[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 190 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7035-S7036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Merkley, and Mr.
Markey):
S. 5199. A bill to authorize Federal agencies to establish prize
competitions for innovation or adaptation management development
relating to coral reef ecosystems, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill, the
Coral Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2022. This no-cost bill
allows the head of any Federal Agency with a representative serving on
the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to award competitive prizes for the
purpose of stimulating innovation to advance the ability of the United
States to understand, research, or monitor coral reef ecosystems or to
develop management or adaptation options to preserve, sustain, and
restore coral reef ecosystems.
Federal Agencies with a representative serving on the U.S. Coral Reef
Task Force include the Department of Commerce, DOC; the Department of
the Interior, DOI; the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA; the
U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID; the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, USDA; the Department of Defense, DOD; the U.S. Coast
Guard, USCG; the U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ; the U.S. Department
of State, DOS; the U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT; the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA; the National Aeronautic Space
Administration, NASA; and the National Science Foundation, NSF. In
addition to Federal Agencies, other members of the U.S. Coral Reef Task
Force include the States of Hawaii and Florida, the territories of
Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealths of
Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Federated
[[Page S7036]]
States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the
Republic of Palau.
Corals serve myriad ecosystem functions, which include serving as a
source of food, a place for recreation and tourism, a source for
coastal protection, and an important part of local cultural practices,
to name a few. A number of studies have been conducted to place a
monetary value on the importance of coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii. A
U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, study published in 2019 estimated the
flood protection value of coral reefs in Hawaii alone at $836 million
annually. When accounting for all U.S. coral reefs, so those in the
waters of Hawaii, Florida, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
the same study estimated the flood protection value to increase to $1.8
billion. Another study published by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, in 2011 estimated the total economic
value of Hawaii coral reefs to the American people to be $33.57
billion. There is no doubt the importance of corals to our Nation.
Unfortunately, there are currently a number of variables that are
threatening the health of our Nation's coral reefs. These variables
include climate change-driven warming of ocean temperatures and ocean
acidification, unsustainable fishing, and pollution. As a result of
global bleaching events and disease outbreaks corals are projected to
decline significantly over the coming decades.
In an effort to mitigate the impacts of declining coral health, this
no-cost bill prioritizes programs that address communities,
environments, or industries that are in distress due to the decline or
degradation of coral reef ecosystems. Allowing Federal Agencies on the
U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to enter into private-public partnerships
via prize competitions, as this bill does, will allow for the
advancement of innovative research that will advance our Nation's
ability to preserve, sustain, and restore coral reef ecosystems.
Time is running out to ensure that coral reef ecosystems remain the
vibrant habitats that so many aspects of our society's functioning have
come to rely upon. Innovative solutions at no extra cost to the
American people, such as those supported by this bill, are desperately
needed to reverse the damage that our Nation's coral reef ecosystems
have experienced over the past decades to ensure that they will be
around to benefit Americans in the coming decades.
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By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Young):
S. 5202. A bill to amend the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to strengthen adult
education; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, we have a longstanding adult literacy crisis
that affects the quality of life for individuals and families and holds
our economy back. It is time for a major expansion of adult education.
Today, I am proud to introduce bipartisan legislation--the Adult
Education Workforce Opportunity and Reskilling for Knowledge and
Success Act, or the Adult Education WORKS Act--with my colleague
Senator Young.
Adult education provides numeracy, literacy, digital literacy,
English language skills, work readiness, soft skills, high school
equivalency, and numerous wraparound services to millions of adult
learners nationwide--all essential skills. They can be the difference
between earning a family-sustaining wage and struggling to make ends
meet. A study commissioned by the Barbara Bush Foundation estimated
that getting all U.S. adults to the equivalent of a sixth grade reading
level would generate an additional $2.2 trillion in annual income for
the country. Without the opportunities provided through adult education
programs, many adults will be left on the sidelines.
According to recent National Center for Education Statistics, NCES,
data, 43 million adults are low-skilled in literacy and 62.7 million
adults are low-skilled in numeracy. Building a sustainable economy that
truly works for everyone is going to require helping these individuals
acquire the basic skills they need to succeed. Unfortunately, we are
reaching only a fraction of these individuals today. According to the
Department of Education, at current funding levels, adult education
programs only serve about 1.1 million people, and an estimated one-
third of local adult education providers have waiting lists.
The Adult Education WORKS Act provides a roadmap for addressing this
crisis. It calls for increased resources, doubling funding for adult
education by 2026. At the same time, it makes significant improvements
to the adult education system. It calls for a new emphasis on digital
and information literacy, which are critical for success in the
workplace and in navigating everyday life. It enhances the role of
adult education providers, with a special focus on public libraries and
community-based organizations, throughout the workforce development
system, ensuring coordination and efficient use of resources. It
invests in the professionalization of the adult education field,
strengthening State certification policies, encouraging full-time
staffing models, and expanding professional development opportunities
and career pathways for adult educators. It provides support for
college and career navigators in public libraries and community-based
organizations to support adult learners where they live. Finally, it
invests in innovation and accountability through pilot projects that
test new approaches to measuring program performance and learner
outcomes.
In developing this legislation, Senator Young and I worked closely
with key stakeholders working on the frontlines in the adult education
community. I am pleased to count the American Library Association, the
Center for Law and Social Policy, the Coalition on Adult Basic
Education, the National Coalition for Literacy, ProLiteracy, and TESOL
among the supporters of this legislation.
I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation and work with us
to ensure it is part of any legislation to reauthorize the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act.
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