[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18887-18891]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EDUCATION FUNDING

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, yesterday, John Edwards was in Cleveland, 
OH, and gave a powerful speech on the economy. He pointed out the 
struggles of the middle class and asked why President Bush made the 
choices he has to boost the wealthiest Americans and abandon hard 
working men and women. I urge my colleagues to take a look at this 
great speech.
  I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Remarks of Senator John Edwards

       It is an honor to be with you.
       When I was in school, I remember coming down the stairs at 
     night. I would see the glow of the television, hear the 
     volume on low, and see my Dad working at the kitchen table. 
     He wasn't going over the family bills or paper work from his 
     job at the mill. He was learning math on TV.
       After a long day at work, he would come home and turn on a 
     local TV station to learn. Every year, he'd see another young 
     person with no experience and a college degree move past him. 
     And he knew that if he didn't try something his chances of 
     moving up would disappear.
       So my Dad--like millions of Americans--did what he could 
     for himself so that he could better provide for his family. I 
     was proud of what he was trying to do. I was sad because he 
     couldn't get a college degree. And I realized that I lived in 
     a country where I could.
       Standing in that house, I always had hope. At that time, 
     America was a place where hard work and determination could 
     take you anywhere. My mother ran her own small business, 
     refinishing furniture to help pay for my tuition. Thanks to 
     my mother and father's hard work in that mill, in that 
     business, and at that kitchen table, they were able to buy a 
     house. Later on, they were able to help me become the first 
     person in my family to go to college. And I stand here today 
     because I have lived in the bright light and the blessing of 
     America.
       What I saw in that house in Robbins, North Carolina was 
     very American. It was two parents working hard, meeting their 
     responsibilities, and living in an economy that made the 
     American Dream possible. It was a time when you knew that 
     faith, responsibility and hard work would lift your family 
     up. They would give you and your children the future they 
     deserve. And this is the great promise of America.
       But I fear today, that that light is flickering and that 
     blessing is no longer there for any but a few. And this great 
     shift away from the power and the promise of our middle class 
     means that the gifts and the graces of too many young people 
     never have a chance to shine.
       Today, I fear that a young boy in Athens who goes 
     downstairs and sees his parents at the kitchen table doesn't 
     sense hope in his house. He sees his parents trying to get 
     through the month. He sees them divide up their bills into 
     piles that say ``pay now'' and ``pay later.'' And he sees his 
     mother and father work hard and they can't even break even.
       That boy thinks, ``This is what life will be like.'' He 
     looks on with resignation and the false belief that this is 
     as good as it gets.
       Two people are responsible for causing this great shift in 
     America: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Their policies have 
     decimated the economy of Ohio and the American values we 
     believe in.
       This campaign is about different leaders and different 
     economic plans. It's about different visions for America. And 
     it's about what's holding our economy down--the callous view 
     of a few at the top who believe that the values that got us 
     here can now be left behind.
       It is because George Bush and Dick Cheney abandoned our 
     values that Ohio has lost 237,000 jobs; family incomes have 
     dropped by more than $1,500; health care costs have gone up 
     more than $3,600; tuition at Cleveland State and Ohio State 
     is up $3000; and once every five minutes an Ohio family files 
     for bankruptcy.
       The struggles people face in Ohio and the weakness in our 
     economy are a direct result of decisions made by George Bush 
     and Dick Cheney. And those decisions are the direct result of 
     a vision that honors wealth and privilege rather than work 
     and responsibility.
       When our economy suffered after September 11, this 
     President made a choice. He fought for tax cuts for the 
     wealthiest Americans. And he did nothing to put more money 
     into the pockets of working families.
       When our country went 7 straight months of losing jobs, 
     this President made a choice. He proposed $25 billion in 
     backward-looking tax cuts for big corporations like Enron. 
     But he did nothing to pass tax cuts that would encourage 
     businesses to create jobs.
       When the incomes of working families began to fall after 7 
     years of strong growth, this President made a choice. He 
     slashed the overtime for six million workers. But he did 
     nothing to raise the minimum wage.
       When health care costs skyrocketed out of control, this 
     President made a choice. He gave away $140 billion to the big 
     drug companies and fought to lift the responsibilities of 
     HMOs and insurance companies while taking away the rights of 
     families. But he did nothing to lower health care costs so 
     Americans could keep more of their hard-earned money.
       When Ohio schools raised college tuition because of state 
     budget deficits, this President made a choice. He stood up 
     for subsidies to big banks and tried to cut off Pell Grants 
     for 84,000 students. But he did nothing to relieve the burden 
     on our state budgets and increase student aid.
       Every choice he made did something to harm our middle class 
     and weaken our economy. So when it comes to what working 
     people need, this really is a Do-Nothing Presidency: Do 
     Nothing to create jobs, do nothing to relieve the pressure on 
     the middle class, do nothing to bring down health care costs, 
     and do nothing to help more young people go to college.
       You can count on George Bush and Dick Cheney to do one 
     thing: look out for their friends at the top. It is very 
     simple: they honor wealth, not work.
       Make no mistake. This idea is the most radical and 
     dangerous economic agenda to hit our shores since socialism a 
     century ago. Like socialism, it corrupts the very nature of 
     our democracy and our free enterprise tradition. It is not a 
     plan to grow the American economy. It is a plan to corrupt 
     the American economy and shrink the winners' circle.
       John Kerry and I believe that the hard work and 
     responsibility of the middle class are the engine of our 
     economy. We believe our government should honor those values 
     and give everyone who works hard and takes responsibility a 
     chance to do well. We believe in expanding the winner's 
     circle. We believe in one America.
       History shows us that our approach works better for 
     America. To have real economic growth in this country, we 
     have to strengthen and expand the middle class.
       We saw it with the G.I. Bill. Young men had fought for 
     America, and America invested in them. Millions of young 
     people went to college and triggered the greatest expansion 
     of the middle class the world has ever seen.
       We saw it in the 1990s. Government lived within a budget 
     just like our families do. A tight labor market drove up 
     wages. The average family made $7000 more, and we lifted 6 
     million Americans out of poverty.
       And look where we are today. George Bush and Dick Cheney 
     have replaced that virtuous path with a vicious circle when 
     it comes to our economy.
       We have a labor market that cannot keep up with our growing 
     population. We see declining wages even as health care costs 
     go through the roof. And the gap between the Two Americas is 
     growing. Corporate profits are up. Our most expensive stores' 
     sales are up. But average wages are down over the last year, 
     and the Targets and Gaps are seeing their sales stall. 
     Instead of creating good middle-class jobs, we're creating 
     more temporary positions, part-time jobs, and jobs in fast 
     food restaurants.
       When you have a government that does nothing to reward 
     work, our economy doesn't pick up and this vicious circle 
     continues. The people at the top do just fine. The people who 
     make this country work struggle to get through the month, and 
     our economy never picks up steam.
       John Kerry and I will break this vicious circle. And we 
     will put America back on a virtuous path where work is 
     rewarded, the middle class expands, and the American Dream is 
     there for all who are willing to work for it.
       It is time to build one America with one economy that works 
     for everyone. Where no

[[Page 18888]]

     child ever looks on at his parents and thinks, ``I can't hope 
     for something better.'' But dreams only of building something 
     better. And this is the season for change. It is time to 
     build an economy that honors our values and rewards work.
       I know personally what it's like when the factory or the 
     plant closes down. The whole town suffers, and that's what 
     happened when the textile mill my father worked in closed 
     down.
       We can prevent some of these jobs from leaving America. And 
     there are real steps we can take that will stem the loss of 
     manufacturing jobs in Ohio. But that alone won't be enough.
       One constant of our new global economy is that there will 
     always be change--one sector will be growing while another 
     lags. It is the responsibility of our leaders to anticipate 
     these changes, do what they can to save the old jobs and 
     create new ones, and give our workforce the tools it needs to 
     adapt to the new economy.
       What I will present today is our plan to help Ohio and 
     America build one economy. This plan will attract new 
     business to Ohio and create more manufacturing jobs. And it 
     will strengthen and expand the middle class so that the 
     American dream of building something better is never replaced 
     with the dream of just getting by.
       First, we are going to create and keep good paying jobs 
     right here in America.
       Today, if one company wants to move its factory to China 
     and another company wants to keep its plant open outside of 
     Marietta, the company that ships its jobs overseas is 
     rewarded. They get the tax break while our middle class 
     watches more and more good paying jobs leave this country. 
     They get the tax break while our middle class loses its 
     muscle. And they get the tax break while your friends and 
     neighbors have to figure out how to live on $12,000 less in 
     their new job.
       This administration values America's work so little that 
     they actually proposed to offer new tax breaks for companies 
     to go overseas. We should be exporting American products, not 
     American jobs.
       When John Kerry is President, we will end the tax deferral 
     rules that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. 
     Instead, we will cut taxes for businesses that create jobs 
     here. In fact we will cut taxes for 99% of American companies 
     that pay taxes and create jobs.
       For those small businesses and manufacturers that want to 
     hire new employees we will create a new jobs tax credit to 
     pay your share of the payroll tax for every person you hire. 
     And for those small business owners who want to hire more 
     employees but cannot afford to insure them, we will give you 
     up to a 50% tax cut on your health care to cover your 
     employees.
       You see, we believe government should cut taxes on American 
     business. But it shouldn't cut and run from America's values 
     when it does.
       Another way to honor work is to enforce our trade 
     agreements and trade laws so we secure a more level playing 
     field for our workers. We need to trade for our businesses, 
     our consumers, and our economy. But we need to make sure that 
     our trading partners honor their part of the bargain.
       Your own Senator, George Voinovich called America's 
     enforcement of trade laws, ``nothing short of abysmal.'' 
     Right now, this administration is using our trade policy to 
     compensate for their own failed foreign policy, by cutting 
     deals with small countries willing to support us. And in the 
     meantime, our major trading partners are cleaning our clock, 
     bringing two or three trade cases against us for every one we 
     bring against them.
       Today we are running the biggest trade deficit in history. 
     Exports are down for the first time in history. And no place 
     feels the downside of an Administration that fails to look 
     out for our businesses and our workers more than Ohio.
       Ohio has lost 173,000 manufacturing jobs under this 
     President. Here in Cleveland, CHC Industries shut down its 
     plant because of Chinese dumping.
       And I heard a similar story from the workers from 
     Techneglas in Columbus. They were part of the television 
     glass and components manufacturer that closed three plants 
     and sent 1,100 workers home. And one of the reasons they 
     closed is China's continued manipulation of its currency. 
     They are able to sell products for up to 40 percent less--not 
     because they're more efficient or cheaper, but because they 
     play games in the currency markets. This president won't even 
     say it's against the rules.
       John Kerry will. He will fight China's currency 
     manipulation. And he will stand up and defend the federal 
     trade enforcement law that that has delivered over $200 
     million to Ohio manufacturers over the last four years.
       These trade policies aren't abstract ideas or some things 
     that happen over there. They impact our lives. While we must 
     always trade and open our markets, we must do so in a way 
     that is right for our workers and the world's workers.
       We all have to do well if this economy is going to break 
     this vicious circle and start to grow. And that means making 
     sure businesses across America can compete with businesses 
     around the world. Today, health care costs add $400 to the 
     cost of a Japanese car, but $1400 to the cost of an American 
     car. American manufacturers that have always done the right 
     thing and offered health care are at a growing disadvantage 
     compared to our international competition.
       We can change that. We can change it by lifting the burden 
     of catastrophic costs from businesses and by offering tax 
     credits to make health care more affordable. We can change it 
     by allowing the reimportation of prescription drugs and the 
     government to negotiate a fair price. And we can change it by 
     passing a new three-strikes-and-you're out rule that targets 
     the lawyers who clog our court systems with meritless cases 
     that should never be filed--not the victims whose injuries 
     are all too real.
       John and I also understand that a strong economy isn't just 
     about Wall Street doing well. It's about the strength and 
     livelihoods of our Main Streets and back streets in our small 
     towns and rural areas.
       That's why we'll create a venture capital fund to support 
     small businesses and entrepreneurs in small towns that are 
     hurting. We will make sure we have broadband everywhere in 
     America and help small manufacturers upgrade their 
     technology. And we can invest in the new technologies and 
     renewable energies so that America can become independent of 
     Middle East oil.
       Here in Ohio, your leading universities, research 
     institutes, and advanced manufacturing industries will spark 
     new growth and innovation. They are critical for 
     strengthening our high tech economy and key to Ohio's 
     economic future.
       Since the Second World War, technology has accounted for 
     nearly 50 percent of the state's economic growth. There are 
     167,000 Ohio workers employed in high tech jobs.
       If we expand investment in technology, we can create an 
     economic environment where these kinds of good paying jobs 
     are created every day. And by investing in education, we can 
     use our best and our brightest to solve our countries 
     greatest challenges. The strength and knowledge of our 
     working men and women will launch the next wave of economic 
     expansion. And Ohio can and will lead the way.
       Once we take these steps, our walk is not done. When we put 
     America back to work, we also need to make sure that work is 
     honored and rewarded.
       George Bush is talking about building an ownership society, 
     but he has spent four years building a debt society for 
     everyone except those at the top. His economic vision has one 
     goal: to get rid of taxes on unearned income and shift the 
     tax burden onto people who work. And he has moved toward that 
     goal with the tax cuts he has passed already.
       The President's new ``tax reform'' is the ultimate 
     expression of his values. We don't know all of the details, 
     but we know a lot of them because of a memo released by his 
     former Treasury Secretary.
       We know people who inherit hundreds of millions will pay 
     nothing; firemen and waitresses and working people will pay 
     everything. And we know his plan will take away the most 
     important incentive for the single most important form of 
     ownership: it will eliminate entirely the tax deduction for 
     home mortgage interest.
       According to the Treasury Department, the effects of this 
     project on the economy as a whole are ``uncertain.'' But the 
     effects on the middle class are clear. It means that they 
     will bear more of the tax burden in America.
       It's time to return to the idea that made this country 
     great: Instead of helping wealthy people protect their 
     wealth, we should reward the work of America's middle class.
       That is why John Kerry and I have a plan to cut taxes on 
     work and expand our middle class. To help middle class 
     families pay for health care, health care reform and a tax 
     credit to help lower premiums up to $1,000 a year. To help 
     them cover the rising costs of child care, a tax credit up to 
     $1,000 so children have a safe place to go while their 
     parents work. To help middle-class families keep more of 
     their hard-earned money, we will stop the deceptive and 
     unfair credit card deals that cost families billions each 
     year.
       And to give more young Americans the chance I had to be the 
     first member of their family to go to college, a plan to make 
     college affordable. We will provide $10 billion in aid for 
     states, including $340 million for Ohio, as long as the state 
     holds tuition in line with inflation. We will provide every 
     person with a tax credit on $4,000 of college tuition. And if 
     young people are willing to give two years of service to 
     their community, state or country, then we'll give them four 
     years of college tuition.
       When we say that we want to cut taxes for the middle class, 
     these are more than words. It's what John and I have fought 
     for over and over again. They want more tax cuts for 
     millionaires. We want more tax cuts for the middle class 
     because we know that a strong and growing middle class means 
     a stronger America.
       Just as families live within a budget, Washington should 
     too. And we will restore fiscal discipline in Washington. We 
     will roll back tax cuts on multimillionaires, restore real 
     budget rules, and we will cut corporate loopholes, corporate 
     welfare, and the federal

[[Page 18889]]

     bureaucracy that is growing again under George W. Bush. Our 
     plan will cut the deficit in half and this will restore 
     confidence in our markets. It will free up new capital for 
     new businesses and encourage them to start hiring again.
       There is a fundamental American principle we all believe 
     in--creating wealth for those who'll work for it and 
     expanding the middle class. But the very idea of the 
     ``working poor'' has no place in our America.
       Cleveland is a proud city, a great city. And it belongs at 
     the top of many lists. But not the one we heard about last 
     month--having the highest poverty rate in the nation. We need 
     to see these numbers as a call to action.
       Poverty isn't something we can live with. It's something we 
     must strive to end. Based not on handouts, but based on hard 
     work. We will encourage the job creation in Cleveland by 
     fixing our tax policies and our trade policies and investing 
     in our small businesses. We will honor hard work by raising 
     the minimum wage. That will help 396,000 people in Ohio. And 
     we will honor hard work by expanding tax credits for those 
     who work.
       In Cleveland, thousands of working families who are 
     eligible for those tax credits don't collect them. Thousands 
     get advance ``tax refunds'' that are actually loans at 
     interest rates of 100 percent or higher. And often these 
     families see their earnings eroded even more by predatory 
     lending at rates no one should have to bear. Ohio has the 
     highest foreclosure rate in the country, and in Cleveland, 1 
     in 66 homes were in foreclosure in 2003.
       We can do something about it. First, we'll work with 
     Cleveland to lead an outreach campaign, expand voluntary help 
     with taxes, speed up tax refunds, and get the IRS out of the 
     business of encouraging high-interest loans. We will crack 
     down on predatory lending to save Ohio families $300 million 
     a year, and use our laws to prompt banks to offer more loans 
     and services to low income families. And we can make sure 
     fathers honor their responsibilities by paying child support 
     and helping them work.
       We can lead a rebirth right here in Cleveland. This city 
     has 350 brownfields covering 6,000 acres. We can clean them 
     up and replace hollowed out buildings with good new homes. 
     And we can strengthen the public schools in Cleveland so that 
     families stay in the city. You just laid off more than 800 
     teachers because the schools are underfunded. How are we 
     going to educate the best minds of tomorrow without a good 
     teacher at the head of every classroom?
       One thing that you understand here in Cleveland is that 
     poverty isn't ``their'' problem. Nobody is more eager than 
     you to fight poverty because you understand that the fate of 
     your city depends on the success of all of your residents. 
     And that is exactly the same thing for America. Creating 
     opportunity for all is not an expression of compassion. It is 
     an expression of our commitment to do what is best for 
     America.
       At the heart of this campaign, we want to make sure that 
     everyone has those same opportunities that I had growing up--
     no matter where you live, who your family is, and what the 
     color of your skin is. This is the America we believe in.
       You honor work and inspire confidence by building one 
     economy that honors our values and strengthens our great 
     middle class. With this simple and enduring principle serving 
     as our moral compass, we can break this current vicious 
     circle and put our economy back on a virtuous path.
       This is what the politics of what's possible can build and 
     John and I need your support to make this happen in America.
       For in the end, this election comes down to a simple 
     choice. If you believe that our economy--Ohio's economy--is 
     strong when month after month jobs are lost and family 
     incomes decline, then you can vote for George Bush and Dick 
     Cheney. But if you want an economy that honors work and lifts 
     up our middle class, then your choice is clear and it is time 
     to make John Kerry our next president.
       Many of us are angry at what George Bush and Dick Cheney 
     have done to our great country and the values we cherish. But 
     anger never changed America; our actions do. And this is what 
     we will do create good paying jobs, invest in the jobs of the 
     future, and lift up and expand our great middle class.
       We will do this for America.
       So that once again, we can live in the bright light and the 
     blessing of America.
       Where a child no longer sees despair when his parents sort 
     bills at the kitchen table, but believes in the promise of 
     America. That hard work, responsibility and the love of his 
     family can create a future filled with hope and grace.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, few issues are more important to a strong 
America than strong schools. Education can open the doors of 
opportunity to our people. It helps the next generation realize their 
potential and fulfill their dreams. A good education strengthens our 
economy as it prepares young Americans to get good jobs and compete in 
today's world. Parents want their children to succeed, but over the 
past 4 years we have seen a President and an administration with an 
incompetent education policy and incompetent education budget.
  President Bush can find more than $1 trillion to give away in tax 
breaks for the elite but he cuts funding for his own education reforms. 
He can waste billions of dollars in contracts to Halliburton but cannot 
find a dime to increase Pell grants. When it comes to the education of 
our children and helping the middle-class families afford college for 
their children, and helping workers get retrained for new jobs, this 
administration has been AWOL.
  On issue after issue, the administration has misled the country with 
the long trail of broken promises and unmet commitments. Incompetence 
is hurting our families and our communities. On Iraq, the 
administration manipulated and distorted intelligence in a rush to war. 
We have had incompetent leadership in trying to find a way of peace, 
and America is less safe today.
  We have had incompetency in the management of our economy with the 
loss of 1,700,000 jobs. Wages are down. Expenses are up. Health 
premiums are going through the roof. Gasoline prices are up. College 
premiums are up. In health care, we have a double-digit increase in 
premiums. Drug costs are going through the ceiling. There is a rising 
number of uninsured. Iraq, the economy, health care, and now education.
  I have a statement the President made January 23, 2001:

       My focus will be on making sure that every child is 
     educated.

  These are the K-12. This is the college education. These are the 
children who need the training programs and yet we see that under the 
administration's budget 4.6 million of these children are being left 
behind.
  College tuition has gone up 38 percent in the new calculations since 
this President took office, which makes payment of the premiums for a 
college education out of the reach of middle-income families.
  We have had an actual $600 million cut in job training programs.
  This is what the President said:

       Funding is important and so is reform. So we must tie 
     funding to higher standards and accountability--

  We agreed with that--

     for results. Schools will be given a reasonable chance to 
     improve and the support to do so.

  Money is not the answer to everything but it is a clear indication of 
a nation's priorities. This is a commitment of the President to provide 
the support so we can have higher standards so that we can have higher 
results and academic achievement for our children. Yet we find that 
Bush underfunded the reforms of No Child Left Behind this year by $9.4 
billion.
  There are 6,500 schools identified as in need of improvement and 
President Bush has never once proposed funding to turn around schools 
that need improvement.
  Here it is. The President said on January 23, 2001:

       Many of our schools, particularly low-income schools, will 
     need help in the transition to higher standards.

  Higher standards mean better trained teachers who are teaching in 
underserved areas. It means support services for those children who are 
not being able to keep up with the rest of the class. It means help and 
assistance for limited-English-speaking children, those who are 
speaking a foreign language who need the extra help and assistance in 
order to be able to perform at standard, and also reforms for 
struggling schools in many of our urban areas and some in our rural 
areas.
  There was a guarantee in the No Child Left Behind funding for 
qualified teachers, funding for afterschool programs, funding for 
limited-English-speaking children, funding for struggling schools, and 
yet that has been a failed promise.
  This chart indicates where the Bush budget is with regard to the No 
Child Left Behind Act, all the way out to fiscal year 2012, and that 
leaves over 4 million children left out and left behind.
  This was the commitment in the No Child Left Behind Act that this 
President signed to say that no child would be left behind, and that 
every child could reach proficiency.

[[Page 18890]]

  In my State of Massachusetts, in the last MCAS test, which is 
generally recognized nationwide, 62 percent of the children were able 
to get proficiency in reading and 57 percent in math. We are not giving 
up on those children but evidently the administration has.
  Next, in higher education, this is what the President said on August 
30, 2000:

       A child eligible for a Pell grant future will be affected 
     by the size of the Pell grant. I am going to ask Congress to 
     bolster the first year aid . . . to $5,100 per recipient of 
     the Pell grant. . . .

  That was on August 30, 2000. When was that? Just before the election.
  I have the budget of this administration on the Pell grants for the 
last 4 years: Zero, zero, zero in terms of the increase of the Pell 
grants at a time when we have increases in higher education going up 38 
percent.
  This is an abdication of responsibility to the children of this 
country. We have had an abdication of responsibility in health care, in 
the economy, and in education.
  What we do not have with this administration is attention to special 
interests. We saw over the passage of the Medicare debate where this 
administration gave $139 billion in windfall profits to the drug 
industry, $46 billion to the HMO industry. Now what do we have, the 
student loan scandal.
  My friend from the State of Washington will speak to this issue, but 
I wish to point out what was printed today in the New York Times that 
says it all.
  I ask unanimous consent that the whole article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the New York Times, Sept. 22, 2004]

                  Banks and the College Loan Loophole

       The Bush administration has studiously looked the other way 
     while well-connected lenders have exploited a loophole in the 
     student loan program that will reap them nearly a billion 
     dollars in undeserved subsidies this year alone. Congress, 
     which rakes in contributions from banks and other lenders, 
     was reluctant to even discuss this problem until a public 
     outcry recently made it impossible to avoid. The Education 
     Department has claimed that it lacks the authority to close 
     the loophole unilaterally. But that position was blown away 
     this week in an unusually caustic report by the Government 
     Accountability Office, which outlined the scope of the 
     problem and urged the Education Department to solve it 
     quickly.
       At issue is a special category of student loans for which 
     the government guarantees the lenders a whopping return of 
     9.5 percent, even though the prevailing rate charged to 
     students is now less than 3.5 percent. The 9.5 percent loans, 
     backed by tax-exempt bonds, were established when interest 
     rates were high in the 1980's to keep lenders in the college 
     laon business, Congress tried to phase out the high-interest 
     loans in 1993, when it rightly concluded that they were no 
     longer needed, but they have not gone away.
       As interest rates declined, the lenders, abetted by the 
     Education Department, developed a series of accounting tricks 
     that create new 9.5 percent loans essentially out of thin 
     air. This process, sometimes described as cloning, has made 
     the number of 9.5 percent loans balloon and ratcheted up the 
     subsidies that the government must pay. Worse still, recent 
     press accounts suggest that higher-ups in the department may 
     have overruled auditors who tried to put an end to this 
     process.
       The House voted to end the unfair subsidies temporarily--
     and is likely to settle on a permanent solution soon. But the 
     Senate Appropriations Committee ducked the issue last week 
     when it rejected a measure that would have driven a stake 
     through the wasteful program and redirected some of the 
     savings to student aid. By one estimate, even six months' 
     delay in dealing with this problem would cost the taxpayers 
     nearly $3 billion in interest payments. That money should be 
     going to poor and working-class college students--not to 
     banks.

  Mr. KENNEDY. By one estimate, even 6 months' delay in dealing with 
this problem will cost the taxpayers nearly $3 billion in interest 
payments. That money should be going to poor and working class college 
students, not to the banks.
  We have an administration that takes care of the special interests, 
and now we find they are taking care of the banks as well. They take 
care of the drug companies, the HMOs, and the banks. All one has to do 
is read the newspaper. Look at this morning's newspaper on the Federal 
page, September 22, ``EPA Wording Found To Mirror Industry's.''

       For the third time, environmental advocates have discovered 
     passages in the Bush administration's proposal for regulating 
     mercury pollution from power plants that mirror almost word 
     for word portions of memos written by a law firm representing 
     the coal-fired power plants.

  There it is again, taking care of the banks, taking care of the 
powerplants, taking care of the drug industry, but not taking care of 
working class Americans, not taking care of middle-income Americans.
  I ask unanimous consent that the entire article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, Sept. 22, 2004]

                 EPA Wording Found to Mirror Industry's

                          (By Juliet Eilperin)

       For the third time, environmental advocates have discovered 
     passages in the Bush administration's proposal for regulating 
     mercury pollution from power plants that mirror almost word 
     for word portions of memos written by a law firm representing 
     coal-fired power plants.
       The passages state that the Environmental Protection Agency 
     is not required to regulate other hazardous toxins emitted by 
     power plants, such as lead and arsenic. Several attorneys 
     general, as well as some environmental groups, have argued 
     that the Clean Air Act compels the EPA to regulate these 
     emissions as well as mercury.
       The revelations concerning language written by Latham & 
     Watkins could broaden an ongoing probe by the EPA's inspector 
     general into whether the industry had an undue influence on 
     the agency's proposed mercury rule, legislative critics of 
     the proposed rule said.
       Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.), ranking member of the 
     Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and one of the 
     senators who called for the probe last spring, said the 
     revelation that the EPA adopted the same wording as an 
     industry source ``no longer comes as much of a surprise.''
       ``The Bush administration continues to let industry write 
     the rules on pollution, and this is just one more example of 
     how they abuse the public trust,'' he said.
       EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman would not comment on the 
     connection between the law firm memo and the agency's 
     proposal beyond saying that it is ``a public document. It was 
     publicly debated as part of the rulemaking process.''
       She added that pollutants such as lead and arsenic are not 
     the central issue: ``EPA continues to be most concerned with 
     mercury. We will be regulating mercury emissions from power 
     plants for the first time, and we will concentrate on the 
     need to protect children and pregnant women.''
       Environmentalists have assailed the EPA for months arguing 
     that the mercury rule, slated to be finalized next March, 
     would not adequately curb a toxin that can enter the food 
     chain through fish and cause development damage in infants 
     and young children.
       The rule, they said, does nothing to limit chromium, lead 
     and arsenic pollution from utilities, all of which exceed 
     mercury emissions and could pose a health threat.
       ``The big story here is the public health story; things 
     like arsenic, lead and chromium are being released in very 
     large quantities and pose a very serious health threat,'' 
     said John Stanton, a senior lawyer for Clear the Air, an 
     environmental coalition that spotted the similarities between 
     the regulation's language and the industry memo.
       The proposed regulation concludes that although the EPA 
     determined in 2000 that arsenic, chromium and other metals 
     are potential carcinogens, there is too much uncertainty to 
     justify regulating them.
       That conclusion is backed by two sections of the proposed 
     rule that address whether the EPA is compelled to regulate 
     non-mercury pollutants, an issue that first arose in 1990 
     when Congress rewrote sections of the Clean Air Act. At the 
     time, Congress made an exemption for the utilities, saying 
     the EPA should study whether it was both ``appropriate and 
     necessary'' to regulate them. In 2000, in the waning months 
     of the Clinton administration, the EPA concluded that 
     utilities should be listed as a source of toxic emissions and 
     regulated accordingly.
       In light of the 2000 decision and past studies, EPA 
     officials said they are obligated to regulate only mercury in 
     coal-fired power plants and nickel in oil-fired plants. The 
     nine attorneys general and two state environmental 
     secretaries wrote the agency on June 28 saving the EPA is 
     legally required to address other pollutants as well, citing 
     a 2000 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. 
     Circuit.
       The Aug. 5, 2002, memo from Latham & Watkins, submitted 
     during the public comment period on the rule, said hazardous 
     air pollutants other than mercury did not need to be 
     regulated. It made multiple references to statements by Rep. 
     Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio) that ``Congress provided a distinct 
     regulatory mandate for utility [hazardous emissions] because 
     of the logic of basing any decisions to regulate on the 
     results of scientific

[[Page 18891]]

     study and because of the emission reductions that will be 
     achieved and the extremely high costs that electric utilities 
     will face under other provisions of the new Clean Air Act 
     amendments.''
       The EPA used nearly identical language in its rule, 
     changing just eight words. In a separate section, the agency 
     used the same italics Latham lawyers used in their memo, 
     saying the EPA is required to regulate only the pollutants 
     under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act ``after considering 
     the results of the study required by this paragraph.'' The 
     memo uses the world ``subparagraph'' instead of paragraph but 
     is otherwise identical.
       Latham lawyer Robert A. Wyman Jr., who authored the memo, 
     declined to comment last week on grounds that the firm does 
     not discuss client matters unless directed to do so.
       The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times reported 
     earlier this year on instances in which industry-written 
     language had surfaced in the mercury proposal. A spokesman 
     for the inspector general's office said its investigation of 
     the issue should be done by early next year.

That, I believe, is what this whole election is about.
  Finally, the President of the United States is out today in 
Pennsylvania and also in Wisconsin. I hope he will explain to the 
people in Pennsylvania why he is leaving out 65,800 schoolchildren, who 
are being left behind in the funding of the No Child Left Behind Act in 
Pennsylvania. And when he travels to Wisconsin on Friday, I hope he 
will explain to the parents out there in Wisconsin why he is leaving 
behind 26,300 children, who are left behind in the State of Wisconsin.
  The parents of the children in Pennsylvania, the parents of the 
children in Wisconsin, are entitled to answers. They are tired of 
rhetoric. They are tired of cliches. They are tired of 
misrepresentations. They want the facts. They want the truth. We have a 
candidate who will give it to them.
  I see my friend and colleague in the Chamber, Senator Murray. 
Whatever remaining time I have, I yield to her, and I thank the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, how much time is left?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 5 minutes 15 seconds.

                          ____________________