[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.
                                 ______
                                 
      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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