that we have been joined in introducing this today with 
nine of our colleagues as original cosponsors: Senator Baldwin, Senator 
Blumenthal, Senator Booker, Senator Harris, Senator Heinrich, Senator 
Shaheen, Senator Schatz, Senator Gillibrand, and Senator Udall. Thank 
you to each and every one of these original cosponsors, who believe in 
the vision of improving our healthcare system.
  We appreciate the groups that worked to help forge this vision to put 
meat on the bones of this idea: PCCC, which was involved from the very 
beginning with insights, CREDO, Daily Kos, Democracy for America, 
MoveOn, and Families USA. We appreciate their endorsement of this plan.
  When we were talking about Medicare for All, many folks said: How do 
you create the transition? And back during the ACA discussions, we did 
debate reducing the age of Medicare to 55. We had 60 votes for it in a 
week but lost our 60th vote.
  We wrestled with this vision. How do you create the transition? Well, 
folks come to my townhalls--and I hold a lot of them. I have held well 
over 300 during the 10 years I have been serving in the Senate. They 
come and say: We have this great healthcare plan, Medicare. Why can't 
we buy into it? Why not give us the advantage of its efficiency and 
cost control, its low-administrative costs and high-quality healthcare?
  That is exactly what Chris Murphy and I are putting forward along 
with our cosponsors--that vision of a Medicare option for all. That is 
a ``we the people'' bill. That is not a bill for the powerful and 
privileged. That is not government by the wealthy and well-connected. 
This is about the fundamental issue people wrestle with around the 
kitchen table--the complexity and the cost of our healthcare system. I 
am on Medicaid today, but I have earned a little too much, so am I off? 
How do I get on the exchange in the middle of the year? How do I sign 
up for those tax credits? What if I don't get that right? What if the 
correspondence gets lost in the mail or misfiled, which seems to 
happen? Why can't we have a simple, seamless system?
  Well, we have one--Medicare. Folks say: Why can't we participate? You 
can, if we pass this bill. It makes sense to create this public option 
competitor. What we have seen for States that have a public option in 
their provision for workplace insurance is that the costs come down 
dramatically. That certainly happened in my home State of

[[Page S2266]]

Oregon. It happened on the other coast in Rhode Island. It has happened 
around this country.
  Lyndon Johnson, when he signed the bill for Medicare, said:

       It calls upon us never to be indifferent toward despair. It 
     commands us never to turn away from helplessness. It directs 
     us never to ignore or to spurn those who suffer untended in a 
     land that is bursting with abundance.

  Medicare is high-quality coverage for 58 million Americans. It has 
bargaining power, low administrative costs, and high respect by 
participants.
  What does the Choose Medicare Act do? Well, it covers all that 
Medicare covers today, and then, because it would be open to people of 
all ages, it throws in pediatric and reproductive healthcare and builds 
those networks. It strengthens the exchanges by strengthening the tax 
credits so that the middle class is not stranded when it comes to the 
affordability of healthcare. It extends those tax credits from 400 
percent of poverty to 600 percent of poverty, reaching further into the 
middle class to make that transition--to make healthcare affordable on 
the exchange. It strengthens, certainly, Medicare itself, by putting a 
cap on the out-of-pocket costs.
  For all those who are in traditional Medicare, their Medicare 
improves as well. It provides the ability to drive down the cost of 
drugs by giving Medicare the ability to negotiate those prices. That is 
certainly a very important feature.
  Here we have something that is very popular with the public. When the 
public is asked ``Would you like to see the opportunity for every 
single American to be able to buy into Medicare, have that as an 
option; it is a voluntary option, but an option,'' overwhelmingly, they 
say yes. Democrats say yes. Republicans say yes. Independents say yes. 
They would like to have that option. The more they learn about how a 
public option has driven down costs, the more they say that this is 
needed.
  We not only make it possible to buy it on the exchange, we make it 
possible for self-insured companies to take advantage of Medicare. We 
make it possible for employers in regular companies, who are buying 
other healthcare plans for their employees, to consider buying a 
Medicare plan. So this reach is broad and deep.
  That is the type of ``we the people'' legislation we should be 
considering on the floor of this Senate--not a healthcare bill designed 
to destroy healthcare for 22 to 30 million people, as we saw last year 
courtesy of our majority, not a plan to borrow $1.5 trillion from our 
children and to give it away to the very richest Americans, the 
biggest, boldest bank heist seen in American history--perhaps in world 
history. That is the type of bank heist you would expect out of 
corrupt, Third World governments, not here in the United States of 
America, which tells you just how corrupt our election process has 
become, with Citizens United allowing unlimited billionaire dollars 
into our campaign system.
  We have to fight to take back the vision of our Nation, the ``we the 
people'' vision of our Nation. It has been stolen. It has been 
corrupted, and we have to take it back. When we take it back, we are 
going to put bills on the floor of this Senate that are about the 
fundamentals for families, living-wage jobs, public education and 
public college education, affordable quality classrooms, and the cost 
of housing, which is completely out of reach, and, certainly, profound 
substantial improvements to our healthcare system.
  Again, I thank Chris Murphy for partnering in this project. I 
supported Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All, and I love that vision. 
Chris Murphy supported Brian Schatz's bill to be able to buy into 
Medicaid. We don't have an identical healthcare profile, but what we 
sought together is the option of buying into Medicare, which is a 
complete win for the American people and a complete win for our 
healthcare system.

                          ____________________